All DPN Leaders Asks Resignation of Fernandes

Manifesto

October 16, 2006

To: Dr. Jane K. Fernandes, Dr. I. King Jordan, and the Board of
Trustees of Gallaudet University

FROM: The Student Leaders of the 1988 Deaf President Now (DPN) Movement
in support of the Students, Alumni, Faculty and Friends of Gallaudet
University

Much has been said and written about the last several days, weeks, and
even months leading up to the recent arrests at Gallaudet that occurred
on Friday night, October 13, 2006.

The decision to arrest over 130 leaders has tainted the spirit of the
Deaf President Now movement and reversed King Jordan’s legacy.

In May 2006, as soon as the current crisis emerged, Bridgetta
Bourne-Firl flew from California to Washington D.C. to gather
information about the conflict to bring to the larger Deaf community.
She repeatedly requested to meet with Dr. Jordan only to be avoided.
After so many efforts, she finally met with him but was granted just
five minutes-five minutes for a leader who was instrumental in
putting Dr. Jordan in the position of president. During her stay at
Gallaudet, she was appalled at the intimidation stories she heard from
faculty, staff, and students.

Upon her return to the Bay Area, Bridgetta wrote Dr. Jordan a personal
letter urging him to consider the accomplishments of the Deaf President
Now movement, the implications for the current movement, and its
lasting legacy for the sake of deaf children who are isolated all over
the country, who have never seen deaf adult role models nor heard of
their success stories. She emphasized that the Deaf President Now
movement provides them with hope. Dr. Jordan approached Bridgetta at
the National Association of the Deaf convention-after announcing to
the participants that “there was no crisis at Gallaudet”-and told
her that he simply disagreed with her letter. She received no further
explanation or opportunity for dialogue.

Living in the D.C. area, Gregory Hlibok has remained an active and
impassioned member of the community as well as a symbol of Deaf
empowerment. He has gone to campus several times during the current
crisis to speak with students, faculty, staff, and the larger
community. He has expressed growing concerns with his lack of access to
the current Gallaudet administration as well as their lack of
communication with the students in their care.

Prior to Tim Rarus’ now well-publicized arrival, he sent e-mails to
King Jordan informing him of his concerns and of his impending arrival
on the Gallaudet campus. He requested the opportunity to meet
personally with Dr. Jordan , but, unfortunately, received no reply. He
was left to roam our renowned campus of Gallaudet on his own. Although
Tim had been following the events closely from South Dakota , nothing
prepared him for the shock of what he witnessed Friday afternoon. The
sight of the rift between the constituents and the administration as
well as the escalation of the crisis saddened him.

Crucial issues to address:

The Refusal to Meet with the DPN Leaders
The Function of Gallaudet University as More Than a University
The President-Designee’s Infamous Track Record
Lessons from the 1988 Deaf President Now Movement
Our Voices are being Dismissed
Our Demand of Dr. Fernandes

THE REFUSAL TO MEET WITH THE DPN LEADERS

Because we were denied the opportunity to have a dialogue with I. King
Jordan, Dr. Fernandes, or the Board of Trustees, we cannot begin to
explain why they have allowed this crisis to escalate to the point of
arrests. What we can tell you is that our students are frustrated,
angry, and desire to ensure that the Presidency of this fine
institution is treated with the dignity it deserves.

The Function of Gallaudet as More Than a University

The President’s office at Gallaudet represents more than a typical
university. It’s not just the bricks and mortar that make the
buildings. It’s not the programs and curriculum that make the
educational foundation at the university. Gallaudet is unique from all
other institutions of higher learning because it represents the work
and dreams of us, our community, our culture, our language. It
represents the hopes of deaf people all over the world and the future
generations that will attend this fine institution. It is nothing less
than the Mecca of the Deaf world. Gallaudet has earned this distinction
as the only liberal arts university in the world that is run by and of
the Deaf and serves the Deaf community including its many deaf and
hard-of-hearing students. So, this university represents more than just
the educational programs offered on this campus-it lives and breaths
the ideals, dreams, and aspirations of deaf people-a place where deaf
people can realize their full potential as human beings. This is a
place where communication barriers and their resulting frustrations
should not exist-a place that we can call home. This is why all that
happens on these hallowed grounds is sacred to all of us within the
Deaf community near and far.

The President-Designee’s Infamous Track Record

We believe it is crucial to distinguish this movement from a popularity
contest as some have alleged. The fact that Dr. Fernandes has served as
provost of this university has given us an intimate look at her
management style. The campus community has already experienced her
arrogant, vindictive, autocratic, and retaliatory style of leadership.
These traits are not becoming of a university president or productive
for a learning community. They are certainly not becoming of a
university president who also serves as an icon to the Deaf community.
Dr. Fernandes has earned few admirers on campus which has led to
concerns from students, staff, and alumni as well as financial
contributors to the university. These concerns came early in the search
and selection process. Many constituents predicted that Dr. Fernandes
was going to be difficult to work with as a leader and a representative
of the community.

We do not dispute that Dr. Fernandes has an excellent resume and
appears to be very qualified on paper. Throughout her career, she has
made contributions to Gallaudet in various ways. The majority of us
from the Gallaudet community and beyond do not question her record of
service or qualifications. We ARE questioning, however, the quality of
her service, and why our input was disregarded by the current
administration. The problems stem from not only the process used by the
Board of Trustees to select the new president but also from the
alarming fact that they refused to listen to us and honor our
input-the crucial concerns expressed by the students, faculty, staff,
alumni, parents, and friends of Gallaudet.

We believe that the heart of the crisis at Gallaudet isn’t just the
fact that we have evidence that Ms. Fernandes is not deserving of our
confidence in her ability to lead the university, but also that the
Board of Trustees and the University Administration have cast our input
and experiences aside. For thousands of years, people have cast the
souls of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people aside. For thousands of years,
we have been objectified, oppressed, discriminated against,
trivialized, patronized, and dismissed. The last place we expected
prudential and stereotypical attitudes towards the Deaf community to
prevent equity and justice would be at our own Gallaudet University .

Lessons from the 1988 Deaf President Now Movement

The 1988 DPN Movement was a milestone in the history of Deaf people.
Because of that event, deaf people were given the opportunity to lead,
to make decisions, to self-advocate, and, to some extent, govern our
fates. For the first time, the Deaf community, the larger civil rights
community, the larger network of institutions for higher learning, the
media, and therefore, the world, stood behind the assertion that deaf
people should make the decisions that affect their own lives. It became
a principle that DEAF people know their own needs better than anyone
else could. Who, in fact, knows us better than we know OURSELVES? We
believe that we have proven our leadership again and again. Through our
personal and political efforts-indeed, through protest-we have
installed deaf leaders to represent us.

Our Voices are being Dismissed

The current situation here at Gallaudet today is an extension of the
aims and passions of the DPN movement-an ongoing fight to be heard,
respected, and recognized by the Board of Trustees, and now the
Congress. We want out input to matter. We are not asking for the
ultimate authority to appoint a president or approve of an appointment.
However, when so many of us share in a collective message of concern
about one of the candidates, we would expect our concerns to be heard
and honored. When our access to communication and information is
denied, when our concerns are met with repetitive, party-line
statements, you are sending us the message that we are not valued, not
respected, we don’t matter and that you don’t care. And this
message is being tailored to the consumers of this
community-consumers who in large part placed you in your current
positions of authority!

As we all know, Dr. Fernandes is deaf herself, and she is a member of
the Deaf community. But we all know that deafness alone shouldn’t
qualify anyone for anything. Although she is qualified on paper and has
held many positions of leadership within Gallaudet and other
educational organizations, we know what her leadership style is like.
We also know the kind of damage she has done in the past. This is the
crux of our concern. For Dr. Fernandes and the Public Relations
Department at Gallaudet to say the students have asked for her
resignation because she is “not Deaf enough,” is an insult to each
and every one of us. This comment alone tells us that she is taking
advantage of the 1988 DPN protestors aims and twisting them to her
advantage-to attempt to use the issue of being Deaf to detract from
the very real concerns of the modern protestors’ movement. In fact,
this movement is made up of deaf and hard-of-hearing protestors of
every background who have no confidence in her leadership.

We question why the Board of Trustees selected Dr. Fernandes despite
the public concerns that were brought to their attention BEFORE the
selection was made. And, we are questioning why, after five months,
there have been no solutions to the issues and why someone who claims
to have the leadership to be a dynamic president has not been able or
willing to make her case on campus.

The protest continues, and we have a rapidly-escalating crisis. The
many deaf constituents who have dedicated our lives to Gallaudet and
all it represents as a beacon of hope around the world are deeply
saddened. Once again, the Deaf community as a collective body is being
told our input doesn’t matter and that our leaders don’t care if we
are being oppressed. We are being told, “We know what is best for
you.” This condescending and paternalistic attitude is hard to
stomach in today’s world where access, equality, and justice are
expected. What is happening is a tragedy. Nobody can win in this
situation.

Yet, “Gallaudet” has spoken. In reality, Dr. Fernandes and Dr. King
have spoken. They have spoken volumes. The arrest of nearly 135
students on Friday, October 13, 2006, is evidence of this message. The
leaders our protests put into positions of power are using that power
against us. We need to be heard; we need to be respected; we need new
leadership; we need to heal.

Our Demand of Dr. Fernandes

We acknowledge that the Board of Trustees may be adamant about not
changing or rescinding their decision. We recognize that the Board may
be concerned that a precedent cannot be established whereby
demonstrations and protests can force the university authorities to
change policies and appointments every time a new president is
selected.

However, we do have a demand. We ask only one thing, and it is directed
to only one person, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes: Do what is right in this
situation and graciously resign from your appointment. Do so because it
is the most just resolution for all of the parties involved. Relinquish
control as a show of good faith to the collective community at the
university and beyond. That is exactly what Dr. Zinser did nearly two
decades ago, and it has lead to great progress all over the Deaf world.
Gregory Hlibok relates that Dr. Zinser considers her resignation the
best thing that she has ever done. We can only hope that someday, we
will be able to thank you for being courageous enough to take the same
action. Help us to move beyond this stalemate. Help us to tear down the
wall that has been built between repetitive denials and positive
action. Just as President Reagan appealed to Mikhail Gorbachev, we
appeal to you:

Tear down the wall, Jane Fernandes. Tear down the wall!

Unity for Gallaudet!

Remembering our past and committed to a just future, yours, the 1988
DPN Student Leaders,

Tim Rarus

Bridgetta Bourne-Firl

Greg Hlibok

Jerry Covell

Reprinted with permission by the authors