It’s Only Half Over

As some of you point out, as sweet as the taste of
victory is- the work is not over.

In battle, after a decisive victory:

poor generals are relieved and have their troops stand
down and deploy to the rear.

the average generals are optimistic and rest their
troops then decide what to do.

the brilliant generals go on the OFFENSIVE!

This is a tsunami wave of empowerment that is now
rushing through the deaf community, and I urge all of
us to jump on it, to sustain it, while everything is
in a state of flux- this is our opportunity to stamp
out policy with our mold, on our terms, and with our
vision.

HOUSECLEANING
As some of you point out, IKJ may have raised
endownment to unheard of levels, but he has also been
party to festering inner audism, racism, and
oppression. Now, one must understand that those
elements have been entrenched for 18 years at
Gallaudet. The same corrupt system that brought JKF to
the doorstep of the presidency isn’t simply going to
disappear with the new president. The attitudes and
the type of personality, authority, and policy that
produced this crisis are still going to be there!

SYSTEMS OF CHECKS AND BALANCE
The formation of FSSA is was a great idea, and it
served as a powerful ally during this protest. It now
needs to become something legitimate, and with central
leadership. It needs to be officially recognized at
Gallaudet and have a voice. I suggest that it become
FSSFGA with the FG standing for “Friends of Gallaudet”
and there be an annual membership fee and perhaps a
monthly newsletter and that it be a watchdog
organization. Other organizations such as NAD and NDBA
have got to monitor Gallaudet in the next few
extremely valuable months where policy has yet to be
dictated. They also must continue to have a critical
voice and forum that influences Gallaudet, to promote
and improve the right of the Deaf person.

THE NEW PRESIDENT
Just because an “evil” JKF was rejected doesn’t mean
the incoming president will be an angel either. SBG
and FSSSFGA and other organizations have got to jump
right on board and invest a serious interest and
involvement on how the new president charters his/her
policy and be sure they have a powerful voice and
influence on the new president.

EMPOWERMENT
Last and but not least, let this great wave of
empowerment sweep over this nation, and the globe. Use
this as incentive to eradicate audism wherever you
are, use this as inspiration to challenged oppression,
use this as a tool to inform and to condemn
discrimination. As Martin Luther King said, we shall
not stop until freedom rings from every hill!

Arthur Luhn

GALLYNET-L@gallynet.org

reprinted with permission by the listserv moderator

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Law-Breakers Accountable, BoT Says

Gallaudet Board Ousts Fernandes
As Protesters Cheer, Trustees Say Law-Breakers ‘Will
Be Held Accountable’

By Susan Kinzie, Nelson Hernandez and David A.
Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 30, 2006; A01

The governing board of Gallaudet University revoked
the appointment of the school’s incoming president
yesterday, giving in to the demands of students,
faculty and others whose protests have kept the
nation’s premier school for the deaf in turmoil for
the past month.

The board, meeting in a special session at a hotel
near Dulles International Airport, voted to
“terminate” Jane K. Fernandes’s position as
president-designate and said she would not take over
for President I. King Jordan as planned Jan. 1. The
board issued a statement late yesterday afternoon
saying the decision was made with “much regret and
pain.”

“We understand the impact of this decision and the
important issues that inherently arise when a Board
re-examines decisions in the face of an on-going
protest,” the statement read. “The Board believes that
it is in the best interests of the University to
terminate Dr. Fernandes from the incoming President’s
position.”

The news set off a wild celebration at Gallaudet’s
Northeast Washington campus yesterday afternoon, with
protest leaders cheering and embracing one another.
Their reaction also showed the depth of bitterness
some feel toward Fernandes, as protesters shredded a
large effigy of her and then set it on fire.

“I’m elated. I’m so excited right now,” said LaToya
Plummer, a leader among the opposition to Fernandes.
“The next step is to focus on how we want to improve
the search process.”

Said board member Susan Elliott: “Let the healing
begin.”

The decision brought an end to the protests. Last
night, student leaders said they met with some board
members who said that protesters arrested during
demonstrations will not automatically be expelled but
that there will be consequences. The board of trustees
issued a statement saying that although they respected
the right to free speech, “individuals who violated
the law and Gallaudet University’s Code of Conduct
will be held accountable.”

Some board members asked students to make a good-faith
effort to clean the campus, open all gates and return
to classes. Students said they would do so today.

Gallaudet students, staff and alumni had raised a
variety of objections to Fernandes since she was
appointed in the spring, saying she was a divisive
figure and the process that selected her was unfair.

Fernandes had previously vowed that she would not
quit, despite protests that have included takeovers of
school buildings and a three-day blockade of the
campus that ended with 130 arrests. She issued a
statement yesterday, making it clear that the decision
to end her appointment was the board’s and not hers.

“It is with deep regret that I heard the Board’s
decision to terminate my contract,” Fernandes said. “I
love Gallaudet University and I believe I could have
made a significant contribution to its future.”

Neither her statement nor the university’s said what
Fernandes, 50, who is no longer provost, would do
next, or whether she would receive compensation for
the loss of her position. Board member Frank Wu, who
is chairman of the compensation committee, said
earlier this month that rumors of a $2 million buyout
clause were untrue. He said it is customary for
college presidents to have severance provisions in
their contract, typically for a year at an amount near
their salary.

Gallaudet, founded in 1864, has a student body of
about 1,800 students, and its campus also includes a
high school and elementary school for deaf and
hard-of-hearing students. Because of the school’s
status, its president is often seen as a national
leader in the deaf community — a symbolic importance
that makes selecting a president there an even more
complicated process than it is on most college
campuses.

In 1988, after the university’s board selected a
hearing woman as its president, mass protests swept
Jordan into office as the school’s first deaf leader.
This spring, the selection of Fernandes to succeed
Jordan set off a new protest movement that — while
its objections were far more complex than the old
rallying cry of “Deaf President Now” — reached a
similar level of intensity.

Some said there was insufficient diversity among
members of the candidate pool, that a white man with a
master’s degree advanced further in the process than a
black man with a doctorate and that Jordan was overly
involved in the search.

Other objections focused on Fernandes, who has long
been a controversial figure at Gallaudet. Some
objected to the way she was appointed provost by
Jordan six years earlier and others said she had
alienated too many staff and faculty members in her 11
years at the school. Immediately after the board
announced she would be the next president, students
walked out of the auditorium.

After a quiet summer, protests resumed this month as
the board came to campus for its October meeting.

Student leaders took over an academic building for
several days. Then members of the football team joined
the protests, and all entrances to the campus were
blocked. The campus was shut down until more than 130
protesters were arrested. Faculty voted to ask
Fernandes to resign or be removed, and alumni joined
the tents dotting the lawn. Last weekend, an estimated
2,000 people marched to the U.S. Capitol.

Before yesterday, Fernandes had insisted that she was
the only person to lead the campus at a time such as
this. She said the roots of objections against her lay
in deaf identity politics: Fernandes is deaf, but she
grew up among hearing children and did not learn
American Sign Language — used commonly at Gallaudet
– until her 20s.

But, as the protests went on, support on the board
began to erode.

Yesterday’s meeting brought the conflict to a new
turning point. Near the hotel, a group of 250 or so
protesters arrived on buses Saturday evening. They
held candles along a roadside. On campus, protest
leaders were already promising a new blockade at 6
a.m. today if the board did not reject Fernandes.

The 20-member board includes three members of
Congress, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rep. Ray LaHood
(R-Ill.) and Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey (D-Calif.),
reflecting the fact that a majority of Gallaudet’s
funding comes from the federal government.

When the board decided to oust Fernandes, the reaction
spread by pager and e-mail through the coalition of
parents, alumni, students, staff and others in the
U.S. deaf community who had sought it.

On campus, people hugged, leapt in the air and cheered
aloud and in sign language. When a student leader held
up a large wood-and-cardboard drawing of Fernandes,
many in the crowd yelled, “Burn it!” or waved their
fingers in the air to say “burning” in sign language.

But as time passed, all protesters wanted to talk
about was healing the divisions.

Some on campus, however, said yesterday that the
entire episode might leave Gallaudet divided between
those who backed Fernandes and those who opposed her.
One of Fernandes’s supporters, sociology professor
Margaret Vitullo, said that yesterday was a “very,
very sad day” for the school.

“The short-term gain may be there,” she said, for
those celebrating on campus. “They think they’ve done
this wonderful thing for Gallaudet — but they’ve
fundamentally weakened the rule of law, and they’ve
fundamentally weakened the university.”

Sources close to the board, who asked not to be named
because board negotiations are private, said the board
will be talking about the role Jordan will have and
whether to bring in an interim president. One possible
candidate, sources said, is Robert Davila, who served
as chief executive for the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf.

Jordan issued a statement yesterday afternoon urging
the Gallaudet community to overcome divisions that, in
his words, “overtook reason, respect, and civility.”

“We should not look for a resolution to the struggle
of recent months in terms of winners and losers,” he
said. “If we do, Gallaudet and our students will be
the losers.”

Correction to This Article
Earlier versions of this article in the print and
online editions of The Washington Post incorrectly
referred to severance packages for college professors.
The sentence should have said that severance packages
customarily offered to college presidents — not
professors — typically equal about one year of the
former president’s salary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900533.html

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Clean Up

Hello everybody…

it’s time to clean up our beautiful campus before PPD clean up after us.

Unity for Gallaudet.

-*Paul Sweeney Jr.

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Should Jordan Stay?

Jordan brought Fernandes into Gallaudet University regardless of the objections of the university faculty senate when she was appointed as a provost, without the shared governance of the faculty senate.The university faculty senate’s vote of no confidence was ignored by Jordan. Jordan managed to grant Fernandes tenure without the permission of the faculty senate, resulting in a strong disapproval by the faculty senate. Audism and racism plagued the community and cries for those issues to be addressed were never heeded.

The Gallaudet Community spoke strongly against the appointment of Fernandes and it was ignored. Jordan controlled all correspondence to the BoT as the primary gatekeeper. We’ve received responses from several puzzled BoT members indicating that they have never received some of the correspondence sent through the president’s office.

At the announcement of selection of JK as the presidential appointee, Jordan had the auditorium heavily manned by security guards. When Ryan got up and walked to the front of the audience, Jordan immediately broke away from the BoT group and walked eight or ten feet toward Ryan as Ryan was going to tell the audience they were free to leave if they disagreed with the appointment. Jordan gave a little nod and the security guard trailing Ryan immediately seized him, without signing and roughly escorted Ryan out of the auditorium, where he was frisked, arrested, and placed on persona non grata (png). For what? He was telling the audience they were free to leave, just like Harvey Goodstein did. He didn’t break any laws, but yet he was placed on png for ten days and he had to miss the graduation ceremonies of his girlfriend.

Tent City rose overnight. Jordan argued with the protesters the next day or on the third day. When the protesters remained undeterred, Jordan ordered the police to arrest 100 students. The police refused, saying it was a private matter between the university and its students.

After the appointment of Fernandes, the university faculty senate spoke again when they gave Fernandes another vote of no confidence. Jordan ignored them, too.

Summer break commenced. Jordan issued that infamous Restrictions of Students’ Expressions, designed only to silence the protesters. He proclaimed at the NAD conference that there was no crisis at Gallaudet.

After the Fall semester began, he protest resumed with a small march. Jordan ordered DPS to monitor the students, taking pictures, intimidating the students to the point that some of them covered their heads with paper bags.

Jordan had a building naming ceremony followed up by a gallery naming event with the BoT attending, being deaf to the cries of the protesters. Later that evening, he had a luxurious gala in the midst of the protesters, ignoring their pleas for a dialogue.

In a desperate attempt to be heard, the students locked down HMB overnight. During the day, the FSSA offered the possibility of mediation. Jordan’s response to the offer was an order to tell the security guards to raid HMB the next morning. Students were hurt and terrorized. 

He had the public relations department issue statements that the students weren’t injured and pepper spray never used, both false. He never stopped by to check with the students.

During the weekend he ordered DPS to block the access of media to the students weekend following the lockdown. He denied the access of students to the reporters by withholding interpreters’ services.

Then that infamous Black Friday where the arrests of 134 students was ordered and carried out by his own DPS and rental cops, in darkness, breaking his own promise that any arrests would be done during the daytime so the visual accessibility of the students wouldn’t be hampered.

82% of the faculty, as well as Clerc Center, Student Body Government, Student Congress, Graduate Student Association, GUAA, NAD, parents, and friends calling for Fernandes’ resignation and all were ignored by Jordan.

The hunger strike of some students began and continued for weeks, without a visit from Jordan.

Then the fiasco at Brentwood Gate where he ordered the DPS, PPDs, and rental cops to ambush the students.  Metal pipes and construction wood pieces were thrown onto the tops of tents while the students slept. The DPS and PPDs broke in through the gate, severely lacerated the toe of one graduate student. One student leader was kicked in the groin. Another student’s knee cap was slammed by a metal pipe. There were eight documented injuries and two had to go to the ER. DPS lied to the ambulance workers when they said there were no injuries. DPS refused to offer assistance to the ambulance workers looking for the injured parties. The public relations spokesperson minimized the injuries.

Jordan broke his own promise that students would be notified before DPS interferes again.

What was Jordan’s response?   “Paul Kelly, Jordan, and Fernandes met with the students today, without any representation from the police forces, and announced that there was never any agreement to have the 6th street entrance as the only access point to campus, contrary to the agreement articulated in past public safety meetings.  Jordan then went on to announce that he takes all responsibility for that morning’s situation at the MSSD gate, and that he felt he made a good decision to order the DPS to destroy tents blocking the MSSD gate and ”surprise” the sleeping students, which resulted in eight documented assaults, despite the fact that students were under the impression any change in the status quo would be discussed at meetings as happened at previous public safety meetings.  Jordan made it clear that the gates must reopen and threatened arrests. I fear for the students’ safety.  Stay tuned” said Suzy Rosen Singleton, an alumnus who is also an attorney.

This from a president who was entrusted to protect the welfare and safety of the students of Gallaudet University. Do you want a president who have harmed Gallaudet University so much over the last few months to stay and finish his term?

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Posters/Banners: Contact Information

For the banner and poster that’s taken down and collected for archive purpose.  Please contact Jeanine at bluesun@tmail.com so she can take care of all of the banner and poster that you collected.   She will save them for archives.  It needs to be done asap before PPD does their clean up.

*paul sweeney jr

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Hunger Strikers?

Few people asked me about the hunger strikers. At the the news of Fernandes’s resignation, there were five strikers left, two from Oct 13th.  Allegedly at least two went to the hospital for medical treatment.  David Simmons and Larry Vollmar were still at the front gate, so they got up on the rally stand where they were cheered and applauded for their courageous roles in this protest.

The hunger strikers have been one of  not only my, but all Gallaudet Community’s worries.  After four hours of interviews nine days ago, my heart was broken and I’ve kept close tabs with the hunger strikers since then.  We all are very relieved to hear that the hunger strikers will start eating again.

The protocol for resuming a normal diet is very slow. One cannot start eating normal food immiedately as the body will not be able to handle it. They will need to start with liquid supplements and gradually add soft food, then solid foods, little at a time. The recovery will take days, if not weeks.

Our hopes are that Christine R, affectionally known as Coco, will regain the temporary loss of vision experienced the last several days of her hunger strike.

 In my opinion, they are the real heroes of the protest.

This entry will be heavily moderated. Due to the sensitive nature of the hunger strike, no negative comments will be posted. elizabeth

 email contact: mishkazena@aol.com@

From Last Night

At last! At last! We reached our goals! They had the rally at field
house at 5pm. They pronounced that Dr. Jane Fernandes has been fired.
The Board of Trustees has decided to terminate the contract of agreement that Dr. Jane Fernandes earned 2 million dollars and the position of Gallaudet University’s ninth president. Dr. Jane Fernandes has say that she is greatly in sorrow and has big hope for Gallaudet. But she failed, Dr. I King Jordan says that It is great that Dr. Jane Fernandes has the courage and she dedicate to this community at Gallaudet.
   

After the pronouncation that Dr. Jane Fernandes is terminated,
the student burst in tears of happiness, the hands went up and the mouth opened and scream, the legs and the arm movement is shaky and huggable.
At last, we finally worked hard and broke JK’s designate as a president. Gallaudet University is now ours. We made this university successful and for the future of Gallaudet and the children of the future.

We had the ceremony at the football field, the burning of the dummy of the Jane Kelleher Fernandes. We are happy that we have Gallaudet, now we create better leadership person that could lead us at Gallaudet. We had a lot of hugs, talking, and taking picture. People screamed “There is  party tonight! JK is going home!” They acted like it is their happiest  moment at Gallaudet.

Hunger strikes has been strong and sturdy all these long and hard three weeks of protesting and suffering without foods. Now they are taken to  the hospital and get I.V. and hope they will heal again.

Gallaudet is alive, back again. We the Gallaudet University, our home. I must
thankful for their bravery throughout the protest week, it has been hard
and we succeed, they know what they love. The love is for Gallaudet,
they know the deepest guts feeling of Gallaudet. No one in the  world
can destroy Gallaudet. We standby so strong and solid deaf communities.

I am now having the tears of joyness, this part is the best Gallaudet
experience for my freshman year. I truly am proud of all the every
person in deaf communities that are there for Gallaudet University. We are like family, we made this unity and warm loving community.

I love you all! We made it, we succeed together, we are always
Gallaudetians in our heart.

“Believe your dream and goal, take a blink, you will land to your
destination.” — me

From a student protester, Paul, one of my regular contacts

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Posters and Banners

Please ensure our posters and banners are taken down with dignity and
peserve them for archives.

–vphreak
elizabeth: I have the banners used to decorate the car for the march still in the car along with the deaf blogger badge I wore while interviewing protesters that day. They will join the collection of DPN memorabilia, including the sign I created for the historical march to the Capitol “No More Paternalism!” Eighteen years later, one banner on my car stated “No More Oppression!”

Hopefully, with this latest battle, there will be no more paternalism and oppression on the campus. They have no business there. 

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Reunions During The Protest

When I stopped by HMB during its lockdown for an hour on my way home from SC, I saw one old student of mine, several  classmates from my younger days and  few few colleagues of mine.

On Saturday when I participated in the march, the rally at Capitol, and the homecoming on campus afterwards, I saw more old classmates,  some that I have not seen for twenty-five years (yeah, I know I am revealing my age here, grin),  more former students and colleagues and also many from our DPN protest days.

Yesterday when I went back on campus for four hours, not only did I met more of my old students, I also saw more of my classmates, colleagues and DPN protesters

Also, during these three visits, I met the student leaders and many protesters that I’ve never met, but spoke with and worked with on the Internet. Even though we have never met in person before, we experienced an immediate bond, strengthened by our fight for justice.

The protest brought the Deaf Community closer.

email contact: mishkazena@aol.com

Congratulations To BoT

To the Board of Trustees:

I know that this was a very difficult decision for a Board of Trustees.  It is always very difficult to reverse a decision.  I can only imagine the arguments that took place on both sides.

I do not believe that the decision was unanimous, regardless of what anyone ever says.

I do believe that the final decision was made with Gallaudet’s best interests in mind.  It was not a coerced decision.

The information was there to justify a change.

Thankfully, the information was used.

Lets move forward.

Congratulations for making the right decision.

Jim Macfadden

GALLYNET-L@gallynet.org
Reprinted with permission by the listserv moderator

email contact:  mishkazena@aol.com