No Events Drawing Large Numbers, Said Jordan

“We cannot have events that will draw large numbers
of people. Under the present circumstances it simply is not a safe or
prudent thing to do.” 

Commentary: Not safe? Can anyone tell me why a large group of proud alumni on campus to celebrate homecoming, a highly treasured annual event, with the students is not safe? Am I missing anything?

The last time I heard, most of the gates are open. If memory serves me right, most of the gates were closed during homecoming weekend, anyway.  Why isn’t Jordan willing to work with the protesters to set up teams to open the gates during an emergency rather than go on it heavy handed by ‘postponing’ the homecoming events?

It looks to me another attempt to suppress and silence the opposition from people who disagrees with the appointment of Fernandes as the next president by ejecting them from the campus.  Does anyone feel this way? elizabeth

From: President [mailto:President@Gallaudet.edu]

Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:21 PM
To: President@gallaudet.edu
Subject: Postponement of Homecoming
Importance: High

October 19, 2006

To Members of the Campus Community:

I know that we are all disappointed about the postponement of
Homecoming. It was a difficult decision to make, but necessary under the
circumstances. Currently there is just one gate that provides access to
campus, the Sixth Street gate. Those of you who have used it to enter
campus have found the going slow and frustrating. The long lines and
wait time for people leaving campus in the afternoon have been even
worse. The Brentwood Parkway gate near MSSD and the West Virginia Avenue
gate near Kendall School are locked, closed and barricaded with tents
and debris. We have made repeated requests to the protestors to open
these gates and each request has been refused.

Given this very limited access to campus, I simply cannot invite
hundreds and possibly thousands of people to come to our campus for
Homecoming. In the past, when Homecoming events took place, we opened as
many gates as were needed to allow traffic to flow smoothly. Even with
all the gates open past Homecomings have created a logistical problem
with traffic. With only one open gate, it would be impossible to assure
that emergency vehicles, such as ambulances or fire trucks could quickly
enter campus and respond as needed. We have already had incidents where
emergency vehicles have encountered difficulty accessing the campus.

Homecoming is an important tradition at Gallaudet and by continuing to
barricade all but one gate, the protesters are responsible for the
disruption of this year’s events.  That is why there will be no
official Gallaudet University sanctioned Homecoming this weekend. All
official Homecoming events are postponed and will be rescheduled. For
safety’s sake there can be no large scale events that draw large numbers
of people, such as the football game or open events scheduled in
auditoriums or large meeting rooms.

We are aware that there are small scale events that have been scheduled
independently of official, University sponsored, events. We will attempt
to cooperate with those individuals who are already on campus and have
already reserved rooms and arranged for catering. We will try to work
with those who have planned events such as class reunions that have
limited attendance. We cannot have events that will draw large numbers
of people. Under the present circumstances it simply is not a safe or
prudent thing to do.

I ask that you join me in working to restore our sense of community and
mutual caring.

I. King Jordan
President