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segunda-feira, 24 de março de 2014

Gallaudet University Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Deaf President Now



Publicado em 27/06/2013
Deaf President Now (DPN) was a student protest in March 1988 at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1864 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing president. The protest began on March 6, 1988, when the Board of Trustees announced its decision to appoint a hearing person as its seventh president.
Gallaudet University was established in 1864 in Washington, D.C. by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's youngest child, Edward Miner Gallaudet. The college grew out of what had been originally a Deaf school for children, which had been established in 1857. Gallaudet was the world's first university for Deaf and hard of hearing students. The historical background, cultural ideologies of the Deaf world, and the richness of the Deaf community at this university was what set the stage for the protests that occurred.
Deaf students at Gallaudet began campaigning for a Deaf president when Jerry C. Lee, who had been president since 1984, resigned in 1987.[3] The issue lay between the Board of Trustees, which consisted of a majority of hearing members, and the Deaf community. There seemed to be doubts that the Deaf community could match the abilities and achieve as much as a hearing community. The motivation behind the protest for DPN was not simply about the current election, but about uniting and strengthening Deaf students, faculty, and staff. Students supporting the selection of a Deaf president participated in the large rally beginning on March 1, 1988.
For the rally, Gallaudet alumnus John Yeh underwrote a good deal of the costs of the rally, including bales of fliers and thousands of buttons that read "Deaf President Now". Many other alumni participated in the events as well. A candlelit vigil was held on March 5, 1988. The Board of Trustees considered three finalists: University of North Carolina at Greensboro assistant chancellor Elisabeth Zinser, who is not Deaf; I. King Jordan, Gallaudet's Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Harvey Corson, a Deaf man serving as the superintendent at the Louisiana School of the Deaf.
The drive behind this protest was not based solely on the initial selection of a new hearing president: the need for a Deaf president began when Deaf advocacy groups and organizations made it clear well in advance that they wanted a Deaf President. Letter-writing endorsement for the cause included people like Vice-President George Bush and Senators Bob Dole, Bob Graham, Tom Harkin, and Lowell Weicker. The Gallaudet Board of Trustees claimed repeatedly that mainstream society was not "on board" with the idea of a Deaf person as an executive leader of a University, despite this public support.
On March 6, 1988, the Board announced the selection of Elisabeth A. Zinser to be the university's seventh president. She had been assistant chancellor at the University of North Carolina, and was the only hearing person out of the three presidential candidates. Due to the strong push for a Deaf President to reside over a Deaf university, the outcome of this election was met with much opposition.1][2] Wikipedia'

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