Gallaudet's Protesters: Fernandes wants all state deaf schools closed down

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Gallaudet's Fernandes wants all state deaf schools closed down, protesters
say

At Gallaudet University, the world's only university for the deaf, in
Washington DC, the president-elect, Jane Fernandes, who is scheduled to
take office on Jan. 1, 2007, harbors a dangerous anti-philosophy of
education, which is harmful to the emotional and intellectual well being
of deaf students. Protesters are continuing in their two demands that she
either step down or have her appointment rescinded, and that no reprisals
be administered to the protesters.

The term "university" in English comes from the Latin word "universitas,"
which means "the whole," or "the universe," or "the world." In light of
this fact, we come to an examination of Gallaudet's recent and current
policy (written in 2005) called "Gallaudet University Strategic Goals."
The document goes to the altogether redundant and completely unnecessary
length of specifying that Gallaudet is an "inclusive" university. We must
ask the obvious question: Is there any other kind of university?  And if
no other type of university is conceivable, what is the true purpose of
including that language in that policy statement? Also, looking backward
one year and examining the Gallaudet document "New Directions for Academic
Affairs" (March 12, 2004) we see the following:

QUOTE:

Priority 3.1: Preserve Gallaudet's rich cultural heritage and promote the
study and appreciation of Deaf culture, Deaf history, and American Sign
Language.

UNQUOTE

Yet when we progress forward again to the 2005 "Strategic Goals"
statement, not only is there no mention of deaf history or deaf culture in
the document, but there is also no mention of American Sign Language. The
word "sign" does not even appear in the document! Instead of mentioning
deaf culture, the Strategic Goals document makes a reference to Gallaudet
supposedly being a "global educational and cultural center for people who
are deaf and hard of hearing." Again, all universities are "global
educational and cultural centers" by definition. Since this is
noncontroversial and refers to obvious facts that are universally accepted
by all educated people, we must ask the question: What is the purpose of
this statement?

It is clear that the "New Directions" document (with its inclusion of
Priority 3.1) was just a smoke screen intended to pacify those people
concerned about the university's plans and directions for the future. Had
those been real priorities, a much different Strategic Goals statement
would have been produced the following year in 2005, not the obfuscatory
one that is analyzed here.

Jordan and Fernandes's private views

Insiders are reluctant to jeopardize their careers by openly reporting on
Jordan's true sentiments towards deaf culture, though comments are made
which indicate clearly that privately, Jordan is reluctant to grant any
high regard to American Sign Language, or to sign language in general, or
the worldwide Deaf Culture Movement of Western and World Civilization.
Jordan, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology, is a master manipulator of people
and their perceptions. He would never simply blurt out his true feelings
to the press, but we can get an idea of the ethos behind Jordan's
philosophy by examining the startlingly uninformed and confrontational
comments made by Frank Bowe, who is of Jordan's ilk, who made the
following comments to the Washington Post in September of 1988, as Jordan
was getting prepared for his upcoming official inauguration as president
of Gallaudet University. Quoting Bowe:

"For too long, deaf people have stood by themselves, fought for themselves
alone...But it is time for them to recognize that they share so much with
people who are blind, who have cerebral palsy, and we all need to work
together." Bowe also states:

"To go back and look at ... deaf studies distracts us from the real
challenge."

He displays his antipathy toward Gallaudet's historic role and his
ignorance of the nature of the Deaf Culture Movement in Western history by
referring to it as: "This internal stuff--deaf pride, deaf culture." This
accurately reflects Jordan's private view that deaf culture is merely
unimportant "internal stuff" which has nothing to do with the
Greek-initiated Philosophy and Science Movement of Western civilization.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and no idea could be more
dangerous to the promotion of the education of the deaf.

Jordan and Fernandes's public rhetoric

In public, we can continue to expect Jordan to pay lip service to the Deaf
Culture Movement and occasionally offer policy statements which serve as
window dressing (especially as a way to respond to this essay.) But it is
easy to see that his public comments are highly obfuscatory in nature.
(ASL translation of "obfuscatory": two 5-hands, palms together, slide top
hand in arc over bottom hand.) In his 2006 NAD keynote address in Palm
Desert, California, Jordan tried to pull the wool over our eyes by
distorting the nature of his and Fernandes's plans for the future of
Gallaudet. As has been explained in this essay, the Deaf Culture Movement
has always been accepting of people of all types. That is not today nor
has it ever been a controversial issue. Yet in his address, Jordan claims
that: "We must work together to infuse these values into the entire deaf
community."

Question, if these values are already present in the deaf community and
have been present for 200-plus years (valuing deaf culture and accepting
all types of people as members), then what is Jordan talking about? The
new paradigm for deaf education and its implementation His keynote address
makes his and his prote'ge' Fernandes's methods and positions clear.
According to Jordan, Gallaudet's Board of Trustees bears absolutely no
democratic accountability to any body outside of itself, never mind the
fact that Gallaudet is a creation of the Federal Government of the United
States and is sustained by it. According to Jordan, the Gallaudet
community must simply accept whatever nondemocratic decisions come from
the Board, including who they choose to be president and what policies
they approve.

http://www.pressmethod.com/releasestorage/7627.htm