Dear Senator Schumer;
My name is XXX and I am deaf resident here in NYC. (or in the case where I wrote to MD reps I put; "I am a former deaf resident here in MD where I lived in Prince George County from 1995-2004") I am a former alumni of Gallaudet University in Washington DC and currently there is a major crisis happening there.
Jane Fernadez (JKF) was elected as the new President of Gallaudet University last May which prompted a Tent City I protest. The search process for a new president was seriously flawed and bias. There were several more qualified canidates or interested persons for the job but due to questionable standards and selection process, we were given JKF as our new Gallaudet University President.
This decision by the Board of Trustees (BOT) was not well recieved by Gallaudet U campus nor the nationwide deaf communities.
JKF has not proven herself to be a worthy leader. Her record at Model Secondary School for the Deaf was at best atrocious! She manage to cut many programs that hurt the overall school and lowered the enrollment numbers and education level. She has never been about the deaf students or the Deaf community. She has been mainly about self-glorification and recieving a hefty paycheck. I am dismayed and quite upset as many other deafies are by the BOTs unwillinginess to look into this matter seriously and respectively.
I am writing this to ask you to please look into this matter and if possible to discuss it with other senators about their thoughts and views on the situation at Gallaudet U.
Any advice and or help would be much appreciated by myself and on behalf of Deaf Community at large.
Thank you for your time,
-Deafening Chameleon
Current updates and videos on Tent City II. First thing first, KING JORDAN suspended the SBG!!!!Read more at Mishka Zena's site (thanks Joe Joy 4 posting it).
Also Tent City II made the news on the West Coast, San Francisco Gate. Thank you California deafies!!! You can also go to Joey Baer's site and watch this video;there was also a flyer posted and handed out on campus at FSSA with the following statements;
The flyer below was passed around to all members of the Board of Trustees and shared with the Gallaudet community.
Gallaudet University Board of Trustees
IT’S TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!
· Have you independently verified the situation at Gallaudet?
· Do our own Gallaudet Administrators really support the selection?
· Where is the support from the external leaders in deaf education?
· Do you know how many alumni and others have said they will not contribute to Gallaudet or to a Gallaudet controlled GUAA?
· Do you know that more than 80% of Gallaudet’s deaf faculty oppose this selection?
· Where is the evidence that we are coming together to follow the President Designee’s leadership?
· What will happen in 2007 if the majority of this community either actively oppose the new President or just simply “give up?” Can Gallaudet succeed? Elizabeth Zinser said “no President can succeed without the faculty!” Has the BOT not learned this lesson?
Please talk off the record to these people and find out what is really happening and what key people are thinking. You NEED to know this!
Talk off the record to:
· former Board members / Chairs
· Deans, Directors and Department Chairs
· Administrators in College Hall, Chapel Hall and in EMG
· NAD leadership
· leaders of deaf businesses, schools, universities and organizations
Also there's a video clip on Noah Beckman who is Gally's SBG prez, I met him briefly last spring during the Tent City I protest. If you noticed at the beginning of the video we see JKF sitting there with a sour look on her face *you know why? cuz she knows she's f*cked*
Then there's also this clip on Roy Ricci who I met thru my friend Coleslaw a few times over the years. I also saw him at the Tent City I protest last May and we hung a little. He got to watch my SDI trailer and seemed to like it. Here he's talking about an artwork he did based on the events from Tent City I thats for sale and 30% of the proceeds will go to FSSA funds.
The last clip I want to post is from Monday morning when Tent City II resumed.
Ryan Commerson is ironically I think wearing the same jacket from our picture last May when he was still PNG. I believe all 3 of these videos (Noah Beckman, Roy Ricci and Tent City II) were done by Ryan Commerson. In the Tent City II clip, you can see Jesse Thomas puttering around in the background. I sure wish I was there but work and life keeps me in NYC! At least Gally knows I am there in spirit!!! 
According to Elisa's site there will be following (which should be happening right now as I type)
[Make sure to scroll down to "tent City relocated" post. There are 2 Tent City II video clips you can watch]
* Noon - the naming of the buildings ceremony. Student leader Tara Holcomb said that the alumni are very upset about the new names, that they do not agree. The alumni had recommended for the arts building to be named in honor of Debbie Sonnenstrahl, who did a LOT for the arts department at Gallauduet. A walk-out is planned for 10:15 AM and then everybody will meet at Tent City to prepare for the protesting of the naming ceremony. "There will not be a celebration, there will be a funeral here," said Holcomb.
* Then the protestors will show support for the faculty members who will talk to the BOT members at 2 PM. The faculty members have already sent a letter to the BOT - read it at http://gufssa.org/.
* The BOT is expected to meet with select students at the cateferia from 4 to 5 PM. Holcomb urged every student to go, to be sure it is not limited to only selected students.
* At 7 PM, there will be a retirement gala for Jordan hosted by Jordan. "We will go. We will show them that there is nothing to celebrate about," said Holcomb.
After all this is finished, the protestors will meet again to discuss plans for Friday.
Holcomb also said that a laywer is actually spending the night at Tent City to make sure that everybody will be protected. Then the protestors spread out, some discussing the events that has happened and will happen, some writing down art and quotes and statements on the sidewalks with chalk, and others tucking into their sleeping bags in their cozy tents.
Well thats pretty much all the news I can gather for now; Man how I wish I had a DV Camera, I would so make a short video for FSSA to show NYC deafies support, Joe Joy you up for the task???
No comments:
Post a Comment