Gallaudet and the protests

[Sir HC]

I have no opinion on either side but CNN this morning had interviews with a bunch of deaf people and for every woman the interpreter was male and visa versa.  Was quite odd.

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

They hosted a Vanilla Ice concert like 2-3 years back. I never understood that.

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
  They hosted a Vanilla Ice concert like 2-3 years back. I never understood that.

They didn't want to suffer.

[missnatasha]

I'm a Gallaudet student, female interpreters just happen to be more common then male.
 
 As for Vanilla Ice, every other year we have Rockfest which is basically a weekend of competition followed by a giant concert. That year the person in charge of bands happened to get Vanilla Ice.
 
 RF has been a Gallaudet tradition for over 30 years.
 
 And if you 'dont get it' because it's a Deaf school, well not everyone there is stone Deaf. There are different levels of Deafness not to mention plenty of hearing students on the campus.

[TimCooke]

I think it's awful that the board of trustees caved like that.  Now, whenever some students on a campus are unhappy about something, they will try to take it over and cause turmoil.
 
 University campuses are going to become chaotic.

[missnatasha]

If the BoT followed proper proceedure in the first place this wouldn't have happened.
 
 JKF has been provost at Gallaudet for 6 years. In those 6 years she accomplished nothing. When the protest began in May, she had ample opportunity to reach out to the student body and prove to us that she could lead the school. Instead she chose to ignore the issues and pretend that nothing was wrong.
 
 She does not have the qualifications or the leadership to lead Gallaudet.
 
 
 (Oh, and it's not like this is the first time ANY university has protested the appointment of a president, or even won after protesting/voicing their concerns. Gallaudet was not the first to do this, and we won't be the last.)

[Vas Deferens]

I think these student protesters are ridiculous. Just because the provost did not grow up using the ASL does not make her an unworthy candidate.
 
 The university was originally founded as the "Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind."

[missnatasha]

Nobody cares that she learned ASL at 23. Our current president wasn't born Deaf and he didn't learn ASL to the same age.
 
 Fluency in ASL/"not being Deaf enough" is not and was NEVER the issue.
 
 The issue is leadership, qualifications, and the search process being flawed. Which it was. There were several candidates more qualified than JKF. She didn't earn the Presidency, just like she didn't earn the provost job.
 
 You really need to know more about Gallaudet and what goes on here before automatically assuming things.

[missnatasha]

Oh, and it wasn't just students protesting. It was faculty, staff, alumnae. People who have worked at Gallaudet for decades, alumnae who have been involved with Gallaudet for years.

[Vas Deferens]

I only mentioned what I read in the news...   :roll:   ...and from the several I read, nothing was said about qualifications or leadership.
 
   

Originally posted by missnatasha:
  Nobody cares that she learned ASL at 23. Our current president wasn't born Deaf and he didn't learn ASL to the same age.
 
 Fluency in ASL/"not being Deaf enough" is not and was NEVER the issue.
 
 

[Vas Deferens]

According to The Washington Post, "Students objected to the appointment of Fernandes, who is deaf and is currently the university's provost, because she did not grow up using American Sign Language. Some students also criticized Fernandes for not having warm relations with students."  Deaf Professional Network also stated that, before the appointment was announced, some students "objected strenuously to the fact that one of three finalists, Dr. Jane Fernandes, does not have a fluent grasp of American Sign Language. Those students felt that disrupting the process would be a futile battle and wanted to focus on endorsing a candidate who exhibits commitment to and fluency in ASL." Dr. Jordan publicly accused some critics of rejecting Dr. Fernandes because "she is not deaf enough". He described the protest as "identity politics," saying, "We are squabbling about what it means to be deaf."  The Washington Post reports that Fernandes "would like to see the institution become more inclusive of people who might not have grown up using sign language," stating that Gallaudet must embrace "all kinds of deaf people". On the other hand, the opponents of her position "fear a weakening of American Sign Language at an institution that should be its standard-bearer."

[missnatasha]

Understood. But if you checkout sites like www.deafdc.com, deafread.com, elisawrites.com you'll get the other side.
 
 The only person who ever said JKF wasn't Deaf enough was JKF. During the first protest she used her poor ASL skills as an excuse for why she doesn't socialize with the community here on campus, our students, faculty--anyone she's not 'required' to talk to. When in reality, the best way to improve your skill in anything is to be consistant and practice.
 
 The news keep using that phrase "not Deaf enough" because thats what the school's PR tells them, in order to gain outside support by how 'unfair' the protestors are being.
 
 If the issue simply was that she is not Deaf enough, I wouldn't support the protest. Granted I'm not thrilled that my education was interrupted, but understanding 'why' is key to moving on.

[missnatasha]

I've seen the papers, I'm at Gallaudet, the protest has been a big topic of discussion in our classes. We know what the Administration says, and bottom line they are using the ASL/not Deaf enough card to try to end the dispute.
 
 The search process is viewed as flawed. Out of the 6 candidates, 3 moved on to the "final" round. JK, Weiner, and another man who did not meet the criteria for even being considered because he did not have a Ph.D or anything published.
 
 A former BoT chairman left his position so he could apply, he has Ph.D, he has an education background, he has works published. He is also African-American.
 
 Aside from them former GU provost, Roz Rosen, he was most qualified. Neither of them made it to the final round.
 
 The issue around the protest is not cut and dry.
 
 JK had all month to reach out to us, to try and build a rapport with the students, alum, & fac to try and solve this together. She chose not to. Taking over HMB, locking down the school, perfect opportunities for JK to show leadership skills and resolve what was happening. She chose to hide.
 
 It's just not as simple as the media makes it seem.

[Sir HC]

All I was saying is that it was perfectly *out* of sync.  I would think since it was taped they could have even had someone else read the transcript.  They had a man and a woman translating, just not for people of their own sex.
 
 And didn't Galluadet do something at the 9:30 (private party) in the past?  I remember something about that.

[missnatasha]

This is such a random topic to see on a club's forum lol