NBC and the Examiner both reported today that Jane Fernandes is moving on as president.

What struck us as interesting in the Examiner article was the assumption that opposition to Fernandes’ selection had fizzled. Bill Myers wrote, “Protest leaders say they’ll keep up the fight, but the tent city that once dominated the campus green has folded up, and the online message board once buzzing with furious exchanges now only works at a steady hum.”

In the article, Fernandes cites the integrity of the BoT’s governance as one reason for her to stay on despite opposition. Although she refused to answer questions regarding the story about protesters visiting her house, she said everyone involved during the days after her selection had received threats. But now she can move on, as she speaks about the protests in past tense.

“All that is past, though, Fernandes said. As rough as the protests over her presidency were, she says she’s grateful for them,” writes Myers.

Here, we find ourselves half agreeing and half disagreeing. We disagree that “all that” is a thing of the past. We agree, though, that we’re grateful for her selection and the subsequent protests. Without them, close investigation and introspection regarding both Gallaudet and the deaf community would not have occured. Issues such as deafism, audism, sexism, racism, and others would not have come into such a glaring light (for example, the absolutely wonderful discussion initiated by fellow DeafDC.com blogger Julie Feldman and her correspondent, known only by the initials KBM).

But what surprises us most is the mention of efforts to form committees to work on repairing ties with “disaffected” faculty, staff, and students. The funny thing about this? We had to read about it in the newspaper or see it on TV instead of hearing it from our own so-called leader, via a campus-wide e-mail, for example.

Dr. Fernandes has never been shy about using e-mail to extol her accomplishments or intentions. Why is it that now, when she could use it the most, the news of her attempt to make good is shared with the media instead of the community she’s supposed to be leading?

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