Outrage At Arrests of 135 Students

“I want to be clear that we did not choose to arrest the students,
they chose to be arrested.” http://news.gallaudet.edu/?id=9561

I just cannot find words to express my outrage and indignation over
this level of cynism and mockery against people. Has this guy
completely lost his sanity? I hope the media will pick up this
statement so that the world can have a feeling about the incredibly
corrupted thinking of this administration we have to fight here.

Just an analogy: imagine someone saying that Martin Luther King
Jr. was not ordered to be shot by an assassin, but he himself
chose to be shot by not going home and not ceding his protest
activity. Ouch! This would be wickedly unsane, just as Jordan’s
statement above.

Please, President Jordan, come to your right senses or just step
away. We just had enough of this kind of crap.

testing_the_truth

Rally Now At Front Gate : 6:50

RALLY NOW!! FRONT GATE!

¤~Heather~¤

Great Picture: Unity For Gallaudet with DPN Leaders

By our Moe Klusza

http://www.moeart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/1988.jpg

University Will Be Open Tomorrow.

We will allow univ to open tmw so faculty can convene.. For senate mtg.

– ryan commerson

1,000 Protesters At The Front Gate

“Last night, about 1,000 protesters stood shoulder to shoulder from the front gates of the school in Northeast Washington up a hill to Chapel Hall.”

1000 protesters already! Way to go! Unity for Gallaudet is growing rapidly. With the homecoming weekend coming up, more protesters will come. Keep on with the momentum! We are doing incredibly well.

Kudos to Susan Kinzie! I’ve been in contact with this reporter since last May, passing along  important letters from different people and updating her on events on campus. She was the only one who really tried hard to understand the real issues. I’m gratified to see that in the midst of massive reporting of erroneous information by various media sources this month, she is the only one who had it pegged right this time. Finally we have a reporter who is really good at her job and listens to both sides. Her work is to be commended. For anyone who wants to contact her and let her know the specifics regarding the protest, please contact her at kinzies@washpost.com

Gallaudet Reopens With Protesters Still At Front Gates – washingtonpost.com

9 Fire Engines at Fowler Hall Now: Apparent Fire Inside

Sure will. Go ahead and post that 9 fire engines now at Fowler Hall. Apparent fire inside. Front gate cleared for truck access
sent via pager of Roger Kraft

 Update: Nothing came of it. Someone smelled smoke in Fowler Hall and pulled the alarm. Engines leaving now. Back to business, but rumors will fly that it was admin’s doing because Clerc staff were inside at the time conducting a meeting.
“Sent via pager of Roger Kraft

2nd Update…DPS confirmed it was due to electrical failure in boiler room in basement. Nothing to do w/ protest. Reported by Donalda Ammons.

Sent via pager of Roger Kraft

Wash Post: Jordan Is Criticized For Approving Arrests

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Sunday, October 15, 2006 …..

Gallaudet Reopens With Protesters Still At Front Gates

Jordan Is Criticized For Approving Arrests

By Susan Kinzie and Mary Otto
Washington Post Staff Writers

Gloria Mills rests near the gates of Gallaudet University during continued protests. Many have vowed to camp out there until Jane K. Fernandes resigns. (By Melina Mara — The Washington Post)

Gallaudet University reopened yesterday, the morning after 133 protesters were arrested to break up a three-day shutdown of the nationally renowned school for the deaf over the choice of Jane K. Fernandes to be president.

Although the arrests resolved the immediate crisis, the university remains as deeply fractured as it ever has been, and no one sees the reopening as an end to the bitter confrontation with the school’s leadership.

Last night, about 1,000 protesters stood shoulder to shoulder from the front gates of the school in Northeast Washington up a hill to Chapel Hall. Fernandes remains the target of their wrath. But the current president, I. King Jordan, who has been hailed as a heroic symbol of deaf accomplishment, is now viewed by many as a traitor for ordering the arrests by campus police.

“We can’t believe King had us arrested,” said sophomore Calvin Doudt, standing in the autumn sunshine yesterday amid a group of protesters. “We are his students.”

The protesters are encouraging Gallaudet students not to return to classes tomorrow, when they are scheduled to resume.

“We will not quit until our demands are met, period,” said Andrew Lange, head of the alumni association.

As supporters brought boxes of ramen noodles and Pop-Tarts for protesters camped out by the gates, faculty leaders sent a letter to the board of trustees demanding trustees come to campus immediately.

“This has escalated beyond the administration’s control,” professor Khadijat Rashid said.

The resentment toward Fernandes has been building for a long time. Some former employees at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center on Gallaudet’s campus are still upset about her leadership there a decade ago, saying she created an atmosphere of distrust. Some professors are still unhappy they were not consulted about her appointment as provost six years ago.

And some black students and staff members were upset by the presidential search process, which eliminated a strong African American candidate in favor of three white people.

When Fernandes was named in May, the protests started immediately. Since then, many have complained that the board of trustees has continued to ignore their concerns.

Fernandes’s supporters, including Jordan, say she has proved her abilities to lead the campus, to make it a place welcoming to all types of deafness.

She says this protest is not really about her.

The anger is amazing, Fernandes said in an interview yesterday. “I really don’t understand. So I have to believe it’s not about me. . . . I believe it’s about evolution and change and growth in the deaf community.

“It’s something we have to go through, turmoil, to get to a higher place,” she added.

She explained that she sees herself at the center of colliding forces. With genetic developments, cochlear implants and other technology, and more deaf children going to mainstream schools, many are asking what will happen to deaf culture.

“I’m leading the community into the future,” Fernandes said.

The community is watching: For many deaf people, Gallaudet is as much a symbol of opportunity and pride as a university.

Tent cities supporting the protesters have popped up across the country. The school’s alumni association called for Fernandes to resign, citing “overwhelming support” for the protesters and unfurling a banner: “Take back Gallaudet.”

Using police force to control students carries particular resonance in the deaf community. Many rely on their hands and eyes to communicate, rendering nighttime arrests, handcuffs and pepper spray potentially dangerous.

The arrests, starting about 9 p.m. Friday and continuing into early yesterday in the bright glare of police spotlights, were watched and filmed by an emotional crowd of several hundred students, parents, professors and alumni. Some climbed fences or trees or pickup trucks to see over the crowd. Some wept; others shouted, demanding that Fernandes resign, denouncing Jordan and asking who the school officials expected to lead, when so many had been dragged away.

A lawyer used sign language to ask a police officer, “Why? Why?” A board member hugged a father whose daughters had just been hauled away by police.

Interest from afar was so intense that four of the most popular deaf blogs on the Internet crashed from overuse.

After a night spent on mats at a police training academy, released students wrote their booking numbers on T-shirts, converting them into badges of pride.

“I’m going to stay here until Jane resigns,” Gallaudet junior Vanessa Arp said. “Where is she now? She’s hiding while the students try to make the university better. That’s not what we want in a leader.”

A commotion broke out midmorning yesterday at the university’s main entrance when a police officer asked students to allow a van to pass. When a small group of protesters refused, the officer tried to push them out of the way and Timothy DeCelles, 22, fell and struck his head. He was treated at Howard University Hospital and released.

“There was no communication,” protester Robert Mason said.

It was a recurring theme. Jordan and Fernandes decided that negotiations had failed after she met with students Friday afternoon. They told her that 600 to 700 people would continue to protest unless she resigned, she said.

Jordan came into office in 1988 on a tide of student protests, in a movement that has become a rallying cry for the deaf. They demanded a “Deaf President Now.” Friday night, one of those 1988 student protest leaders, Tim Rarus, was among the first to be arrested. “I helped put you in office, now you’re arresting me!” Rarus shouted.

Jordan said yesterday that the protesters chose to be arrested. They refused to open the gate, which he said needed to be done for educational and safety reasons, and sat and waited for police. “I’ve been president for 18 1/2 years,” he said, “and I’ve never had a more difficult decision.”

Asked whether he has heard from people saying it was a betrayal, he said he has received many e-mails, some supporting and some opposing.

“I know in my heart it was the right decision,” he said, “but my heart’s really pained.”

Fernandes watched the arrests from a security office for a bit. “It was horrible,” she said. “This is Gallaudet University. This is deaf people’s home.” So she left.

“I’m really,” she said, pausing. “I’m struggling to find the words. I’m torn up inside.”

She knows she has to face more angry people. By now, she said, it’s routine. She went to the cafeteria the other day, and students confronted her. That, she said, is how they will move forward — keep talking. Keep working through it. “I am not stepping down,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Staff writer Megan Greenwell contributed to this report.

A Request To The Deaf BOTs To RESIGN

I was at Gallaudet University yesterday and was heartened by the solid show of support by the scores og Gallaudet Alum that showed up and took the students’ place in manning the 6th street gate in place of the students so that the students could have a well deserved break. While manning the gates and talking to other alumni. I have come up with a solution:

I would encourage the Deaf Board members to resign from the board “en masse” to show that they care about Gallaudet and that they agree that the selection of Fernandes is doing Gallaudet University more harm than good. That way, the message will go out LOUD and CLEAR that even Deaf people are being bullied and ignored on the board of Gallaudet University. Such resignations from the board will send out a very powerful message to the nation and the world.

So to the honorable members of the board. I beseech you resign so that Gallaudet could be saved. By resigning you sending out a loud message that will ring throughout the land that Deaf people are still being oppressed everywhere. Your noble act will allow Gallaudet to rise again from the ashes like the legendary Phoenix. I am sure that by your solidarity, you may be asked to sit on the board again. So I beg you, in order to save the Gallaudet we all love, please be brave and RESIGN!

Sincerely

Paul Simmons

Alumnus

More People Needed At Front Gate Now

There is a press conference taking place at front gate now. There isn’t many people there now. Come over and show them there is a large group of supporters!
Sent via pager of a protester

From A Student On Ground Zero

I am an emotional mess.

I cry at littlest thing. I cry whenever I see pictures, videos and articles about the protest. I cry every time I see the front gate. Heck, I even cry for things not related to the protest.

I almost never cry in front of people and I definitely don’t like showing that side of me. Last night, I bawled my eyes out when I saw my closest girlfriends, Amanda, Malinda and Tori being dragged away to the police van and when Megan sat on the ground waiting for her turn. I bawled my eyes out because I am proud of my four girls, I am scared for them and I wish I could be at the front lines with them but I cannot because I could lose my student visa (I am an international student).

Past 10 days has been one of most emotional days in my entire time at Gallaudet. It has been the best and the worst. I made a lot of new friends, I talked with students I have not spoke to before and I feel our community is a lot more unified now. I am sad because a lot of us are in pain, sick, tired and hungry. A lot of us do not feel comfortable at Gallaudet University, the place many of us call a ‘home’. I am mostly sad because the administration has chosen not to listen to us.

I am definitely an emotional mess.

 

 Rosie

fieryrosie’s Xanga Site