Davila Chosen as Gallaudet Interim President
By Chris and Allison Kaftan on Sun 10 Dec 2006 |
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Pamela Holmes, acting chair of the Board of Trustees, announced today that Dr. Robert Davila had been named as the interim president of Gallaudet University.
“I am honored to once again serve my alma mater,” Davila said, according to a statement released by the Gallaudet Public Relations office (linked above). “I am fortunate to possess the energy, drive and dedication that will be required to lead our University over the coming months. I will seek to bring support and benefit to all constituent groups on campus and beyond.”
He begins his duties on January 2nd of the coming year. Was he the best choice? How will he handle a campus community still very much feeling the effects of a protest that led to the vacancy he is now filling?
Tell us what you think.
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I am sooo ecstatic that the Board of Trustees have made the right decision in appointing Dr. Robert Davila!
With Davila becoming deaf and learning ASL later, this goes to show that the protest last May have NOTHING to do with deaf politics or not deaf enough that have been spin through the media by Gallaudet’s Public Relations but EVERYTHING to do with valid issues that have been ignored.
Best of luck to Dr. Robert Davila in uniting the community and cleaning up the mess so everyone can heal. It won’t be an easy task, indeed, but I have faith in him.
Me too. I know Gallaudet need it.
Commence Operation Mouthfroth for the Deaf ASL’ers.
Bob Davila is the best choice but that doesn’t mean the other two should go unnoticed for their qualifications as well especially Steve Weiner.
Dr. Davila has a wide array of experience that will help us heal internally and externally. As an alumni and employee of Gallaudet, I am looking forward to the healing process and the positive changes that I know will happen under Dr. Davila’s term. He will make sure the changes in the higher up happen. It has been too long and everyone has been too comfortable where they are. (Paul Kelly, Karen Kimmel, and some others.) He will make sure that Gallaudet is student oriented—- it has not been the case for too long. Onward!
Interesting. I read Dr. Davila’s letter of intent and vitae, and I must say that he seems eminently qualified for this position.
Hopefully he will be able to initiate the healing process that needs to be done. I don’t envy him, and I wish him a ton of good luck in his endeavors at Gallaudet.
Truthfully, I am not all that surprised.
When the words “Interim President” was first mentioned, my gut feeling was that Robert Davila’s name would come up as a potential candidate for such. And my crystal ball told me that the odds were pretty good that he would in fact be selected for such a position, if he did throw his hat in the ring.
I think the Board of Trustees has made a good decision in selecting him for the job. I don’t envy him the challenges that lie ahead, but I do have confidence in his abilities to meet them head-on.
I don’t know Dr. Davila that well, but I do have a memory of him going back to my days as an undergraduate student on the campus…this was back when Dr. Merrill was president, and Dr. Davila was I think Vice-Prez for Pre-College Programs or something of that sort. I was working for the Alumni/Public Relations Office in the Visitors Center, guiding visitors around the campus and providing some facts about Gallaudet. When once asked about a Deaf President for the college, in my youthful stupidity I responded by saying that “when Dr. Merrill retires, we will have Robert Davila as our first Deaf president of Gallaudet.” Wishful thinking, perhaps…but not the smartest thing to say to our visitors.
Well, word got around and Dr. Davila heard about my comment. He sent a note to the Visitors Center asking that I please stop by his office to see him. Needless to say, I was quite nervous about meeting the man.
However, Dr. Davila quickly put me at ease with his warmth and grace, and told me that while he was “flattered by my consideration of him as the first Deaf president of Gallaudet, that was a decision that remained to be made by the Board.” He was kind and gentle in his reprimand, and never showed any anger or disapproval…simply a need to correct my mistake, as unintentional as it might have been.
I left Dr. Davila’s office feeling humbled…and yet impressed. The man could have chosen to give me a good lecture on spreading rumors, etc…but instead he treated with me with sensitivity, dignity, and respect. That to me is the mark of a true leader, and a compassionate human being.
I haven’t forgotten that day and that meeting, and I have tried to act in a similar manner when I’ve had to call people into my own office.
It’s been over 25 years forthcoming…but I am happy to now be able to say that Robert Davila is the Deaf President of Gallaudet.
Congratulations, Dr. Davila.
Hello,
Does anyone know Dr. Davila’s background? I am curious. And who were the other two candidates? Did the students put in survey on those three before the BOT appointed an interim president or it was just the BOT?
This explains more about his background.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....00242.html
Congratulations, Dr. Davila.
Rose: The letter of intent and full cv/ resume from all three finalists are posted at http://pr.gallaudet.edu/presid.....h/?ID=9913 so you can review Dr Davila’s background there.
A search committee screened 13 applicants, interviewed five of them, then recommended Dr Davila and two other candidates (Marshall and Weiner) to the BOT. The search committee had a mix of faculty, staff, students, one BOT member, and alumni.
I’m not on campus, but I would imagine that there wasn’t really much time for a formal survey of everyone’s opinion. They had to move fast to find someone to fill in because IKJ is stepping down at the end of December. Davila will be interim president for 18 to 24 months, during which time a more comprehensive search will be taken to find a full time president. I imagine there will be more thorough surveys then of students and also of faculty.
While there was no formal survey done, there was plenty of feedback regarding the three finalists on various Deaf blogs and vlogs that could be found all over the web. I’m sure that members of the Search Committee took such feedback, along with other commentary from the Gallaudet Community and the Deaf Community at large, into consideration during their search process.
An informal survey was conducted by Ridor.com which did indicate that Davila was the popular choice for the position, and he clearly did have much support. All three candidates brought their strengths and weaknesses to the table, and I am sure those strengths and weaknesses were carefully considered in the selection process.
Was Dr. Davila the best choice? Remains to be seen. He certainly has much experience under his belt, which should work in his favor. Like I said earlier, I don’t envy him the task, but I do believe he is capable of handling the rigors of the job.
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Robert Davila!
his glasses are too big and he’s too white, I’m going to set up a protest!
=)
/sarcasm off
congrats to Dr. Davila, hopefully the deaf community won’t be in an uproar if they find out he eats oreo’s instead of lemon snaps.
Do u have problem with Davila? U think it will work?
I do love lemon snaps.
I protest. I LIKE lemon snaps!
=) yummy!
Dr. Davila knows what Gallaudet needs and he had success at RIT. I am very optimistic about Gallaudet’s future.
Not only that… he also has a lot of credibility with the current U.S. presidential administration and presumably still has contacts in Congress.
Unfortunate that Sen. McCain left for whatever reasons, but Dr. Davila should be able to help fill in some of the gap left by McCain’s departure from the Gallaudet BoT.
He’s (Davila) someone with a lot of instant credibility and proven track record that anyone of any political party can instantly respect.
He represents various constituent groups well and puts forth a good face to the public. He also knows Gallaudet’s issues and what it’ll take to turn around some of the big ones (e.g. possible MSA decertification).
Definitely the man of the hour and whom we need right now.
Couldn’t have had asked for anyone better. Amazing to still be serving Gallaudet and the Deaf community some 55-ish years after arrival. (Graduated ‘53, so arrived ‘49?)
Yes, especially that Democrats have taken control since the election this past November. Let’s hope for a better President of United States in 2008 along with Gallaudet’s next President after Dr. Davila :-)
With how McCain left the Board of Trustee, I’m afraid to vote for him as a President! He was one of very few Republicans I would consider until what happened and it took me by surprise.
Where’s Zoltan? How come he hasn’t posted his thoughts?
He’s busy kissing ass at Draco Malfoy’s Web site.
I’m sure he IS at draco’s site!
Actually, he’s busy pontificating in his own Web site. As usual, his arguments aren’t very coherent or intelligent.
He doesn’t even give the pretense of pretending to be intelligent.
I’m shocked that someone is actually interested in what Zoltan has to say.
For all we care, he’s in Guam teaching math to high school students.
In reality, no, not all that interested. Just surprised he wasn’t here pontificating as always. He and malfoy DO like to pontificate.
He is celebrating the glorious revolution.
Do not question his love for the sake of the deaf, because you will be pulled under. it is wrong of you to mock or seek out a destructive mode of thinking because he is doing right.
It is sad that you cannot comprehend the greatness of the revolution and the new time that is ahead.
Rejoice or you will be swept aside.
Please tell me you’re kidding. :-)
yes I am kidding.
I always wonder if mr.telling the myth is crazy or just a troll
Ok, way to act like babies and get what you want. Is he deaf enough for you all? Good luck in the real world Gallaudet students…
CL, you might want to peruse the forum terms and conditions a little more carefully. With that said…
Success doesn’t happen by luck unless it’s the lottery. Success normally happens through hard work and manufacturing one’s own opportunities. To that end, I do believe that Gallaudet graduates are doing well in what you term ‘the real world’.
Congratulations extended to Dr. Davila, whom is most eminently qualified for the job. It’s just a shame that he’s 74 years old so a long-term service was never in the cards.
I agree.
It makes me cringe that he wasn’t considered in 1988 when he applied, I believe. Can anyone help refresh my memory only if I am wrong heh?
When an adult man gets what he wants, he’s called assertive. When women get what they want, they’re called aggressive. When gay people get what they want, they complain about the “gay agenda.” When black people get what they want, they’re uppity.
And when Deaf people get what they want, they’re babies. (And no Deaf person should ever aspire to anything like an education, because babies don’t get educations. Ho hum.)
Gotta love the trolls….
PS That was me. The Gallaudet-loving baby. Sorry to “adopt” your name by accident.
There’s a big difference between a baby crying for a pacifier and an adult deciding that he wants something and planning it in a rational and mature way.
Learn the difference and you’ll get more respect by doing it the mature and adult way.
What annoys me the most is a lot of Deafies insist that the world “owes” them something and that they are owed a Deaf President. The world doesn’t owe anyone jack ****. You want it, you work at it instead of whining about it and attacking anyone who does not sufficiently demonstrate enough enthusiasm as being an audist.
What a load of crap.
I am just wondering what the place is for us hearing folks who have dedicated our professional lives to the success of deaf students. The current climate feels pretty hostile to us. People are willing to use our presence on campus and our degrees and accomplishments to bolster Gallaudet’s reputation and ability to get accreditation. But it seems increasingly clear that they want to get rid of us.
My concern is that we don’t have enough Ph.D.s who are deaf to replace the hearing folks who will be leaving in the next few years. This will create a knowledge gap for Gallaudet students. Who will teach them the wide variety of subjects students should be exposed to in college? In my field, the study of religion, I have been trying for years to get someone on board to take my place when I retire. So far, no-one wants to take those 6-9 years to go to graduate school and come back and teach at Gallaudet. If we eliminate all hearing people from the Gallaudet campus, does this mean that our students will not be able to learn about religion in the future? What about other subjects? We could face a huge hiring crisis if we become a deaf only campus. What hearing person in his/her right mind would want to come teach at Gallaudet right now?
Your concerns are probably what impelled the Board of Trustees to act as it did — a sense of fiduciary duty to ensure the survival of Gallaudet and not merely Deaf Culture.
I don’t have any clear answers for you; Davila is simply going to be a holding action addressing the accreditation crisis. Any long term decisions will have to be made by the new president after Davila, but even then it’s likely that the new president, whether Deaf or not, will have to take steps that will displease many people.
Jane,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts from Gallaudet campus. It is hard to understand what is going on without actually being there or hearing the perspectives of those who are most affected by the events on campus.
From reading DeafDC.com commenters and other Blogs, I get the impression that many are concerned about the signing skills of faculty members. I have not seen much discussion about the ratio of deaf to hearing faculty.
For example, many feel that faculty should be held to ASLPI standards with the expectation that the faculty can be readily understood by their students. It sounds like a reasonable expectation.
In another DeafDC.com Blog, Jill Bradbury brought up your point, that there are not enough deaf students willing to earn a higher degree *and* teach at Gallaudet. She mentioned that the President’s Fellows was set up to address this issue.
I am not sure if the characterization of Gallaudet as a campus that is chasing away hearing faculty is an accurate one. But then again, I am not on campus so I do not know what is going on.
While I don’t know Dr. Davila personally, and I haven’t been on campus for years, Dr. Davila’s reputation certainly precedes him… And by all accounts, he’s a person who’s able to navigate both worlds extremely well. It seems that the job of the interim president right now to conduct diplomacy and to mend fences with everyone involved.
So I don’t think he will kowtow to the radicals who want to eradicate the campus of hearing people. That would anger far too many people and Congress would never stand for that. Not only that, but Dr. Davila’s also smart enough to know you need BOTH deaf and hearing professors to ensure a quality education at Gallaudet.
I think he’ll do just enough to mollify the radicals a bit, and lay the groundwork to restore quality education at Gallaudet so the next president’s job will be a bit easier when the time rolls around.
Maybe I’m totally off base here, but I have faith in Dr. Davila. He’s very competent.
~ Deaf Pundit
It’s not only the hearing folks feeling uncomfortable at/with Gallaudet. I am a graduate of Gallaudet. I admit to using sim com more than ASL. I would never fit into the Deaf model even though I cannot hear anything. Believe me, I am leery of returning to campus. I simply do not feel either welcome or wanted.
Here are a few suggestions made by Erick Ketcham — he posted them as a comment in Ridor’s blog, but I felt it was important to share them… to get an idea of how certain deaf people feel. No wonder Jane Hurst feels at least a bit threatened when we have folks like Erick making these comments. I would daresay that a large number of deaf people feel this way.
QUOTE:
Next move that should take place at Gallaudet in my opinion:
1) Fire Paul Kelly
2) Fire entire BOT and replace them with 100% Deaf ASL signers and ALUMNI of Gallaudet. No more hearing people on the board, please.
3) Remove Jordan’s name from the SAC.
4) Make sure Jordan and Fernandes UNDERSTAND that they ARE NOT WELCOME at Gallaudet OR ANYWHERE in the Deaf community. This is very important. It would discourage any return.
5) Fire any remaining audists and lousy-signing professors.
6) Eliminate Sim-Com at Gallaudet. Sim-Com is NOT a language. ASL is an internationally recognized language… Therefore, the ONLY appropriate language in the Deaf community, period, ., ., … and .
7) Replace entire security force and press charges against security force.
8) Press charges against Jordan, Kelly, JK, and whomever that had engendered the students’ safety and welfare during the protests.
9) Reverse ALL reprisals against students, faculty and staff.
10) Close down the cochlear center, fire all speech therapists. They have NO place at Gallaudet.
11) Contact all media and make it CLEAR: Jordan was a false hero. He did not save anybody.
12) Clean up media perception of Gallaudet, and congress’ perception of Gallaudet as well.
After all the 12 above things have been done, then we can say we are going in the right direction. Otherwise, the rest of Gallaudet’s future will be as painful as shoving a carrot loaded with nails up our arses.
UNQUOTE.
There you go… you can see that we all have a long way to go.
wow, didn’t Hitler and his Nazi’s do something like this?
For a group of people trying to establish a world of their own, they sure seem ignorant and intolerant.
Deaf Culture is an identity, just like Black Culture, Indian culture, blah blah blah, Deaf is not an Island to themselves, the government WILL NOT give you reservations. =)
Ketcham’s recommendations are merely the first step along the way toward Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ein Fuehrer.
And American taxpayers should foot the bills for fools like him? Please.
While there may certainly be that small but “vocal” group who would indeed support Mr. Ketcham’s recommendations, I would daresay that the majority of deaf people do NOT feel this way.
it doesn’t matter.. and i’m sure people are aware of that. it’s not the simple fact of the matter, it’s that it’s there and people remember things like this. the fanatics in the middle east are a simple 1 or 2% of the population and the middle east consists of several countries, yet in the bulk of the worlds eyes they are all nothing but terrorists and savages. when the other 99 to 98% of the them are just regular people like you and me who are just trying to live our lives and get by.
Ketcham will paint yet another picture of the already painfully tainted image for the Deaf Community.
While you’re removing all non ASL-Deaf influence from Gally… Are you gonna do as Malfoy suggests and rename it Clerc University? In which case, I’ll be removing my support from GU and GUAA, thanks. As for 11…did IKJ claim to be saving the Deaf? What an oddly audist (lol) thing to be criticizing him for…not saving Deaf people.
Well said, Yes, Right #42948!!!! We ought to appoint you to be in charge of the unofficial commission to clean up the Gallaudet University’s audistic leanings!
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
rlmdeaf@hotmail.com
If I understand what you are saying, that means removing all things related to the hearing on Gallaudet Campus? If so, why don’t we appoint YOU to go to mainstream schools and have them wash out all forms of deafness including interpreters and deaf students.
Hmm would that work? (slaps head) d’ah! Get real, that’s Social Isolation, the Deaf students will never get very far by becoming MORE isolated than they already are.
Just to try and understand your comment, are you implying to appoint him to remove all things related to hearing on Gallaudet Campus?
No, RLM is saying that he is in favor of Eric Ketcham’s list. Apparently he missed the caveats made by “Yeah Right.”
wow, deaf fanatics….. someone wanna come with me and help me pull their heads out of their rear? it won’t hurt em… much, just a few tongs and some pig grease.
Kind of hard to do that because life itself apparently has audistic leanings. In other words, everything that goes wrong in their lives is due to audism.
Can’t argue with folks with a reality distortion field around them.
what about personal responsibility? doesn’t accountability have a part in what people do? your argument is moot…. adapt or die.
Personal responsibility is an abstract issue, one that is best addressed on an individual basis. Setting aside questions in metaphysics like that, I think most Deafies want to address audism first which, to a lot of folks like Mr. Ketcham, is a very real and tangible issue.
But then again, Mr. Ketcham has to define what is and what is not audism.
Personally speaking, I believe audism is a question of perceptions.
Can you find audism in a third grade reading level at a university? Can you find audism in being required to take exams while preferring to concentrate on Gallaudet’s social aspects? Can you find audism in the fact that Gallaudet degrees aren’t worth very much outside in the “real world”? Can you find audism in the fact that many intelligent Deafies choose not to go to Gallaudet but instead to hearing universities and get advanced degrees and choose not to go to Gallaudet to be role model professors? Can you find audism in the singular lack of respect and or support that the Deaf protesters found recently in the real world over the Gallaudet protests? Can you find audism in the fact that you’re born Deaf in a hearing world?
Maybe I have a different understanding of what “audism” is. But all the questions you’ve set above, seem to be nothing more than flights of fantasy. forgive me for being the direct verbal assault but I don’t think a deaf child will function well in a fanatical or “Zionist” culture as Ketcham is chasing.
We have to teach our kids to survive in the world, not survive in 99 acres of land. again, adapt or die. the world does not owe you a goddamn thing, the only thing you have to depend on is YOURSELF. you think this “Deafness” culture fantasy Ketcham and a few other fanatics are pursuing won’t abandon and betray them along the way? Get a grip, there are other things to live for, if it were up to me I’d have your lovely mecca closed down and remain nothing more than a place in history. With the technology and teach advancements today, I’m quite positive the deaf children can strive just as well, if not, better than what is being offered today.
So, from one end of the extreme, you’d rather go the other end? As in closing Gallaudet down? Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be real popular with the Deafies.
My point was that audism is a philosophical construct, apparently designed to make Deafies feel good about themselves about the vicissitudes of life. Yes, it’s tough being Deaf but it’s no use whining about it. But some people feel differently and think that ascribing everything that goes wrong with their lives with audism will, somehow, make their lives easier.
I’m fully aware that Gallaudet will never be closed down, but I’m not going to pursue such a thing. as I personally have other things to put my efforts into.
All, I’m trying to argue is that instead of rejecting “audism” (still no definitive answer to it’s meaning, I’m assuming it means all things mainstream *hearing*) is like rejecting old age, you can slow it down, make it look pretty, but you can’t avoid it.
btw is your name Bo?
To answer your question, no.
okay good, next question…. Define this “Audism” to me.
punkybrewster: i really like you, whoever you are :)
anyway, erick ketcham wrote an essay on audism and the link is:
http://www.raa-deaf.org/sandbox1.html
hope it answers your questions. a caveat here, I agree that audism exists and it *can* oppress deaf people, but I do also believe that most of the audism complaints said by many people like Erick are due to their own personal failings above anything else.
Just to clarify, I believe audism is something that has been thrown around willy-nilly to excuse the personal failings and shortcomings of many Deaf individuals.
I was asking *you* and others what the definition of audism was. The link for Ketcham’s essay is interesting.
On second thought, looking at Ketcham’s essay, and looking at that picture of “Audism Unmasked,” I just can’t help but keep on thinking “Idiocy Unmasked” with respect to his essay.
Thank you “yeah, right” for the link… but I’m not entirely convinced that Ketchup defines “Audism,” he does but in a very negative and skeptical way, which shows merely the rantings of an angry propagandist.
I’ll stick with “all things mainstream,” until I understand otherwise.
Regarding Ketchum’s insane list…
I am a deaf person and graduated from Gallaudet. I do nto agree with his silly list one bit. Oh wait..I grew up oral so I’m automatically already on the bad side even though I do know ASL!
As for Ms Hurst’s points…I have to agree with her. I know of a instructor who recently started there. She told me that her interactions with the students were FINE…they were more than willing to help her learn ASL and enjoyed her classes. It was the FACULTY (I believe the deaf faculty tho…not sure…) that made her feel unwelcome and LOOKED down on her for not knowing ASL well enough yet.
Erick Ketchum is doing a GREAT disservice to the Deaf Community in trying to “Box In” Gallaudet…a closed cloistered entity. That was done at one time… stick all the deaf in a insitution. How is that going to help us get along in the big world out there…when we travel? When we interact with family? (remember 90% of the deaf come from hearing families)…Forsake them? Um…no thanks. I know that the deaf community is small and I’m grateful for that and don’t mind it but please don’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with.
Mr Ketchum you don’t speak for me.
hmm.. i’d say at least half of the deaf faculty members are not native ASL users, so it’d be a small minority indeed.
agreed, mr ketchum speaks only for himself.
Mr. Ketchum’s list for revamping Gallaudet University for the long-term interests of higher education of the deaf intellectuals is very realistic and logical. I second his proposal for the purpose of healing the Kendall Green campus. Or I would not bother to embrace Ketchum’s “To Do” list if he engage in exclusivity of other deaf people beside native ASL signers or culturally deaf. Ketchum’s proposal is very rational!!
Gallaudet Univeristy is an unique institution to serve and educate the future deaf leaders and educators and intellectuals.
Other higher education institutions across America ALREADY provide accesible services for deaf students, who wish not to attend Gallaudet University.
For past forty years, Gallaudet University (College) have been compromised with the aflux of various communication modes from Signed English to Language Contact (PSE) to Cued Speech which destroy the social and educational fabric of deaf educational community. The concept of various communication modes end up dividing the deaf community into factions or social/ideological cocoons due to their communication upbringings.
Firing Paul Kelly is a top priority because he audistically rule Gallaudet University as some kind of his own roost. Kelly could get another job anywhere. He is a lawyer! Why the lawyer end up doing as the head accountant at the university?? That is all about the power over linguistic minority like all of us.
Why Gallaudet University ought to keep hiring hearing people, who do not RESPECT us, deaf individuals as people of unique culture upbringings and norms and beliefs???
Why should Gallaudet students or deaf youngsters bother to spend their valuable time to teach faculty member(s) or educators of the deaf (teacher/instructor)the sign language?? The deaf students end up teaching the individual (teacher, professor, instructor) their own language and deprieve their education. The incomptent signer via faculty member or teacher get paid to teach students, not having their students to teach them our existing language. Deaf students suppose to receive instructional education from hired faculty member or teacher or instructor. Any qualified individual teach hir own students ought to be very fluent in their subjects’ language.
Would the German instructor be hired for teaching Chinese students if he or she isn’t fluent in their own language? Same thing apply to the deaf education in general.
Not many deaf individuals be given any opporunity to be hired at other higher education facilities?
Too many hearing people leech off deaf people for very long time to support their salaries. Ugh!
Cochlear implant and hearing aid accomodations could be done outside Gallaudet like the physician’s office. What business Gallaudet have to cover the cost of hearing aid or cochlear implant needs, especially costly salary base for audiologists and assistants. We would save a lot of money for other real needs within the Kendall Green.
Many hearing individuals were also offended when they stepped on the campus and see the arrogance of other hearing faculty member or staffer use voices and not use any kind of visual communication, ex. sign language. What kind of message the Gallaudet University occassionaly send to the society at large. This kind of practice among hearing faculty member or staffer breed “audism” or “self-negated/self-loathing” attitudes toward deaf people, who have been systematically deprived of their social and intellectual development.
From years of interacting with several generations of deaf students. Many students from mainstream or oral schools tend to have emotional problems (lack of social intelligence) or commit physical assaults because they never grow up in social and learning environment how to engage in problem-solving communication. Those students usually take out their anger on other deaf people, who are very well-versed in social and intellectual development.
We must keep emphasizing on the lingustic issue which deprive the millions of deaf youngsters from leading productive and meaningful lives.
We could be real political and cultural powerhouses if we are successfully unifed within the same lingustic use.
Too many deaf youngsters and adults waste off their potentials and natural intelligences for all nothing.
Gandhi always said “I will not speak your language if you do not speak our language. I will respect your language when you if you speak my language”
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
It’s official. You’re nuts!
Been sniffing that airplane glue much Mason?
Ghandi had a hell of a lot more tolerance and patience than you are showing. How dare you quote one of the most peaceful and innovative minds in history. you make him sound like a punchline.
What right do you have to tell another what to do? If I choose to have a cochlear implant, wear hearing aid, use my speech skills, use my signing skills all when need be…. I will do it. who the **** gives you the right to tell me otherwise. Gallaudet was created for one reason and one reason only, to fill the gaps in the between the hearing and the deaf in terms of communication, it was NOT intended to become a refuge for deaf people to whine cry and bicker about making it an island where only a certain identity is allowed.
what you are spewing here is called SEGREGATION.. it was outlawed last mid-century. you are saying we should go to the gates of gallaudet and post signs… “deaf walk this way, hearing-aid users walk in this way but take off the contraptions, hearing pay toll!”
EAT ME old man.. EAT ME. who the hell are you to force anyone into an ideology?! If gallaudet provides the access I need because I am deaf AND wear a hearing aid… then so be it.. I hope my application is accepted. you call yourself intelligent…….
While I can appreciate the anger and frustration which might have led to your feelings, I cannot in good faith endorse the manner by which you chose to express them. I think there are better ways to get your point across - but with such vocabulary as you have chosen, I cannot help but wonder if you are only serving to contribute to that “already painfully tainted image of the Deaf Community” of which you spoke previously.
This is one of the reasons for my admiration of the person for whom this blog was originally written to comment - Dr. Robert Davila is known as a man who picked his battles carefully, and chose his words constructively.
It is a leader of such skills that Gallaudet needs at this time.
as much as I appreciate your criticism, I do not stand for what RLM is talking about.
I am extremely angry with how Gallaudet has turned out since I left it. I’m also extremely confused and angry with how people like RLM are able to actually think the way they do when the facts and reality are absolutely there. so, instead of picking on me for my choice in words, why don’t you put some efforts into speaking FOR me in the “proper way” cuz I have absolutely no desire to lead the Deaf people or any other person anywhere, the only thing I want to lead is my family.
so uhh, go hug a tree or something for me.
RLM-
I can hardly believe what I am reading here. I believe you are wayyyyy off base here.
You missed many points that your critics have made above. For one, not many deaf people want to go back and do the time to get a Ph.D. in their majors. It takes SERIOUS time and MONEY to do it. I have plenty of hearing friends who are working on their Ph.D.s because their spouses earn enough $$$ to support them and their families. We need to figure out why not many deaf academians want to go on to pursue their Ph.D.s….maybe its the lack of funds that they need to continue or the mounting debtload that they have that makes them ineligible for any additional educational loans??!? Has anyone done any research? I, for one, would love to go back to get a Ph.D. but I have a family to support and I make WAY more in the private industry than I would as a tenured professor at Gallaudet or NTID/RIT.
By kicking out hearing professors, Gallaudet would be doing a huge disservice to the deaf by DENYING them the right to get a quality education. Where would you find QUALIFIED replacement professors who happen to be deaf? There isn’t a plethora of deaf Ph.D.s that are ready to step up to the plate to take up the positions that have been vacated.
Furthermore, “Too many hearing people leech off deaf people for very long time to support their salaries. Ugh!” is a statement that has NO validity here. In fact, its a huge affront that you have made against hearing people here. Where is the evidence? Where is the data? How do you know? Do you realize that many hearing professors want to help the deaf by teaching them their subject matter? Government pays their salaries, not the deaf — if you haven’t realized that already. Secondly, professorial salaries at Gallaudet aren’t up to par when you compare their salaries to other universities in the area, say at University of Maryland, Georgetown University, American University, and the like. Many aren’t in academics just for the money anyway.
Most academians now realize that to make a good income these days to survive in the DC area, one must either work solely in the private industry OR work as a professor part time and work as a consultant full-time (or vice versa) OR be a full time professor and PUBLISH! In some universities, if you don’t publish your research/work, you don’t get tenure and that is a fact!
I could go on criticizing your statements you made, but I don’t have the time nor desire to do so because it is so OBVIOUS that you haven’t done any serious research to base your comments on.
In short, Regina and PunkyBrewster’s comments say it all.
Robert has never allowed his lack of intelligence to stop him from attempting to expound on different subjects. He’s self-confident and clueless in his own way.
I still stand by my comments. I am no deaf militant myself.
I seen countless things what happened to our beloved deaf community for past forty years. Enough is enough!!
I do not propose the concept of segeratation at all.
Did you know that more African Americans begin to call for the exclusive schools for their youngsters for the purpose of self-identity and self-appreciation within themselves?
Know ourselves for who and what each of us are all about - real necessity than losing in the unnavigated sea all the times what we will communicate in.
FYI, the segretation in the United States never formally unlawful anyway.
More educators begin to favor the concept of seperate sexes classroom, especially conservative circles.
Many female students often self-silence themselves in mixed sex classroom. They could feel freely within the same sex. Boys often get bosterious in mixed sex classroom to impress gals and do not pay attention to the instruction itself, etc.
You ought to read the nonfiction books like “Campaign against Sign Language” and other deaf history books to understand why we ought to unify ourselves with the sole linguistic use than disfranchising ourselves for too long time.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
So in this post of utter rambling.
Segregation, was not formally illegal and indeed some people liked it. CAUTION EVERYONE Do not light a match! A large amount of gas and hot air has just filled the area.
You should hop in the way-back machine and let Mr.King know that, might save him from a lot of trouble.
I mean have you ever tried to self-segregate yourself? Do you notice that when you do, the group just gets smaller and smaller as less people are willing to be that exclusive.
Oh, and Gallaudet is government funded, there exists a thing called the 14th Ammendmant, and a whole host of people who are calling you a fool. Not the bigot that you are.
Gandhi was no “peace-loving dove” himself. He was much willing to sacrifice his own people for the ideal of protest against the British Empire. Gandhi did not wince when the British authorities shot down the Indian protestors.
Gandhi gratifited himself with harem of underage female youngsters. Believe it or not. He was no saint anyway.
Gandhi was very cunning and shrewd individual like Abrhaham Lincoln. Gandhi did have the prejudices toward other caste groups. He dressed down for the purpose of PR. Gandhi got wealthy as a lawyer.
No such things like “Honest Abe” or “Saintly Gandhi”!
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
Not only are you nuts, but you are scumbag as well.
If you want to be a pedophile just admit it, dont drag people’s name in the mud with unsubstantiated charges because you are too stupid.
Do you even know what ghandi did, or do you just cherry pick quotes? No one would have followed ghandi if he didnt commit to the actions himself. He was at the forefront of every protest, he was hit, jailed, beaten, fasted, and prayed.
You on the other hand are never going to put your life in such a way because you are a coward trying to enforce discrimination.
I know Dr. Bob Davila very well and have consulted with him on many RIT/NTID issues.
I know he will do very well at Gallaudet but I wonder if many of the hard core administration staff will cooperate with him or be difficult to work with him. Time will tell.
Recently, I found an article in the Washington Post newspaper that spoke of Gallaudet’s accreditation status.
It doesn’t surprise me ONE bit that their accreditation is at risk here. I knew for some time that it would come to that point with the declining enrollment, and graduation rates along with a host of other problems at Gallaudet. I wish Bob the best of luck in resolving this serious issue. Without the accreditation, it will be a tough road to travel on. Knowing Bob, he will roll up his sleeves and tackle the problem head on himself as he’s not the kind of man to shirk his responsibilities to someone else such as the provost.
Aquafina- welcome back! In case you may have missed it, Gallaudet’s accreditation issues were recently discussed in this excellent post:
http://www.deafdc.com/blog/?p=674
While I can appreciate the various feelings (anger, frustration, disbelief, etc.) that has led to some of the commentaries I see posted here (and even share some of those feelings myself), I cannot in good faith endorse the manner by which some individuals have chosen to express such feelings. I think there is a better way to make your thoughts known than to resort to some of the language and name-calling and so forth that I have read. It does leave one to wonder if in fact we are only contributing to that “already painfully tainted image for the Deaf Community” that was stated in one of the above comments.
This is one of the reasons for my admiration of the person for whom this blog was originally begun - Dr. Robert Davila is known for being a man who picked his battles carefully and chose his words constructively.
At this time, we need a leader of such ability and skill.
well I guess we all just have strong feelings against what Mr. “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” (RLM) believes to be the direction that the deaf community should go.
The best way to deal with a person like RLM is to IGNORE him.
~ Deaf Pundit
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FYI, I am no pedophile myself. I really could not believe about some people smear me with such false accusation(s)or misinformation. At least, I do feel sorry for those people resort to the name-calling behind the anoyomous online alias (username).
Everyone entitled to their opinions without name-calling(s).
Many schoolchildren and people in general tend to absorb such myths or disinformation about the historical figures.
Not many people realize that we already had the first nationally-elected leader of our beloved country before George Washington. That was John Hanson, President of the Contential Congress presided over the 13 Colonies.
We often tend to santize the historical figures and turn them into icons. Every of us have human flaws, not the godly ones.
I will be not the one to tell fibs or feeding myths to people, especially youngsters about what the world is all about.
I urge some of you to do some heavy and constant readings on historical figures like Gandhi and Lincoln.
Not many people know how much Abraham Lincoln love to tell naughty jokes to the staffers and Cabinet members.
The handful of people speculate that the first Gallaudet Institution (Gallaudet College/University) President, Edward Miner Gallaudet (EMG) to be a closeted gay. According to his written diary how he was very happy about his first wife passed away, etc.
I personally am skepticial about Edward Miner Gallaudet’s so-called sexual preference. I have to examine the existing EMG diaries whether his sexual preference is confirmed to be true.
Same thing with the latest speculation about Abraham Lincoln being gay. I personally find the so-called theories about Lincoln’s sexuality to be largely questionable due to weak historical evidence.
People tend to misinterpret any existing historical stuff(s) and draw out their own personal perceptives.
Anyone’s sexual preference is not really our business to know.
Don’t you know that the term for pedophile is misconstructed to define someone, who find pre-puberty development or underage beings sexually attractive?
Pedo (child) + phile (lover) would translate into the meaning for person, who love child.
Same thing apply to the “cinemaphile” - movie lover
The best thing to describe the sexual pervert toward children is “child molestor” or “sexual offender toward children”.
I do not find any underage beings “sexually attractive”. Why would I enjoy with someone, who is physically underdeveloped or intellectually underdeveloped.
Please do not lump me or other gay men into the stereotypical category of sexual pervert or child molestor. Thanks!
The high number of child molestor is hetrosexual married guy or hetrosexual woman (underreported by statistics). Too many male youngsters are too shameful to report such improper sexual fondlings by hetrosexual woman.
I prefer real masculine guys with hairy chest and well-developed muscules. Or guys with well-adjusted personality and worldly experience.
Am I sound like a pedophile or child molestor? Nah!
I will puruse any legal action against individuals, who spread such ugly rumors or intentionally slander me. I meant it!
The real importance about having the civility on online discussion. Smile!
RLM
I can understand why this upsets you. Now, I remind you of the number of times you’ve taken the conversation off topic to spread ugly rumours about folks on here. You’re one of the MOST guilty of doing that. cheers
I am strongly believe in the signifance of one “unifed” lingustic use among particular community like the usage of American Sign Language.
For example, the 19th century industrial factory supervisors often assigned laborers with different spoken language to the group work unit. So the laborers (workers) could not speak effectively to each others during the assigned work shifts.
The designated system of assigning laborers with different languages to keep them from founding the labor union or share the common goals to unify themselves to fight back against the exploiter(s) or oppressor(s) for decent wages and humanly work hours.
You could understand why we must strive for the one “unifed” language among us, deaf and Deaf community at large or we will never accomplish the politically and socially powerful block to get our messages across the society at large.
We have been systematically deprived of excellent quality of education for years within the deaf American educational facilities.
If you read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. You would clearly understand who is the real oppressor or faciltator of audism.
Gallaudet University and the Clerc Center ought to be composed of decent numbers of qualified deaf employees and faculty members.
Hearing professors at Gallaudet ought not to get tenure until they are very fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and well-schooled in deaf history, deaf culture and norms within the peer reviews by deaf scholars and faculty members.
I grew up seeing a lot of hearing people mooching off deaf youngsters without really respecting us, deaf people.
For example, the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (WVSDB) had the state law dictated how to hire the staffers and instructors.
Guess what? The WVSDB must hire the local people or current employees before making any vacant postiton to outsiders. That is really an anti-competitive approach or system prevent any hiring of qualifed personnels to educate the deaf youngsters in prior to the existing educational requirements.
Many WVSDB staffers and instructors are very incomptent in teaching deaf and deaf-blind youngsters.
“Too many” strong-willed and intelligent deaf students like me have been systematically undermined and horribly treated by the educators and residential staff of the deaf at every turns. In the end, I grew more determined as a person.
How sad for the WVSDB staffers and instructors engaged in smear campaigns against me. They finally respected me as a student leader.
The WVSDB hearing staffers and instructors tend to find any deaf/Deaf children of deaf parent/parents to be real threatening to their own paternalistic plantation.
Almost all the deaf/Deaf staffers and instructors at the WVSDB turned to me for campus leadership to make the school life better for everyone within fairness and human decency. Some deaf staffers and instructors chose to side with hearing staffers and instructors for better promotion and more power over students.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLM… sigh…
I really don’t know how to sum your posts up in one word. I can take the numerous definitions of “moronic” in the thesaurus to define your postings here.
As a Cochlear-wearing, profoundly deaf person, I really do take offense with your posts responding to the Ketchum list. I’ve never been to Gallaudet as a student (I did, however, go when they had the Cued Speech center), but I am deaf. I think that makes me obliged to opine on this issue.
I must glean from your post (already beaten to death by other commentators but, I’d like to jump in):
Mr. Ketchum’s list for revamping Gallaudet University for the long-term interests of higher education of the deaf intellectuals is very realistic and logical.
First of all, your very first sentence is absolutely wrong. You couldn’t be more wrong. No wait, you’re wronger than wrong. I have personally witnessed the evolution of the deaf. In the ’80s, when my public school first recieved deaf students to be mainstreamed, there was a HUGE demand for ASL interpreters (likewise for CS but not as much). Now, there’s little to no demand for services as there are much more deaf students than there were in the 1980’s in my mainstream public school but they are ALL Cochlear Implant wearing deaf people and can hear and lipread very much like a hearing person. (I still say deaf because when they take that device off they are deaf)
You must seem to think that Gallaudet is stuck in the 1980’s. I don’t think you really know what’s happening with the younger deaf generation. Not to mention the majority of these deaf children are born to hearing parents, who have more access than ever to information for their deaf child (they can easily google information compared to exhaustive searches in the 1980’s).
If you use that mindset with Gallaudet, I can personally guarantee that their enrollment will drastically decrease over the years. And, yes, it has decreased. They had to close deaf schools around the country because there’s not enough deaf children who sign to keep them open (Oral schools, on the other hand, have increased enrollment for very young deaf children who are learning how to use their CIs).
Gallaudet Univeristy is an unique institution to serve and educate the future deaf leaders and educators and intellectuals.
Would you be surprised if I told you that someone like Jack Straw (a prominient British politican) would qualify as a potiental leader for Gallaudet? He has a hearing problem (chronic tintinnus) and lipreads. But no, he’s not Gallaudet material according to you. How about the rapper, Foxy Brown? She’s deaf, but not Gallaudet material according to you. Ooh, how about Heather Whitestone? She went deaf at 18 mos, that has to make her Gallaudet material. Oh what’s that? She’s anti sign language?
My point is that Gallaudet has to be open to ALL deaf people. I really do think it should start becoming more of an oral institution than a sign institution. After all that’s the majority of deaf people in the US, oral users.
Other higher education institutions across America ALREADY provide accesible services for deaf students, who wish not to attend Gallaudet University.
I didn’t go to Gallaudet because I think their cirriculae is quite questionable. I didn’t think anyone would offer me a job (besides a deaf-friendly organisation) because I had “Gallaudet University” on my CV. I know people who sign quite fluently but didn’t go to Gallaudet because, among other things, it didn’t offer much for their education. A lot of us mainstreamed deaf students feel that Gallaudet is like a last-gasp effort (if you fail a mainstream university, you go to Gallaudet instead because it’s easy).
Sure, but it’s quite touch-and-go with services. I did go to one of the best places for the deaf for services and had everything at my fingertips (CS, notetaking services, and CART), I can’t say the same for my friends at Brown (had no CART, had a hard time getting CS and even ASL), RWU (no CART offered), University of Wisconsin in Menomonie (no CS, no CART) and others. Even the best universities in the US can’t provide everything for the deaf students because there aren’t simply enough people qualified to take on the job.
Why not make Gallaudet change their cirriculae a little bit and accept hearing students as undergraduates, who are interested in working with the deaf and becoming qualified as CSTs, ASLIs, and Court reporters? There are plenty of deaf students NOW that need the services. And that’s a very good paying job.
For past forty years, Gallaudet University (College) have been compromised with the aflux of various communication modes from Signed English to Language Contact (PSE) to Cued Speech which destroy the social and educational fabric of deaf educational community.
Utter nonesense. While I may have experienced little sign language (I only took ASL I in college and have a BSL book here but haven’t learned it yet), I think having CS instead of ASL has greatly improved my chances of getting a job, attending ANY university I want in any English speaking country (or even an American University in another country that doesn’t speak english).
The problem here is the fact that there are people like you (the D-deaf) who refuse to accept change and say that the decline in the use of ASL is harming the deaf community.
There are two variants of the English language in the written word, many variants of the English language being spoken. Does it divide the country?
Why Gallaudet University ought to keep hiring hearing people, who do not RESPECT us, deaf individuals as people of unique culture upbringings and norms and beliefs???
Because they are the only people qualified to run the position. I honestly cannot think of any ASL-only deaf people that are qualified to run the position. I feel that someone (like Davila) should have both Oral and ASL experience in order to run Gallaudet. You cannot have a president who cannot speak vocally. Davila has to communicate with the hearing Congress, oral deaf students, and the like.
Why should Gallaudet students or deaf youngsters bother to spend their valuable time to teach faculty member(s) or educators of the deaf (teacher/instructor)the sign language??
In 20 years, do you think Gallaudet’s students will be mostly ASL or mostly oral? I predict it will be the latter.
Aside from that, I am just wondering why you cannot accept a qualified ASL interpreter to interpret the classes? Or even a CART for lectures? No, you have to have a Science/History/English teacher that happens to know sign.
That really flabbergasts me that you want an inexperienced but fluent ASL professor rather than an experienced, non-signing professor but one willing to have an ASL interpreter stand next to him.
Not many deaf individuals be given any opporunity to be hired at other higher education facilities?
If they just know ASL, their opportunities are limited. If they know how to speak and lipread, their opportunities increased a hundredfold. It can be hard but with the CI getting smaller and smaller, it is getting easier and easier for the deaf to learn how to speak and socially interact in the hearing world.
What business Gallaudet have to cover the cost of hearing aid or cochlear implant needs[?]
Especially when it’s the future. Gallaudet has to make an investment.
From years of interacting with several generations of deaf students. Many students from mainstream or oral schools tend to have emotional problems (lack of social intelligence) or commit physical assaults because they never grow up in social and learning environment how to engage in problem-solving communication.
You must be talking about the 1980’s. Sure, there wasn’t that many opportunities for us deaf people in the 1980s regarding services, methods of communications, and even equipment. Large and chunky CIs put a lot of people (including me) off of getting implanted. Lack of internet meant that we couldn’t really find people like us. Our parents were told by doctors that ASL was the best way to go.
Now, CIs are smaller and more easily accessible, allowing plenty of deaf and hard of hearing people more opportunities within the hearing world. Which includes social interaction. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have the CI, as it increased my social calendar. I wish I had it when I was younger, as it would have made school easier. Sure, school was hard for me, but I am glad that I went to mainstream education and not a deaf school where the reading levels at that time was ambysmal.
Deaf children do need to learn their country’s language in order to get on in the world. They cannot just get by on ASL alone and try to move to ASL communities in order to have a social life. You are only lucky if there’s a large ASL community where you live, especially in DC.
Yes it was hard for me in speech therapy but it was worth every blood sweat and tears shed.
We must keep emphasizing on the lingustic issue which deprive the millions of deaf youngsters from leading productive and meaningful lives.
In other words, you just want them to be ASL-only. Not to learn English?
Hmm.
We could be real political and cultural powerhouses if we are successfully unifed within the same lingustic use.
Wrong. If you just sign, who do you sign to? Very very very few people. And that’s not a political/cultural powerhouse.
Too many deaf youngsters and adults waste off their potentials and natural intelligences for all nothing.
That sentence alone demonstrates an urgent need for English lessons in the deaf community. I’m sorry but “all for nothing” not “for all nothing.” Are you saying that I wasted my BA from a Boston university because I didn’t go to deaf school or didn’t learn to sign?
It’s tricky to sum up your whole post. I feel that you don’t want to accept that the future might be very few ASL signers (I know I might be jumped on for saying that).
I hope this post at least makes you think, RLM.
Just wanted to chime in and say that you brought up some good points. You’re not the only one who has considered how to bring Gallaudet kicking and screaming to the 21st century. :-)
wow, very well written. I sure wish I had the patience and temper this person has.
I need to go back to dippin’. =) (chuckle)
C. I agree with most of your points- but wanted to offer my input on one particular section:
“That really flabbergasts me that you want an inexperienced but fluent ASL professor rather than an experienced, non-signing professor but one willing to have an ASL interpreter stand next to him.”
Personally, I’d stick with the more experienced professor regardless of signing skills - but the fact remains that it is simply difficult for many deaf students (like myself) to learn via an interpreter. The overall integrity of a professor’s message is vastly reduced through translation, and having to hear twenty different voices (such as during a heated classroom debate) through the same vessel makes it even less of a learning experience for the mainstreamed deaf student. So, for these reasons, I do understand why some deaf students prefer ‘ASL professors’.
I will continue to reiterate what I have said previously; we need to make better use of existing technological devices so that our dependence on interpreters can be eradicated. And then we’ll focus on federal taxes. :)
I’m all for the eradication of dependence on interpreters through advancement of existing technological devices. Can you imagine a live-captioning program on your handheld PDA that would instantly transcribe everything spoken in the room without having to have the user’s voice programmed first? That’s my dream technological aid–one that can patch into the audio feed in a large meeting room or a briefing.
That would be nice, but how can someone like me participate? My speech isn’t intelligible at all. And while I oppose RLM’s ideas, I also oppose the idea that I have to have a CI and speak fluently to be a full member of society at large.
~ Deaf Pundit
It’s all in the attitude, baby!
If you see yourself as part of a larger society, then you’re a full member of society at large.
What I object to the most, is the self-isolated ASL Deaf ghetto that many Deafies seem to try to enclose themselves into. I’ve been there and I never liked it. I find it much more fulfilling to communicate and be with a variety of people (hearing, oral, hoh, white, black, blue, green, etc.) rather than be locked into an ideological straitjacket in a very small community.
When I mentioned technology, I didn’t necessarily mean CIs (although that’s also part of the equation for many folks). For example, what if Noelle didn’t use her voice and instead wanted her PDA to synthesize her voice (from text)? This would allow deaf participants to take on a more assertive role in their community. This is just *one* example of the many, many radicially different ways that technology can help us unite- interpreters do nothing but divide.
The options should at least be there, so that Deaf people can *choose* to stay entirely within their own sub-community- instead of being forced to do so. Should they make a such choice (to which they have every right), the merits behind their decision will have nothing to do with their lack of opportunities caused by bad education.
Anonymous, I view myself as a full member of society. But apparently people like Noelle don’t view me as one. At least that’s what I gleaned from her attitude. By no means am I one of those ‘isolated’ Deaf. I strongly opposed the Gally protests, and I oppose Ryan Commerson’s ideology.
I have hearing friends. I have hard of hearing friends. I have D/deaf friends. What I resent is to be told what is the best way to live my life.
I agree with Julie. The options should be there, so each individual can decide for themselves what is best for them. I also think that if a person makes a choice that we would not make, we should not look down at them for making that choice. That’s my main issue here.
~ Deaf Pundit
Huh? Where in the hell did you ‘glean’ that from my attitude?
C-
Your comments here: “I didn’t go to Gallaudet because I think their cirriculae is quite questionable. I didn’t think anyone would offer me a job (besides a deaf-friendly organisation) because I had “Gallaudet University” on my CV. I know people who sign quite fluently but didn’t go to Gallaudet because, among other things, it didn’t offer much for their education. A lot of us mainstreamed deaf students feel that Gallaudet is like a last-gasp effort (if you fail a mainstream university, you go to Gallaudet instead because it’s easy).”
This is EXACTLY the reason why I refused to go to Gallaudet as a student!!!! I know of too many Gallaudet graduates frustrated with their employment search because of the name “Gallaudet” as opposed to those who graduated from RIT. RIT’s degree has a MUCH better value than Gallaudet’s does.
In short, I agree 100% with your comments here.
C:
I read your response to RLM with great interest. I agree with some points you made, and I support you in challenging the weaknesses in RLM’s reasoning, but I also disagree very violently with other things you’ve written. For example:
“My point is that Gallaudet has to be open to ALL deaf people. I really do think it should start becoming more of an oral institution than a sign institution.”
First, it IS open to all deaf people, regardless of signing ability. Secondly, why should it become an oral institution when just about every other university in the country is just that? Gallaudet’s raison d’etre would disappear. And don’t give me the social isolation spiel. I don’t subscribe to it.
“Why not make Gallaudet change their cirriculae [sic] a little bit and accept hearing students as undergraduates, who are interested in working with the deaf and becoming qualified as CSTs, ASLIs, and Court reporters?”
Um… they do. We call them HUGs - Hearing Undergraduates.
“You cannot have a president who cannot speak vocally. Davila has to communicate with the hearing Congress, oral deaf students, and the like.”
Well, congratulations. Everybody who can’t speak perfectly, sit down and die. You’re worthless and not human.
Davila can communicate. Just not the way you think is superior, I suppose.
And the funny thing is, I get the feeling if he used a cued language transliterator you’d be just fine with that. If so, it’s a certain way of being deaf you’re criticizing here.
“Well, congratulations. Everybody who can’t speak perfectly, sit down and die. You’re worthless and not human.”
**sitting down**
**pushing up daisies**
Like it or not, if you can’t communicate clearly (I didn’t say perfectly) you won’t get taken seriously by a lot of folks in the upper reaches of management and society. Davila will do very well as a representative of Gallaudet when he walks the halls of Congress. I have a hard time envisioning that a truly Deaf person would be successful in that role.
I realize that I did not submit additional information regarding the importance of ASL and written English to the deaf education, I am vigorously embrace the importance for deaf youngsters and adults to be well-schooled in English as written and reading skills.
How can we expect our deaf youngsters to maximize and fluent their written and reading skills in English if the educational facilities of the deaf do not embrace the native language of their students?
We often develop the visual spatial skills for the necessity of visual communication within our extraordinary brain development no matter how we become late deafened or at birth.
I repeatedly mention about Gandhi once told the South African police officer why he ought not to listen to the police’s commands. If the police or government official or someone in the authority do not respect someone’s language usage. Theofore, Gandhi and other linguistic minorities feel vindicated by not speaking the language of dominant society.
Same thing happened with deaf students at many educational facilities of the deaf and other higher education institutions. Too many teachers and professors of the deaf really lack such fluency in the native language of deaf youngsters and compromise the quality of education offered to those students.
I NEVER say that we ought to replace the written English with ASL in our deaf curriculum. We just educate the deaf youngsters in both ASL and English to be real bi-lingual in both languages.
The deaf author and respectable ASL instructor, William Madsen once said “Why the hearing students have to learn and polish the English language all their academic studies while they and the family do speak the same language (English) at home or outside the world? Because the hearing students have to develop and finesse their native language to prepare themselves for the work/outside world.
NOT all the deaf students have such an opporunity to master and finesse their ASL language to accompany the understanding of written language (English) beside their primary language usage.
When the deaf students spend considerable time in the ASL language classes and will do very WELL in the dominant language (written English) of their society at large. So the deaf students could be very fluent in written English and know their native language how they could effectively translate the ASL language (visual spatial language) to the written English (reading) .
Many people of other countries outside the United States of America to be fluent in multi-lingual usages. Why not the Americans embrace and explore other language usage beside their primary language?
That’s what I am talking about! Too many deaf students do poorly in written English including reading and writing skills, because the educators of deaf often NOT embrace the primary language of their deaf students regardless of residential or mainstream or oral schools. The majority of deaf people end up using the visual spatial language as their primary language anyway because they find ASL to be most reasonable and logical aspect of visual communication.
We need to accompany the needs of deaf students’ educational interests and help them accomplish successfully in the dominant society at large beside their own world.
I do not embrace the concept of social isolation within the deaf community and educational facilities of the deaf from the society at large. We must co-exist with the population of the dominant society at large as they do respect and embrace our linguistic usage.
More deaf students will feel worthwhile about themselves being equally in the linguistic usage. Respect and embrace the linguisitic usage among the human diversity which really make our humankind more interesting and conceptual.
If the Chinese language will become the dominant language usage within our lives. We have to learn and master the Chinese language as matter of survival.
Same thing apply to the deaf education about the necessity of embracing and mastering both ASL and English language. If we keep denying the importance of ASL in deaf education. The deaf students will be less desired to learn the language of the dominant society at large to survive and climb the socioeconomic ladder for leading more productive life.
The English language is largely composed of “sounds” needs, not really with the concept of written language itself. It often have seen as one of most illogicial and unrational within linguistic structure. Other languages do make more sense than the English language.
In the end, the English language become the dominant language around the entire globe right now. The Chinese language probably will be the next dominant language in next thirty years. Who knows?
That is all about whom wield the economic power within the financial market. Not about how logical and compitatable the dominant language itself is.
The written English is not compitable with the visual-spatial communication. We would not embrace too many texts or written messages on every movies and will strain our eyes every time. ASL is a visual spatial language in the non-replacement of the English language for the necessity of written communication along with the reading skills.
Signing Exact English, Pidigin Sign Language (PSE), Language Contact (correct term for PSE at the present time), Cued Speech and Sign Writings are incomptitable on the visual-spatial concept of visual communication.
The service providers for cochlear implant and hearing aids are largely available in the private sector. That’s what the free market are all about. (I rather see the Gallaudet University use the emergency money to respond to the real urgency of arising situation like the unlikely virus epidemic among the Gallaudet students, faculty members and staffers> The Norvo virus unexpectedly occur at the Cathlolic University of America (CUA) in DC. The CUA adminstration effectively respond to the unexpected crisis like double-staffing the student health center. The Gallaudet University under the IKJ and JK leadership hardly bother to counteract the arising situation like the severe mold presence in many Gallaudet existing buildings which really endanger the health of students, faculty members and staffers within the long-term consquence(s).
We ought to spend wisely on the real necessity of educational materials for deaf students like textbooks at the Clerc Center or pre-college education of the deaf or updated educational materials than spending illogical on auditory needs of the small segement of student population.
Speech training of deaf youngsters are equally compared to seals in training how to spin balls on their noses for such an entertainment (ex. audience). Seals will not really benefit from the unnatural training with balls on noses in the wild. How would they could survive in the wild if seals are not trained to hunt and feed themselves? Same thing apply to deaf youngsters spend sensless hours in speech training.
Speech training on deaf youngsters which often cost their basic educational time to learn how to read and write very effectively in both native and dominant language.
From my personal experience, many fellow students of mine at the WV School for the Deaf (WVSD) often told me how FORUNATE I was. I never left the classroom for the unnecessary 20-minutes speech training per class. Those students missed real valuable classroom time with their education.
The lingusitic minority like the American deaf community at large really need the one “unifed: language than splitting us all over the country in various communication modes. Incorporating the ASL language into the deaf classroom and non-classroom environment will be the real solution to the third to fourth grade writing and reading skills among too many deaf individvuals.
The self-identify of every individual is real “must” for feeling part of the society at large. If someone do not know and trust hirself very well. He or she or the transgender person will doubt hirself all their life and limit their own potentials.
Enjoy the seasonal holidays with your loved ones and friends.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
[…] It’s typical for the hearing society to stereotype by speaking ability, and we are constantly fighting against that perspective. However, I’m puzzled as to why we, the people with hearing loss, continue to equate the ability to talk with intelligence and capability. That’s like comparing apples and oranges. Just plain bananas. Why do we rip each other up over the ability to speak? Should that really count so much in the deaf community? Don’t think it doesn’t go on now. Just skim through DeafDC.com and you’ll see this monster rear its ugly head. A very recent example comes from the Davila Chosen as Gallaudet Interim President blog written by Chris and Allison Kaftan. […]
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