Framing the Stalemate: Background on Gallaudet
I'm finally as caught up as I'll ever be on recent events at Gallaudet. Of course, even as I say this, blog entries elsewhere continue to pile up, my pager messages accumulate, and the grapevine is as saturated as ever. One advantage I have over others is I now have plenty of information and time to mull things over, formulate an opinion, and dissect everyone else's actions, comments, and motives. The disadvantage of course is that since I didn't hit the ground running, and since I'm 3,000 miles removed from the center of action, I'm not as able to seize upon new information the minute it happens, nor am I able to provide a first-person account. Then again, a fair number of bloggers/outside commentators are somewhat in the same boat, so I can take solace in that.
So much has happened (and is happening) that it's a bit overwhelming to try to sort it out. But as my loving housemate always reminds me, "one step at a time." So let's start with a quick review.
The Deaf/deaf Blogosphere on Gallaudet
First, the best place to get a brief overview of what's happened so far is to check About.com's Deafness/Hard of Hearing page, run by Jamie Berke. Of all the websites, blogs, etc. that there are out there, hers is the closest to being neutral. A large part of this is due to the nature of her page-- she's running the Deafness section for About.com, and as such, is merely a source of information, links, and the like. It isn't her responsibility/obligation to be partisan. She has posted an ongoing, continually updated timeline compiled from various places. I find it a good introduction for those of you who are new to the topic, and a refresher for those who need to place events in their appropriate chronological context. Check it out: "Unity for Gallaudet- Just the Facts, Please."
To be fair, Jamie *does* acknowledge a post she wrote about her own personal experience with Fernandes, and makes it clear she is NOT happy about the appointment. Her recollections, which I had referenced in an earlier post of mine, constituted the first real evidence I had other than anecdotes about Jane Fernandes' time at MSSD/KDES as head of Pre-College Programs that she was not as perfect a candidate as she seemed on paper. At that point, I was firmly in the "none of the above" camp, but had yet to see any real reason for the anti-Fernandes current that was already seeping through the cracks at various blogs. You have probably already read it, but if you haven't, go here.
I've caught up on the major blogs that seem to be attracting the most traffic: Ridor's blog, which varies between a stream-of-consciousness, first person, you-are-there blog and a fount of comments (mostly in the comment box from his readers), which run the gamut from thoughtful to extremely illogical, highly emotional arguments to comments that border perilously close to libel (and do nothing at all to bolster the protester's cause); Elisa Abenchuchan's account as a student participant, which is sometimes woefully brief and on-the-run, and at other times provides a glimpse into what's happening on campus (especially the schedule; I don't recall during DPN our schedule being so carefully laid out! Socializing, DJ music, and a cookout, in addition to civil disobedience??); and DeafDC.com, where a number of its bloggers have posted entries that overall are very thoughtful, generally nuanced, and have attracted hundreds of comments. While you may or may not agree with Ridor or the various DeafDC bloggers, these three are definitely where you'll be able to take the pulse of the community and what's going on from day to day, if not hour by hour, or minute by minute...
While these are the "Big Three," there are dozens (if not more!) of other blogs that have been covering/commenting on the protest since May 1; among those that I already check or are on my blogroll, Joseph Rainmound's Deaf in the City is the only one consistently providing thoughts on the matter. For the most part, his posts have been very thoughtful, analytic, and persuasive; I find myself nodding and agreeing with him 99.9% of the time. It's a blog I checked daily even before Gallaudet, and one I'll continue reading after. If you haven't already looked at it, go check it out. Queen Alpo over at Living La Vida Alpo has intermittently posted about L'Affaire Gallaudet, or cross-posted elsewhere. There are others, such as this blogger, who are chiming in with personal opinions. Over in Arizona, a self-described "loose cannon" (a very familiar person to a generation of Gallaudetians!) provides his take on current events. Patti Raswant continues to post at ASL Community Journal on the protest.
While many blogs provide straightforward opinions/accounts, an interesting take is Jared's focus on the technological aspect of the current revolt. I agree-- the ramifications for how everything's been conducted so far are predicated on current techonology. In many ways, this protest is vastly different from DPN in 1988.
So far, all the blogs I've listed or talked about have been anti-Fernandes, pro-dissenters, or at best, neutral. This isn't to say that there aren't supporters of Fernandes out there, or that there isn't a feeling of backlash or anti-protest opinions out there. The best-known Deaf/deaf/hard-of-hearing blogger on that side of the fence is McConnell, who has steadfastly proclaimed his opposition to the protest. While he doesn't come straight out and say, "I SUPPORT FERNANDES," he definitely has made it clear he supports accepting the BOT's/PSC's decision, and moving on. Kevin over at keylimeboy also wants the protesters to cease and desist, and for the community as a whole to move on.
As far as official or group blogs/websites, there are a fair number. I previously mentioned Gally President Watch, which has since been taken off the web. There's also the students' website, Not Without Us, which originally tried (somewhat inartfully) to articulate why people should be concerned, and has now progressed into another soapbox for commenters. Some of the posts are good, and it's worth checking out. Sites such as Deaf Hot News and Deaf Spot function as gateways for people seeking various sites or blogs on the issue. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the official site for the protesters is Unity for Gallaudet-- or better known as FSSA (Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni). Most (if not all!) of you have already checked FSSA's site, but if you haven't yet, or you are new to the whole controversy, I suggest you check it out. While I was never in support of Fernandes, I had a healthy amount of skepticism about the events that were unfolding, and appalled at the initial public relations efforts, opinions, and comments that were coming out at the very beginning. FSSA has since issued on its website a set of talking points-- which is a good start. Now they need to stop preaching to the choir and educate the media, fence-sitters, and opposition with these points. More on this later.
For comic relief, check SignUpComics' small collection of strips/editorial cartoons on the protest. I especially liked Moe Klusza's first strip, and Dan McClintock's offerings, though all the cartoons are interesting.
Finally, Peggy at LoveMyBostons has done a great job of gathering various organizations, blogs, and newspaper articles into a database. I'd keep her site bookmarked and refer to it as neccessary.
Events/Issues So Far
As I already mentioned, Jamie Berke provides a good timeline on the entire matter. While there was initially a great deal of anger and confusion at the beginning, a protest began shortly after the announcement of Jane Fernandes as Gallaudet's 9th President (for those of you keeping track at home, if (and a BIG "IF") Fernandes succeeds Jordan and is invested at a Presidential Investiture Convocation, she'd be the 7th formally invested president, I believe. Dr. Lloyd Johns wasn't around long enough, if I recall correctly, and Dr. Elisabeth Zinser (who went on to a great career as president at the University of Idaho in Moscow, chancellor at the University of Kentucky, and then President at Southern Oregon University) only served for a handful of days during the last protest, the famed Deaf President Now! movement in 1988. Since then, an impromptu campground on Florida Avenue in the heart of urban D.C. emerged (see this neat website for an introduction to Tent City! I'm half-tempted to call this protest the Tent City Protest), more and more alumni, some faculty and staff, and quite a few outsiders have jumped on the bandwagon and either joined the protesters or voiced support from where they were. In the two weeks since, the main campus has been blocked off, I. King Jordan and Jane Fernandes have met with students (although most accounts state that the dialogue attempted was unsuccessful), some members of the Board of Trustees have met with students, toured Tent City, or otherwise contacted the protesters (I'm still trying to figure out which BOT members have actually ventured out to the front gates. Anyone have a comprehensive list?), and FSSA leaders have met with the BOT and University officials. PR efforts initially weren't the best, the message coming out of Gallaudet and being filtered through the media is contradictory at best, divisive at worst, and movement on both sides has been somewhat glacial.
The last few days, as most of you know, has culminated in a flurry of activity: bomb threats, the resignation of interim BOT chair Celia May Baldwin, the resignation of Fernandes as Provost, and numerous letters from outside sources, ranging from DCARA and NorCal COD in California to the NAD in Silver Spring, to two former BOT Chairs, Phil Bravin and Glenn Anderson. Perhaps most important, the faculty at large met (NOT the Faculty Senate) and delivered a vote of no-confidence in Fernandes and the Presidential selection process. Despite the events of the last few days, the protest is at a stalemate: neither side is willing to compromise, or move towards a resolution of the matter.
*whew*
I think that brings me (and everyone else!) up to speed. My apologies if all of this seemed like old news to many of you. I wanted to bring ALL of my readers current, and to set the stage for my own opinion/commentary. Rather than continue at this point, I think I'm going to take a break, and come back. So consider this Part I, and I'll post Part II as soon as I can.
So much has happened (and is happening) that it's a bit overwhelming to try to sort it out. But as my loving housemate always reminds me, "one step at a time." So let's start with a quick review.
The Deaf/deaf Blogosphere on Gallaudet
First, the best place to get a brief overview of what's happened so far is to check About.com's Deafness/Hard of Hearing page, run by Jamie Berke. Of all the websites, blogs, etc. that there are out there, hers is the closest to being neutral. A large part of this is due to the nature of her page-- she's running the Deafness section for About.com, and as such, is merely a source of information, links, and the like. It isn't her responsibility/obligation to be partisan. She has posted an ongoing, continually updated timeline compiled from various places. I find it a good introduction for those of you who are new to the topic, and a refresher for those who need to place events in their appropriate chronological context. Check it out: "Unity for Gallaudet- Just the Facts, Please."
To be fair, Jamie *does* acknowledge a post she wrote about her own personal experience with Fernandes, and makes it clear she is NOT happy about the appointment. Her recollections, which I had referenced in an earlier post of mine, constituted the first real evidence I had other than anecdotes about Jane Fernandes' time at MSSD/KDES as head of Pre-College Programs that she was not as perfect a candidate as she seemed on paper. At that point, I was firmly in the "none of the above" camp, but had yet to see any real reason for the anti-Fernandes current that was already seeping through the cracks at various blogs. You have probably already read it, but if you haven't, go here.
I've caught up on the major blogs that seem to be attracting the most traffic: Ridor's blog, which varies between a stream-of-consciousness, first person, you-are-there blog and a fount of comments (mostly in the comment box from his readers), which run the gamut from thoughtful to extremely illogical, highly emotional arguments to comments that border perilously close to libel (and do nothing at all to bolster the protester's cause); Elisa Abenchuchan's account as a student participant, which is sometimes woefully brief and on-the-run, and at other times provides a glimpse into what's happening on campus (especially the schedule; I don't recall during DPN our schedule being so carefully laid out! Socializing, DJ music, and a cookout, in addition to civil disobedience??); and DeafDC.com, where a number of its bloggers have posted entries that overall are very thoughtful, generally nuanced, and have attracted hundreds of comments. While you may or may not agree with Ridor or the various DeafDC bloggers, these three are definitely where you'll be able to take the pulse of the community and what's going on from day to day, if not hour by hour, or minute by minute...
While these are the "Big Three," there are dozens (if not more!) of other blogs that have been covering/commenting on the protest since May 1; among those that I already check or are on my blogroll, Joseph Rainmound's Deaf in the City is the only one consistently providing thoughts on the matter. For the most part, his posts have been very thoughtful, analytic, and persuasive; I find myself nodding and agreeing with him 99.9% of the time. It's a blog I checked daily even before Gallaudet, and one I'll continue reading after. If you haven't already looked at it, go check it out. Queen Alpo over at Living La Vida Alpo has intermittently posted about L'Affaire Gallaudet, or cross-posted elsewhere. There are others, such as this blogger, who are chiming in with personal opinions. Over in Arizona, a self-described "loose cannon" (a very familiar person to a generation of Gallaudetians!) provides his take on current events. Patti Raswant continues to post at ASL Community Journal on the protest.
While many blogs provide straightforward opinions/accounts, an interesting take is Jared's focus on the technological aspect of the current revolt. I agree-- the ramifications for how everything's been conducted so far are predicated on current techonology. In many ways, this protest is vastly different from DPN in 1988.
So far, all the blogs I've listed or talked about have been anti-Fernandes, pro-dissenters, or at best, neutral. This isn't to say that there aren't supporters of Fernandes out there, or that there isn't a feeling of backlash or anti-protest opinions out there. The best-known Deaf/deaf/hard-of-hearing blogger on that side of the fence is McConnell, who has steadfastly proclaimed his opposition to the protest. While he doesn't come straight out and say, "I SUPPORT FERNANDES," he definitely has made it clear he supports accepting the BOT's/PSC's decision, and moving on. Kevin over at keylimeboy also wants the protesters to cease and desist, and for the community as a whole to move on.
As far as official or group blogs/websites, there are a fair number. I previously mentioned Gally President Watch, which has since been taken off the web. There's also the students' website, Not Without Us, which originally tried (somewhat inartfully) to articulate why people should be concerned, and has now progressed into another soapbox for commenters. Some of the posts are good, and it's worth checking out. Sites such as Deaf Hot News and Deaf Spot function as gateways for people seeking various sites or blogs on the issue. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the official site for the protesters is Unity for Gallaudet-- or better known as FSSA (Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni). Most (if not all!) of you have already checked FSSA's site, but if you haven't yet, or you are new to the whole controversy, I suggest you check it out. While I was never in support of Fernandes, I had a healthy amount of skepticism about the events that were unfolding, and appalled at the initial public relations efforts, opinions, and comments that were coming out at the very beginning. FSSA has since issued on its website a set of talking points-- which is a good start. Now they need to stop preaching to the choir and educate the media, fence-sitters, and opposition with these points. More on this later.
For comic relief, check SignUpComics' small collection of strips/editorial cartoons on the protest. I especially liked Moe Klusza's first strip, and Dan McClintock's offerings, though all the cartoons are interesting.
Finally, Peggy at LoveMyBostons has done a great job of gathering various organizations, blogs, and newspaper articles into a database. I'd keep her site bookmarked and refer to it as neccessary.
Events/Issues So Far
As I already mentioned, Jamie Berke provides a good timeline on the entire matter. While there was initially a great deal of anger and confusion at the beginning, a protest began shortly after the announcement of Jane Fernandes as Gallaudet's 9th President (for those of you keeping track at home, if (and a BIG "IF") Fernandes succeeds Jordan and is invested at a Presidential Investiture Convocation, she'd be the 7th formally invested president, I believe. Dr. Lloyd Johns wasn't around long enough, if I recall correctly, and Dr. Elisabeth Zinser (who went on to a great career as president at the University of Idaho in Moscow, chancellor at the University of Kentucky, and then President at Southern Oregon University) only served for a handful of days during the last protest, the famed Deaf President Now! movement in 1988. Since then, an impromptu campground on Florida Avenue in the heart of urban D.C. emerged (see this neat website for an introduction to Tent City! I'm half-tempted to call this protest the Tent City Protest), more and more alumni, some faculty and staff, and quite a few outsiders have jumped on the bandwagon and either joined the protesters or voiced support from where they were. In the two weeks since, the main campus has been blocked off, I. King Jordan and Jane Fernandes have met with students (although most accounts state that the dialogue attempted was unsuccessful), some members of the Board of Trustees have met with students, toured Tent City, or otherwise contacted the protesters (I'm still trying to figure out which BOT members have actually ventured out to the front gates. Anyone have a comprehensive list?), and FSSA leaders have met with the BOT and University officials. PR efforts initially weren't the best, the message coming out of Gallaudet and being filtered through the media is contradictory at best, divisive at worst, and movement on both sides has been somewhat glacial.
The last few days, as most of you know, has culminated in a flurry of activity: bomb threats, the resignation of interim BOT chair Celia May Baldwin, the resignation of Fernandes as Provost, and numerous letters from outside sources, ranging from DCARA and NorCal COD in California to the NAD in Silver Spring, to two former BOT Chairs, Phil Bravin and Glenn Anderson. Perhaps most important, the faculty at large met (NOT the Faculty Senate) and delivered a vote of no-confidence in Fernandes and the Presidential selection process. Despite the events of the last few days, the protest is at a stalemate: neither side is willing to compromise, or move towards a resolution of the matter.
*whew*
I think that brings me (and everyone else!) up to speed. My apologies if all of this seemed like old news to many of you. I wanted to bring ALL of my readers current, and to set the stage for my own opinion/commentary. Rather than continue at this point, I think I'm going to take a break, and come back. So consider this Part I, and I'll post Part II as soon as I can.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 6:07 PM
<< Home