Students from American Sign Language (ASL) level two classes and teacher Kiara Campbell visited Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 24. Established in 1864, Gallaudet University is the only liberal arts private college that is home to over 1,000 deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind and deaf-disabled students across the world that are uniquely taught in ASL. During their trip, students were able to embrace the deaf culture by visiting local businesses run by deaf employees and owners and touring campus.

“It’s an opportunity for them to see what it’s like on the other side because deaf people always have to go into spaces where hearing people are [the majority]. Now it’s gonna be the opposite and I think that experience is something that the ASL students will really be able to understand because of what they have been learning the last two years in class,” Campbell said.

Departing WJ during third period, students embarked on their trip to D.C. The first stop was to the local Starbucks run by both hearing and deaf baristas, aiming to create a safe, welcoming community for Gallaudet students to grab coffee and expand job opportunities for students. WJ students were able to use signs to assimilate into the community.

Next students were taken on a campus tour led by a fully deaf senior who was nonverbal. He signed to the group while an interpreter on the side voiced what he was signing.

“We learned about deaf space in different buildings and how they make the space open and accessible so people can sign to each other easily without interruption,” junior Sofia Reyes said.

For dinner, students were taken to Mozzeria, an authentic Neapolitan wood-fire pizza restaurant. Mozzeria’s opened their D.C. location in 2020 due to the large deaf and hard of hearing community in the area. Mozzeria is another deaf owned and run restaurant that strives to empower the deaf community through meaningful employment and training deaf individuals with an inclusive and supportive environment.