An Interview with Gallaudet Interim Provost Michael Moore
By Shane Feldman on Sat 4 Nov 2006 |
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1. What is your role as interim provost?
The interim provost is the chief academic officer responsible for academics including faculty, students, and some staff members and services for students. One of the primary but unwritten responsibilities of my job is to keep the campus together.
Gallaudet is currently divided into four areas of responsibilities which is the Academic Affairs Provost, my position; Vice President for Administration and Finance headed by Mr. Paul Kelly which deals with the administrative, financial and physical part of Gallaudet [such as accounting, finance, cafeteria, Department of Public Safety (DPS), and Physical Plant Department (PPD)]; the Clerc Center headed by Dean, Dr. Katherine A. Jankowski who is responsible for Kendall School and Model Secondary School for the Deaf.; and finally the Office of Enrollment Services Executive Director led by Ms. Deborah Destefano. Each area reports directly to the President of Gallaudet University, Dr. I. King Jordan.
The job titles and organization of Gallaudet has changed somewhat over the years, but the job responsibilities generally remain the same. I would not be surprised if the new president reorganizes the organizational structure of Gallaudet again. For example, the Clerc Center was moved to the Office of the Provost during Dr. Fernandes’ tenure as the provost. It has since been moved out of the Office of the Provost and reports directly to the president, this was Dr. I. King Jordan’s decision. This decision was based on the need for me as the interim provost to focus more on the University level
2. How and when will the new provost be selected?
The original plan was for Dr. Jane Fernandes to select the next provost after she becomes the 9th president of Gallaudet on January 1st. Dr. I. King Jordan appointed me to become the interim provost of Gallaudet until Dr. Jane Fernandes made her decision. After the appointment of the new provost, I was to return to teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, All of that is now up in the air. The Gallaudet Board will meet before December 31st and come up with a transition plan. We will know more then.
3. How will Gallaudet regain the confidence and trust of community members?
The most important strategy at this time is to get-together and include everyone in the healing process. This will help rebuild the trust between the community and the Gallaudet administration. It is difficult because everyone is still very sensitive and people continue to watch the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees like hawks. The law makes it clear though, that the Board makes the final decision.
One of the keys to regaining the trust and confidence of community members is to keep communication channels open and continue to monitor the pulse of the community. When I spoke with the protesters, I may have disagreed with them on some points, but it is very important to listen to them because they want to be heard. We need to continue that dialogue. The plans for the healing process must be from the bottom to top. The top will lead the effort but the community must become the principal force behind the process of healing.
4. What part of the protest was the most memorable for you?
It was on Wednesday evening October 11th before the campus lock-down. We were this close (indicating inches apart from his thumb and index finger) to reaching an agreement with the protest leaders. The administration wanted the Hall Memorial Building open for classes while the student protesters had a list of demands. We had met several times and had difficulty finding common ground, until we were able to establish ground rules for negotiating that evening just before midnight. We agreed to begin the real negotiations the next day at 11 a.m. and hugged each other before we left the meeting. When we woke up in the morning, the campus was locked down and that was the end of the negotiations. The reason we were able to progress with the negotiations is because both sides of the negotiating table showed respect for each other.
5. What does the future hold for Gallaudet?
I am concerned about Gallaudet’s future. My goal as interim provost is to maintain Gallaudet’s prestige and make sure that everyone feels safe when they attend Gallaudet. I still believe that Gallaudet University should be a place for all deaf and hard of hearing people to come and learn.
Along those lines, one of my proudest achievements was chairing the committee that created Gallaudet University’s credo. We worked for three years to create three goals followed by three action statements. Keep in mind that audism became a generally accepted concept after the credo was created so it is not included in it. Unfortunately, the credo was not practiced during the protest. Perhaps we need to revisit the credo and make it a bigger part of the campus during the healing process.
The Gallaudet Credo
Gallaudet’s Vision Statement expresses what the University aspires to become and achieve as the world’s premier academic institution for deaf and hard of hearing people. Implicit in our vision are core values that serve as guiding principles for the way members of the campus community teach, study, work and live. The Gallaudet Credo identifies and realizes those core values.
The Gallaudet University campus community includes students, faculty, teachers and staff, all of whom share certain common goals and values that we all believe enrich our academic environment. The community’s primary goal is to prepare students to be informed, literate, productive and responsible citizens. In pursuit of this goal, community members pledge to uphold the following values:
We believe that education is a dominant influence on our lives and recognize that learning is a lifelong quest.
Therefore we will practice academic and personal integrity and work to create a positive and welcoming environment that is open to the free exchange of ideas among members of our community.
We believe that every person should be treated with civility and that our community is strengthened by the broad diversity of its members.
Therefore, we will promote and applaud behaviors that support the dignity of individuals and groups and are respectful of others’ opinions. We will especially discourage behaviors and attitudes that disrespect the diversity of individuals and groups for any reason including religion, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, hearing status, or language and communication preference.
We believe that as members of the Gallaudet community we are the recipients of a proud and rich heritage, as well as contributors to and benefactors of our institution’s bright future.
Therefore, we will strive to bring credit to our community and ensure that the institution flourishes and succeeds in its mission.
*(Adopted by UF Senate 12/18/00 with no challenge from UF 1/31/00) (Public posting by email by UF Secretary to UF 12/18/00; reviewed by BOT 02/02/01 revised by Credo committee 02/14/01, discussed with joint meeting of UF officers/Provost 2/28/01)
Gallaudet Professor Signing Skills
At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Moore and I discussed a range of issues, including the current debate in Christopher Brown’s Blog “How Do We Fix Gallaudet University?” about the qualifications and signing skills of Gallaudet professors. Dr. Moore explained that the Signed Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI) was added to the six-year tenure process in the late 80s and professors that were already hired by Gallaudet were “grandfathered” into the program. In addition, any newly-hired professor attends an intensive six-week sign language classes during the summer prior to starting his/her teaching career at Gallaudet and is given a release time of one course to continue his/her sign language classes during the first year. Sometimes a sign language interpreter is provided for the instructor, especially in his/her first semester.
The Gallaudet Board of Trustees and the Faculty agreed to a requirement three to four years ago that required professors to possess a terminal degree (e.g. a Ph.D.) at the time of hire at the rank of assistant professor. Many were concerned with the dearth of people who had Ph.D.s and could sign. Gallaudet University decided to implement the President’s Fellows program to address this issue. This essentially gives the President’s Fellows student nine years to obtain tenure at Gallaudet University. They have three years in the President’s Fellows program and then six years in the tenure track program to complete their Ph.D. and gain tenure.
The Deaf Community and the Internet
Finally Dr. Moore wanted to let the community know that he was amazed by the technology used by deaf people, and noticed that it was especially prevalent among young deaf adults. He remarked that they are more computer literate and savvy than his generation and said “good for them”. Dr. Moore recounted a story that took place before the protest. He attended a multicultural function and when he returned home, he found that his presence at the event was announced two hours later on a Blog.
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59 Comments
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Excellent post, Shane. I learned a lot about how Gallaudet works, such as the organization of the administration, the timelines for becoming proficient in ASL, and the tenure track process.
One thing I thought was very interesting was the fact that there were 3 other main areas of responsibility, besides JKF as the provost. We all know Paul Kelly was much vilified for the so-called mismanagement of his domain. But a lovely large umbrella has shielded Dr. Katherine Jankowski and Debbie DeStefano. The mudslinging that ensued since May 1 never came within a yard of the two of them. Not a shred of the blame for Gallaudet’s many ills was laid at their doors. I’m not saying it should be, mind you — I respect them both very much. Just that it’s very curious that the blame for everything was put on JKF when it’s not even her responsibility anyway. (Yes, I know, JKF used to administer Clerc Center years ago. I’m talking about now.)
Declining enrollment standards? Did not anyone ask Debbie DeStefano about that? Incompetent staff at MSSD and Kendall — hello, Dr. Jankowski, care to comment? This kind of magical shielding, in my opinion, lends credence to JKF’s perception of being a convenient scapegoat and and everyone’s favorite whipping girl.
I would love to see some future blogs on the above two issues that did NOT mention Dr. Fernandes’ role in them. Declining enrollment and the failure of deaf education to raise literacy scores have been ongoing for more than 20 years and none of that is JKF’s doing.
Perhaps because both Deb DeStafano and Dr jankowski spoke with the protestors right along with dr moore during the protests. They worked and negotiated and listened to the students while neither jkf, ikj or paul kelly did. They hid out and refused to listen, playing the paternalistic cards and lying to the media. DeStefano and Jankowski did not speak to media or lied. Therefore they were not part of the protests. And the stats on Clerc center’s poor performance were from the time that jkf was their director, not jankowski. jankoski pulled Clerc center out of its slump after jkf moved on as provost. so you can’t use this against jankowski. She cleaned up jkf’s mess.
And declining for last 20 years! No. I graduated in 1989 and Gallaudet was doing well with larger enrollment than they have now. It started declining when jkf assumed the provost job which is the last 6 years. What changes we had seen in the 20 years are that there are more students from mainstreamed programs and professors that do not sign. We always had professor who do not sign but it became more apparent when jkf took over the provost job. Roz Rosen tried to change that to ikj’s great dislike which cost her provost job. So the poor adminstration performance is all due to both jkf and ikj. Nothing to do with DeStefano or Jankowski. Unlike Roz Rosen, both women learned not to rock the boat to keep their jobs at Gallaudet secure. They kept their hands behind their backs. That was not what Roz Rosen did - she spoke and got fired. MIB (Manangement By Intimidation). Roz Rosen’s termination intimidated others into silence and brownnosing and pretended cooperativeness, including Jankowski and Destefano.
cy, thanks for your answer, but it did not address my question. Enrollment was not JKF’s job. She was the provost. Enrollment was someone else’s job. Why is JKF getting blamed for enrollment problems?
Curious Eyes, although DeStefano is firector of the Enrollment Affairs, she answered to jkf during her tenure as provost, and she ran her department according to jkf’s liking, not her own. Like I said, MBI - management by intimidation….my way or highway. If DeStefano did not do what jkf wanted, she’d be gone a long ago. Although Enrollment Affairs was DeStefano’s job, jkf just HAD to have her hands into everything and micromanage everything so basically she ran the whole show these 6 years as provost. So, essentially DeStefano merely “supervised” the Enrollment Affairs FOR jkf who really ran her department, not DeStefano. Destefano really never had any real power or voice, but now she must be thrilled to be able to run her department with freedom from MBI and the way she thinks is the best.
But essentially enrollment is largely based on the quality of services and education and it has been in decline thanks to the quality of teachers jkf insisted on hiring. She had the final say in hiring process. She is the head of several service departments so the services provided were poor under her management - remember, MBI was so unproductive that those under her could not provide quality services the way THEY would deem best but the way jkf deemed as quality services. She had final say in everything. She was never the one to allow independent thinking, communication, exchange of ideas, etc. It was always her way or else. Provost was the perfect job for her personality type - she could intimidate adminstration into doing her bidding and essentially run the university the way she wanted. Presidency was just all about fame - she wanted what ikj had - international fame, the ultimate goal. I guess she had her fill of micromanaging the campus and was ready for the golden ring. BUT like Moore said, had jkf proceeded to become president, she would be the one to appoint the permanent provost and I guarantee you it would be someone much like herself - perhaps Sheri Mutti-Farniha?? It would make her content knowing the campus and administration would run the way she had as provost by appointing a clone of herself.
How about hearing it from the horse’s mouth? DeStefano can step up and clarify whether what you said was the case or not, Cy.
CY: interesting. From Dr. Moore’s interview, he made it sound like the 4 areas of responsibility are separate and autonomous. How would a provost have the authority (or the time) to meddle in the affairs of the other departments? I too would love to hear from DeStefano about JKF’s influence on her area.
Shane, I’m becoming interested in doing my own independent research. Is there a web site where I can compare enrollment and other statistics before and after JKF? thanks.
If I read Dr. Moore post correctly DeStefano answered to the President NOT the Provost! So how can you blame the Provost for managing the other areas when thats the Presidents job ie President Jordan!
Here it is.
http://www.gallaudet.edu/x2294.xml
From 1989 all the way through 1999, pre-Fernandes as provost, enrollment went from about 1900 all the way down to 1300 at it’s lowest in 1998 for undergraduates. Two provosts during that period, Dr. Harvey Corson and Dr. Roz Rosen. That’s nearly a 500 students drop between the two provosts.
Let’s get our effigies out and burn the likeness of Corson and Rosen for the dismal enrollment figures. After all, they ARE respsonsible for such declining figures. Right?
Check out the 2000 report.
thanks McConnell. The point here should be crystal clear to everyone: since Corson and Rosen are very highly respected, competent, and well-liked professionals, it’s ridiculous to blame them for declining enrollment.
Declining enrollment is a complex phenomenon that has a great many variables. Here are just a few: The fact that babies are surviving serious illnesses that would otherwise have killed them just a decade ago, but the sequelae of the illness may be deafness PLUS other disabilities. Some state schools for the deaf have closed, and that means deaf students may no longer have the option of getting instruction in ASL. They may have to access learning through an interpreter, signed English, sim-com, or other contrived modes of communication. In the field of special education, there has long been an absence of accountability. That’s changing now with No Child Left Behind, which mandates that special education programs have to have a process for demonstrating progress. There has also long been an absence of well-designed research on any of the validity of instruction methods used in deaf education. There is a shortage of qualified teachers of the deaf who are fluent/proficient in ASL. In many teacher training programs, only one unit of sign language may be required, and that can be S.E.E., simcom, or signed English, not ASL. Many teacher training programs don’t require their graduates to pass a proficiency test in any sign language. Then there’s ADA, which greatly increases the number of options that a qualified college-bound student could choose from.
I could go on, but you get the picture. Declining enrollment is not directly related to any one of these factors, but the cumulative impact of all of these factors certainly could produce lower enrollment at Gallaudet. And that’s not even talking about what happens to students after they arrive at Gallaudet.
That’s not going to work. They’ll bring up the “MBI” as a reason why enrollment went down because Roz or Corson were intimidated from not doing their work.
You’re exactly right, CE. It’s the cumulative effect from past to present, and even into the foreseable future such as image this protest may have impressed upon by those thinking of going to Gallaudet.
mcconnell, where did u find enrollment info for 1989 to 1999? the site you linked to lists only from 1999 to 2006.
Uh, Ben. Inside each report they hold previous years enrollment info. Click on the 1999 report and you’ll see what I’m saying.
Mike McConnell,
I’d like to hear DeStefano take stand and speak, but I think she is much more interested in protecting her job. Right now the administration is uncertain and there is an air of mistrust so I imagine she is not ready to take a stand just yet.
Curious Eyes, I agree…the 4 branches are SUPPOSED to operate independently but that was not jkf’s management style. She micromanages meaning she puts her nose into everything and tells people how to run their departments her way or else. Again, MBI. There was never any teamwork, trust, open communication or respect under jkf’s management as provost. Which is why faculty voted 82% against her - actually 99% were against her but there were several faculty who were in fear of losing tenures that they voted no or did not attend the Faculty Senate meeting, according to Donalda Ammons’ address at CSDR. There are perhaps one or two who actually liked jkf and did not have any problem with her but DeStefano and Jankowski were not among those.
curious eyes,
Indeed there must be outside factors what affected the enrollments over the years - impacts of NCLB and schools for the deaf…mainstreamed programs…however Enrollment Affairs and other service departments are reposinble for providing services in which will persusade these said students to come to Gallaudet. Don’t forget, VR also have big role in lower enrollments…more and more VR are turning down paying students to attend Gallaudet and sending students to local community colleges and colleges. Arizona is one of such states. In CA, they require sme students to attend college locally to prove performance before sending them to Gallaudet. So that would impact the enrollment, but I imagine its mostly poor services and quality of professors that impacted the enrollment. Students arrive there and see what they had to offer and figured they could do better at colleges closer to home. I know of several people who said such thing to me. And all of them graduated at ASU which has excellent services for the deaf.
Curious Eyes– one big factor in the seemingly dramatic drop in enrollment that neither you nor the others mention is rubella. The huge rubella bulge during the mid-60s resulted in larger enrollment at Gallaudet during the 80’s– the final batch of U.S. deaf students who were directly affected by rubella arrived at Gallaudet about the time McConnell and I first attended Gallaudet. The rubella vaccine was ready for use in late 1969 or early 1970, I believe, and this impacted the deaf population from that point on.
All the other elements you mentioned also contribute to the enrollment numbers. I wouldn’t attribute Gallaudet’s smaller enrollment numbers to mismanagement on anyone’s part, at least not during the period cited [1989-1990]
Edit button’s not working for some reason, sheesh. Last number should be 1999.
Yep. Said that back in May. Pretty well known about the rubella affecting enrollment as one of the reason for its decline. There are others seen in the link below that I addressed back in May.
http://www.deafdc.com/blog/?p=323#comment-2750
Although, i wonder how many people or protesters actually knew about this?
I would think the enrollment goes on cycles - they will be high some years and low other years. True, rubella was a contributing factor to the swollen enrollment that Gallaudet enjoyed 1980 - 1990….I was a rubella baby myself. At the time I was student, the enrollment was around 3,500 including all other programs, not just undergraduate. Not just Gallaudet, but my class was the second largest at my deaf school at 43, and 90% of us were rubella babies. The largest was class of ‘78, 5 years earlier, at 45. Ever since, my school has never seen these numbers again and I doubt they ever will. These days, the graduating classes range from 5 to 15 in most deaf schools. Slightly larger in CA, TX, Fla, MD, Ind, etc. But 43 or 45? No. These numbers are from a bygone era of the 1980s. Interesting piece of Deaf History, though.
actually gallaudet’s enrollment nbr per se never has been mentioned as a cause of the protest, but rather the declining performance of the enrolled students. of course it wasn’t all JKF’s fault. nobody has said that. it’s just that gally need a change badly and JKF has failed to turn things around. when you want to drastically improve something, you have to start with the leader- it isn’t always fair but that’s where the buck stops.
Ben, Kelby Brick was one of the first to toss the “enrollment” problem on May 3 in which Elisa reported it. Then took that and ran with it. It may not have been a per se but it was on their blame list, no doubt.
Many others discussed enrollment issues with Fernandes in the picture.
http://www.ask.com/blogsearch?.....&l=dir
Oh, and guess who else once again revived the enrollment problem on Oct 23?
http://www.ask.com/blogsearch?.....&l=dir
[…] Interview with Gallaudet Interim Provost Michael Moore I personally like Michael Moore because he is the first from adminsitration ever to greet us and engage in conversation with students and faculty staffs. We felt like he is our only ally during the protest. We should be thankful to have him with us. Click here. […]
With regards to the declining enrollment numbers, have people taken into consideration of several other factors other than discussed here?
I do know that as more and more people are being mainstreamed getting a much better education elsewhere, less are interested in attending Gallaudet and instead are attending hearing colleges because they would rather earn a much more prestigeous degree at universities such as Brown, Yale, Harvard (I know of several deaf MBA students who graduated from there), Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Georgetown, UVA, UMD, UMich, RIT, and so on. Many are realizing that in order to get lofty jobs with significant incomes, they must get good education coupled with good degrees from these universities. Many are realizing that Gallaudet is NOT always going to guarantee them these kind jobs after graduation.
Furthermore, many come from hearing families who put a high premium on education and high earning careers. Many are being counseled by their families to attend other universities elsewhere as many of these universities are providing interpreting and/or cart services (I did have CART services when I went to my university, which was a great help that I couldn’t do without). Hence, many are realizing they *DO* have CHOICES outside of Gallaudet. Granted, Gallaudet does have a good social and party scene but more and more educated deaf want MORE than just a good party scene. Many mainstreamed deaf have many hearing friends and are comfortable being around them. So they don’t have the “need” to be at Gallaudet.
This is ONE of the several other reasons nowadays that more and more deaf students are attending hearing universities. I, myself, am a rubella baby as well and shunned going to Gallaudet because I felt that I would NOT get the kind of education that I got at a prestigeous university elsewhere. In fact, for curiousity’s sake, I took Gallaudet’s entrance exam to see what results I would get. I was dumbfounded at the questions on the exam and realized that it was all a joke to me. The bar to get into Gallaudet University was set SO low that I couldn’t believe it. After I got the results back, Gallaudet reported that I had scored extremely high, if not the HIGHEST, on their exam and that I would be admitted as a second semester junior, which confirmed my suspicions that Gallaudet’s education was substandard in my mind. I felt that the exam was way too easy and had NO challenges built in. Thus, I felt that I would be bored out of my mind academically at Gallaudet. It doesn’t surprise me today that the graduation rate is SO low at Gallaudet compared to other universities, including RIT. I am glad that I never went to Gallaudet as I probably wouldn’t have gotten the kind of careers that I’ve had so far.
In my discussions over the years with various professors from both Gallaudet and NTID, I have learned that both schools are scrambling for students to justify their budgets, which is why they will accept students of any caliber to sustain their enrollment and funding numbers! I recall a response to an argument I had with the Dean of a department when I asked how the hell could the university educate students when they have such low reading and writing skills to begin with as being “Well, that is what society gives to us and we have to do the best we can with these kids who are largely under-educated. Furthermore, both universities need to enroll these kids anyway so we can justify the budget numbers we ask for from the Federal Government because our jobs depend upon the funding being fulfilled. Without the funding being assured, a lot of us would be laid off.”
Aquafina,
What you said is an old knowledge among deaf communities. We all know Gallaudet doesn’t provide premier education - in part, it is indeed true that the deaf schools’ low expectations and improperly qualified teachers of the deaf contribute to 4th grade level in most deaf adults all over country, and many of them attend Gallaudet which is the ONLY place they can go to get some kind of college education to improve their chances of getting jobs outside of the vocational and blue collar jobs. ikj deleted prepatory program which was a big mistake - the program transited 4th grade level students to college level work as freshmen. Now they had to turn freshman year into prepatory year. That is why many Gallaudet students wind up staying beyond 4 years to complete their graduation requirements.
I, too, scored high on the entrance exam as a junior at age of 14. Nonetheless, I went. I don’t regret it - the personal growth was awesome. Made many lifetime friends. Learned more about myself and my abilities as a Deaf person. What I can expect from the members of the mainstream society. You don’t get that elsewhere except at Gallaudet. You DO get better education and prestige from any other places but Gallaudet is quite unique by itself which is why protesters did not want jkf to lead. She does not understand Gallaudet’s uniqueness and is and never will be the right leader for Gallaudet.
Anyway, I went on to acquire masters from a state university in Deaf Education where I had “prestige” education. Many Gallaudet graduates do that - they go to Gallaudet mainly for personal growth and experience and go on to get their masters elsewhere where prestige, quality, and name count. Nowadays, BA is nearly worthless - pretty much as good as a high school diploma, so why not go to Gallaudet first? It is like some high schoolers going to Europe for a year or something like that before starting college. Gallaudet is such a place. Like I said, Gallaudet is unique so leave it alone.
Sorry to say, but Gallaudet isn’t unique at all. How is it unique from let’s say, RIT?
Its at best like someone else on the DeafDC blog once said “a glorified high school” (I don’t recall WHO said it, but I recall someone saying it to that effect.) I came away disgusted at how low Gallaudet has set their enrollment standards.
Sorry to put it this way.
Aquafina,
RIT is NOT a college for the deaf. It is a public university - Rochester Institute of Technology, and NTID is a BRANCH of RIT. NTID consists of mainly technological studies and offers AA degrees - for those wanting BA, they transfer to RIT, a public univeristy. Gallaudet does not have AA program except for interpreting program. Gallaudet is the only LIBERAL ARTS university for the deaf in it’s own standing, not a branch of an university. THAT is Gallaudet’s uniqueness.
You are focused on the ACADEMIC aspect. I will NOT dispute that Galladuet sucks in that area. They do suck. ‘Glorified” high school sounds about right - remember many of us never experienced to the full our personal growth that the hearing students do at their public high schools due to limited language access. At Gallaudet, we experience full language access and gain our personal growth there. That is also true for residential school students - they are limiting too. I was from residential school.
I have to play the “you have to be there to understand” card. Obvviously you’ve never been a Gallaudet student. You’ve said your family put high priority in prestige and quality education which deterred you away from Gallaudet. I support your family decision as they deemed it in your best interest. Gallaudet is NOT for everyone. Obviously not for YOU. If you look down at Gallaudet for their inferior education, then I must say thanks for not attending Gallaudet. We have CHOICES in where to attend for our BA and MA. But not true for ALL of us - some have only 4th grade education - are you saying Gallaudet ought close because they provide such inferior education and is essentially a “glorified” high school, and turn away these 4th grade level high school graduates who in turn would have nowhere else to go but to vocational programs or community colleges (even these places are hard for some of them) and get only vocational degrees or AA. Spend lifetime working in $8-10 hour jobs because there is no longer Gallaudet? Because Gallaudet is such a joke?
Alas, you are forgetting that NTID is a college WITHIN RIT. Why do you think MANY deafies say “I graduated from RIT” when they graduated from BOTH NTID and RIT?
I still stand by my earlier comments.
May I add another comment here? It is NOT true that “At Gallaudet, we experience full language access and gain our personal growth there.” because many students have left because they have felt frustrated at the dismal communication skills of many a professor there. I don’t blame them for leaving to either go to another university.
OK, time out. I’m a little aghast at the dissing Gallaudet is receiving from the two of you, CY and Aquafina. Let’s remember that many celebrated, highly esteemed, and famous deaf people graduated from Gallaudet and are doing quite well in their respective careers. Here’s a few who are big names among the protestors: Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, David Eberwein, Joey Baer, Kelby Brick, Greg Hlibok, Tim Rarus, Ella Mae Lentz? And their family members too — some of these people come from multi-generational deaf “dynasties.” You don’t have to graduate from an Ivy League college to be happy and successful in life or earn megabucks. Or even a Big 10 or Pac-10 or whatever. Some individuals may choose other colleges than Gallaudet for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean Gallaudet offers a lousy education. Many deaf college students are bright and capable, but may struggle to process information via an interpreter. Weaknesses in English literacy — a second language for many — may hold them back to a greater or lesser degree. I’d be willing to bet that at Gallaudet, the content is the same, only the presentation of content or method of instruction might be different than what one may encounter in a mainstream university.
I think having a good education really depends on which major you’re in at Gallaudet. But that’s normal really. Every college/university has its strengths and weaknesses. Gallaudet just unfortunately has too many weaknesses right now, imho.
~ Deaf Pundit
Aquafina,
SIGH! You claim to graduate from mainstream program and attended prestigious college?? Yet you lack reading skills! I HAVE said NTID is a BRANCH of RIT! If you’ve visited NTID, you’d know NTID is its own campus, about 1/2 mile from RIT. And I HAVE said many NTID students transfer to RIT when they want to pursue a BA/MA program so many of them DO say they are “NTID/RIT” graduates even if RIT is non-deaf university - it is because NTID is in fact a consortium of RIT. Just like Gallaudet has several consortium programs with numerous local colleges in DC area when students want to pursue a degree that Gallaudet does not offer.
Curious Eyes,
I AM a Gallaudet graduate and I hold Gallaudet precious - but face the facts - Gallaudet education is lacking. Many 4th grade level students get accepted there. I know many from my school that couldnt get into local post secondary insitutions but got accepted at Gallaudet. THAT is precisely what we are fighting for - to IMPROVE Gallaudet. Gallaudet has been on a downward spiral these past 10 years, not just enrollment wise but academically. Poor quality professors contribute only partially, but larger factor is the quality of education. They need to pull up academic excellence and accept higher academic performing students like they used to in the 1960s and 1970s. These days, they are more interested in larger funding based on number of enrollment which is why they lowered the academic level to accept more students which I think is ethnically wrong. WE NEED TO BRING GALLAUDET BACK TO ITS HEYDAY DAYS!!
It does disservice to deny hard facts. The best gift we could do is fight to bring Gallaudet back by facing the facts.
I got into Gallaudet at 16 and never needed to study. Not even for my major courses. Only Art History provided with a lot of materials with which I needed to review before taking tests which were M/C and in Economics and Algebra/Geometry only because I am very terrible in math. I even barely passed teacher exam on the math part but passed the reading and writing on the first try, and passed the math on second try because I studied. Basically, Gallaudet IS easy. Aquafina spoke the truth, indeed.
But she failed to realize Gallaudet DOES provide rich experience outside of academics that makes Gallaudet UNIQUE. It is perhaps because she has never been Gallaudet student herself and snubbed Gallaudet solely based on their academic standards. She judged Gallaudet its book cover, per se. And you’re right - many well known Deaf leaders are graduates of Gallaudet which is another thing Aquafina failed to note. Gallaudet has so much to offer beyond academics.
CY–
I rest assured that NTID is a COLLEGE of RIT. I strongly suggest you call them to find out the facts for yourself. It is NOT a branch of RIT. It is a COLLEGE of RIT.
If you don’t believe me, call them and ask for the Dean of NTID, Alan Hurwitz and ask him whether he “considers” NTID to be a “branch” vice “college” of RIT.
I know I am right on that aspect.
By the way, I am NOT a “she”. You made an assumption there. Assumptions can be dangerous indeed. I may not have been a Gallaudet student, per se but I have been friends with MANY Gallaudet graduates who have privately told me they feel Gallaudet isn’t that much special from RIT or any other college. They say that Gallaudet is pretty much a wasteland because Gallaudet is pretty much a party land. Do you realize that many of them bemoan the significant decline of graduation rates? Do you put more of an emphasis on the social aspect of Gallaudet rather than the educational aspect? Who cares about whether many deaf leaders graduated from Gallaudet? I am NOT talking about them. I am talking about the COMMON MAN (and WOMAN) who graduated from Gallaudet here: a high percentage of students who graduated from Gallaudet are still largely unemployed compared to that of those who graduated from NTID/RIT. RIT/NTID boasts of a 95% placement rate whereas Gallaudet cannot even reach that rate by far!!!
Now, go back and think whether if that really makes Gallaudet unique? I don’t think so. And who really cares if Gallaudet is the ONLY LIBERAL ARTS college for the deaf? I sure don’t care. What I really care more about here is the graduation rate percentages and the percent of graduates who do successfully find gainful employement. That is what REALLY counts.
Again, I have said this once and will said it again: I would send my kids to RIT/NTID because they would stand a MUCH better chance of getting a very good job after graduation compared to Gallaudet. Granted, Gallaudet isn’t that much better than a 2 year community college in my opinion.
I think you ought to ask the Gallaudet administrators why they dumbed down the admission standards while you are at it. They’ll tell you the reason why: funding. They need MORE funding than ever before to keep the campus running. More students = assured continual funding.
Yes, it’s important for Gallaudet to practice the Credo. But there is one thing that is in need to be removed 100% first. It’s the freedom of speech guideline launched on June 28, 2006.
I remain do not support the Expressive Activities and Assemblies Guideline. To review the guideline, you can find it at this link: http://pr.gallaudet.edu/dailyd.....=6/30/2006
Curious Eyes–
Then can you explain WHY is it that many deaf students at RIT/NTID do much better academically than at Gallaudet? Why do so many more students at RIT/NTID graduate than at Gallaudet? Why is Gallaudet University having SO much more problems than RIT/NTID ever had? Granted, RIT is a more technical place than Gallaudet is. We all know that many deaf leaders graduated from Gallaudet. Really, how will these famous deaf leaders help the average Gallaudet University student successfully graduate from Gallaudet when the current graduation rate is running at a dismal 40%? What are employers around DC going to think about that? Do you really think they are going to jump at hiring the average gallaudet graduate? I think not. They most likely are going to look at NTID/RIT grads because these graduates are going to be much more technology savvy than the average gallaudet graduate. Not only that, RIT does have its share of liberal arts courses too that these students can enroll in. The future is not going to be in the liberal arts arena but rather in the world of technology. Face it–Gallaudet is so behind now educational-wise. They really need to BEEF up their technology curriculum. I have heard over and over again from some professors that many Gallaudet graduates/students are NOT prepared to enter the workforce because of the fact that many are undereducated and unprepared for the world of technology.
Moreover, I’ve heard that some professors at Gallaudet literally had to FIGHT tooth and nail to get the university to give them the funds to buy technology tools and equipment whereas the same stuff is a given at RIT because many of the technology corporations around the country and Rochester invest heavily in RIT’s students. At Gallaudet, you rarely ever hear of major corporations invest in students at Gallaudet. That’s the big difference.
I think Gallaudet should either heavily upgrade its curriculum and develop a major technology college on its campus or fold because a liberal arts degree alone isn’t enough to hack it in the real world where technology pretty much rules.
Lastly, a technology-based degree really earns SIGNIFICANTLY more than a liberal arts degree. In the DC area as well as other major cities across the nation, the cost of living is very high and many graduates struggle to pay off the costs of their education (heavy student loan debts), credit card balances, car loans, and housing. Those are the things that many a student graduating from college today face and having a technology-based degree would make it easier for them to pay off these items.
Just my thoughts here. I don’t expect you to agree with my observations/thoughts/article at all but Im just speaking with the facts here.
Aquafina,
Oops, my bad…Aquafina sounds feminine so I assumed you were a female.
Again, your reading skills…I HAD said Gallaudet lowered the academic level to enroll more students to receive more funding which FSSA aims to change. NTID is not any better - they also enroll 4th grade students. I would know - I know of several people…and NTID only offers AA degree. Most people graduate from NTID…not that many transfer to RIT…I know of only one. It is not that easy to transfer to RIT because their academic standards are quite high, so many NTID either get their AA and get jobs or transfer to Gallaudet. We get a bunch of them every year. A few transfer to RIT.
You can define NTID/RIT any way you like. YOu weren’t student of any of the 3…Gallaudet, NTID or RIT, so I think you ought to listen a little to those who are or were. You assume to know everything about NTID/RIT just because you have friends from there.
What Alan Hurwitz has done for NTID is he improved the standards and the program there, but he did not change the status. NTID remains a consortium of RIT. Graduates do NOT get degree with “RIT” on it if they only get AA degree from NTID. A classmate showed me hers.
We will agree to disagree on this. Actually it is not that important. NTID/RIT is entirely different from Gallaudet and it is like comparing apples and oranges. If you loathe Gallaudet, it’s a free country. You are entitled to your opinions. I don’t loathe NTID/RIT - they are good plaaces…for those wanting technological jobs. The cool things about being an American is freedom of choices.
Again, you make wrong assumptions about me. Tsk Tsk. I did attend RIT (not NTID as I applied DIRECTLY to RIT) on a full scholarship.
Another thing, I know of loads of deaf folks who have successfully gone onto RIT and gotten their Bachelors and Masters degrees after finishing NTID.
By the way, do you know what Aquafina is? If not, go do your research then and report back to me what you find :)
Meanwhile, have a great day!
With all due respect, Aquafina…I’m having a bit of a problem with your posts.
It isn’t so much the content of your posts that I find troubling - some of your comments are indeed valid and worth mentioning.
Rather, it is the TONE by which you convey your message - a tone that implies a strong sense of hostility towards Gallaudet…almost as if you have some personal axe to grind against the university, and that hostility gets aimed at any of us who attempt to defend the campus, who are thus seen as guilty by association.
I am growing more and more uncomfortable with the way you repeatedly attempt to criticize Gallaudet’s poor standards, while at the same time holding yourself up as a glowing example of what Deaf people are and should be capable of doing…the ones who make the “smart” decision not to go to Gally, that is.
So you scored extremely high on the Gallaudet entrance exam? So you could have entered Gallaudet as a junior? So you chose to attend a prestigious (which by the way, you spelled wrong) university elsewhere? I would love to stand up and applaud and tell you how proud I am of you for showing the world that we as deaf individuals are capable of making intelligent choices, which should include the choice of where we wish to attend college.
But instead, because of that tone that consistently comes across in your comments, I am left to feel like…”WHO GIVES A ****?”
Hey, I have brains too. I scored very high on the entrance exam as well, and tested out of a number of courses. I could have chosen to attend a number of well known campuses myself…and in fact actually began my studies at a large university in my home state before transferring to Gallaudet. My reasons for choosing to transfer to Gallaudet are my own, but they have much to do with wanting to develop other aspects of myself which I felt could not occur if I stayed at this large state university. So I made the decision to transfer to Gallaudet, and I’m glad I did. By the way, as a student I took advantage of the Consortium to take a number of courses at other DC campuses, including George Washington University, American University, and even Georgetown. So while my degree might be from Gallaudet, that doesn’t imply that all my coursework was done there.
Would I have gotten a better education had I stayed at that other university? Maybe. Would my degree from there have served me better in seeking employment? Possibly. But I don’t think I would have become the person I am today without the support, the acceptance, and the encouragement I found at Gallaudet. Gallaudet helped me to understand who I am, what I am, and what I have to offer to the world. It gave me a confidence in myself that has allowed me to go out and do the many things I have done the 25 years since I left the campus. I’ve been both Executive Director of a non-profit agency serving the deaf and hard of hearing community, and as the only deaf employee - a senior administrative officer overseeing a multi-million dollar transit program for one of the country’s largest public transportation agencies.
Maybe Gallaudet was not the right choice for you…and that’s okay. I’m all for choices, and I’m all for the right of a deaf individual to choose to attend Gallaudet, NTID/RIT, CSUN, Harvard, Yale, Smith College, University of Wisconsin, University of Alabama, or wherever the heck they wanna go. I wish such choices would have been available to me back in 1976 when I was graduating from high school. Students today have a lot more options than I had, and I hope they take full advantage of them.
But it almost feels that you’re preaching this whole idea of “Yeah, freedom of choice…as long as you don’t choose Gallaudet!”
So please, don’t go “dissing” us or our alma mater. Yes, Gallaudet ain’t perfect. I think most of us agree on that. There are problems, and they definitely need to be addressed. Hopefully this protest will become the driving force to dealing with such problems.
For all its flaws, Gallaudet was my home for five years, and the people I met there were my family. Some of them still are. I might not be willing to pledge my firstborn to the campus, but damnit…neither am I willing to sit around on the sidelines and watch someone mercilessly criticize it as being little more than a “glorified high school.”
No matter that from an academic standpoint there may be some truth to what you say… Gallaudet ***is*** my alma mater, and I would appreciate your respecting it as such.
I am sorry to say that I don’t have to change my viewpoints about Gallaudet at all one bit to satisfy you.
My thoughts and comments still stand (I can respect your disagreement with me, which doesn’t bother me one bit) because UNTIL Gallaudet IMPROVES their curriculum and enrollment standards, I will not bother to stand up for Gallaudet. I feel that Gallaudet isn’t doing their students any justice. Look at the dismal graduation rates compared to RIT. Just take a look at it and tell me that you approve of that.
Why don’t you and your fellow alumni go en masse to the administration and to the Board of Trustees and tell them to do something about it, not dumb down the admission standards.
I am truly sorry that you don’t approve of what I have to say. But don’t forget: This is a free country and I can say what is on my mind. I’m not expecting you to agree with me on everything — and likewise with you.
As for my spelling error on the word: “prestigious”, my bad…so sue me. I was in a hurry to type up and post this letter to the blog. I didn’t have the time to go back and review my blog entry before posting it.
As for your accomplishments, I am very happy for you that you have done very well so congrats on that! Tooting your own horn is not a bad thing to do because you should be proud of yourself. BUT you still NEED to recognize the fact that Gallaudet’s reputation, academic prowess, and graduation rates all have been declining for quite some time now. Why haven’t the alumni taken action sooner to do something about it? Why didn’t you guys awhile back said “Hmmmm…we’ve got a problem here so let’s go talk to the administration and the BOT about these issues”. Don’t you think that would have made a lot more of a difference than waiting until a protest happened to do something about it?
If my university had the problem, I as hell would have spoken up in the early stages in order to rouse the attention to the problem — not waited until a protest stirred up!
Just my thoughts and so sorry if you are uncomfortable with my views but isn’t that what blogs are all about? Sharing viewpoints no matter whether they are strong or soft.
Until then, have an awesome day!
Whoa. Talk about patronizing …
Not patronizing here at all. Far from it but that is your opinion and you have a right to speak your mind.
I may be blunt here and I don’t make apologies here for it. I speak as I see it. I’ve had my comments criticized and I’ve critized others. Fair is far but to say I’m patronizing it is, I believe, a bit extreme.
Like someone said earlier: people agree to disagree here. People of all kinds on this DeafDC blog do sometimes exhibit biting sarcasm here. I’m sure you have done the same.
From what I listened the great discussion between Cy and Aquafina, I respect you both to agree and to disagree on the comparison between Gallaudet University and NTID/RIT.
I am an alumni of NTID and Gallaudet and am proud to be both of prestigious universities that gave me personal and professional growth. Before I go into the discussion room with you. In fact, I am over 40 years old and was “Never Too Late educator.” Regrettably, I wish I could have attend both college when I was younger. My direction was focusing on theatre and film world. Until I found myself to not have opportunities to find somewhere else on the job, I decided to return to school to earn my prestigious degree.
My English is not great. Your previous dossier into discussion that came very elegant and beautiful in many words to express.
Since I graduated from NTID with Associate of Occupational Studies in Business Technology, I transferred to Gallaudet University and graduated in May 2006 with BA in Communication Studies. Precisusly, I give my grateful thanks to NTID and never forgot what they taught me to become a successful student and career. They emphasized to encourage deaf and hard of hearing students to stay on their course toward their prospective and successful career after their college graduation. In addition, they gave me lot of career tips such as job interview, interaction in employment, and more. I am motivated person. My dream wished me to transfer to RIT that will potentially lead me to the employment opportunties. Sadly enough, my English have been struggled and failed three times at the College of Liberal Arts. Finally, I understand the essay styles that teachers provided me in slowly way of learning. Then transferred to Gallaudet University, I took English 102S, 203S and 204. Those courses by deaf and hearing instructor helped me to understand the concept of writing and reading skills and styles in approaches. Especially, I took deaf literature, a teacher forced me to read very few books with 30-40 pages almost weekly. My mind burstly expanded. WOW!
Gee, I wish I could have read and write at early years of childhood. My background on education that I attended Mary E. Bennett School in Los Angeles, California with oral education and attended California School for the Deaf, Riverside.
I knew each individual have their own talent and motivation to interest in some ways. Nobody is perfect. Society dominates us to expect what we should do.
Gratefully, I graduated from Gallaudet University and NTID/RIT, I realized that I learned so much with liberal arts and technical education. I strongly encourage for whose deaf and hard of hearing people without college degrees should attend Gallaudet & NTID/RIT to increase personal and professional experience that will lead to their prospective career.
I agreed with Cy and Aquafina that Gallaudet should improve in academic standard and performance in order to compete among other universities for the job opportunities. Also employers should recognize Gallaudet better if there is a new president, who have deepned in passion and motivate to focus on primary students’ needs for the academic performance and quality.
Thank you for giving me to step into the discussion room with you both.
I forgot to add one more thing. The word, “branch” that Cy described early in the discussion. For the fact, NTID is one of nine colleges at RIT. You may be correct in the concept. In term of the word, “College” defines like each department, branch, constitutes, etc. For example, College of Liberal Arts, College of Business, College of NTID, College of Informatinal Technology, College of Engineering, and more. Hope it helps you to undersand what RIT have. Gallaudet University does have every department with career names.
Virginia Beach,
THANKS for jumping in. Your post is excellent. I feel the same as you - Gallaudet is precious to me and many people with whom I attended Gallaudet are my family. We all are bonded to each other through Gallaudet for our while lifetimes!
I, too, am turned off by Aquafina’s tone, and did say she obviously loathes Gallauder, but why such an extreme feeling? Why does he care so much to hate Gallaudet? That is what bothers me. I don’t hate NTID or RIT. They just offer different sort of education and degrees. They also offer different sort of experience. Like you said, it is all about CHOICES!
So, I agree with you…”who gives a s**t if Aquafina scored so high on entrance exam that he would have entered as a junior. He wasn’t the only one. Many of us scored quite high and selected to attend and graduate from Gallaudet regardless - and acquired our graduate degrees elsewhere - “prestigious” colleges.
Nick,
THANK YOU! You are the PERFECT instance I was trying to convey to Aquafina.
KEEP up with your passion to better your English. You ALREADY write pretty good - better than most of my friends! I correct papers (IEPs, college assignments, research papers, etc) for some of my friends. I see the writing skills they have and I must say you are very well on your way!
You are inspiring and you can continue to inspire others with your messages!
Thank you, Cy for your kind of words to express! American English itself is the world most difficult language to learn. It consist to borrow from foregin languages to write. It is best way to keep reading and writing. If you plan to travel on subways, trains, and plane, you could grab time to read newspapers or magazine or even your favorite author’s book to read. It will improve your English gradually to pick up. Also watch TV to see how these people are involving in their dialogue approaching.
I want to share with you about taking a communication therapy at Gallaudet University. It benefited me to learn in the basic approach in writing communication with hearing person. This therapy help you to communicate in dialogue with hearing person at any kind of situation such as at bank, airport, bus station, dentist, doctor, etc that will simpfy write without too much details to explain in delaying. It is simple and sweet for hearing people. I strongly recommend for Gallaudet students to take this course at Mary Thornberry Center (Audiology center). Unless if you wish to learn how to talk in appropriate approach with hearing in general. It is UP to you with your best effort.
Do keep reading and writing as much as you can. Writing can improve through your best friend’s book, “Diary.” or corresponding with your family or friends through e-mail or writing on dicussion room by deafdc.com or other blogs. Don’t be embarrased about your writing skills. The most important is to express your own concept that readers can comphrend you. The blogs and other website can benefit you to write in useful. Smile!
In addition, my mother just graduated from Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif with AA in ASL Interpreting program. She is very intelligent person and is also avid reading since her childhood. She told me in a year ago that she dropped one course under the strict instructor. She was intimidated by her teacher by sort of harshing to criticize her essay. She believes that college teachers should encourage and show his/her support to improve the structure of essay. I absolutely agreed with her. In the same manner, I had bad experienced with RIT English teachers, who were intimidated and were giving me low expectations. Also they did not give me an opportunity to try to continue and to practice in writing skills. The situation hurt me very badly. The reason I decided to transfer to Gallaudet University and took English courses through the wonderful teachers to give me the clear structure and rules. Not only to these courses, I went to the Englishworks almost everyday and tutors adviced me very well. There is a website through Gallaudet.edu, I think it is englishworks.gallaudet.edu? It give you the range of details in essay styles and approaches with rules of grammar. That helps for deaf and hard of hearing to follow.
Off topic but Senator McCain resigns from BoT!!!
Full scoop here - http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.....y-bot.html
Holy smokes. A US Senator resigning from his honorary position with the BoT at Gallaudet?
Doesn’t look good.
Wonder why he did that? Did he disagree or agree with the actions of the BoT at large? Inquiring minds want to know…. but I suspect that we’ll never know.
to the contrary, according to my sources I feel that it will be followed up by one of the major news agency.
I suspect that he probably didn’t like the way Gallaudet was being run by the administration and has a lot more important things to work on in Congress. Probably got fed up with the stuff that was going on in the BOT? Maybe he didn’t agree with how things were being run and realized that he/she alone cannot change things there UNLESS the entire BOT is aligned with him/her?
Just my thoughts. The work schedule of a congressman/woman is really hectic and they can’t afford to shuttle around the country meeting with the BOT every time a crisis rears its ugly head.
I myself wonder whether Senator McCain got fed up with the disrespectful way he, along with the rest of the BoT, was treated by some of the ungrateful stakeholders of Gallaudet. Presumably, he put in at least a few hours of his scarce and valuable time over the years. The BoT and McCain were called “un-American,” and worse, for their actions. That has to be pretty insulting to a military veteran, let alone us ordinary citizens.
A good speculation right there. We’ll see if any news will get reported on this tomorrow.
It’s like Celia May Baldwin all over again. They’ll have a Senator that the majority of the campus won’t like. V.P. Cheney will do the picking, though.
I assume he is planning a run for president and doesn’t want Gally associated with his name just now. Dunno though. It’s all speculation on our part.
And, I agree with this:
http://bibliomarket.wordpress......omment-237
They’re prepping for a change in power.
hmm… not sure the Republicans care that much about what happens to Gallaudet. They have their hands full just tending to their own errant members. I kind of expected there would be some departures from the BoT after the recent controversy, but sad that McCain would be the first. He joined the BoT in 1995. According to the GU website: “Senator McCain has been a strong advocate not only of Gallaudet University but of telecommunications legislation benefiting deaf and hard of hearing people. … McCain introduced the Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act of 1988, and he was a chief co-sponsor of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990. The law requires most new TV sets to have built-in decorder circuitry capable of receiving closed captioned programming. McCain was also a chief co-sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and was responsible for the section of the bill dealing with telecommunications that established the relay service.” We deaf/HH people owe him a great debt for the telecommunication access we enjoy today. We need more allies like him to bring our access even further, to include the Internet and beyond.
It’s kind of hard being an ally to the Deaf when you get marginalized at Gallaudet. I suspect that’s what happened to McCain and Brueggeman.
I hope that just because Senator McCain is no longer a GU trustee, that doesn’t mean he will cease his efforts to make media accessible for deaf/HH people in the future. He can still do a lot of good for the deaf community in his work as a Senator, and who knows, if elected US President, won’t it be great to have a Chief Executive who knows something about deaf people? I’m irked by certain bloggers who claim that because Senator McCain wasn’t around on campus during the protest, it meant he did not care or was not involved. His accomplishments in telecommunication advocacy were far greater than that. On the other hand, I bet if he HAD come to Gallaudet during the protest, whatever he had to say to them could have carried great weight. Guess we’ll never find out now.
I often wondered why McCain or other Congressional trustees didn’t visit Gallaudet to see what was going on, but then again, it could be that the trustees were discouraged from going to Gallaudet to make freelance forays. Who knows?
Keep in mind that just because you are a “Honorary” member doesn’t necessarily mean that you are a full fledged member of the BoT. I don’t think he was expected to be FULLY INVOLVED with the BoT activities.
I think honorary members is more of a symbolic thing like “thanking” the person for doing important things or giving a significant donation to an organization or school or the like. So we cannot really bash McCain for leaving when he did A LOT for the deaf community in the beginning to begin with. Without him lobbying for our rights, the ADA and Teledecoder Act may not have gotten that many co-sponsors to begin with, I would surmise.
Anyone else wanna add to my thoughts or disagree?
This is terrible news. McCain has been a good friend and supporter of the deaf community. Not sure if we will be able to count on his support in the future. We don’t know what other fall out will result. See the statement from the Hearing Loss Association about Gallaudet. (www.hearingloss.org) (This used to be Self Help for the Hard of Hearing.)
[…] Interim Provost Michael Moore who interviewed with DeafDC.com last week is a wonderful example of the kind of attitude and vision that the community sorely needs. The protesters need to follow Dr. Moore’s example and take the higher ground in the challenging effort to heal the splintered community that is replete with anger. Several Gallaudet Administrators from both sides of the protest issued a letter that said, “… we must ensure that the views of each individual are respected and look anew to a better future for Gallaudet if we are to move on to brighter days ahead.” These positive steps from everyone involved are necessary to reunite the community. […]