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Hi, my name is Alyssa Benson and I'm a senior here at Columbia College.
My major is American Sign Language-English Interpreting and I'm hearing.
I met a Deaf girl in high school and fell in love with ASL and Deaf culture.
At that point, I made the decision that I wanted to become an ASL interpreter.
I think learning ASL is important because it's a visual language,
therefore it is more accessible to Deaf people.
The term audism refers to the oppression of Deaf people
because they are being restricted via language preference.
It's important to be aware of audism because Deaf people
have the right to use whatever language they want
instead of being forced to use a language they aren't comfortable with.
When deaf people experience audism, they feel frustrated
because they aren't given the freedom to choose the language they prefer to use.
They may also experience sadness and feel discriminated against like
people in other minorities sometimes feel, like the black community.
My favorite part about ASL is that it's a visual language.
When I express myself, I feel as though I am making beautiful artwork.