Dear Dr. Hurst:
I wanted to thank you so much for your invaluable contribution to not only the Deaf community but also to the entire world! I have found your words and advice to be inspiring and I will strive to adhere to your words on a daily basis.
Of course, I am referring to your landmark work, “The 3-Breath Method of Relaxation,” which can be found here: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/TIP/studytips/threebreath.htm
Apparently, after seaching high and low on Gallaudet’s website, that was also practically the ONLY noteworthy thing you’ve had published on Gallaudet’s website. No references to your dissertation, scholarly articles, or contributions to academic journals…nothing.
I do support the PR department posting your essay, “On Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience” under its “News” category because that has got to be the most substantial thing you’ve written in a long time that has been posted on the website! It certainly is news!
Oh, but, Dr. Hurst, you might wish to revise your referring to the faculty vote as “retaliation” against I King Jordan. I think the correct phrase might be “democratic exercise in stating their position.” I don’t think it’s prudent in labelling over half of the faculty members as having done something shameful in voting no confidence in Jordan.
Pardon me but I have to do the breathing exercise you suggested. You see, my adrenaline got pumped up recently!
Breath 1 - The Past -Recalling the glorious days of when the students took over the campus in 1988 and got a new President!
Breath 2 - The Present - Exhaling away all those negative influences and actions (or lack thereof) by the Board, Jordan, Fernandes, and the PR Department.
Breath 3 - The Future - Basking in the warm thoughts of Fernandes resigning and deliriously awaiting the publication of your next substantial offering: ”Breathing Techniques for Dummies.”
Warm Regards,
-PI
October 18, 2006 at 8:46 pm
Obviously, Professor Hurst’s essay comes in too little too late. The students could benefit greatly from her essay this past six years…
October 18, 2006 at 9:13 pm
you’re an idiot, PI.
to those of you who are curious, try Google Scholar, and also, check if Dr. Hurst has published under the name MJ Hurst. Or better yet, email her directly at Gallaudet and ask for her CV. Her recent article on civil disobedience and nonviolence were very informative.
October 18, 2006 at 9:22 pm
yes, PI, your response is childish and a personal attack. Why don’t you respond to Dr. Hurst’s argument and the issues she raises? You only prove her right when you attack her personally.
October 18, 2006 at 9:37 pm
I already did on other blogs that focus on discussing the issues instead of on personal attacks like this one. “The GU Private Investigator” blog is a disgrace to the deaf blogosphere AND is perfect example of the violence she talks about.
October 18, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Oh PI, thanks for the valuable advice! It is a very good thing that we have such valuable contributions from our esteemed collegeaue Hurst. For how could we possibly hope to calm our jangled nerves if we did not know how to breathe properly? Oh, for all the things Gallaudet have went through - MBI, racism, audism, yes, the important news of the day was breating exercises! This woman is a woman who has her pulse on Gallaudet!
October 18, 2006 at 11:09 pm
bob and Working_Brain:
Read the posting carefully, gentlemen.
I said that Hurst has posted nothing substantial on the GALLAUDET WEBSITE other than her breathing tips.
The PR department essentially posted nothing more than an individual’s opinion in the guise of an educational essay and deemed it worthy enough to be “NEWS.”
Hurst could have easily posted it in numerous forums. Instead, her “essay” is now an official public relations statement issued by Gallaudet. Her comments, now that of Gallaudet’s PR department, contains personal attacks directed towards not just to one individual but to EVERY faculty person that voted no confidence in Jordan (”shameful” is how she, and now, the Gallaudet PR Department, has put it).
Now, please, gentlemen! You’re agitating me and I better get back to my breathing exercises.
Warm regards,
-PI
October 18, 2006 at 11:11 pm
I hope all the protestors are doing Dr. Hurst’s breathing exercises. Then maybe they’ll get some oxygen into their brains. To hope that a few molecules of common sense will be able to sneak in is probably too much to expect.
October 19, 2006 at 12:13 am
I’ve known Dr. Jane Hurst for years. For those of you who know little about her, I can tell you she is the most loyal and commited professor to the Gallaudet community– especially to each and every student she has taught. Pl, you do have the right to express your opinions but be careful who you are “attacking”. You may be “attacking” the very people you can depends on.
October 19, 2006 at 1:00 am
Fabrienne, I appreciate your comment which I do believe to be sincere.
However, Dr. Hurst’s credibility has been marred by the PR department’s shameless ploy for generating public sympathy by issuing her opinion essay as “news.” Who couldn’t turn away from reading the words of Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr.?
What particularly galls me at this time is that the administration knows fully well that the battle has been lost when it comes to the Deaf community but is continuing to wage battles among the hearing community.
Yes, there are a few minor vocal supporters of the administration among the Deaf community but there are far too many Deaf organizations and prominient Deaf leaders that have have affirmed the need for Fernandes’ resignation for IKJ or the Board to ever mollify.
Why IKJ and Fernandes insist on holding on in the face of such opposition and continuing to produce such rhetoric that only results in inflaming more people into opposing the adminstration, I still do not know.
Perhaps IKJ and Fernandes has been receiving some truly horrible advice from whoever is advising them.
Perhaps IKJ and Fernandes are deluding themselves into thinking they can ride this out.
Who knows. What I do know is that our particular King isn’t a Martin Luther King, Jr., that’s for sure.
October 19, 2006 at 7:21 am
HI PI, I appreciate that you took the time to read my comment and responded respectfully. To your credit, you had vaild questions and as of now, we don’t really know what’s happening behind the closed doors of JKF and IKJ. I’m sure eventually we’ll know. In the meantime, I find myself defending Dr. Hurst and it has nothing to do with whether or not she supports FSSA. I’m defending her as a person. That is, as someone who truly cares about the Gallaudet community. In the past, she has stood by Galllaudet students on many issues and supported them–at the risk of many who disagreed with her. I knew her becuase I’ve taken many of her classea and graduated with a philosophy degree in 1991. She really is an amazing person. This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with her article statement on the Gallaudet’s website. You certainly can disagree with her. At the same time, I couldn’t help it but to share with you what I know of her because I know she meant well and her article was well-intended. She does have some valid points too. We could all learn from history,
Sincerely,
Fabrienne
October 19, 2006 at 9:56 am
I have a similar viewpoint, PI. I do not support Jane Fernandes, but Dr. Hurst makes some good points and raises some interesting issues in her essay. You continue to rail at her and insult her, but you do not address the points and issues she raises. You are mad at her because you think her essay supports the other side, but you can make no rebuttal to the essay. You attack her on other grounds, many of them personal. This only makes her look right, and it makes you look wrong - and rude.
October 21, 2006 at 7:16 am
I can breathe better when the protest is all over. Right now I am timing how long Jane Fernandes will last by denying everything.