BOT to Students: ‘Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and Up-Yours’
Here it is - the official ‘Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and Up-Yours’ from the Board of Trustees to ALL the protesters, alumni, staff, faculty, parents, and protest supporters. The Board is callously ignoring THEIR own role in causing this protest in the first place, and fixing the blame entirely on the protesters. If accountability is to be ensured, then the Board MUST be held accountable as well.
As I stated in a post on December 9th, “When all is said and done, and all the steam, anger and hostilities boils out of the kettle that has burned steadily since May, one simple fact will remain stuck at the bottom of that kettle: the whole mess of this past 7 months COULD have been avoided if the search process had not been flawed from the start! The Board of Trustees and the original Presidential Search Committee OWN ultimate responsibility for what resulted from that flawed process and they should step up and have the grace to absolve the students, staff and others who have been punished because they recognized something seriously wrong had happened and stood up and demanded a renewed search process.”
Unfortunately, the Board caved-in to I.K. Jordan, Carl Pramuk, and Hillil Goldberg and their own stubborn pride.
So, what can be done now? Again, like the protest that was born of the Board’s original failed search process, the answer lies within the hearts, minds, strength, bravery and intelligence of ALL of Gallaudet’s students - In order to effect the desired and meaningful change from the top-down, Gallaudet’s primary customers, it’s STUDENTS, must react from the bottom-up.
You saw for yourselves what solidarity action from the bottom-up could accomplish. Fernandes is gone, and Dr. Davila, a much more qualified and effective administrator has replaced her. But the job is not complete. The Board has officially announced that severe, harsh retaliatory reprisals shall be enforced against the protesters.
As long as the two demands of the protest are not met, the protest is NOT over.
Now is the time for all brave students to vote with their dollars and REFUSE to return to Gallaudet in January. Your brothers and sisters are being punished by I.K. Jordan, Pramuk and Goldberg and most importantly, the Board of Trustees. Show solidarity with your brothers and sisters and force the necessary change from the top-down by causing Gallaudet’s funds to drop dramatically. The Board is deaf to Amnesty for protesters because by granting Amnesty, they themselves would have to accept accountability. Their stubborn pride is making them deaf. However, Gallaudet losing MILLIONS of dollars from the lack of students WILL be heard around the world, and your refusal to come to Gallaudet in January will force the Board to eventually accept accountability.
Until the Board of Trustees is held ACCOUNTABLE, there can be no true “Unity for Gallaudet.” Do you have the strength, the bravery, and the intelligence to hold the Board accountable for their ultimate ownership of the failed search process? If you do, then the answer is to NOT return to Gallaudet in January. Now is the time to show the Board and the World that you will be heard, and that you stand arm-in-arm in solidarity with your brothers and sisters. / -Ken @ Bibliomarket
Statement by the Gallaudet Board of Trustees
December 14, 2006
“At its November 11, 2006 meeting, the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees placed a freeze on any further steps to enforce the University’s Student Code of Conduct for actions during the protest. The decision to freeze was made to give the administration time to bring back more information to the Board to ensure a more informed decision. At its December 9, 2006 meeting, the Board received a report from President I. King Jordan and Mr. Carl Pramuk, Dean of Student Affairs, on actions that were taken and in process prior to the freeze. The Board concluded that the judicial process has been conducted according to University policies, that these matters are appropriately under the jurisdiction of the student judicial system, and that the judicial process should move forward.”
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I have absolutely no problem with the students being held responsible for their actions. I suspect a large majority of protesters will escape any judicial actions, a small minority will escape with minor punishments.
However, any protest about the D.C. Police arresting the students is more appropriately directed at D.C. authorities and not Gallaudet.
I agree. Gallaudet is not accountable for protestors’ chosen actions. If cannot handle the fire, then should have stayed out. This was a ugly protest, far from a civil one, so I am not feeling particularly sympathetic.
No, the DC police did not arrest students. Only campus police officers arrested students on Oct 13, 2006. All the videos show “Campus Police” on the backs of the uniforms.
The DC police adamantly refused to arrest Gallaudet students, because they knew it would be the wrong thing to do.
Paul Kelly went berzerk on Oct 25 after the incident of the bulldozer and he shouted at the DC Metro police, demanding that they arrest students. He knew that the end was near for him. He was trying to provoke a riot. He failed.
I think that is a great idea for the protestors to leave Gallaudet and let those who came for an education get on with their lives in the Spring semester and prepare themselves for success in the real world.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. The protesters did us all a great service. Please do your homework and learn the purpose of the protest and what the protesters achieved. The last thing we need is one more person shooting from the hip and causing confusion.
We don’t need to do any homework, we know what we’re talking about. We know the ultimate purpose of the protest, unfortunately, it was still a ugly and uncivil protest. People need to be held accountable for tangible and intangible damages incurred.
[...] In today’s Washington Post, student leader Latoya Plummer states that if reprisals are not lifted, “drastic actions will be taken.” I am hoping that these actions will include Boycotting Gallaudet in the Spring, with a large number of students refusing to return to Gallaudet and thereby hurting the University financially, at a time when Galladuet is already under scrutiny by Congress. Drastic, to be sure, but necessary, in order to get the attention where it needs to be: on the failure of the Board to ensure a fair search process last Spring. As i have stated in my recent postings, The Board has ultimate ownership of the failure and the ripple effect it caused in prompting students to protest. [...]
LaToya Plummer: Drastic Actions Will be Taken « BiblioMarket said this on December 16, 2006 at 6:32 pm
Give it up, Anonymous. You sound like Irving Jordan, using the kind of language he uses.
Hey, start packing! You gotta get out of House One soon….