Tag: byui

Deaf culture shines through in the ASL workshop

Isabelle JusticeLeave a comment

A lot of work and thought went into interviewing the students and choosing the direction of my story. As someone with serious hearing loss, deaf representation is a topic I am passionate about. I am happy I was able to shine a light on what deaf culture in eastern Idaho is like.

A vibrant silence fills room 286 in the Gordon B. Hinkley building on Tuesday evenings. The numbers are small, but the deaf and hard of hearing student body at BYU-Idaho is a welcoming group, proving that ASL culture runs beyond just the number of deaf students.

Jadyn Townsend, a student studying graphic design, is a part of the deaf community here on campus. Townsend is teaching the ASL workshop this semester, alongside hearing students Katie Stubbs and Kendal Murray.

Townsend shared her experience growing up in the small vacation town of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where there was little deaf representation.

“I always have been by myself ever since I was little,” Townsend said. “Back in my hometown, there are no deaf people, so I was mostly isolated all the time until I decided to go to BYU-I. I thought I would be an outcast again — just myself.”

Townsend said that even though she was used to the isolation, she has been able to find her place here in Rexburg.

“There’s not a lot of deaf students here, but I made friends with them and we hang out outside of school,” Townsend said. “It’s nice to have a community, even if it is small, and to see other hearing students wanting to be involved.”

While Townsend has found her niche, most of Idaho’s deaf culture resides in the city of Boise, said Heidi Smith, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Coordinator at BYU-I. She explained that on campus there are “about five deaf students and 15 to 20 hard of hearing students.”

That is where the ASL workshop, also known as “Talking Hands,” comes into play. With participants of different levels chatting and growing their skills, this kind of immersion gives real-world experiences, said Davin Glenn, a senior studying public health.

“The workshop is focused on voices off, and I think it works really well. I’m glad they’re doing it that way,” Glenn said.

Glenn said that even though he is hard of hearing, he does not speak for the deaf community, only his own experiences.

“Having no ASL classes, that makes a dead zone for opportunities,” Glenn explained. “I think ASL classes would really help because it would bring more awareness about the deaf community, even if it is really small. They would feel a lot more included with the student body.”

Despite a lack of ASL classes offered at BYU-I, Smith encourages students to come to the workshop and communicate with people who are different than them.

“It’s okay to try and communicate,” Smith said. “The deaf students are more than willing to teach them sign. They want to communicate and have friendships just like everyone else. Don’t be shy; if you’re interested in making friends with deaf students, just try.”

Click here to view ASL devotionals and here to see the ASL workshop on Instagram.

Adeline Blomfield: BYU-I’s yogi

Isabelle JusticeLeave a comment

This article was written for BYU-I’s news organization, Scroll.

BYU-Idaho’s John W. Hart Physical Education Building is a hub of construction chaos while being remodeled. However, students have found moments of peace with instructor Adeline Blomfield, a senior studying exercise physiology.

After working as a yoga instructor for over a year, Blomfield is spending her final weeks on campus teaching classes twice a week at the Hart building in room 210 at 8 p.m.

“This is my last semester,” Blomfield said. “I will still be in Rexburg until next winter when my husband graduates, and we will walk together … I will probably be teaching yoga off-campus just because this is a student job, but I’ll still be around.”

The exercise physiology major is a catalyst for Blomfield’s success in teaching.

“I had first taken the aerobics fitness technique class by Sister Robison where you are pretty much taught how to teach,” Blomfield said. “The exercise physiology major was a really good fit for me. That background really helped me understand the body more, which helps me understand the students more.”

Growing up in a health-focused family, Blomfield is passionate about the practice of yoga. Through her fitness experiences, Blomfield teaches others how to find balance in their busy lives.

“As I’ve been teaching and doing more (with yoga), I’ve noticed the big benefits with your mental health … and all these things that aren’t just physical,” Blomfield said. “I get a lot of nice feedback from the students about how I’ve been able to help different aspects of their lives just by going to a simple yoga class.”

One way Blomfield has been able to help students improve their well-being is by bringing A Cherokee Feast of Days: Daily Meditations by Joyce Sequichie Hifler to class.

Blomfield often shares the book, letting students flip through worn and beloved pages.

“They actually don’t print this anymore, so my mom bought these for every girl in the family from someone who was reselling them,” Blomfield said. “They have a different thought for every day of the year.”

At the closing of Blomfield’s classes, she opens the book to the current day of the year and reads a passage.

“I started doing it three semesters ago,” Blomfield said. “I’ve gotten a lot of comments from people saying how much they liked it. I even had one girl come to me and say that every class, she would write down what she gained.”

Blomfield encourages students to practice yoga, despite their experience level.

“You don’t have to go into yoga already knowing everything,” Blomfield explained. “Yoga is not perfection; it’s a practice. People can fall out of postures as much as they want, people can laugh and have fun with it … It can be whatever you want, and that’s what I really like about it.”

Through self-acceptance and becoming the best version of yourself, Blomfield believes that yoga practice and gospel living go hand-in-hand.

“Yoga is about connecting all aspects of your life,” Blomfield said. “I feel like the gospel is also about that. They’re both about balance and creating a happier and more loving version of yourself.“

View Adeline Blomfield’s fitness account here.

Grand Targhee removes student season passes

Isabelle JusticeLeave a comment

This was the first article I ever wrote for Scroll. I had family connections with Grand Targhee in Alta, Wyoming, so I was able to reach out to the marketing team and get inside information. I received a positive response to this piece, and it remains my most viewed (and personal favorite) article.

Trending article on the old Scroll website

Grand Targhee is a ski and snowboard resort located an hour east of BYU-Idaho in the small town of Alta, Wyoming. Known for its one-of-a-kind snow and views of the Tetons, Grand Targhee offers a small-town and affordable option to enjoy the mountains compared to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Student passes were originally $370 during the annual April sale. The replacement of a young adult discount caused the prices to rise to $509 during the month of April, $609 from May 1 to Sept. 30 and $899 on Oct. 1, according to Grand Targhee’s website.

Nate Hollingshaus, a junior studying software engineering, was one of the many students from BYU-I affected by this change. To show student backlash toward the removal of the discount, he created an online petition.

“I just wanted to show Targhee how much business they would be missing out on if they didn’t reinstate this pass,” Hollingshaus said. “Maybe if Targhee saw how much this would affect the students and how upset people were, they would reconsider.”

Lack of communication was the most frustrating part of the change for BYU-I students, specifically for those who have been going to Targhee for years.

“Most of my friends and I that have always bought that pass and have been doing it for two to three years,” Hollingshaus said. “I felt like it was a little disrespectful to those kids. There should have been some sort of formal email to those that did have one of the student passes.”

Halle Jae, brand and advertising manager at Grand Targhee, gave clarity on why student passes were discontinued.

“We were having a ton of issues with pass fraud and identifying who was a student, what it meant to be a student and what was fair to everyone,” Jae said. “I feel like there was a lot of controversy along the lines of who falls in this demographic of being able to use this huge discount.”

But college students were not the only reason for this change. Targhee has tailored the young adult pass toward 19 to 22-year-olds in Teton Valley.

“I do think that the kids that are working hard to pay rent in the valley now have this discount available to them,” Jae said. “Now they can ski and ride without being a full-time student and still getting a discount.”

After relaying reasons for ending the student discount, Hollingshaus explained that if Grand Targhee had put a statement explaining these issues, he would have had a different perspective.

“I’ll be honest, that makes sense,” said Hollingshaus. “I would have created a very different petition if I was provided that information … To students, it looks like they were just casting us out.”

Now in May, the season pass sale has ended, and students have come to terms with the young adult price.

“I think at the end of the day, you’ve got to move on,” said Hollingshaus. “I realized I’m married — I got other expenses to pay, and I might not be able to buy a season pass this year. I do think it would be good to have this conversation with Targhee to explain why we were frustrated.”

Skylar Kauf, marketing manager at Grand Targhee, indicated understanding toward those who are affected by the cancellation of the student discount. Kauf explained that Grand Targhee’s intention was not to kick college kids off the slopes but to combat pass fraud and increase inclusivity amongst young adults, specifically those in the Teton Valley.

Only time will tell if BYU-I students will continue the trek to Alta, Wyoming, this winter.

View Nate Hollingshaus’s petition here.

The World at Our Fingertips

Isabelle JusticeLeave a comment

With the rise of new technology, there are the critics. The skeptics. The ones who believe that your iPhone will melt your brain. To what extent have smartphones influenced us? How has it changed our social development?

On the stage of Macworld in 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone as “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.” Soon after, tech companies surrendered to Apple’s grasp on the market because of their innovative ideas. According to TIME Magazine, the iPhone was a status symbol and the foundation of what a smartphone should accomplish. In 15 years, we’ve been able to see the effects of such a powerful device.

“While it offers many opportunities for positive and rewarding uses, there are also clear negatives to the smartphone,” wrote Heidi Hackford in her contribution to the Computer History Museum. “People can become addicted to constant connection and feel powerless and depressed without it.”

Since 2010, iPhone users trickled down from adults to children. Being the oldest of five siblings, I have seen the difference in childhood between each sibling. For example, my younger sister started looking more mature than I did when I was her age. The same has gone for my brothers.

Katie Webb, 21 years old and a full-time college student at Utah State University, understands this difference. She has also seen the first-wave effects of the iPhone and is part of the iGen, a group of children that knew a childhood without a smartphone and entered Junior High with one.

“The people I followed I wasn’t actually friends with I think that shows what I thought social media was even before high school,” said Webb. “You’re supposed to post things that show your identity. You’re supposed to make yourself seem desirable or presentable … for me, (social media) wasn’t something that I did for fun, it was something that I did because I felt I was supposed to.”

I remember this clearly in the mid-2010s. Social media was viewed as a portfolio of your life at the mercy of the internet. It was a game, a comparison, but that mindset has shifted in the last 5 years.

“It’s more just for the fun of it,” explained 14-year-old Esther Facer. “Some of my friends ask why I don’t post and it’s just like I don’t really care. I think it’s more about your personality than your age. Most of the personalities of our age group look at social media as a joke than serious like people your age did when they were younger.”

Why was my experience so different than hers? Zhaocai Jiang, a psychologist who led a study for BMC Psychiatry based on screen time, found that the adverse effects of screen time apply to everyone, but are amplified due to personality traits and self-control. He believes the more we give in screen time, our self-control is negatively impacted. And this is much worse for those with obsessive tendencies.

Technology is viewed as negative and addictive by a large portion of the media.

“There’s not a single exception,” said Jean M. Twenge in her editorial for The Atlantic. “All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all non-screen activities are linked to more happiness.”

While this is proven to be true, Vicky Capua commented that perhaps it is a double-edged sword. Capua explained that technology is a powerful tool and its results are dependent on how you use it. Webb also felt we should put some of the responsibility on ourselves.

“It’s going to be better for the people who have a different mindset of how they look at social media and that’s what going to affect their children,” Webb explained.

Whether it’s the fault of big-tech incentives or self-discipline, a common parenting goal is to make our children’s generation a happier one, even with invasive social media.

“It’s time for us to consider another possible explanation for why our kids are increasingly disengaged,” said Alexandra Samual in her editorial for Jstor Daily. “It’s because we’ve disengaged ourselves; we’re too busy looking down at our screens to look up at our kids.”

I have studied the ramifications of screen time, started a conversation with others, and looked at my own habits. In doing so, I can better understand those who believe that “the iPhone will melt your brain,” as well as the argument that our outcome is dependent on us.

As I watch my siblings grow up, keep in contact with childhood friends, and set my own boundaries with technology, I understand that screen time will continue to evolve. The world will revolve around it. After all, innovation is one of humanity’s strengths.

Ultimately, we are social creatures and we need each other. Society can reach to understand the effects of screen time while creating a better world for the future generation. Although a predicament, smartphones are a powerful tool, and it’s up to us how we use it.