Express Polls the General Public on the Gallaudet Protests
By Erin Himmelmann on Thu 12 Oct 2006 |
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Yesterday, Walker McKnight wrote to the Express paper and mentioned that he had seen articles written in the paper about the Gallaudet protest but he still had NO clue why the protesters were protesting.
Hey, I don’t blame him. There is a lot of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a lot of sides to this protest.
In May of 2006, I honestly had no clue why they were protesting Fernandes becoming Gallaudet’s next president. Now it’s October 2006, and the protest has resumed. Admittedly, when I heard the protests were resuming, I said, “Oh no, not again.”
But this time, I’ve been reading what people have had to say about this protest, and the more convinced I am that the protest is valid. I never thought I’d say this, but it is valid. They’re fighting for a better university. Who doesn’t want a better university? Allison’s article—Worlds Apart: Divergences in Perspectives on the Protest—says it best.
So before the general public votes in the Express Paper poll and states their opinion, maybe they need to gain a better understanding of what’s really going on. Don’t just vote for the sake of voting. From the comments posted on the website, I do not think any of them have a clear understanding of what is going on at Gallaudet.
It’s probably one of the best written articles I’ve read, and I was able to come away with a much better understanding of what is going on.
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Thanks for the compliment.
Many readers in the Express poll are members of the reality based community, unlike, it seems, the Gallaudet protesters.
Simply protesting for the sake of protesting gets you nowhere in the real world.
Gallaudet University students must not stop protesting!
Straight from Gallaudet University’s Enrollment Statistics
Table 22: Undergraduate One-Year Graduation, Attrition, and Persistence
Fall 2004 to Fall 2005
Page 26
1,136 undergrads enrolled
148 graduated - 13%
52 dismissed - 5%
189 withdrew - 17%
source: http://ims.gallaudet.edu/pdf/20060324-0001.pdf
Office of Management Budget under White House rated Gallaudet University INEFFECTIVE.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/......2005.html
These happen under Dr. Jane K. Fernandes when she was provost for the last six years at Gallaudet University.
JKF took away the shared governance from Faculty and they voted no confidence three times throughout her six years as provost.
JKF added 8 sections of remedial English, which meant 4 long years for a student who had to go through all 8 sections before one finally begin taking collegiate courses.
JKF must resign!
You might do well to protest the failure of the deaf education system throughout the nation for producing quality students and for Gallaudet’s failure to weed out many obviously incompetent students. I also do not see any protest at the faculty’s failure to inculcate deaf students with university standards of education.
Call me audist, but I do not see why it is JKF’s responsibility to educate students who are unable to meet the standards of an aspiring world class university.
Hallelujah! Finally the root of the problem revealed. For 15 years I have watched students come and go at Gally and for the life of me I couldn’t understand how most of them got there. And I’m not surprised when I see them return, what I’ve likened to a “professional student”, because being out “in the real world”, as Meh put it, was a little to tough and they felt more comfortable inside Gally - their words, not mine. This protest is embarrasing, and nothing good will come of it. It will serve to splinter those within Gallaudet and the communities involved.
These students say there are fighting for their rights - their words, not mine. Well, what they’re protesting for is a privilege, or privileges, not a right. You ask for a privilege, you compromise for a privilege - you don’t fight, hold hostage or deny someone else their privileges for yours. The administration and operation of the university is not the right of any student body, it is the responsibility of those individuals put into positions to judge what is best to keep the university moving forward. Would they, the student body, be so quick to accept responsibility if something were to go awry at said university? (I point you back to the recent Goal Post incident)
With rights come responsibilities. These protesters show no inclination for responsibility, which is very clear in the second of their two demands: no recriminations. “Please don’t punish us for acting childishly”…sheesh. I need a new job.
Final word: JK wasn’t my first choice either, but it could have been worse. Much worse.
I am an average citizen, concern husband and father who resides at Gallaudet University. My family and I just moved to Gallaudet University this past weekend. We want to learn and live in peace and security at an Institute of learning that we have always loved and admired. I have to tell you, the Protestors are OUT OF CONTROL!!!!! We are living in seige…. My wife and I had no food in our refigerator because of the recent move. We have to eat and feed our baby. Well aware of the protestors and the emotions taken place, my wife and I were trying to figure out WHAT WE WILL EAT FOR DINNER!!!!!! everything is closed on Campus… My wife and I decided to drive up to the main gate and explain to the protesters that we needed food and we would need to enter Gallaudet with our car…. Protestors made it clear that we can go to the food store but when returning we would have to find parking out side then university and WALK WITH OUR GROCERY BAGS…. While negotiating with the Protestors and vehicle entering Gallaudet was allowed to enter. I asked the Protestor “Why that car?” He signed “This person works at MSSD”. Ladies and Gentleman, the Protesors are picking and choosing who is worthy of entering “THEIR” School. We were finally “ALLOWED” to go food shopping. When finished, I went to Gallaudet and was forced to call DC Police so that my family and I could enter unharmed to our place of Residence!!!! I ask you, What has my family done to deserve this??? To live in fear and insecurity!!!! I respectfully ask the administration for HELP!!!!! There are innocent people being help “Hostage” in a dangerous atmosphere….. Order has to be restored….. My family recognizes the right of the protestors to protest, but to hold the University under SEIGE??? No this is not fair…I ask for help on behalf of my family and all legal residents…….
Why move there in the first place?
Snarky comments like that show that you are not mature enough to have a say in university governance.
To “Reply”: grow up, seriously.
I am so sorry you had to experience that, trying to shop for food, get in the campus, and everything. Well, arent the protestors 17, 18, 19, 20? Their hormones are still raging. Let them release some steam. Notthat I support thier behavior, but from a human development perspective, they’re still young. Sigh.
Equating your situation with that of the actual hostages in the Iranian Embassy in ‘79, those held in Beirut in the 80’s or those tortured or killed while held hostage in Iraq, is insulting. DC has restaurants, this is not a war zone, and while the protests may be cantankerous, they’re hardly putting hoods over your heads and beating you with cattle prods.
This is, of course, the key event in the evolutionary proccess we’re seeing in the deaf community.
The protesters are all about the old deaf guards who dont believe in the re-intergration of deaf people back into the hearing society.
The deaf communities are facing major evolutionary changes in the near future which enable them to mainstream and re-integrate back into the hearing society. They are Cochlear Implants and recently, stem cells, which are promising to be part of the final solutions to addressing deafness. The medical marvels have enabled deaf people to function almost like hearing people. This has created a new deaf society in the past decade and this new deaf society has been slowly taking over Gallaudet operations.
The protests youre seeing is the old deaf guard’s last stand against the changes in the future of deaf society, against the new deaf society taking over Gallaudet.
Jane’s leadership has the support of the new deaf society and is best one to lead the new deaf society which comprises 80 percent of the students at Gallaudet into the future.
The protesters are about the past deaf society, about the old deaf guards who have become the scourge of the deaf communities.
They have to give it up because they cant beat the evolutionary proccess the deaf society is facing.
Oh pleaseee — I graduated from Gally in ‘04 and have returned to the “hearing society” without any trouble (FYI - I am a deaf person, who cannot speak well but sign very well, so that is NOT the case here, ok?). Many of my friends (who happen to be part of the alumni)have said the same.
Believe me, I have no problem with the evolutionary process itself! In fact, it always has been and still IS an ongoing process!
I wholeheartedly support the protest. These protesters feel Jane is UNFIT to be a leader. I mean, where has she been in all of this? Provost Michael Moore has been doing heck of a good job being neutral and trying to get this situation solved! And what’s more, Moore has proven to be a better Provost than Jane ever was!
Unity for Gallaudet!
JKF does not have any authority right now; she’s not the university president since Jordan is still in power.
If you have problems with the current administration, then focus on Jordan and not JKF.
You are right on target about the CI deafies being able to blend in the hearing society. They are deafies who could go to ANY university they wish. Gallaudet shouldbe the ASL/Deaf culture university. In fact , its the only one in the world. Let the university be the place for CI deaf to find their deaf identity before they merge back in the hearing world. I am a CI deafie by the way. SMILE. I am in full support that Gallaudet should embrace ASL as the language to be used in all classrooms.
Again, its true that the old deafguard is losing in number. Its important that they keep an enlightened mind and point out why Gallaudet should be run by, of, and for the Deaf. Five years ago, I was totally turned off by the so called old Deaf guard because they were exclusive. Threy made fallaciou statements about cochlear implants and why deaf children should NOT get them. Now thier attitudes have changes, so did mine.
Actually, their attitudes about CIs have not changed. At least, not in public. Witness the NPR interview the other day … a DoD person named David billed himself as an expert on CIs. His qualifications? He has “researched” the topic. There are deaf people giving lectures about how CIs are genocidal and efforts to practice eugenics on deaf people.
Richard, I’m astonished to find myself agreeing with you here. Is it really you, or is someone else using your name? I totally agree it’s about the old guard resisting the “new deaf” culture. How do I know this? Because so many of the 135 students arrested are deaf of deaf. The other day, there was a letter signed by the parents of the protestors who are also alumni of GU themselves. It’s very telling. They want so much for us to return to the pre-Milan 1880 years — ASL as the language of instruction, all instruction by culturally deaf ASL users, schools and agencies for the deaf firmly in their control. That’s never going to happen, but will still remain as an option for some. They want the whole pie, not just a piece of it. They are as fanatical and unreasoning as a religious cult.
This is a frigging DISASTER. This protest does NOT have a clear-cut message that resonates with the masses! And for a protest to be supported and be recognized as legitimate, it has to have that. The protestors are committing emotional violence, and by some people’s accounts, holding others hostage! This is not how Martin Luther King Jr. and his comrades won the Civil Rights Movement!
I think we all agree that Gallaudet has many issues that has to be dealt with, but this isn’t the way to go about fixing it!
I’m very very concerned about the future of our Deaf community, because if this doesn’t stop soon, there will be a HUGE backlash against ALL of us D/deaf, whether we support the protests or not. I say that because people are starting to view all of us as immature, uneducated, out of control, and unable to rule ourselves. So you can be sure that some hearing people out there will seize this opportunity to impose THEIR rule on us!
Stop this idiocy!
calm down. it’s not a disaster, just a tempest in a teapot. True, it’s a difficult situation for those of us who involved in the d/Deaf community, but not to anyone else. I’m afraid the world already treats the protestors like immature children — they weren’t even taken to a real jail, and the bail was only $50. IKJ waited too long to have the kids removed because he didn’t want to hurt them and didn’t want them to face the true consequences of their behavior. I agree with you that the protestors and their supporters were very manipulative and they should be ashamed of themselves. I think less of them for that, but backlash… um, no.
As a veteran of the 1988 protests the message was simple–’Deaf President Now!’. This protest, the message is unclear and convuluted. The protest has evolved from a dislike for JK, to a rigged selection process, to low graduation rates to lack of support for athletic teams, etc. The list goes on and on. At this point, the mixed messages are leading me to think the Board of Trustees, the faculty and the staff needs a major overhaul, that asking JK to resign will not address the root of the injustices presented by the protestors.
EXACTLY! Im appalled at the thick skin-ness of JKF. Wow. That lady is tough! She is tough enough to lead an university . . . I was in support of her the past 6 months, but now I am wavering . . . we cannot be selfish. We need to let the Deaf have their home. Gallaudet is their home. The protetsors are still young. They may be doing the wrong thing, but they are definitely letting out steam of oppression. But again, they shouldnt oppress other deaf people of different backgrounds. Ahem, I am confused. Yeah, mixed messages. I know.
Not only should there be a total overhaul of the faculty who designed and supported this protest, IKJ, Fernandes, there needs to be some expulsions of student protesters for leading Gallaudet into a public relations catastrophe.
I agree. There needs to be a serious, in-depth investigation into the conduct of the entire faculty and administration. Something is WRONG here. Faculty should not be encouraging protests like this because this is NOT a peaceful protest!
And quite frankly, the more I see, the more disgusted I am with everyone. It’s clear to me now that Gallaudet’s educational standards have fallen further over the years.
I say that because the protestors show a serious lack of understanding of ethics, the dynamics of social justice, linguistics, culture, and history. I blame the administration for this partly, because they let those students in for years, and it’s only NOW that the lack of standards are coming back to bite them in their asses.
And I’m saddened at the fact that there are a certain few among the faculty and student leaders who are exploiting the whole thing so they can feed their egos. Heads need to roll, and expulsions need to happen NOW. I just hope this won’t end up becoming our Deaf Kent State.
~ Deaf Pundit
To whom it may concern:
I am a proud alumni of Gallaudet. I have always have loved Gallaudet and spoke of it with a deep abiding affection and respect. My years on the campus are valued. Out of this experience were born deep and abiding friendships that I still cherish to this day.
I have dual disabilities: cerebral palsy with deafness. Being on the outer fringe of the deaf community does offer an unique perspective – that is not shared by the regular Deaf community. Having dual disabilities, in my experience, does not mean equal access to all activities and that includes the communication process.
People with dual disabilities – especially in the Deaf community – do experience oppression and are in the minority.
That experience is in parallel with what’s happening at Gallaudet. Both sides are oppressing the others in the hopes that their voice/signs will be heard and seen.
Let me offer my view:
Right now, I am ambivalent, alarmed, and scared of what s happening now.
I am ambivalent about the protest. I do see where the protestors are coming from. There is little or no diversity amongst those who hold powerful positions within the University. I also see that the Board of Trustees and administration have placed their faith in the incoming Presidential candidate. The faculty has expressed their opinions of what’s happening and it is not favorable to the incoming president. The students have strongly voiced their opinions.
I do agree there needs to be change. People want to see it happening now. Change will occur – at a slower pace. Without that change, entropy will happen.
Where’s the logic behind this? There is no cohesiveness. Both sides: the administration and the protestors are trying to win the battle here.
Emotions have run amok here; both sides are deeply entrenched and neither are compromising one inch for the good of all.
What’s the prize? The prize is the status-making position garnering respect, money, power within the Deaf community. It’s a power struggle.
Neither is winning. The losers are both sides and the bystanders who are caught up in the drama of it all.
There are rumors swirling here and there: through the media, newspaper articles, the Blogs, the YouTube, and the everlasting grapevine being fueled by the emails, and the trusty Sidekicks/Blueberrys. The truth is diluted with lies, half lies, or emblellishment bandied about by the protestors and administration alike.
I see it as a three sided approach: it’s the classic version of the “who said what?”. There is a missing side: the actual truth of what’s happening. No one is listening to this. What is the truth? No one knows or is willing to acknowledge that.
When will a peaceable resolution – fair to all – arrive? Will it arrive too late?
I am afraid there will be serious consequences here if violence will happen on or off campus as a result of the protests.
To name a few, loss of life or limb could occur. It takes a trigger-happy person to strike off a chord. There are easy access to guns, weapons, drugs, and alcohol since Gallaudet is in a major city. Face it, the protest is going beyond human control. Anarchy is here NOW.
Does anyone remember what happened at Kent State University in the 1970s? A campus racked by revolution amidst the stormy ‘70s?
A masscare happened there while the students were protesting. The police opened fire on the students.
Correct me if I am wrong here in referencing to Kent State University.
Out of that terrible traumatic experience was born bitter hindsight. Too many regrets, lives were lost, families were shattered when their sons and daughters never returned home.
Don’t let that happen to Gallaudet. Don’t let that happen to your sons, daughters, friends, loved ones, co-workers, and colleagues? Life is rich, rewarding, and enlivening despite the daily struggles. Don’t add to your daily troubles with terrible memories of lives lost.
People need to step back and take a deep breath. Let cool heads prevail. Then a peaceable resolution can be reached that can be fair to all.
Oh gosh. Thank you for your comment. Thank you.
I did not realize the possibilities.
Holding in my breath,
a friend
Spare me the drama, sweetie. Likening the current situation to Kent State is an insult to and minimizes the true tragedies of those who DIED. In this situation, no one died or was even seriously hurt. There were no weapons, no bloodshed, not even fists thrown. Don’t try to push my buttons. Instead of behaving like serious-minded radicals bravely sacrificing their educations for a noble cause, the protestors behaved like spoiled children. As someone else said elsewhere on this blog, a college education, and a Gallaudet education, is a privilege, not a right. Granted, GU is not perfect and needs to address its issues. The challenges it faces are shared by every single other university and corporation in America. Racism, sexism, and audism are real problems everywhere. Shutting down the campus for a week, keeping children from their education and staff from their jobs is not the way to fix those problems. It’s so much easier to yell about them than to actually do something about those problems, isn’t it?
As someone who lived through the times of Kent State University “massacre” that you put it: it was NOT the police that shot at the protesters at all. IT was the national guard that did the dirty deed. Check out your local library or get on the internet and do some research.
Several innocent people were killed and they were at the wrong place and the wrong time. They were NOT even close to the guns at the time when they were shot at. Its akin to walking into the line of fire, which is exactly what happened. Lot of tear gas capsules were thrown about during that time.
Sad tragic day during the Vietnam era but I highly doubt that will ever happen at Gallaudet because the DC police do exercise great restraint here. It is the University police you have to worry about here.
There’s NO clear-cut message.
That’s why Greg Hlibok doesn’t want anything to do with this protest.
What about Jeff Rosen? What’s his stance on this?
I believe the deaf leaders mentione above does not want to be a part of the mob mentality that has inflitrated across the country mainly in the deaf community hubs.
Look at Iraq, look at Lebanon, look at the Palestinians. See how their children arebeing exposed to the mob. Thier cihldren grow up thinking that way and the cycle continues. I am not sayingthat the protestors and the tent city residents across then ation are like Islam fundamentalists. It is just a statement worthy of evaluation. Best to stya out of the mob and think carefully, say carefully… or your political /leader stance will either be applauded or destroyed forever. I think they are just being cautious.
False. He came to support the protest last spring.
Greg Hlibok was on campus last night (Wednesday). He is there in spirit and allowing the students to lead the protest.
Looks like DPS has taken back HMB and the DC Police are trying to get in Gallaudet but are being blocked by the protesters.
Curious Yellow, if we are talking about the same Rosen, I believe he is an attorney for the students and I also understand he is now with student leaders and the Gally Administration and the DC Police rep, trying to hammer out some compromise for the good of all. So let’s wait and see how the student leaders react after this meeting.
Definition of SCOURGE :
scourge (skûrj) pronunciation
n.
1. A source of widespread dreadful affliction and devastation such as that caused by pestilence or war.
2. A means of inflicting severe suffering, vengeance, or punishment.
3. A whip used to inflict punishment.
tr.v., scourged, scourg·ing, scourg·es.
1. To afflict with severe or widespread suffering and devastation; ravage.
2. To chastise severely; excoriate.
3. To flog.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman escorge, from Old French escorgier, to whip, from Vulgar Latin *excorrigiāre : Latin ex-, intensive pref.; see ex– + Latin corrigia, thong (probably of Celtic origin).]
————————————–
Excellent examples of the scourge from the old deaf guards can be found in one of Tom Bertling’s published books.
http://www.addall.com/author/2653032-1
Looking at this particular book;
http://www.addall.com/detail/0963781375.html
You can see stories of scourge casted upon prominent deaf leaders and inspirational deaf people by the old deaf guards.
Through their actions, they have made the American Sign Language into some sort of a weapon than a communication method.
Let’s all pay good homage to deaf leaders who lives have been catastrophically altered after becoming victims of cyber-bullying, rumor attacks either via email, newsgroups, blogs, postings, websites, falsified restraining orders, vandalism, and through many other undue intimidating actions.
And work together at eliminating these sources of scourge within the deaf communities.
http://www.gallaudet.edu website is down.
I surely hope the protesters didnt have anything to do with this.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TO ALL PROTESTERS WHO GOT ARRESTED YESTERDAY!!!! EVEN Tim RARUS (IMBECILE GUY TO BE INVOLVED) HAHA IT IS OVER SO TIME TO MOVE ON FOR YOU CRY BABIES AND WANNABEs!!
I have to be concerned if you of all people actually think Allison Kaftan’s commentary gave you a better understanding of what the protest is all about. The best way to gain understanding is to actually attend the protest and listen to what people have been saying. Then you’ll see what Allison said is just full of fluff. I’d suggest you take a scope at the website, http://gallybusters-gallybusters.blogspot.com/ and read up more about the protest. I’m rather disappointed that you would fall so easily to the protest.
That is an interesting blog site (gallybusters). Gallybusters and Allison’s analysis both provided interesting perspectives of facts. Makes people think more and this is why I love this blog.
Thanks for sharing.