Plea for peace,
I am deeply saddened to be writing this. I started protesting because I saw the need for social justice. Now I am making a plea for the safety of my fellow students and myself. When did it turn from a plea for a peaceful protest for social justice into a plea for safety?
Last night, in response to the Board of Trustees’ decision to not respond to the protestors, students decided to take over Hall Memorial Building (HMB), which is the main classroom building, and lock it down. Our goal was to get the attention of the Board of Trustees, to open their eyes, and to finally address the serious problems on campus.
At 8 a.m. this morning, as students were sleeping in the SBG office, on the first floor of the already locked down HMB, officers from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) stormed in. Students were terrified, people were running everywhere, screaming. DPS started pushing and hitting students and threatening to spray mace. Some people were assaulted. Students who had been peacefully asleep, and abruptly awoken, were not resisting. We did nothing. The attack from DPS came totally unprovoked.
Once DPS officers left and we were able to collect ourselves together and survey the damage, we found several students had been hurt. We had been physically assaulted by the Gallaudet University Department of Public Safety. I cannot explain the state of mind we are in at this moment. We are shocked, extremely upset, and hurt bodily and emotionally.
This attack from DPS was totally unprovoked. Students were PEACEFUL. This protest was always about peaceful, nonviolent messages. Who made it violent? The very same people who were supposed to be “protecting” us. Who is protecting us now? It is sickening to know we are not safe here at Gallaudet and that those charged with our safety are actively causing harm.
GALLAUDET HAS MADE IT VIOLENT. Please know this. Inform parents. Inform the public. I cannot explain how saddened I am to say this, but I have to. Parents have the right to know that their children are in danger. We have been physically assaulted. Students are terrified of what has and still may happen to them. The level of FEAR and HYSTERIA set in place by administrators who ordered DPS to use physical force on us, is intense.
At this moment, I am making a plea for Gallaudet University administrators and campus police to be civil to the protestors. I plea for the Board of Trustees to listen to us. This will not go away by ignoring the issues. This will not go away if you frighten us with physical violence. It will only get worse and worse. I am making a plea for PEACE and SOCIAL JUSTICE. NOW.
Sincerely,
Leah Katz-Hernandez
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