While the Pride of the South Marching Band uses an ensemble of instruments to play songs for those within earshot of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Ole Miss Handband has a different way of sharing music on game days.
Distinguished by their white gloves, Handband members sign American Sign Language to hard-of-hearing and deaf spectators so that all fans can have an enjoyable game-day experience.
The Handband not only translates songs into sign language during sporting events but also expands its reach into the community through volunteering at concerts, banquets and assisted living facilities.
“Handband is a club on campus that takes songs and translates them to ASL (American Sign Language), and we perform them for the deaf community, the community of Oxford and the community of Ole Miss,” Angelina Sci, member of the Creative Translating Team, said.
As one of the creative translators for the club, Sci is responsible for making the translation from English to ASL under the guidance of club adviser Rhonda Bryan.
The main goal of the Handband is to promote inclusivity and equity. ASL translators are needed in Mississippi, so to further promote this idea of accessibility for the deaf community, the University of Mississippi has taken steps to encourage students to learn ASL.
“We have an ASL minor now that’s very new, that we’re trying to push people to take because there’s nothing better than interacting with the deaf community and getting to know more people, especially in Oxford,” Sci said. “Oxford (is) kind of a small town, and we have a deaf community here, and we want to interact with them and get to know them. Also, we’re hoping in the future to have an interpreting major.”
The Handband provides an interpretive concert on the last week of classes each semester on the Student Union Plaza.
Additionally, the Handband frequently hosts gatherings where students and community members can practice their signing with one another in everyday conversation.
“We’ll meet at a coffee place and instead of talking, we will sign. (It is) basically just catching up but in ASL instead of English, so we’ll play games to learn new signs,” Handband Creative Translating Team member Amy Kate Winter said. “An activity that we recently did was performing some Halloween songs at a children’s fall festival.”
Winter invites students to consider joining the organization regardless of their ASL fluency.
“People are able to jump in whenever, but it’s best to jump in at the beginning of either the fall or the spring semester so you can have time to adequately learn songs for the concerts, but the time commitment is up to you,” Winter said. “For the winter concert, we’re performing six songs, and members are able to choose what songs they want to do.”
To become a member of the Handband and don the iconic white gloves, students are encouraged to become actively involved in promoting inclusivity by attending planned events, such as coffee shop meet-ups and performances.
To learn more about the Ole Miss Handband, visit their Instagram page.
