Galludet University Students Protesting
Im writing about this for a few reasons. First, Galludet is rather close to my home. Second, my wife is rather fluent in American Sign Language. Third, the students are acting like spoiled liberals and are engaging in illegal behavior, all to protest the new University President. Why are they protesting?
Because she is not “Deaf Enough.” Sigh. The students want to pick their own president, but they don’t get to do that. The school should just close and keep the students’ tuition.
From the AP here:
WASHINGTON – Students at Gallaudet University blocked access to much of the campus for a second day Thursday, escalating their protest against the incoming president they say lacks the skills to lead the nation’s only liberal arts university for the deaf and hearing impaired.
The blockade started around 3 a.m. Wednesday and forced the university to cancel classes for a second day Thursday as about 100 students protested at the front gate. Students blocked campus entrances with cars, tents and human barricades. They said they wouldn’t reopen the school unless the presidential search process was reopened.
The protests began last spring when then-Provost Jane K. Fernandes was appointed president starting this coming January by the school’s board of trustees.
The university’s outgoing president, I. King Jordan, issued a statement late Wednesday warning the protesters of possible suspensions and arrests.
“This illegal and unlawful behavior must stop,” he said.
Students and some faculty feel their input was not considered in the selection process for a new president. Some also felt the field of candidates was not ethnically diverse.
Fernandes has said some people do not consider her “deaf enough” to be president. She was born deaf but grew up speaking and did not learn American Sign Language until she was 23. Those who are against her presidency say she is an unsuitable choice for other reasons.
Just because someone has minority status as a handicapped person does not mean that they are only able to be led or understood by someone equally handicapped. Click here for the appropriate sign for what all of this is…
