Protests at Gallaudet are over; protesters won’t be punished
Protesters at Gallaudet University won’t be punished for staging rallies, faculty no-confidence votes and a tent city after the announcement of a new president at the school for the deaf, the board of trustees told the community yesterday.
A coalition of students, faculty, staff and alumni said the search process was badly flawed and demanded that it be reopened without reprisals for those who spoke out. When this did not happen, the protests began.
A faculty member had this to say about his view of the protests, and the students’ feelings about the new president: “In an attempt to divert observers and the Gallaudet University community from serious, underlying issues about her selection as the university’s next president, Jane K. Fernandes has endlessly spouted the official line that the protest is about identity politics, signing fluency and her being the wrong “kind” of deaf person. Nonsense. In 28 years as a faculty member at Gallaudet I have seen which faculty members have earned the students’ respect. Many of them are, of course, deaf or hard of hearing. However, a great number of these respected faculty members are hearing, and many of them are not fluent signers, but it doesn’t matter to the students. What students want most from their teachers is competence, a respectful rapport, and the ability to listen and respond sympathetically to their concerns. Without these qualities no teacher or administrator can ever earn the students’ trust or respect”.
After listening to scores of people on campus last week and considering hundreds of messages from people off campus, the board met in closed session and decided that stepping down as provost would allow Fernandes time to work on resolving some of the issues raised by protesters. She will lead a national search for the next provost.
Lots of things happened during the protests, including the resignations of two of its Board of Trustee leaders. Though the students didn’t get what they wanted, they agreed that the protests unified them, brought the issue before the Board of Trustees, and will ensure that Ms. Fernandes will be vigilant, and do a better job.
They also vowed that this is not over, and the protests will begin again when school reopens for the fall semester.