NPR: Noah Beckman Interview
National Public Radio (NPR)
All Things Considered
Leader: Gallaudet Protest Sought Equal Treatment
Reporter: Joseph Shapiro, NPR
November 4, 2006
DEBBIE ELLIOTT (host): The tent city was taken down earlier this week
at Gallaudet University here in Washington, after students at the
nation’s premiere school for the deaf won their long protest over a
presidential appointment at the college. It was a rare show of
tenacious — and successful — student activism, in an era when college
students don’t often take to the streets. NPR’s Joseph Shapiro covered
the battle at Gallaudet–a battle that included hunger strikes and
arrests. We asked him to go back to campus yesterday, to sit down with
student government president, Noah Beckman. Joe met up with him in the
Hall Memorial Building, one of the places the protesters took over last
month. They spoke through a sign language interpreter.
JOSEPH SHAPIRO: Maybe Noah, can I start by having you just introduce
yourself?
NOAH BECKMAN: I’m a fourth-year student here. I’m majoring in English
with a focus on literature. My family background… I am–my parents
are both deaf. I have a deaf younger brother.
SHAPIRO: When were you elected student body president?
BECKMAN: I was inaugurated last May. May 1st… Two hours before the
announcement of the ninth president.
SHAPIRO: Did anyone imagine that you could have the kind of power that
you eventually had?
BECKMAN: For some reason, we knew and once we grew our numbers and we
agreed on one mission, one statement and action, that it was easier to
change the system… and it’s interesting to discuss the actions that
the president took really sparked the fire.
SHAPIRO: Which actions?
BECKMAN: The arrests I think was the biggest action that sparked the
fire.
SHAPIRO: And that was 133-some students arrested on Oct. 13th, that
night.
BECKMAN: Which is known here on campus as Black Friday.
SHAPIRO: I think people were really struck by the passion of the
students here and I think that a lot of people outside of Gallaudet who
watch this protest are saying, ‘Wow, we don’t see student protests like
that any more.’ Why in this corner of the world, why these students?
BECKMAN: I’ll try my best to answer that. Maybe ’cause we’re a
linguistic minority and along with other minorities there’s potential
to bond. The issue for us here was the administration’s attitude. And I
think that’s what gave us power to congregate and tell the world that
the leadership here was ineffective.
SHAPIRO: Could students on this campus get as excited about the war in
Iraq as, say, they were in protesting the choice of a president for
their campus?
BECKMAN: Ah–I’m not so sure if they would, only because you know
that’s more of a Democrat/Republican thing. More–I don’t know. Maybe
we’re too focused on our own community here. Here on campus I think
there’s a lot of oppression that was going on and the oppression was
severe. We felt the oppression directly, here on campus.
SHAPIRO: What was the oppression?
BECKMAN: That the students didn’t have a voice. They didn’t weigh in
our voice at all.
SHAPIRO: But wasn’t that the role of the board of trustees though, to
select the president?
BECKMAN: Right, with understanding and interaction with the community.
You know that’s one of the many reasons why we chose to come to
Gallaudet. Because we wanted to be treated as equals here. You know, to
my surprise I’m not equal here. Maybe a little bit more than the
outside world, but less than expected. And to have that experience at
home, you know, our very home, is very, very unhealthy.
SHAPIRO: And after the protest? Do you feel now that students will be
treated as equals here?
BECKMAN: I will admit that the protest is one step of many that need to
take place. This was just one small step of the whole movement.
SHAPIRO: Noah Beckman, thank you.
BECKMAN: Thank you for coming and taking the time to speak with us.
ELLIOTT: Noah Beckman is the President of the Student Body Government
at Gallaudet University in Washington. He spoke to NPR’s Joseph
Shapiro through sign language interpreter Tony Barraza.
Audio clip of Beckman interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=04-Nov-2006&segNum=4&mediaPref=RM&getUnderwriting=1
Audio (entire show):
http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=04-Nov-2006&segNum=&mediaPref=RM&getUnderwriting=1
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I like to see university students fired up about something…just about anything, these days. Kudos to these guys and girls at Gallaudet for taking their education into their own hands, no matter the costs.
I am proud of you…but what about various areas of focus to make changes at Gallaudet on January 2006 (about 55 pages) by the task force of racism and audism committees include JKF, Jane Norman, Carolyn McCaskill, MJ, and others which they work on the goals. “We prepare hearing graduate students for careers in the Deaf community”. You may check online page 14, http://academic.affairs.gallaudet.edu/planning/documents/FullDiversityPlanforBOT2.pdf. In sharing their goals with the media about her vision for Gallaudet University, it appears they are trying to destroy the tradition of Gallaudet as a school of higher learning for the Deaf. Only they want to see more hearing expanding on the campus.
I remember when I was a teacher assistant for FYS. A book,”Tuesdays with Morrie” by hearing author, Mitch Albom, that FYS students were required to purchase the book but it were bored to them. The rumor said he was paid for fifteen thousand dollars (rumor said) to come to Gallaudet just to lecture. The book is about his life while he was in the college, reunites his coach many years later and took care of him during his illness(nothing about deaf culture) . I was very impressed with Louise Stern who studies in London and enjoyed her project and lecture, it relates about deaf culture in art(she comes from deaf family). I wondered, did Gallaudet pay her way to Gallaudet?
Most hearing students are at graduate school than deaf students, but HUG programs have increased to 25 percent. I wonder why the administrators are more interested to focus to help hearing to be successful than deaf students.
I think Gallaudet need to change and limit on hearing programs. I think all professors, staff, tutors, and students must communicate in ASL in class rooms. When I need help from psychology tutors and found most of them did not know sign. Some deaf students I know were very upset because their application for graduate school in deaf education were turned down because of their ASL so they had to change their majors. Gallaudet Counseling dept limit eight students half of them hearing and half of them deaf. There were over 125 applicants for counseling but they accept only 4 deaf. I hope the counseling , psychology, social work, etc will change and accept all deaf at the graduate school program only and help to make hearing students who are not fluent in ASL not welcome to compete with other deaf students. One hearing lady who can’t read ASL, graduated from Gallaudet with ph.d in psychology and got a job somewhere else. Now I think Gallaudet racism and audism committees need to think which goals on various areas of focus to make change which are important is to prepare D/deaf graduate students on careers in the deaf and hearing world. We need more Deaf social workers, professors, teachers, counselors, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and many more….
I believe undergraduate and graduate students can accomplish in other universities or college but if they want to work with deaf people, they may take ASL/DST courses only at Gallaudet.
I was told the link in the second comment doesn’t work. Here is the link: http://academic.affairs.gallaudet.edu/planning/documents/FullDiversityPlanforBOT2.pdf