Tent City: No Longer A Time to Frame
The majority of my posts concerning Gallaudet in 2006 have been prefaced with the overall title "Framing the Stalemate." I initially picked that title because I felt that FSSA in particular had done a terrible job with public relations, but that there was still time to re-frame events. Thus, "Framing the Stalemate."
To date, FSSA has completely failed as far as PR efforts go. To be fair, no other group or individual has been doing an exceptional job either. Jordan and Fernandes continued to rely on the mighty machine of the Gallaudet Office of Public Relations, and continued to insist that the protest was born of identity politics, and their continual refrains to the press consisted of "this is all happening because Dr. Fernandes isn't considered 'deaf enough.'" While the administration is correct that there was a fair amount of identity politics behind the rationales of many, and while it is/was true that personality conflicts played a role, especially at the beginning (witness the ongoing meme of "She didn't say 'hi.'"), there were/are larger dynamics at play here. The fact that Jordan and Fernandes chose to ignore or minimize those concerns means that while they may have won the PR battle with the larger public (which, whether you like to admit it or not, is crucial), they weren't winning internally, with either the campus community or the deaf community at large. Thus, while they had the upper hand with PR efforts, they weren't completely winning the war, but merely an ongoing battle.
At this point, it's too late for FSSA to re-frame issues from the beginning of the search process to the present date of this post (October 11). Therefore, there can be no real "framing the stalemate;" now it has become all about Tent City and the events unfolding on Kendall Green. The events of October thus far, from October 2 to the moment I'm writing this, offer new opportunities to turn the tide and "win". But in the end, really, there are no winners here. As the next post or two illustrates, this has turned into a tragedy for all involved. Nevertheless, the key goals remain the same, and MUST take place for anything positive to be immediately gleaned: either Dr. Fernandes resigns, or the Board of Trustees asks her to resign. There really is no other option.
Addendum: The original title was also about how I "framed" the entire story, and what I felt needed to be done. A double purpose, so to speak.
To date, FSSA has completely failed as far as PR efforts go. To be fair, no other group or individual has been doing an exceptional job either. Jordan and Fernandes continued to rely on the mighty machine of the Gallaudet Office of Public Relations, and continued to insist that the protest was born of identity politics, and their continual refrains to the press consisted of "this is all happening because Dr. Fernandes isn't considered 'deaf enough.'" While the administration is correct that there was a fair amount of identity politics behind the rationales of many, and while it is/was true that personality conflicts played a role, especially at the beginning (witness the ongoing meme of "She didn't say 'hi.'"), there were/are larger dynamics at play here. The fact that Jordan and Fernandes chose to ignore or minimize those concerns means that while they may have won the PR battle with the larger public (which, whether you like to admit it or not, is crucial), they weren't winning internally, with either the campus community or the deaf community at large. Thus, while they had the upper hand with PR efforts, they weren't completely winning the war, but merely an ongoing battle.
At this point, it's too late for FSSA to re-frame issues from the beginning of the search process to the present date of this post (October 11). Therefore, there can be no real "framing the stalemate;" now it has become all about Tent City and the events unfolding on Kendall Green. The events of October thus far, from October 2 to the moment I'm writing this, offer new opportunities to turn the tide and "win". But in the end, really, there are no winners here. As the next post or two illustrates, this has turned into a tragedy for all involved. Nevertheless, the key goals remain the same, and MUST take place for anything positive to be immediately gleaned: either Dr. Fernandes resigns, or the Board of Trustees asks her to resign. There really is no other option.
Addendum: The original title was also about how I "framed" the entire story, and what I felt needed to be done. A double purpose, so to speak.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 7:27 PM
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