Message from Sara Stallard, CSD Alum, regarding mass withdrawal

Dear students (and FSSA and their supporters):

I've been thinking, and I must say that one idea floating around since yesterday (and actually last summer) really disturbs me to a very deep level:

Mass withdrawals from the University.

No matter how much everybody is saddened and fearful of what the final outcome is, we need to stay in this together, as a community.

We are one large mosaic of people, from the FSSA protestors to the administration and especially to those in the middle, those who have not made up their mind one way or the other, or are straddling the fence between the two poles surrounding our current controversy.

Leaving the University is a very serious decision. I did it once, back in 2000, because I was fed up with a lot of flaws surrounding my education, as well as certain attitudes of certain people who I sensed would strangle my intellectual and emotional well-being if I stayed (sounds familar to a lot of you, doesn't it? I am sure many of you have had similar feelings for different or maybe the same reasons, whatever experiences you went through....) The night I decided to leave Gallaudet, I cried all night, because I couldn't believe I came to that point. Was I really giving up? Or was I giving myself the chance to heal?

I'm glad to say I eventually felt it would be a healthy decision to return to the University, and I did so, coming back to work and finish up my degree at Gallaudet.

AND NONE OF IT WAS EASY. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

So, enough about my experiences. Students, I want you to think: what about yourself?

Consider carefully the resources you have access to, here at Gallaudet.

Your education (courses, workshops, training programs, internships, study abroad).

Your peers (classmates, fraternity and sorority brothers and sisters, your romantic interests, your co-workers in paraprofessional programs, your fellow athletes)

Your mentors (professors, other staff, older students, campus leaders).

Your finances (VR, scholarships, grants, loans).

Your sense of belonging in the community, deaf or hearing, ASL or English, black or white—if you are here, there are people who will always be there for you. Your friends! People with whom you can relax and laugh and be yourself. People you will end up staying friends with for the rest of your life.

It's not possible to get into all the opportunities that STILL exist at Gallaudet University, I can't possibly list them all in depth. Each and every one of us is unique and have our own priorities.

I just want students to really think twice before doing anything drastic such as withdrawing from the University. Especially international students.

I am angry that some protestors have been urging the idea of withdrawal as a tactic to "send a message" to the University. It's stupid. It will only send the message that "you are no longer committed to positive change."

If you withdraw, you WILL be giving up a lot of your stakes in this controversy as well as giving up your access to the University's resources. Your status will be that of a "visitor" and you will have no further opportunity to engage in student politics, to cast your offical votes in due processes available to students, to have free access to the university resources (computer accounts, media equipment loans, financial services, legal assistance, building accesses, library borrowing, to name just a few examples).

I treasure the fact that so many different individuals have come together, as students, as faculty, as staff and aftewards, as alumni, to make up such a unique school as the University and every person counts. Every person that comes or leaves changes the balance. But many people, Gallaudet is all they have got.

We should not betray this. We should not encourage mass withdrawals. It would betray the deep investment and commitments made by international students, and it would betray our commitment to making Gallaudet University a safe place for deaf students to come to, for their education, for their futures. It would betray the purpose of having faculty and staff, many of whom have been committed to the University for years and years, even including the custodians who clean up our buildings and grounds everyday.

Withdrawal from academic studies at Gallaudet is not just about school. It's about life. It is a major life decision. And that decision belongs to you alone.

Withdrawal should not and should never become a decision to be made by anybody else. Please do not encourage this idea any further. Please do not allow anybody to get you excited, but instead, please please think twice, thrice, four times, five times, six times, if you are even tempted to leave.

Protestors, you have made a lot of progress in bringing attention to your cause. I am proud of a lot of things that you have accomplished. I have been supporting your rights to express yourself and encouraging some of you to look at facts, to consider statistics, to read between the lines of different documents, to think twice before engaging in crazy antics. I believe, as you do, that there are deep problems surrounding the University, and that they need solution, somehow.

I also believe strongly, all of you need to stay here in school, and stay committed to positive change. Don't give up, don't leave. Get your degree, gain more credibility to speak up, become good politicans, good counselors, good teachers, good administrators, good faciliators, good business leaders, and especially, good parents! Your career, your future. All of that is yours for the taking, if you stay committed in a positive and meaningful way.

Withdrawal is absolutely nothing to get dramatic and passionate about. It is not a public statement of opinion. It is a very very serious move. Do not take it lightly. Your position as a "tile in the large mosaic" that makes up the Gallaudet community is something you should guard carefully, especially in the midst of all the drama going on lately.

Bottom line: Withdrawal=a lot to give up. Period.

Sincerely,

Sara Stallard

Class of 1998