First Annual Silent Weekend at WOU Conducted Entirely in ASL

A special event will raise awareness about people who deaf.

Students at Western Oregon University Salem-News.com photo by Bonnie King

(MONMOUTH, Ore.) - Western Oregon University will hold its first ever Silent Weekend from August 14 to 16 on campus. This weekend, conducted completely in American Sign Language (ASL) is for Deaf and hearing students, interpreters, interpreter educators and ASL instructors. The weekend will open with a performance of ASL stories, poems and jokes by seven Northwest performers: Brenda Aron, Justin Coleman, Fred Farrior, Patrick Fischer, Brad Houck, Heath Goodall and Carl Schroeder. This event is free with registration for the weekend, or standalone entrance can be purchased for $5. It will be held Friday, August 14 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Smith Hall Auditorium. Attendees can choose from three possible tracks with corresponding workshops. The first is interpreter professional development, which is for working and pre-professional interpreters. The second track is for students and community members to develop their ASL skills and learn linguistic features of the language. The third track is for ASL teachers and interpreter educators and it will cover designing and discussing curriculum. This event is sponsored by the ASL/English Interpreting Program at WOU, Oregon Department of Education's Educational Interpreter Subcommittee, the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the Western Region Interpreter Education Center. The conference will take place from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Registration costs $80 for the weekend or $65 for students. If interested in attending specific days, the registration costs is $60 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Housing is available at $16 a night without linens (two people per room), or $21 with linens. Buffet-style meals for the weekend cost $40 (this includes Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday breakfast). More information about Silent Weekend, including workshop descriptions, is available at wou.edu/education/sped/wriec/Silent%20Weekend.html. Agenda for the weekend:

Friday
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Registration/Check-In
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Welcome/Icebreaker Activities
8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Performance Saturday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Registration
8:00 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
12:00 to 1:30 p.m. Silent Lunch
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Break
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 9 p.m. Talent Show
9:00 p.m. Main St. Pub Social, 21 & over Sunday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast & Check-Out
9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Closing Activity