Gallaudet students protest against new president
Today will mark the third day of protests and vigils by students at Gallaudet University, the world’s only college for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The protests are against their new school president, Jane Fernandes.
I remember another protest that took place at Gallaudet back in 1988. At that time, I was living in Chicago, and working for the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. I was in DC on my first national ADAPT action, and my then supervisor, who is deaf-blind and uses a wheelchair, wanted to join the protests in support of the students. I eagerly went along.
That protest was also over their board’s selection of a new president. That president, as were all the previous presidents, was not deaf, but hearing. The students were fed up with that, and staged protests and vigils, as well as marches on the Capitol and the White House. These historic events, of which I am honored to have participated in, resulted in the selection of Gallaudet’s first deaf president, I. King Jordan.
Fast forward 18 years. Several months ago, I. King Jordan announced his upcoming retirement, and the board set about choosing his successor. A few days ago, the successor was announced–Jane Fernandes, the school provost. Almost immediately, protests and vigils were organized. Sudents said that they don’t like her because they feel that she is aloof, cold, and disrespectful to them.
They also said they do not like Fernandes’s leadership style, the way the search was performed and the feeling that they have been ignored.
One alumnus said the disagreement was between those who want Gallaudet to be an academic institution and those who want it to be the center of deaf culture. Some students said the fight was about means of communication, as technology and medicine change the experience of deafness. Others said the issue was racial diversity: A strong black candidate did not even make the top three, they said.
she would work to improve relations with students over the next eight months — the period before Jordan steps down — and that they would get to know a new Jane Fernandes. The role of provost is very different from the role of president, she said afterward.
She said it will be hard to follow Jordan. “I’m more of a quiet leader,” she said. “Quiet but effective — I have a different style.”
She said a priority will be forging unity. “Because we have so many different aspects of the deaf community,” different ways of communicating, different backgrounds and different priorities, “we need Gallaudet to pull all of these together. I think I can help to do that.”
And, she added, “it’s important for me to clearly say that I see ASL as the fabric that holds together Gallaudet’s diverse community. So Gallaudet will always be a signing university. We will always use visual communication. We will always use that.”
Well, it sounds like Ms. Fernandes realizes that she is in an uphill battle with her students, and that she shas some major work to do to heal the hurt and dissatisfaction that the students feel. I will keep abreast of these protests, and give updates. Hopefully, there will be a resolution that both parties can agree to.