Acceptance of American Sign Language at the University of New Mexico: The History of a Process

ACCEPTANCE OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: THE HISTORY OF A PROCESS Lloyd Lamb and Phyllis Wilcox University of New Mexico The history of American Sign Language (ASL) in the United States is rich and varied. As other authors in this issue have demonstrated, ASL is a true natural language with its own culture and literary tradition. In spite of this rich and varied history, it is only within the past two or three decades that ASL has begun to gain recognition as a legitimate area of academic pursuit. With this recognition has come the realization that ASL might appropriately be seen as equivalent to a foreign language in fulfilling certain university graduation requirements. Groups and individuals are now beginning to approach colleges and universities requesting the acceptance of ASL as a foreign language. Their requests often are met with resistance from administrators and faculty who claim that ASL is not a true language, lacks a culture, and possesses no body of literature. ASL has been accepted in fulfillment of the undergraduate foreign language requirement at the University ofNew Mexico (UNM) since 1986. We are often asked, "At a time when many others were failing in similar efforts, what was the key to your success at UNM?" On the surface the decision was the culmination of a three-year effort initiated by one student, a major in the Bachelor of Science degree program in sign language interpreting . In reality, acceptance of ASL as a foreign language at UNM came about through a much longer period of planning, public relations, and hard work. This paper will briefly document the process which led to this acceptance. The process began not in an effort to gain acceptance for ASL, but rather in our attempt to establish an interpreter @ 1988 by Linstok Press, Inc. 213 ISSN 0302-1475 see note inside front cover Acceptance of ASL at the University of New Mexico training program at the baccalaureate level. Early in the 1970's, UNM began experiencing an increased interest in sign language similar to that being felt around the country. Beginning with a small group of eight students in a class offered by the Department of Communicative Disorders, the demand for sign language instruction soon was increasing at a much faster rate than we could reasonably meet. Not only were more students requesting existing courses, but there was a demand for more advanced courses in sign language. Slowly, a small program developed which offered beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses as well as a sign language practicum course. These courses were taught by one full-time lecturer and several part-time instructors . By 1978 the enrollment had grown to approximately 150 students each semester. It soon became obvious that the need for well-trained, professional sign language interpreters in New Mexico had grown well beyond the supply. While students at UNM were getting good basic training in sign language studies, they were not sufficiently prepared to meet the requirements specified in newly adopted federal and state regulations. It was at this point that we first began discussing the possibility of establishing a degree program in sign language interpreting. After much consideration, we decided that a baccalaureate program would be necessary to give students the knowledge and skills they would need to effectively meet the broad demands of the interpreting profession. Our experience within the university told us that in attempting to establish a degree program, especially one in a newly-emerging field that appeared to be highly skilled oriented, we were likely to meet opposition. Further, we were aware of the rather cumbersome bureaucracy through which any request of this nature would have to move. For these and other reasons we decided to adopt a cautious approach, to carefully study the overall situation, and to plan for every foreseeable contingency. SLS 59 Lamb and Wilcox In retrospect, it is obvious that this approach was crucial not only to the eventual acceptance of the program but also to acceptance of ASL as a foreign language at UNM. Our first step was to conduct a needs assessment focusing on the utilization of sign language interpreters in New Mexico and throughout the United States...