Disable the Label filled University Suites 106 with Bingo and Twister players. (Shane Foley/Connector)

Disable the Label, an on-campus organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of underprivelaged identities, runs an annual event using Bingo as a means to practice sign language. In the latest iteration of the event, however, the organization put out Twister boards with the Bingo boards and was able to make both activities incorporate the practice of sign language.

“It was simply to try and do new, innovative ways to get kids involved to practice their sign language, just like when the kids use games to learn Spanish,” said John Romano, who helped run the event with fellow members Jeremy Daigneau, Zachary Zuber, Brenna Stewart and Alyssa Mulno. “Rather than when they do Spanish drills, when they are behind on homework and stuff, they try to do different games; same concept here, just in real life.”

The event began with a couple rounds of only Bingo, after which the Twister board was brought out. The Bingo game was so popular that attendees wanted both games to be played at once – a request to which Disable the Label gladly obliged.
For the bingo games, attendees were given boards with various colors on them as opposed to numbers. They were then instructed on how to sign each color, as well as each letter in the word BINGO. For the first round, the event moderators said the color/letter combinations aloud while signing, and for subsequent rounds they only signed. Winners would also have to sign back the spaces they covered to prove their victory.

When the Twister board was introduced, Romano stayed behind with the Bingo players while Mulno moderated the Twister game. “We did the direction, so right and left, and then I just told them the hand or foot,” said Mulno. “That was too hard to sign. And then, the color. It worked out pretty well.”

The Sign Language Bingo/Twister event also marked the final event before the busiest time of the year for Disable The Label. March has been declared Disable the Label Month, and the organization has many events planned, including Playing for Inclusion.

“Playing for Inclusion is our big event that is coming up on campus,” said Romano. “We’re working with students that have different muscular distrophy disorders to help put on a floor hockey clinic for them using a couple different club teams and a couple different colaborations – ourselves, Love of the Game and Best Buddies – to kind of do a game for them, have students cheer them on and make them feel like their special and make them stand out.”
The event is to be held at the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on March 6, 2016.

Romano described the event as being, “something that can really help them and means something to them; kind of give them a clear, shining moment.”