Stop Blaming The Students!!

“If the protesters really care about Gallaudet, they will open up the halls to learning and work toward reaching a middle ground. ” Standoff at Gallaudet – washingtonpost.com

Stop using the students as scapegoats.  Jordan and Fernandes hurt Gallaudet by their refusal to follow up their words with actions over the years, their failure to work with Gallaudet Community since last May, and the Board of Trustees abandoning Gallaudet University in the middle of a crisis. It was out of desperation that the students seized the HMB as an attempt to force Jordan, Fernandes, and the BoT to listen. But they continued to be DEAF to the Gallaudet Community.

By the way, the protesters are not just the students, they also include staff, faculty, and alumni.  Gallaudet needs to work with all four entities, not just the students. It was never about Fernandes not being Deaf enough. The protest was about the flawed presidential candidate search procedure and Fernandes’ ineffectual leadership. Dr Fernandes have earned a no-confidence vote, not once, but twice by the Faculty Senate the last six years. The systematic oppression of the students’ expressions since last May and the use of security guards to silence the students by harassment, intimidation, and brutality counteract the free exchange of ideas and expressions as a part of higher educational atmosphere. The Gallaudet’s refusal to let the staff interpreters facilitate the communication between the deaf students and the reporters since last May is despicable, especially for an university for the deaf , and in direct violations of federal laws mandating equal access of communication to the disabled individuals

Don’t worry. We will get the world to hear us.  As of tonight, there are nine tent cities scattered all over the country and three rallies already held in various places, all supporting Gallaudet students. We have reporters now listening to the students and starting to see that they have been misled by Gallaudet Administration. The deaf bloggers reporting on Gallaudet Protest are breaking records with the hits from their readers the last few days.

We will be heard.