Showdown at Gallaudet!

faNatic said:
I drove thru the 6th street gate last night, no protesters in there, just DPS security were checking the cars.

The protesters are located at the front gate, back of gallaudet campus, mssd gate, and that is it.
Click to expand...


I was at the Gallaudet football homecoming game last night
at MSD in Frederick (instead of DC) so I did not bothered
to go to DC at all.

Hey Peachylady, were you at the same football game
in Frederick too ?
 
Firstly, a charter bus can get through the 6th st. gate. I go through that gate regularly.

Second, I saw a pic of one, on a blog, being allowed through the 8th st. gate, carrying the Gally football team to Frederick.
 
The world is changing! Deafness is being cured. And we have a bunch of deaf kids trying to prevent change by destroying a deaf university because they dont like the new president.

Its a mad deaf world isnt it?

Richard Roehm
 
Nesmuth said:
The world is changing! Deafness is being cured. And we have a bunch of deaf kids trying to prevent change by destroying a deaf university because they dont like the new president.

Its a mad deaf world isnt it?

Richard Roehm
Click to expand...

Yes, but even as a hearing person, I can empathize with their plight. Imagine if someone appeared on a press conference one day and said "African Americanism can now be 'cured' with this little device." Huh? "Cured"?

I think Deafness is both a disability and a culture. It's really unlike any other disability I can think of. It's not as debilitating as most disabilities. In fact, I think one can argue in good faith that it’s not even really a disability, as much as it is just a totally different way of relating to the world. In principle (if not in practice), you could take a hearing child, never speak a spoken word to them, teach them sign, and you'd have a Deaf cultured child.

Deafness is unique in that it affects communication in a such a way as to necessitate the development of a language, which in turn creates a culture. You don't really have blind or visually impaired people communicating in a different way (they have Braille, but that's an aid to reading--not exactly a language that people regularly interact in real time with). You don't have physically handicapped people developing a separate language. So, while people with other disabilities might have a sort of camaraderie with one another, they don't develop as complex of a culture as the Deaf.

I really wonder if the medical ethicists who were involved in the development and deployment of the CI thought much about the cultural fall out from the CI. From one perspective you can say "What a wonderful invention! You're curing most deafness! You're such a genius!!" From another perspective you can say "What an awful invention! You're further isolating an already small minority. What's wrong with you?!" Both perspectives are perfectly understandable. It's also understandable why the culturally Deaf would react the way they're reacting to Fernandes. She's basically not culturally Deaf. She also seems to have said and done some things that encourage the culturally Deaf to mistrust her. She might have been able to work as President if she hadn't also blundered around regarding these sensitive cultural issues. It's not about "being deaf enough", it's about being culturally sensitive enough, and wise enough. Knowledge is not the same thing as wisdom, and sensitivity is not the same thing as awareness.

That's why I think the Board of Trustees at Gally should step back and understand that they're unique -- they're an abberation. They're in a situation where the traditional "top down" hierarchy of most universities doesn't apply. The students need to have more say in what happens in that school than most schools (maybe not about academics, but definitely in the strategic direction of the school). I don't see why that's so threatening, and I think this kind of protest is sort of predictable when that somewhat obvious (to me anyway) conculsion is ignored.
 
The CI fallacy is only a bridge to the new and more recent developments in genetics and technology that addresses hearing loss. I happen to serve on a committee to a particular development and I see the society is so willing to spend millions of dollars in research to curing hearing loss. And some of the research results is classified yet so wonderful enough to show a solid path to curing deafness.

And yes I agree its very painful to those who are fighting tooth and nail to preserve a culture of dependence that has been part of their livelihoods.

However people go through growing pains once in a lifetime, the deaf society can go through the growing pains as well.

Richard Roehm
 
Nesmuth said:
...
And yes I agree its very painful to those who are fighting tooth and nail to preserve a culture of dependence that has been part of their livelihoods.
...
Richard Roehm
Click to expand...

That seems a little dismissive. Someone who is culturally Deaf isn't necessarily "fighting tooth and nail to preserve a culture of dependence". The Deaf people I know are actually quite self reliant. I certainly have nothing to gain by trying to keep the Deaf dependent on anything. I'm just a guy trying to learn ASL to be able to work better with co-workers, build better relationships with deaf family members, and experience another culture -- similar to why I learned Spanish many years ago.

Did you perhaps wiz past my first paragraph? I don't know what ethnic group you belong to (let's say "middle class white Anglo-Saxon protestant male" just for the sake of discussion). Now let's say some scientist stands up and gives a press conference and says that he has a 'cure' that will turn you into a poor Hispanic catholic man. Not only that, there are 'genetic cures' on the horizon that will allow you to become a wealthy Israeli Hasidic rabbi, or an Ethiopian subsistence farmer. What he can turn you into is less important than what society currently considers "better". The most morally neutral thing you can say is "well, at least you have a choice". However, it is intentionally unmindful to ignore the fact that such a 'cure' is going to have significant ramifications. And no, I'm not talking about ramifications for those who have something to gain by "repressing" the culturally Deaf. I'm talking about the ramifications to families, friends, neighbors, children, parents, grandparents, and so on.

Don't get me wrong. I think these devices and medical advances are miracles of modern medicine, and indeed, for many they are a good choice (for example, those with late onset deafness, or even those who are born deaf but personally wish to experience sound [and are not coerced into it]). Nevertheless, I would hate to live in a world where implantation or genetic modification to correct perceived imperfection is the norm, or that we stop accommodating those with hearing loss simply because "they are choosing not to be implanted". Ever see the movie "Gataca?"

Eugenics died a well deserved death in a bunker in Berlin in April 1945.
 
I found this little snippet from the Washington Post to be sort of interesting:

Washington, D.C.: You seem to be contradicting yourself in this discussion. You said, "at one point there were as many as 24 demands which have now been reduced to two, which are non-negotiable. It is difficult to negotiate with people who are intransigent in their demands." Yet obviously the students HAVE been negotiating and willing to compromise if they have gone from 24 to two demands. You may not like their demands, but how can you possibly claim they are unwilling to negotiate?

Jane K. Fernandes: There have always been two non-negotiable demands: my resignation and no reprisals. When the students locked down the Hall Memorial Building, they proposed 24 demands they wanted from me and the administration in order to release the building.

At this point, the 24 demands have gone away because we re-took the building.

The two original demands still remain and those are not negotiable. It is impossible to negotiate when the protesters have no flexibility in their demands.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like a very wise way to respond to the question posed. What is the reader supposed to understand from her response? That she believes "might makes right?" Heck, if that's the case, why doesn't she call for the storm troopers to sweep in and clear all the dissenters away for good? I tend to sort of agree with the protesters here... I'm not getting a sense that this woman is very good on the "soft skills" of being a leader.

She also keeps bringing up the "lawlessness" of the protesters. Last time I checked, civil disobedience almost always involves some form of lawlessness. Calling them lawless doesn't negate their cause -- far from it, it underscores the fact that the so called "leaders" of this institution have allowed things to fester for too long, and driven the students and faculty to the point of having to commit lawless acts to get their point across.
 
Calphool said:
I found this little snippet from the Washington Post to be sort of interesting:



That doesn't sound like a very wise way to respond to the question posed. What is the reader supposed to understand from her response? That she believes "might makes right?" Heck, if that's the case, why doesn't she call for the storm troopers to sweep in and clear all the dissenters away for good? I tend to sort of agree with the protesters here... I'm not getting a sense that this woman is very good on the "soft skills" of being a leader.

She also keeps bringing up the "lawlessness" of the protesters. Last time I checked, civil disobedience almost always involves some form of lawlessness. Calling them lawless doesn't negate their cause -- far from it, it underscores the fact that the so called "leaders" of this institution have allowed things to fester for too long, and driven the students and faculty to the point of having to commit lawless acts to get their point across.
Click to expand...

YAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The*Empress said:
YAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

You're funny. :lol:
 
Y said:
I was at the Gallaudet football homecoming game last night
at MSD in Frederick (instead of DC) so I did not bothered
to go to DC at all.

Hey Peachylady, were you at the same football game
in Frederick too ?
Click to expand...

No, Y...I wasn't at the football game in Frederick. My good friend's son plays football for Gally, so that's how I knew they played at different school instead of at Gally. I would have liked to meet you in person, Y. Perhaps I shall someday! I plan to go to AD Caucus in 2008...are you?
 
Peachy Lady said:
No, Y...I wasn't at the football game in Frederick. My good friend's son plays football for Gally, so that's how I knew they played at different school instead of at Gally. I would have liked to meet you in person, Y. Perhaps I shall someday! I plan to go to AD Caucus in 2008...are you?
Click to expand...

Hi Peachylady, yeah me too
I'd like to meet you someday, who knows ?

I haven't make any plans for 2008 yet depends.
 
Today 4 deaf Gallaudet protesters got hurt real bad. And tonight could be a repeat of black friday.

Thats the cost of the old deaf guard's war against changes in deaf culture and the future of deaf society.

I'm still boggled by the old deaf guards zeal to preserve a dependency gulag when the future of the deaf society is as beautiful as paradise.

Richard Roehm
 
Protesters Leave Gallaudet Office Building

By Debbi Wilgoren, Susan Kinzie and Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 25, 2006; 1:34 PM

Student protesters at Gallaudet University took over the main administrative building on campus overnight, chaining the doors and saying school officials could not enter unless they were more responsive to the on-going campus unrest.

Early this morning campus police surrounded the building, known as College Hall, and cordoned it off with yellow tape. The demonstrators voluntarily left the building, which houses the president's office, a short time later.


Gallaudet Protests

See the latest headlines, multimedia and interviews with key figures in the ongoing unrest at Gallaudet University.

• Photos | Live Online | Video
• Audio Interview Transcripts


» FULL COVERAGE


What Readers Are Saying
Your Comments On...


Protesters Leave Gallaudet Office Building

"The incoming president has offered to meet with them [the students], and has in fact met with them...the reality is they will not accept her, no matter what she does....I question why the disruptive students are allowed to stay...they are making it incredibly difficult for the other students to get an education!! Impossible is more like it. I don’t know of any school where the students get to decide who’s in charge. "

-- By cleverlyc
• View, Add More Comments
• Read the Story


Save & Share Article What's This?

DiggGoogle
del.icio.usYahoo!
Reddit
Demonstrations have raged on campus for three weeks, as disgruntled students and faculty renewed their opposition to the selection of Jane K. Fernandes last May as the next president of Gallaudet, the nation's premier college for the deaf.

Protesters say the selection process was flawed and say the incoming president is not a good leader. Fernandes has said she will not step down. University administrators say she's the best candidate, that she was chosen in a fair process and that she will take office in January.

As classes got underway this morning, College Hall, the symbolic entrance to Gallaudet, remained closed, but authorities were in the process of reopening it. Protesters put masking tape to the front door to College Hall that spelled "J.K. OUT," using a nickname for Fernandes. Newspapers were taped over inside doors.

Students said university employees tried to reopen two gates that protesters had blocked. They said two students were hurt and taken away in an ambulance.

"They forced their way in without talking to us," said Gallaudet student Brian Morrison. "This has been a peaceful protest. But they physically hurt me. I said I would clean up my stuff, and they just grabbed it."

"We want this to stop," Morrison said. "One person can stop this. Jane Fernandes can step down."

A bulldozer scooped up items like office chairs, clothes and bedding that protesting students had used to block one of the gates.:eek3:

"They threw all our stuff out here," said student Erin Moran. "That shows how they treat us and that shows what they think of us."

The protesters demonstrated for two weeks in May, after Fernandes was chosen, and resumed while trustees were meeting on the Northeast Washington campus early this month. They shut down the university's main academic building for several days and then closed the campus entirely, allowing it to reopen only after more than 130 demonstrators were arrested.

Many alumni and students' families have come to the Northeast Washington campus or staged sympathetic "tent-city" protests in other cities, while some students and faculty have ended up protesting the protests and saying they want to resume their educations.

Last week, the faculty voted to ask Fernandes to resign or be removed and expressed a loss of confidence in both Jordan and the board. On Saturday, about 2,000 people marched to Capitol Hill to oppose Fernandes's appointment.

University trustees are attempting to meet this Sunday to address the crisis, if arrangements for security can be made.


Gallaudet Protests

See the latest headlines, multimedia and interviews with key figures in the ongoing unrest at Gallaudet University.

• Photos | Live Online | Video
• Audio Interview Transcripts


» FULL COVERAGE


What Readers Are Saying
Your Comments On...


Protesters Leave Gallaudet Office Building

"The incoming president has offered to meet with them [the students], and has in fact met with them...the reality is they will not accept her, no matter what she does....I question why the disruptive students are allowed to stay...they are making it incredibly difficult for the other students to get an education!! Impossible is more like it. I don’t know of any school where the students get to decide who’s in charge. "

-- By cleverlyc
• View, Add More Comments
• Read the Story


Save & Share Article What's This?

DiggGoogle
del.icio.usYahoo!
Reddit
Student protest leader LaToya Plummer said in an e-mail interview this morning that protesters locked down the first floor of College Hall because of the "lack of response of Gallaudet administrators" to earlier actions and to telegraph their displeasure that the university is threatening to take punitive action against them.

Students who were arrested because of the protests face administrative disciplinary hearings and have been warned that if they continue with the protest they will be expelled from campus, demonstrators said in an e-mailed statement. Those students who have jobs on campus, as well as campus employees who were arrested, have been suspended from their jobs "without due process," the statement said.

"This is their attempt in creating more fear amongst the students, staff, faculty," Plummer, a 25-year-old junior, said in her e-mail. "The protest is still very much alive."

This morning, as campus police mobilized at College Hall, they asked faculty and staff members to leave the area and told them that if they remained they would be considered as one of the protesters, another statement by the protesters said.

Shortly after 8 a.m., Plummer said all the protesters had "evacuated" the building.

Plummer said protesters are frustrated that neither Fernandes nor Jordan has approached several students who are staging a hunger strike in a tent by the main campus gate to "find out what's going on."

The university issued a statement on Monday saying that staff members from the Student Health Service and Mental Health Center are checking the students twice a day, and that they have been told the students are subsisting on a diet of "Boost (a high-protein shake), water, V-8 juice, and chicken broth."
 
Back
Top