In a world of sound, those who identify as Deaf have formed a community of their own.

The ISU American Sign Language Club organized an event each day this week to promote awareness of the Deaf community and the language they use as part of Deaf Awareness Week.

“Our overall goal for the week is to promote awareness,” said Krystal Adams, senior in liberal studies and president of the American Sign Language Club. “We want to inform hearing people of simple things they can do to make it easier for Deaf people.”

Some suggestions Adams gave were for students to develop the ability to gesture, practice being able to write back and forth and for the university to include closed captioning on all materials.

There are currently four students at Iowa State who use American Sign Language as their primary language and consider themselves part of the Deaf community.

“It’s been a challenge,” said Scott Johnson, senior in engineering and a Deaf student, speaking through an interpreter. “There have been positives and negatives in equal amounts. It’s not just issues with interpreters, it’s communication with professors and fellow students.”

Meghan Moratz, senior in apparel, merchandising and design, said Iowa State was a big improvement for her.

“I struggled with interpreters in high school who didn’t know the language very well,” she said. “Here, they do a nice job, especially now that we have Jonathan Webb.”

Deaf Awareness Week began with free hot chocolate in the free speech zone Monday and continued Tuesday with a seminar called “The Deaf World.” The seminar focused on correcting common myths and misconceptions about Deaf people and American Sign Language, along with teaching a few basic signs and etiquette rules for communicating with Deaf people.

“People don’t know what to do,” Johnson said. “They’ll say to my interpreter ‘tell him this, ask her that.’ They should talk directly to me.”

The seminar also gave insight into the Deaf community and culture, and how it differs from the culture of hearing people.

“It’s collective in its approach,” said Jonathan Webb, adviser of the American Sign Language Club. “There’s a concept of reciprocity, as opposed to the typical American concept of independence.”

One thing the seminar noted is that Deaf culture is different from deaf people, a category that includes anyone with any hearing loss.

“People who are hard of hearing don’t have the same culture as the Deaf community,” Webb said. “They consider themselves hearing people with hearing loss.”

The American Sign Language Club has about 120 members and meets every first and third Thursday of each month at the library to work on their language skills. They run two major events each year, an immersion weekend in the fall and Deaf Awareness Week in the spring.

Deaf Awareness Week continued with a showing of the movie “The Hammer” on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Cardinal Room of the Memorial Union, and will conclude Friday with a class on how to sign at 9 p.m. at the ISU After Dark.