Gallaudet students resume protests
The tents are back up at Gallaudet University. Students there are resuming their protest over the selection of Jane Fernandes as president. The students say that they are upset over the Board of Trustee’s selection process, including the lack of racial diversity in that process, and the student’s perception that Jane Fernandes is someone who isn’t suited to the post because she is cold and aloof, disrespectful to students, and is considered divisive. Students and faculty who support Fernandes including outgoing president, I. King Jordan, insist that the real problem is a matter of deaf culture, since Fernandes did not begin to use American Sign Language until she became an adult.
Personally, I belive that painting the cause of the student protests as merely a tiff over deaf culture, and who is or is not deaf enough is a slap in the face of the students. It implies that because they are deaf, they have no concerns about issues other than those related to being deaf. I believe that the protests have arisen due to a combination of all of the facts, and the powers that be at Gallaudet really need to be serious about addressing the concerns of the students. Though the selection of Mrs. Fernandes is a done deal, and more than likely, a lost cause for the students, the school needs to to make some real concessions or those tents will be there for a long, long time, and Gallaudet University will remain a house divided.