Advice to Students from local alumnus, Diana Herron, '86
Dear Gallaudet Students,
With the way things are going, the Gallaudet Board of Trustee members obviously are unified and they know that they have the privilege and the power to hire and fire a president of the university and this is accurate. This gives them the power to refuse, limit, and control the negotiation with faculty, staff and students. What they seem to have failed to understand that the ultimate power belongs to the students. The students have the economic power and they have entrusted the BOT to use it wisely. The students need to understand that collectively they can impact an economic chaos without resorting to violence. I recommend that all students withdraw from Gallaudet on Monday morning and demand refunds. Each student has the choice of returning to Gallaudet once the demands have been met or transfer to another university.
You have taken steps to maintain a peaceful protest. Unfortunately, you and the BOT have come to a standstill and every one is waiting for the other shoe to drop. You have five options to choose from and they are:
1) Accept status quo and resume normalcy.
I believe that this option is definitely out but it is an option to postpone the battle until a better opportunity arises.
2) Turn to violence.
This is an option that we should always prevent and it is used as the ultimately last resort so at this point it is a definite no but even if it is used this is almost always a lose-lose situation Right now, I am concerned about your safety especially with Gallaudet’s security personnel who do not understand sign language…we do not need another Carl Dupree incident! So, you must keep yourselves safe from violence and do not promote violence!
3) Call in alumni to help.
This option is a possibility; however, with the recent treatment from the BOT, it is most unlikely that they would even sit down to have a heart–to-heart talk with alumni members.
4) Ask Congress to step in and encourage or force negotiation.
Gallaudet receives funding from Department of Education and the university is a private institution, so therefore, it is unlikely that Congress will step in except to perhaps send a letter to plea for a more favorable negotiation that may lead to compromises between BOT and students (also FSSA). This approach could be a win-win or a win-lose situation depending on the outcome of the negotiation.
5) Create an economic chaos.
This option seems the most LOGICAL choice at this time to prevent violence and to get the BOT to the negotiating table or to meet your demands. To create an economic chaos, all students must be united to withdraw from Gallaudet until your demands are met
With this option, you will be inconvenienced temporarily with having to move out of your dormitory room. You may temporarily lose scholarships and government support such as Vocational Rehabilitation. You can reapply for funding and/or find new funding when you return to Gallaudet or transfer to another university.
You have to understand that there are risks involved in having all students withdraw from Gallaudet. This will lead to two possible scenarios: successful replacement of Dr. Jane Fernandes OR Gallaudet is forever history. Either way, you have to decide whether or not the consequence of closing the university forever is worth the battle. I personally would not want to jeopardize closing Gallaudet University but what good is it to keep it open if the President, President-elect, and BOT perpetuate the oppression of Deaf people?
All in all, you have to stay focused on the more global issue you’re fighting and that is the preservation of ASL, Deaf culture, and the rights of Deaf people as well as respecting and recognizing diversity within the Deaf community.
You have the power…use it!
Diana Herron
Class of ‘86
(Response from David Eberwein)
This is one smart strategy... While I agree that the local (DC, Maryland, etc.) Deaf community SHOULD be there in DROVES, more drastic measures need to be taken on the students' part. Look- they accomplished the impossible this week- they got the media narrative to shift into their favor (PAH!). All our communities (that aren't in the DC vicinity) are doing great and we should keep it up. However, Di's recommendation makes sense to me. Read on. And pls do forward!!!
DE
With the way things are going, the Gallaudet Board of Trustee members obviously are unified and they know that they have the privilege and the power to hire and fire a president of the university and this is accurate. This gives them the power to refuse, limit, and control the negotiation with faculty, staff and students. What they seem to have failed to understand that the ultimate power belongs to the students. The students have the economic power and they have entrusted the BOT to use it wisely. The students need to understand that collectively they can impact an economic chaos without resorting to violence. I recommend that all students withdraw from Gallaudet on Monday morning and demand refunds. Each student has the choice of returning to Gallaudet once the demands have been met or transfer to another university.
You have taken steps to maintain a peaceful protest. Unfortunately, you and the BOT have come to a standstill and every one is waiting for the other shoe to drop. You have five options to choose from and they are:
1) Accept status quo and resume normalcy.
I believe that this option is definitely out but it is an option to postpone the battle until a better opportunity arises.
2) Turn to violence.
This is an option that we should always prevent and it is used as the ultimately last resort so at this point it is a definite no but even if it is used this is almost always a lose-lose situation Right now, I am concerned about your safety especially with Gallaudet’s security personnel who do not understand sign language…we do not need another Carl Dupree incident! So, you must keep yourselves safe from violence and do not promote violence!
3) Call in alumni to help.
This option is a possibility; however, with the recent treatment from the BOT, it is most unlikely that they would even sit down to have a heart–to-heart talk with alumni members.
4) Ask Congress to step in and encourage or force negotiation.
Gallaudet receives funding from Department of Education and the university is a private institution, so therefore, it is unlikely that Congress will step in except to perhaps send a letter to plea for a more favorable negotiation that may lead to compromises between BOT and students (also FSSA). This approach could be a win-win or a win-lose situation depending on the outcome of the negotiation.
5) Create an economic chaos.
This option seems the most LOGICAL choice at this time to prevent violence and to get the BOT to the negotiating table or to meet your demands. To create an economic chaos, all students must be united to withdraw from Gallaudet until your demands are met
With this option, you will be inconvenienced temporarily with having to move out of your dormitory room. You may temporarily lose scholarships and government support such as Vocational Rehabilitation. You can reapply for funding and/or find new funding when you return to Gallaudet or transfer to another university.
You have to understand that there are risks involved in having all students withdraw from Gallaudet. This will lead to two possible scenarios: successful replacement of Dr. Jane Fernandes OR Gallaudet is forever history. Either way, you have to decide whether or not the consequence of closing the university forever is worth the battle. I personally would not want to jeopardize closing Gallaudet University but what good is it to keep it open if the President, President-elect, and BOT perpetuate the oppression of Deaf people?
All in all, you have to stay focused on the more global issue you’re fighting and that is the preservation of ASL, Deaf culture, and the rights of Deaf people as well as respecting and recognizing diversity within the Deaf community.
You have the power…use it!
Diana Herron
Class of ‘86
(Response from David Eberwein)
This is one smart strategy... While I agree that the local (DC, Maryland, etc.) Deaf community SHOULD be there in DROVES, more drastic measures need to be taken on the students' part. Look- they accomplished the impossible this week- they got the media narrative to shift into their favor (PAH!). All our communities (that aren't in the DC vicinity) are doing great and we should keep it up. However, Di's recommendation makes sense to me. Read on. And pls do forward!!!
DE
posted by DeafBayBlogger at 8:31 PM
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