Blog entry by Tara Holcomb
(Thanks to Maureen Klusza for finding this and submitting it.)
I am so proud of my hometown, Fremont, California. Their support has made a huge difference to me- Now I truly feel confident and ready to move on with our own Tent City here at Gallaudet. I am so tired of people saying that the protest is misguided and that it is made up of a few people. We have entire communities behind us and we will not give up. I am a fourth-generation Gallaudet student. I belong here at Gallaudet and I have no right to back down from making it a better place for EVERY Gallaudet student; past, present, or future. My family members are as diverse as it gets when it comes to educational backgrounds. I mentioned this in a previous entry but I am very serious about this. I do not want my mother to be rejected simply because she learned sign language when she was sixteen and never attended a residential school for the deaf nor Gallaudet University. I do not want my grandfather to be rejected because he promoted the educational philosophy of total communication. I do not want my stepmother to be rejected because she's hearing, nor my brother Troy because he hears very well. I do not want any single person who uses ASL and is proud of being a member of the Deaf community to be rejected simply because of the color of their skin, the ability to hear or not, the ability to speak or not, or the ability to sign fluently or not. The bottom line here is their attitude; their respect for the beauty of ASL and Deaf culture. Gallaudet serves those very people, and those people should have the right to say what happens at Gallaudet. It is very clear that Jane Fernandes cannot unify nor lead Gallaudet. Her actions since May 1, 2006 has further reinforced this point.
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my dad, Tom Holcomb and Sandra Ammons: Gallaudet Alumni at Tent City, Fremont California
Reasons for Protesting:
1. Oppression
Students at Gallaudet feel oppressed. People of color feel oppressed. People with cochlear implants feel oppressed. People who aren't fluent in ASL feel oppressed. People who aren't fluent in English feel oppressed. Faculty feels oppressed. Staff feels oppressed. Everyone feels oppressed and scared here at Gallaudet. This is not healthy for any one who comes on campus, especially on a campus that brags to be the ONLY liberal arts university for the deaf. Which leads me to the next point....
2. Lack of Shared Governance
The Board of Trustees has a long history of not listening to the community. DPN happened because of this: the BOT did not listen to the consensus of the community and chose a hearing president. This protest happened because the BOT did not listen to the consensus of the community; both the Deaf community and the Deaf People of Color community. We were forced to open our eyes to every kind of prejudice that occurs here at Gallaudet, and that led to the forming of FSSA. It is absolutely necessary to share governance of Gallaudet with each group of stakeholders: faculty, staff, students, alumni, with the addition of the deaf community at large. Gallaudet is an unique place, and it should be treated as such. Otherwise, why does the public relations department at Gallaudet even bother to send out pamphlets reinforcing this idea.
3. Jane K. Fernandes is not an effective leader.
She has not raised educational standards at Gallaudet in her six years as provost. She has almost no support from those at Clerc Center where she was dean before she became provost. The faculty that served under her gave a 66 percent vote of no confidence in her abilities as a president of Gallaudet University. That same faculty, at a recent town hall meeting, raised concerns of being depressed because of their employment at Gallaudet. They also raised concerns that many faculty were counting down the days to their retirement because they are not happy here at Gallaudet... a so-called "mecca" of Deaf people? Of ASL? The staff here are terrified of expressing their opinions because they may be fired. Has Jane Fernandes opened the way for open communication and understanding here at Gallaudet?
The answer is an obvious NO. She has done nothing to unify the community after the protests in May. She has not contacted SBG once since the beginning of the school year- this says a lot, I believe. How can this woman lead Gallaudet if she is clueless about the concerns and issues of the community?
Therefore, we must continue with our protest. It is necessary to preserve the integrity of Gallaudet University and the community in which it serves. I repeat our two demands:
1. Reopen the search process (with multi-cultural lens in place)
2. Absolutely no reprisals for protestors (to protect everyone on campus so they can express their opinions)
This may not solve all the problems here at Gallaudet, but with an effective leader and a system of shared governance, it will put all of us on the right path.
"When leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders"
I am so proud of my hometown, Fremont, California. Their support has made a huge difference to me- Now I truly feel confident and ready to move on with our own Tent City here at Gallaudet. I am so tired of people saying that the protest is misguided and that it is made up of a few people. We have entire communities behind us and we will not give up. I am a fourth-generation Gallaudet student. I belong here at Gallaudet and I have no right to back down from making it a better place for EVERY Gallaudet student; past, present, or future. My family members are as diverse as it gets when it comes to educational backgrounds. I mentioned this in a previous entry but I am very serious about this. I do not want my mother to be rejected simply because she learned sign language when she was sixteen and never attended a residential school for the deaf nor Gallaudet University. I do not want my grandfather to be rejected because he promoted the educational philosophy of total communication. I do not want my stepmother to be rejected because she's hearing, nor my brother Troy because he hears very well. I do not want any single person who uses ASL and is proud of being a member of the Deaf community to be rejected simply because of the color of their skin, the ability to hear or not, the ability to speak or not, or the ability to sign fluently or not. The bottom line here is their attitude; their respect for the beauty of ASL and Deaf culture. Gallaudet serves those very people, and those people should have the right to say what happens at Gallaudet. It is very clear that Jane Fernandes cannot unify nor lead Gallaudet. Her actions since May 1, 2006 has further reinforced this point.
my dad, Tom Holcomb and Sandra Ammons: Gallaudet Alumni at Tent City, Fremont California
Reasons for Protesting:
1. Oppression
Students at Gallaudet feel oppressed. People of color feel oppressed. People with cochlear implants feel oppressed. People who aren't fluent in ASL feel oppressed. People who aren't fluent in English feel oppressed. Faculty feels oppressed. Staff feels oppressed. Everyone feels oppressed and scared here at Gallaudet. This is not healthy for any one who comes on campus, especially on a campus that brags to be the ONLY liberal arts university for the deaf. Which leads me to the next point....
2. Lack of Shared Governance
The Board of Trustees has a long history of not listening to the community. DPN happened because of this: the BOT did not listen to the consensus of the community and chose a hearing president. This protest happened because the BOT did not listen to the consensus of the community; both the Deaf community and the Deaf People of Color community. We were forced to open our eyes to every kind of prejudice that occurs here at Gallaudet, and that led to the forming of FSSA. It is absolutely necessary to share governance of Gallaudet with each group of stakeholders: faculty, staff, students, alumni, with the addition of the deaf community at large. Gallaudet is an unique place, and it should be treated as such. Otherwise, why does the public relations department at Gallaudet even bother to send out pamphlets reinforcing this idea.
3. Jane K. Fernandes is not an effective leader.
She has not raised educational standards at Gallaudet in her six years as provost. She has almost no support from those at Clerc Center where she was dean before she became provost. The faculty that served under her gave a 66 percent vote of no confidence in her abilities as a president of Gallaudet University. That same faculty, at a recent town hall meeting, raised concerns of being depressed because of their employment at Gallaudet. They also raised concerns that many faculty were counting down the days to their retirement because they are not happy here at Gallaudet... a so-called "mecca" of Deaf people? Of ASL? The staff here are terrified of expressing their opinions because they may be fired. Has Jane Fernandes opened the way for open communication and understanding here at Gallaudet?
The answer is an obvious NO. She has done nothing to unify the community after the protests in May. She has not contacted SBG once since the beginning of the school year- this says a lot, I believe. How can this woman lead Gallaudet if she is clueless about the concerns and issues of the community?
Therefore, we must continue with our protest. It is necessary to preserve the integrity of Gallaudet University and the community in which it serves. I repeat our two demands:
1. Reopen the search process (with multi-cultural lens in place)
2. Absolutely no reprisals for protestors (to protect everyone on campus so they can express their opinions)
This may not solve all the problems here at Gallaudet, but with an effective leader and a system of shared governance, it will put all of us on the right path.
"When leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders"
posted by DeafBayBlogger at 6:46 AM
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