Being on Gallaudet campus a few times in the past week has brought back lots of memories.
Only in MSSD could…
- The entire school stage a protest when several male students were suspended and denied the privilege of graduating for hiring a stripper to sneak into their dorm (disguised as a Pizza Delivery person). There we were, congregated in the main lobby, chanting some phase repeatedly, and challenging the principal who tried to reason with us.
- The dorm staff stand, simply speechless, as one student casually walks around on the roof: “Show me exactly where in the rules it says that I cannot do this!”
- The drug counselor toke up with a few seniors the night before their graduation.
- A teacher put a student in a choke-hold for constantly imitating him.
- A vice-principal engage in a shouting match with one student that eventually led to a federal investigation…because she did not put away her cafeteria tray.
- A teacher bluntly tell me that my cochlear implant was the result of parental abuse.
- The visitor’s entrance be completely vandalized with eggs, toilet paper, whatnot - right before Parent Weekend - and the Dean of Student Affairs (was that his title?) rousing us all out of bed to clean up the mess of few.
- A student receive detention simply for whistling as he walked past classes (full of deaf teachers and deaf students).
Crazy, right? And yet typing this brings a chuckle. And I know many other MSSD alumni (along with those from other deaf institutions) understand and relate. I must emphasize that the above mentioned antics have nothing to do with Deaf Culture; they can happen just as easily in mainstream culture.
Young and bright minds slowly evolved into deviant behavior. Our rebellious bouts were a direct result of highly ineffective authority, further exacerbated by the pitfalls of adolescence and major identity crisis. MSSD administrators knew about all the indecent acts, and yet could not rule the student (nor faculty and staff) body. They clearly had little respect for us, and in return we yielded little mercy.
We gave them exactly what they expected of us–and that’s what I see happening all over again in this “Unity” movement.
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“We gave them exactly what they expected of us- and that’s what I see happening all over again in this “Unity” movement.” Perfectly said - and applies to all sides of the story, I think.
Agreed. Although my post obviously represents only one side, your point is precisely why I feel myself pulled into either direction over this whole Unity movement.
“A teacher bluntly tell me that my cochlear implant was the result of parental abuse.”
Hilarious!
I had a guidance counselor tell me that they would never let their own child be gay (right after I came out.) Hearing of course - much easier to be gay around hearing people. Deaf people take one look and…
I’m not so sure you’re right about lack of respect. I think the teaching faculty were great at MSSD. The dorm staff were another issue. Those with their own families were awesome - and I learned a lot. But when they started using students at Gallaudet more and more often, things changed.
I think the key is that a good school would enable students to make adult choices and give them the tools to learn to make those choices. While MSSD was gearing up to a much more restrictive environment where students had no choices. Thus students made the choice they could: to DISOBEY. Kinda like many other oppressed peoples…
I still vividly remember one student assistant, in a state of rage, grabbed one of my classmates and spun him around like a rag doll and threw him across the floor. Why? He refused to go to speech therapy. Another classmate wet his pants and became catatonic. *Chuckling* Ah, the good ‘ol deaf school days.
Speaking of public schools, students who broke the rules during pre-1960s allowed the faculty to beat or humiliate them to teach discipline and respect. Now, it’s the reverse - students believe that they are privileged to do whatever they want - getting their parents involved to bully the faculty when the students don’t get a “A” on their paper or don’t make in the varsity basketball team. Where did discpline and respect go? Down the toilet. The antics you described would have me send my child into reform school (if they still do exist).
So students rebelling against authority because the administration don’t respect the students’ cultural preferences for a true-deaf president and yet, they demand for diversity? I is the confused.
Cloak & Dagger- the protest is not about how deaf Jane Fernandes is…it’s all about the search process itself and about her performance as a provost at Gallaudet- THAT.
Oh yeah - THAT too. Thanks :)
The search process complaint feels more like a ruse to me. All three of the candidates were qualified.
I personally think it is in reality a combination… if the flawed search process had netted us Stern, would there be a protest? Perhaps, but a very small one, and much more focused on the Anderson issue. Is the community unhappy with Fernandes as the choice because of her performance as provost? Yes, I think so. I also think MANY of the kids sitting at tent city still believe that it would be just fine to fight her because she’s mean, doesn’t say hi, and isn’t “Deaf enough”. Again, I see a big difference between this, and DPN. The world was united in the quest for a deaf president. It was an easy case to stand behind. “A deaf president for a deaf university? Of course”. In this case, folks want several different things: No JKF, a better process, a more open process, and yes, for some, a Deafer president, a deaf-centered president, a president from Gallaudet, a president who has Deaf parents, a president for whom ASL is a first and primary language… It’s a long wish list, when you combine everyone’s interests.
Don’t get me wrong, I was a Stern supporter (given the list that was presented), and I KNOW there’s a lot of cleaning up to do at Gallaudet, and I KNOW that JKF isn’t going to be an effective cleaner…I think the BoT made a pretty bad choice, considering the problems that face Gallaudet today. But, I still am not sure what this protest will accomplish in the short term.
Actually, I have noticed a trend the last decade among deaf school educated youth - a trend for the worse. It became more and more acceptable to confront, or publicly berate someone in a manner known as “blasting”. Those who did not indulge in this phenomenom were labeled “passive”. The deaf children don’t realize, through their limited interaction with the world, that confrontation style negotiations such as “blasting out” rarely accomplish anything in the long run. Indeed, they often accomplish the averse reaction that was intended. So this little uprising is nothing but a continual of the status quo. A small segment of the population isn’t being catered to, so a little public acting out is in order. The result, of course, is public embarrasment. This will always be known as the “jane doesn’t say hi” protest. There was a girl at work, who told the coworkers “we’re protesting because we don’t like jane, she doesnt say hi… we will be heard” then the coworkers exchange “what the heck” faces with each other. Amusing, no?
You misconstrue the whole protest movement. Jane Fernandes is NOT GOOD ENOUGH, because she lacks the necessary skills to lead a university in the 21st century. She proved herself incapable to improve academics during the last 6 years. The government’s PART repost may have devastating consequences as early as next year for the school. That is why protestors wanted a BETTER PRESIDENT NOW!
Joseph Rainmund,
Duh to Counselor about not allow their child be gay… Well, when the child is growing up, he or she will have choice with their lives and future. If I have my own child and later he is gay, i will always be there for my child and support him whatever he needs. Cuz there are high statistic prove that many youth killed themselves because families, parents, and society do not approve them being gays. It is really sad and it is so important to always be there for the children even they are gays or straight.
Hmm. What you expect from people is what they will give you. That’s a great principle.
I can’t help but worry whether that’s also based on perception. If I assume students will misbehave, will I then be blind to those who do behave? I don’t expect you to answer that, though!
I’m such, such a huge believer in being “the better person” and going out of your way to defy expectations and, I don’t know, compromise? I’m concerned that neither side in this confrontation is willing to take on that role.
I agree with that principle. I always expect students and clients to act like adults. But it goes both ways. I always, always take care NOT to patronize them. I believe everyone has an equal intelligence, though not an equal education, and if you treat everyone with respect for the fact that they are a human being with a complicated history and reasons for their own choices, they RESPOND.
Joseph, I second that. As a classroom teacher who wirks with 13- and 14-year-olds, yup, they really respond much better when they believe you see them as individual human beings capable of thought and reason.
We need more people in our community that think the way you think.
TWO OBSERVATIONS: by limiting the prospective pool of candidates only to those who are deaf, Gallaudet and the taxpayers who support Gallaudet (to well over the tune of $100,000,000 per year) restrict their ability to attract top candidates. SECOND OBSERVATION: why was Sam Supalla, a deaf Ph.D. from a top university whose parents were deaf, who is well-published, highly regarded, a brillant story teller, and innovative in his thinking not a finalist? TWO REASONS: the deaf members of the search committee dont care for his take no prisoners personality AND he would have been too competative thus depriving King of his choice: JKF.
TWO OBSERVATIONS: The pool was not limited to only those who were deaf. 21 out of 24 of the appliants were hearing. SECOND OBSERVATION: Did Sam Supalla apply? TWO REASONS: To limit the pool to deaf candidates is a discriminatory practice and surely illegal AND you presuppose, without proof, that King meddled in the PSC’s deliberations.
So they basically cut the applicants down to the three deaf people which sounds like discrimination anyway.
I disagree about the discriminatory practices part. It would not be unreasonable to recruit women for the post of president of a women’s college - bryn mawr, where i lived for a year, is one example. i believe there is excessive precedent.
I do believe many Deaf academics should have but refused to apply because of the discrimination and politics involved at Gallaudet.
There’s a distinction between preference and exclusion. I doubt Bryn Mawr actively excludes male candidates from applying (that is illegal)…in the best interests of their college, they’d ultimately pick a female candidate. Same principle applies here. Picking a hearing candidate for Gallaudet is clearly not in the best interests of the university but they can’t put it down as an actual qualification any more than they can put down “must be white and 55+ years old.”
It isn’t true that 21 out of 24 of the applicants were hearing. More like the way around. Nevertheless it’s true that not 100% of the applicants were deaf.
Adam, yes… I said this in a previous blog… Sam Supalla did apply and he was not interviewed. Regina… I responded to your question in a previous blog. Dr. Supalla does have experience in both higher education and public school administrative positions.
Again I have to ask: Does Dr. Supalla have significant administrative experience in higher education?
Wait a minute Adam stone– can we get our hands on the actual list? I was of the belief that 21 applicants out of 24 were DEAF.
I know Dr. Glenn Anderson applied, and I heard Roz Rosen also applied.
Beyond that, I don’t really know who didn’t make it to the top 3. Does anybody?
Whoopsie, sorry. 21 out of 24 were deaf, yes. The list of the 24 cannot be released because it’s confidential information. It’s a normal job application process; you’re not supposed to know who else is applying, and the employer never releases this information. Most of these people already have jobs and don’t want their current employers to know they’re applying for a new position.
And thus if somehow released by illegal means would be ground for a lawsuit from the person whose applied for the president position.
for many years, especially between 1984 and 1990, a lot of MSSD faculty and staff members mentally, verbally, and physically abused students and yet nobody’s done anything about it. they are not even held accountable for what they’d done to students (ages ranging 13 and 18), and to make it far worse, some of them are now in top positions and in charge of many residential schools all over the country. Some of them are still teaching, and some of them are widely viewed as the most important leaders in the deaf community. Hilarious, isn’t it?
*shrugs* Not really. But it’s not surprising. There was a study done recently… I’ll find the link later. But the study estimated that at least 60% of sexual abuse done to deaf children were committed by deaf adults.
But of course, nobody wants to talk about that.
Not always deaf ADULTS. Many child sexual abusers start as teenagers after being themselves abused, so older deaf children are also a major threat to younger deaf children. I’ve heard enough stories from various sources.
That’s the problem with sexual abuse. There’s not enough education and outreach for parents. How many hearing parents get specific information on how to ask their kids about sex in sign? It’s hard enough to TALK about that without a language barrier. We need a website that can be accessed anywhere on this subject for all parents to learn about how to identify signs of abuse in their children.
My top advice. based on what I’ve heard– if a kid says somebody at school is “bad”, ALWAYS find out why.
A parent from Sioux falls told me freely they were fighting to change the whole ND deaf school because of rampant sex abuse. They had to sue to get control over their children’s education and safety. That’s when happens when you have concerned parents who can communicate with their children– the secret is out.
If Fernandes got rid of any or all of those abusive MSSD faculty, she did a good deed even though she may be hated forever for it by some. Speaking of 1984-1990, I believe it, and I’m really glad I refused point-blank to go to MSSD.
I am trying very mightly to stay neutral on the subject, as some one who has been on either side of the fence. But I put these questions out, how much has the attitude changed with the BoT since 1988 regardless of who has been chosen president? Isn’t the real arguement with BoT, their assumptions and shutting students out of their meetings until now?
Julie,
the entire school did not stage the protest. It was a small group of students that got carried away. I was there. I saw the whole thing. I saw about 30 students standing in the middle, cheering and about 200 or so standing further away. I was among them. I thought the protesters were nuts. They had something wrong, and they had to own up to it.
Please don’t misrepresent the way things were then. The whole of MSSD did NOT support that protest.
Hm. “Entire” - a poor word choice, I agree. But this took place 13 years ago, and my impression of the event was definitely different from yours. I guess that’s why the police always say that 30 witnesses give 30 different accounts.
Julie,
Could you or anyone please explain us what is AUDISM mean? I couldn’t find that word in the dictonary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audism
Thanks for answer my question, Now how do we sign for Audism? Do we?