Brittney Metz, former Colorado Mesa University professor for American Sign Language (ASL) courses, has accepted a position with the school district, leaving CMU without a stand-in professor to teach the classes. According to an email sent out on June 5, 2019: with no replacement for her, students will be forced to choose a different foreign language until further notice.

Avery Ashby, a junior in the social work program at Colorado Mesa University said “I wanted to learn ASL because being a social worker, it would be really beneficial especially because I want to work with children and there’s always a chance I could run into deaf children or hard of hearing children. Even their parents or any members of their family, it’s important to be able to communicate.”

Many, like Asbhy, are upset by ASL courses being canceled for Fall Semester 2019. Despite being unable to offer the classes in the fall, the email noted that a “committed search will be conducted in the fall for a qualified teacher.”