On October 19th, the New Jersey Devils beat the Vancouver Canucks with a score of one to zero. However, this was no ordinary hockey game. Our very own MLHS students signed the national anthem at the game for American Sign Language Day.
Countless deaf people attended the game at the Prudential Center, and, as Mrs. Alese, the American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Mountain Lakes described, it was a really incredible event.
The game was an amazing opportunity to increase awareness for those in the hard of hearing community. Although Mountain Lakes has its deaf community and culture, most of the world seems to forget that the deaf community exists. The thousands of people at the Prudential Center got to enjoy a fun game where the Devils won for the second time in a row, but more importantly, the deaf and hearing communities were given the chance to be brought together.
Jeffrey Levitt, when asked about his thoughts before attending the game, shared that it was a great chance for “people [to have] a clear representation of who we are and what we’re about. Many people from the ‘Deaf community’ are going too, so it’s kinda cool for them to have a representative. The most important part though is awareness because so many people don’t even know deaf people exist, are afraid to approach them, or just haven’t had any exposure at all. So, it’s our job to change that.”
Jeffery Levitt (’21)
Where the Game Fell Short
Mountain Lakes and other parts of New Jersey really appreciated this event, and there was great exposure that occurred at the game. But despite this, there were certain aspects of the day that fell short.
The NJ Devils promised that they would celebrate this day by including closed captions on the corner borders, providing translators to help with communication between the deaf and the hearing, and giving t-shirts out to the first three hundred people to buy tickets.
But, not one word was spoken about ASL day or featured during the actual game. The big news that day was about the Hughes brothers, two brothers playing against each other in the NHL for the first time.
While this game had the potential to spread so much awareness of the deaf community to so many, it did not reach as many people as it could have. Nothing about ASL day was televised. And though both the American and Canadian national anthems were signed, neither appeared on TV.
What This Could Mean for the Future
Even though there was a lack of national exposure, the ASL Day Devils game was ultimately a very enjoyable event and our very own students got to have a great experience.
Moving forward, there needs to be a change in how people view and interact with the deaf community. ASL Day at the Devils game was a wonderful idea and was a first step in improving awareness for the deaf community. As a result, more and more people will be informed and hopefully interested in ASL, which is absolutely phenomenal. This is where the change starts. There are still so many people who do not know about the deaf community, and television is an amazing way to do that. Although watching it from home is not the same as a live experience, televising these games would spread the word and impact others around the country.
So, hopefully, this tradition will continue and will improve each year. Next year, more Mountain Lakes students will have the chance to participate in the game, and important changes in the deaf community can continue to be made. The amount of hearing people in the world who know and are connected to the deaf community may be small at the moment, but this annual game certainly increases visibility!
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