Debate continues over American Sign Language
■a linguistics proiessor urges
the University to allow ASL
to fulfill the bachelor of arts
foreign language requirement
By Robin Weber
Oregon Daily Emerald
As the discussion continues of
what constitutes a “foreign” lan
guage by University standards,
the University undergraduate
council is looking to language ex
perts for ideas.
University of New Mexico lin
guistics professor Sherman Wilcox
spoke to the undergraduate coun
cil on Monday, encouraging the
University to make sign language
an option for fulfilling the bachelor
of arts degree foreign language re
quirement. r onowmg ms presenta
tion to the council, he addressed
more than 50 people in the EMU
Ben Linder Room about the histo
ry, benefits and culture of teaching
American Sign Language.
“You don’t have to go to another
country to put language study to
practice,” Wilcox said.
He traced the roots of ASL back
to the 17th century in Martha’s
Vineyard, where it was used as a
communication mode among the
large deaf population.
Wilcox explained how writ
ten sign language can aid in
learning by developing books,
educational tools and sign lan
guage dictionaries.
“One way we share experiences
is through writing,” he said.
wucox suggested ASL simply be
given the same amount of recogni
tion as other languages. “We
should at least investigate the pos
sibility of writing ASL,” he said.
This issue is not new to the Uni
versity. In 1994, the University un
dergraduate council voted down
the concept of ASL being an ac
ceptable language alternative.
Since then, the ASUO Student
Senate passed a resolution in
March recognizing ASL as a for
eign language, but the process has
now shifted to the University un
dergraduate council for sugges
tions of what comes next.
Although the program has yet to
be accepted as meeting the Univer
sity’s foreign language standards,
the ASL Club is pushing to spread
the signed word across campus.
The club — with more than 80
people involved — meets every
other week for a “Dine and
Sign,” where members eat din
ner and sign with each other, of
ten along with interpreters,
teachers and other members of
the deaf community.
“We want to promote deaf cul
ture and ASL awareness and learn
more signing,” ASL club president
Sunh Yanagishita said.
The club is currently working to
save up funds on its own until it is
eligible for ASUO funding, but
participants are hoping to eventu
ally bring a deaf culture night to
the University, just as other cul
tures are celebrated. The group
also seeks to have more formal
ASL practice sessions tor any
one interested.
Yanagishita said the language is
often misinterpreted.
“People think it’s the same as
English,” she said, “but there is a
deaf culture out there all to itself.”
The undergraduate council will
continue to hear reports from lan
guage departments about ASL
and the foreign language require
ment. Undergraduate council
chairman John Nicols said he
doesn’t expect the council to
reach a decision before May.
“The exploration has been pro
ductive, and I think we’ll come to
a decision that’s useful,” he said.
E-mail reporter Robin Weber
at robinweber@dailyemerald.com.
IBOOK YOUR SUMMER
IN OREGON
2002 SUMMER SESSION
GROUP-SATISFYING AND ELECTIVE COURSES, SHORT COURSES,
SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS BEGIN THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
Summer session begins June 24. Duck Call starts May 6.
The UO Summer Session Catalog with Schedule of Classes is
available in early April. You can speed your way toward
graduation by taking required courses during summer.
2002 SUMMER SCHEDULE
First four-week session: June 24-July 19
Second four-week session: July 22-August 16
Eight week session: June 24-August 16
Eleven week session: June 24-September 6
333 Oregon Hall
1279 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1279
Telephone (541) 346-3475
Check our website
http://uosummer.uoregon.edu
UNIVERSITY of OREGON
Something happening we should know about?
Give us a ring and tell us about it.
Gall the Oregon Daily Emerald at (541) 346-5511.
News brief
Study finds pesticide harms
frogs’ sexual development
The most popular weedkiller in
the United States can disrupt the
sexual development of frogs, even
at extremely low levels such as
those found in rainfall, University
of California-Berkeley researchers
reported Monday.
When frogs were raised in water
tainted with atrazine, as many as one
in five developed multiple ovaries or
testes or became hermaphrodites,
with male and female organs in the
same animal, the team said.
The testosterone levels of male
frogs plunged and their voice boxes
shrank—important because it could
impair their ability to call mates.
These effects showed up at levels
30 times lower than those consid
ered safe by the Environmental Pro
tection Agency, according to Ty
rone B. Hayes of the University of
California-Berkeley, who special
izes in the study of hormones dur
ing development.
Researchers said the new study
could help explain why the world’s
frogs are in a sharp and puzzling
decline. Worldwide, 58 amphibian
species have gone extinct over the
past three decades or have not been
seen in years. Another 91 are con
sidered critically endangered and
at risk of extinction.
“We really do see amphibians as
biodiversity bellweathers,” said bi
ologist David Wake of the Universi
ty of California-Berkeley, who was
not involved in the current study.
“They’ve been around for 300 mil
lion years. They’re tough, and yet
they’re checking out all around us.”
The new report, in Tuesday's is
sue of the Proceedings of the Na
tional Academy of Sciences, comes
at a time when the EPA is reassess
ing the safety of atrazine. The
weedkiller has been used for four
decades in 80 countries and may be
the most popular herbicide in the
world; more than 60 million tons
were applied last year in the Unit
ed States, mostly to corn and
sorghum crops.
The EPA now allows up to 3
parts per billion of atrazine in
drinking water and is considering
new standards that would allow
wildlife to be exposed to up to 12
parts per billion. The Berkeley
group found sexual development
was affected at levels as low as .1
part per billion.
Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist
with the Natural Resources Defense
Council in Washington, D.C., said
she thought the Berkeley study
would have “a huge impact” on the
process of setting standards. “It’s
good work, scientifically sound
work, repeatable work,” she said.
“The experiments were done under
rigorous scientific conditions, and
the effects are dramatic.”
’ —(KRT)