TRANSCRIPT OF BECKMAN SPEECH:
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board, we stand before you this morning as elected representatives of the students. As President and Vice-President of the SBG, we are authorized to speak for the students and their best interests. Obviously, we have many different problems and grievances listed in the agenda, but we are not going to discuss these this morning. They are important issues so after the meeting, please look them over and contact us if you have any questions because we do deem them problems. We have a problem on our hand. First of all, the Student Congress objects to your decision to appoint a student representative on the Presidential Transition Team. Tell me, what should be a bigger issue: having a student on the PTT or the fact that the SBG would not send a representative? If we do not send a representative, what does that indicate? We have a problem.
"You were here last May, you have heard our stories, yet you and the administration chose to do nothing. You reaffirmed the support of Jane Fernandes. We are leaders, you, I, the Administration. When the people that we lead are not happy, then it is up to us to resolve that conflict. If the students had a problem with the SBG which we often face either with our operation or with our vision, we address the students’ concerns and try to defend or adapt to meet their needs. We are not seeing this from the administration or the Board of Trustees. The SBG has yet to hear official e-mail or request for a meeting. There have been no public speeches, no open forums, and no contact with the student body. Jane Fernandes said that this will be solved through dialogue, and building bridges. Dialogue and Bridges have yet to be established. We have a problem.
"When King Jordan announced at the NAD conference that there was no crisis at Gallaudet, what was that going to accomplish? By pretending there is no problem, does that make the problem go away? When the Administration told the staff to move on, to move on and work together, who was moving on? The administration? The students didn’t move on, the anger from May still resides in most of them. The SBG has yet to move on, and we will not move on until a path is corrected. We have a problem.
"Even though I am a representative of the Students, I also speak for myself. I speak as a student, an upcoming alumnus, as a potential staff, faculty, or administrator. I love Gallaudet. My younger brother who was a Gallaudet student and got kicked out for pulling a false fire alarm, he was not a typical case because he actually broke down and has repeatedly mentioned this fact that his future is in Gallaudet. He also knows that Gallaudet can truly become the guiding light for every deaf individual. Gallaudet is my home. It is all our home. It is the home of the alumni. I know I can speak for my Vice President who loves Gallaudet so much, and even though he is graduating this year, he wants to see Gallaudet be the best he can be after he goes. Many alumni love Gallaudet and they want Gallaudet to be the best they can be. We don’t feel that way now. We have a problem.
"So we ask for your advice, what should we do? Should we quit and go home and pretend that there is no crisis? Should we accept that Jane Fernandes doesn’t care about me? Should we accept that when a large people, not four or five students, but a large number of students, faculty, staff, and alumni have a problem, the board of trustees and the Administration are not willing to address it? You know the stories, you know the problems. We shared it with you last May. We have a problem. What are you going to do about it?"
END OF TRANSCRIPT
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