Insider favors, political cronyism, old-boys network and closed-door deals. Sound familiar? Yes, that is Washington politics, and Gallaudet is in the center. It was political handholding that created Gallaudet in the first place. It was political appointments that staffed certain positions at Gallaudet and gained the school a bucolic campus a short walk from the Capitol.

Is it any wonder we are seeing a blatantly obvious machine in operation when we see the metoric promotion of a Jane K. Fernandes to the presidency of Gallaudet? Warning bells are going off because this person lacks popular support except for that of the outgoing president and his own board of trustees. People help those whom they trust in politics, and those who are loyal and unquestioning are rewarded the most. Old boys are characterized in their system of using other people: JKF's expression “leading from behind” is an euphemism for controlling people. Teamwork is defined as “being the coxswain of a rowboat and getting off the boat" people who don't row with the others.

In such a situation, corruption finds fertile ground to grow. Money becomes casually used, freely employed in enhancements, window dressing, favors and perks, in support of an opulent lifestyle that is so insidiously developed that it is regarded as a right. The old-boys network winks at this, with attitudes ranging from "it is a necessary evil" to "keeping the machinery well oiled", or needing to maintain a "dignified style" to impress the power brokers downtown. Underlings get to pick up the leftovers, taking home institutional supplies, services and equipment purchased with government funds. There is so much of it that it is considered a perk and a just compensation for the great responsibility of running an institution. Allocations set aside for improvement of personnel benefits, student facilities and college offerings are grudgingly budgeted only after the administrators’ priorities are covered.

Within the structure there are pockets of honest and dedicated people. They are needed because they interact with the public, teach the students, help the outsiders who come for information and recommendations, and disseminate the face of Gallaudet as the world’s resource for deaf-related materials and services. More importantly, they uphold the structure that the old-boys’ network depends on. Ethical professionals, dedicated teachers, young deaf graduates eager to give back the best they have received, and many, many hardworking staff people. The honest need to be cultured in such a way that they do not interfere with the cronies’ network, so they are kept apart, in the dark, instilled with a fear of losing jobs, controlled by putting pressure on their peers, and rewarded for cooperation. A selected few may be groomed for future inclusion in the old boys’ network, further promoting the system.

The people who have the least to lose by bucking the system are the students. In a highly charged political climate that they do not know of or understand, they come hoping to get an education, form a social network, and obtain the dream jobs they see in their future.  They are here for four to six years, a relatively short time in their lives, and soon learn the terror of making mistakes that will “affect them the rest of their lives.”

The alumni must be mentioned here. Generally they graduate and leave, focusing on their lives and aims, leaving behind Gallaudet and its problems forever. However, this is not realistic, because Gallaudet is like the nation where one comes from, and where one hopes to return in some way. They may have even less to lose by their say in the Gallaudet old-boys' network. They have a lifetime of opportunities and some may involve Gallaudet.

Both groups have much to gain by bringing a fresh perspective to Gallaudet: a ripple effect that also brings normalcy, equality and respect to the rest of the deaf community. 

The power of this system is undermined when options open up elsewhere for the people involved. With jobs becoming available for deaf professionals in both the deaf and hearing communities, an even playing ground for the community deaf people, and greater sophistication of those in the middle for developing enterprises, cracks begin in systems like Gallaudet. It cracked for the first time when young deaf people won public support in their fight for a deaf president. It is cracking again now, for different reasons: they are demanding more of a say in their selection of leaders and in evaluating the quality of these leaders. Old boys cannot survive this way because they cannot allow public scrutiny or involvement, let alone give any control to their own constituents.

The times are changing. The best weapon Gallaudet’s people have is to be relentless in their demand for qualified, nurturing and supportive personnel in order to create the open, progressive system they crave.

This is not a time when patience and willingness to give a member of the old boys network a chance will work.  Enlightened and sensitive leaders are needed here in order to change. It is possible, even with its location in Washington, DC and its centuries-old tradition.