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| I had planned on a lengthy introduction but I realized that Ryan Commerson has pretty much covered it. In response to my blog last week, he emailed me requesting his thoughts to be posted on my blog, probably due to its fairly high readership (to date, 509 people have read my previous blog about the Gallaudet president search process). I am honoring his request; nobody cares more about Gallaudet than he. I'll never forget pitching my tent in that October morning - this time it was he, not David Day and I, that pitched the very first tent of Tent City. In any case, this introduction is quickly putting my words in my mouth and growing lengthy but there is one more thing. Please, I beseech you, those of you in DC and Kendall Green please send me (powhog@gmail.com) your observations of the whole Presidential search process. Have you seen the presentations? What is the vibe on campus? Give me something to blog about. Now, without further ado, please read what Mr. Commerson has to say:
Posted with permission from commerson.blogspot.com.
Dynamic President to Represent Paradigm Shift
Followers
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
Bittersweet nostalgia...
The recent announcement of the Presidential finalists brought back some great memories as well as some ugly ones. The great memories lie in the students' revolutionary resolve to follow through with their movement despite the odds stacked against them. How the community managed to harness their own internal fire to achieve something seemingly impossible is no small thing, and it has transformed many of us in positive ways, some of which are still being felt today. The ugly memories are of the blatant arrogance exhibited by the campus security officers, certain Board members, and of Irving K. Jordan's manipulation and distortion of the media spin on the real reasons of the protest. Also, probably the ugliest memory of all is the fraction on campus regarding racism, sexism, and audism that were evident and pervasive throughout the Presidential Search Process and the Protest from the beginning to the end. The administrators' cowardly unwillingness to allow the community members to engage in meaningful dialogue to hash out the attitudes, perceptions, as well as the misconceptions ended up bringing Gallaudet's morale to an all time low.
Much damage has been done and not a lot was done to allow healing to take place. The university’s accreditation was nearly revoked due to Jordan and Fernandes's failure to do their job. Thanks to Davila's fiscal conservativeness and solid old school principled leadership, he steered the ship out of Fernandes’s 'Perfect Storm' rhetoric. Let us extend our heartfelt thanks to Davila and the committed faculty, staff, students, and alumni's hard work in revamping the curriculum, as well as the creation of the new mission statement that was long overdue, and the development of the strategic goals with stronger teeth.
Now Gallaudet has been steered and aligned in place for a world of possibilities, we must ask: Where do we go from here?
Before we ponder this question, we need to think of a response to a question that Dr. Dirksen Bauman presented to his graduate students as part of a final exam for one of his classes in 2007: Is deafness worth preserving?
That very question was like a razor slicing through a thick shroud of naive hopefulness and superficiality that lay behind the "Deaf Culture Cherish Must!" rally cry that was oft seen for the past two or three decades.
"Deafness" is synonymous for 'calamity' in the eyes of the world's ideology. It's the worst thing that can happen to anybody, according to popular medical/audiological belief.
With the rise of cochlear implants and the increased popularity of AVT (auditory verbal therapy) which philosophy is to teach babies how to "listen" and "speak" using their CI’s without any visual 'assistance' including sign language, more and more deaf babies are being aggressively discouraged from learning sign language based on gross ideological misconceptions.
Now, another question we must ask is: Who will attend Gallaudet in 15 - 20 years?
Ok... the burning question: Who should be the next President of Gallaudet?
I don't have a clear preference. I believe that all the candidates have the potential to lead Gallaudet. However, who is the right one for NOW? Which one of them has a keen understanding of where we are now, and how we should 'define' what 'deaf' entails? Because of the current framework in asking what 'deaf' means, we continue to see low literacy rates among deaf children in both ASL and English, we continue to see Deaf Education programs being run without accountability, we continue to see attacks on American Sign Language for deaf babies (despite popularity among hearing babies), we continue to see low employment rates for deaf people, and perhaps most pressing of all is that deaf people have zero political clout.
What has Gallaudet done about all this? Historically, not a damn thing. Gallaudet resisted recognizing the bilingual nature of the university until 2007 in its mission statement despite William Stokoe's breakthrough research in 1965, in addition to a widely published acclaim by numerous researchers for multilingualism. Gallaudet resisted training teachers in Bilingual Education until after 2001. Gallaudet is a multi-million funded dollar institute and therefore in a position to have a significant influence on the ideological shift in the human consciousness regarding "D-E-A-F" and yet, does the university flex its muscles? No.
This is a proposition, or perhaps, a challenge to the Board to pick a President who has the guts to stand up to the world and sign "YAWP!!!" We need a visionary for a President, who will not resort to reactive and defensive decisions in responding to the future "demographics" as a result of the continuing onslaught brought on by ideological misconceptions. The resonance of Pierre Desloges, Agatha Tiegel Hanson, and Andrew Foster must be felt as the next President takes charge in leading Gallaudet into the realm of coming up with an innovative framework. If the next President of Gallaudet does not have what it takes to lead this potentially fine institute of higher education and create a paradigm shift on what it means to be human, then we should begin preparing for its vigil. It is up to the Board and the next President to either bow to the current ideology or grab it boldly and entice it to dance as if nobody's watching.
Respectfully yours,
Ryan Commerson
'01 and G '08 | | |
| Ladies, Germs, Tweeps and Facebook Fiends,
Much to my dismay nobody, as far as I can tell (someone gladden my heart by correcting me if I am wrong, please), is blogging about the Gallaudet Presidential Search process occurring at Kendall Green this week and next week. It brought me back to the days when we cried, sweated, bled, were traumatized and in Brian Morrison's case, lost a toenail, for the Protest because we did not want the status quo. Jane K. Fernandes, her personality and leadership flaws notwithstanding, represented the status quo. Our lack of confidence in the status quo, ironically, was validated when the MSCHE hammer came down on Gallaudet. Remarkable work by the faculty, students and Provost Dr. Steve Weiner has since mostly relieved the pressure of the MSCHE. Considering all that, the lack of attention to the current process, at least from my end as someone who is not on campus, is very odd to me.
That being said, I took it upon myself to take up the PSAC's invitation to email them at psac@gallaudet.edu with my thoughts. I have not seen any of the candidates' presentations and frankly, I don't have to. I saw the presentation by Dr. Ron Stern prior to Fernandes' selection. He floored me. He was inspiring, charismatic, remarkably intelligent, exuded confidence and humility at the same time and presented himself as a genuine visionary. This is more or less what I told the PSAC (the email I sent is copy and pasted below, fear not). I'd like to add that I have enormous respect for Dr. Steve Weiner and Dr. Roz Rosen, but I am confident that Ron Stern is the man for the job if Gallaudet truly wants to take the next step as an university, as a mecca for deaf people and as a stalwart we can all depend on and look on for inspiration worldwide. Today in an email a friend whose views I hold in high esteem remarked:
"I have been hearing more and more that the Gallaudet community wants a "college" person, but that is bs. I do know that Ron has wowed the community his first time around, and now he's not college enough? come on.
I remember reading somewhere and I am pretty sure it was Harvard (maybe not but one of them top ivy league schools). They hired a young (40-50 years old) man who did not have a PhD[Dr. Stern does have a PhD in Educational leadership] or collegiate managerial experience. He was not even in a college system but, you know - was hired because of his visionary leadership. And if they can do that and if they are happy with the hire, why not Gallaudet?"
I agree with my friend. Dr. Stern presents at Gallaudet tomorrow (Thursday, September 24) and I have a feeling he will "wow" everybody again, so to speak. Let's hope the Board of Trustees is more attuned to Gallaudet than it was a few years ago and I pray that the Board of Trustees will choose the visionary, the born leader unafraid to try new things. Because, my friends, that is what every University needs in this rapidly changing world and for Gallaudet this is even more - and urgently - so. Here is my email to the PSAC:
"Dear the PSAC and Board of Trustees,
I would like to express my sincere hope that the Board of Trustees will not immerse itself into the muck of evaluating each candidate's "paper achievements." It should be assumed, that since these 4 candidates reached this point, that they are all qualified in this sense.
What we should be looking for is a forward thinking visionary that will lead Gallaudet into the 20th century and claim its rightful place in the Deaf-World. The Board of Trustees may be tempted to make a "safe pick," such as the currently entrenched Steve Weiner, and this may be the correct decision. However, they should not limit themselves to this option. Steve Weiner might be best situated by continuing as the Provost, where he has done an excellent job. In addition, I have always felt that Gallaudet should exert more influence on improving the dismal state of Deaf education in America. In this instance, a wealth of precollege experience might be a huge plus.
Do not be afraid, dear Board of Trustees, to select someone with true leadership potential, a visionary leader with a creative intelligence capable of embracing and trying new ideas. Gallaudet would benefit greatly from a breath of fresh air and the inspirational, forward thinking leader that is Dr. Ronald Stern. That being said, I would like to assert that Dr. Steve Weiner and Dr. Roz Rosen would make interesting and intelligent choices as well. It would be nice if all three could end up at Gallaudet somehow - if one wins, the other two should be lured to Gallaudet to hold high posts. That, indeed, would be a "dream team." Shouldn't Gallaudet, after all, have the best that the Deaf community has to offer? And not just one of the three best, but all three?
Dr. Ronald Stern may not be viewed as a "safe pick," but I believe he is. He brings to the table the persona of the truly energetic, fresh and creative leadership that Gallaudet needs to stride confidently into the 21st century. Hopefully all the three people I mentioned above, and perhaps Dr. Hurwitz (whom I admittedly don't know enough about to make a judgement ), can form Gallaudet's first-ever "dream team." In this case, the dream team's mission would not be to merely win a gold medal but, to hammer this point home, to usher Gallaudet into the future and realize its full potential and place in not only the Deaf-World but in the world, period.
Thank you,
Jesse Thomas
Class of 2009"
For those of you in DC (Including those of you not blogging; too bad Elisa Abencuhan (now Vita, I believe) no longer lives in DC) observing the process, feel free to email me your tidbits and observations at powhog@aol.com and I will compile them in my blogs in an attempt to take up some of the slack in the blogging void that is Washington DC.
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| Folks, my first email to Senator Casey took several weeks to garner a response. My most recent email, posted in my previous blog, took only one day. It was a short one:
From: Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
To: powhog@aol.com
Sent: Wed, Sep 16, 2009 7:34 pm
Subject: Message from Senator Casey
Thank you for your email. Your message has been received by my office.
Sincerely,
Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
What does this speedy response mean? I have no clue. Just keeping you all updated.
Meanwhile I have urged every relative I know to support HR 3101 and many of them have told me they will write or call their congresspeople promptly. The twig is slowly turning into a branch. Help me transform this branch into a mighty STIHL MS 200 T (http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS200T.html) professional grade chainsaw, people!
Jesse | | |
| As you may remember, I feverishly e-mailed my representative and senator in support of HR 3101 regarding captioning online content a couple of weeks ago. I was participating in democracy! A republic only truly works when the voted officials hears from its constituents often, right? Lo and behold, I got a response "from" senator Bob Casey himself. It was clearly done by a staffer with the name of the bill (HR 3101) clearly copied and pasted into the e-mail. Why can't these people be honest and say it was from the "office" of the senator rather than trying to pass it off as being from the actual senator himself? Here is the e-mail I received "from" Casey. Please read it and my reaction below:
From: Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
To: powhog@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 5:03 pm
Subject: Response from Senator Casey
Dear Mr. Thomas:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about H.R. 3101, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009. [in the original email the words "H.R. 3101, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009" was a different font and 3 or 4 sizes bigger than the rest of the e-mail] I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.
I am working diligently to be responsive to the needs and concerns of the people of our Commonwealth and country. Currently, there is no related bill in the Senate. Please be assured that should similar legislation come before the full Senate, I will have your views in mind.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator=
Thanks, senator. Ladies and Germs, do you notice he - his office - took advantage of the email to direct me to his website, http://casey.senate.gov. Guess what was prominently featured right there on the front page of that website? A...video...of...Bob...Casey...NOT...SUBTITLED/CAPTIONED. Talk about rubbing my nose in it. Needless to say, I was furious. I used the "Contact Me" link on said website to fire off an angry retort. I hope that I don't get nabbed by men wearing dark suits soon. Here is the e-mail I sent him through the website:
Senator Casey,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my e-mail. I am sure it was a staffer and not you, yourself, but thanks. I did, indeed, click on the link you provided me and urged me to click on in your e-mail. It prominently features, I notice, a video of you. In a cruel irony, since I emailed you about HR 3101 which has to do with captioning online content, the video was not captioned (or subtitled).
Was offering up this link to your website your idea of a joke? I voted for you and I do not appreciate this sore issue being rubbed in my face. Yes, I am perfectly aware that nearly all of the online videos and audio content on the web is not captioned and therefore inaccessible to deaf people like me. However, there is no need to make me painfully aware of that YET AGAIN and, worse, in an e-mail THANKING me for e-mailing you about a bill in congress that addresses this VERY ISSUE. Truthfully, I find this insensitive and insulting. I hope you will forgive me for my tone, but I trust that the man I voted for will empathize with my position and I am certain you did not intend to nor realize you were belittling and making a mockery of my email. I am sure it was a honest mistake.
At least vote for HR 3101. You can also begin by setting an example and subtitling/captioning the content on your own website for your deaf constituents.
Thank you,
Jesse Thomas
My dear readers, this is what we're up against. If we don't act and act quick, the internet will be virtually inaccessible to us before we know it. I implore you to e-mail your congressmen and congresswomen. Urge your hearing family members to do so. Otherwise I am just a tiny, whiny voice yelling ineffectually in a giant forest.
Go forth, my fellow deaf compatriots, and unleash your measured fury upon our elected officials!
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| Let's remember this:
Throughout history, we have seen Russian terrorists, Indian terrorists, Basque terrorists, Malay terrorists and scores of others. The history books have recorded and continue to record Christian terrorists, Jewish terrorists, and Muslim terrorists. In addition, there were Yugoslav terrorists in WWII "settling scores," Zionist terrorists setting off bombs in Arab marketplaces in Palestine pre-1948, US-backed Irish terrorists in the London of Margaret Thatcher and we also saw mujahaddin terrorists armed by the US in Afghanistan in the 1980s.(1)
Terrorists come in all shapes and forms, representing an dazzling array of ideals and purposes.
(1) Tony Judt, Reappraisals (New York: Penguin Books, 2008), 17-18.
REFERENCE
Judt, Tony. Reappraisals: Reflections on the forgotten twentieth century. (New York: Penguin Books, 2008.)
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