On Sept. 26, American Sign Language II (ASL) students will host Deaf Deaf World in the upper gym. The all-day event occurs yearly and has been growing since its inception.

Students can attend at any time during the school day until doors close at 2:30 p.m., according to Joseph Wheeler, sponsor and ASL teacher. To attend, students must have a pass from Wheeler or an ASL II student, or teachers can email Wheeler if they wish to bring an entire class to the event.

At Deaf Deaf World, ASL II students will have different booths set up based on certain stores or restaurants. The booths will have hats with around 90 slips of paper apiece, each with a different sentence that the ASL II students will teach others how to sign. The attending students go around visiting the booths, earning a stamp each time they learn to sign a sentence successfully.

Wheeler started this event because, he said, he thought it would be a good way to prepare his students for ASL in the real world.

“Having practice signing what they need to sign in stores is a good idea to get them ready for real life,” Wheeler said, in an interview translated by senior Corinne Thinnes.

Meridian Culpepper, ASL II student and senior, will run a booth based on the Popeyes Louisiana Chicken fast food chain. She said she hopes others will learn to appreciate the beauty of the language as well as acknowledge the importance of the Deaf Community.

“Sign language, it’s huge. I don’t think very many people realize how huge it is. I think (Deaf Deaf World) is going to help people understand the impact it has in America and in the world today. I just want people to realize that it’s big and out there, and I think we need to be more aware and more welcoming of the culture,” Culpepper said.

CHS ASL posted the video below on Sept. 22 to promote Deaf Deaf World.