Deaf culture vs. the general deaf population?

As you read this I want you to be aware of the definition of Deaf and how it differs from the definiton of deaf. Deaf refers to a culture of deaf individuals that identify themselves as an actual culture much similar to foreign nation's cultures because they have distinct types of behavior and traits that are picked up from being around each other in a community. deaf refers to all deaf people in general including those involved with Deaf culture and those not involved in the culture.




this is my take on the whole gallaudet university protest. i have had a chance to follow this for the past 2 weeks. I got an email from the ohio deaf times newsletter notifying me of Dr. Jane Fernandes' nomination for the president of Gallaudet University beginning when I King Jordan steps down at the end of this year. There are a lot of relevant sources of information and opinions about this event. They can be found at these websites

www.deafdc.com
google deaf news
www.deaftoday.com

now when i recieved this news, i reacted in a ho-hum way, but not dismissive of this news. I simply pointed it out to another deaf colleague of mine and for the moment was glad that Gallaudent had picked their next president.

The next day i started reading news about some protest and controversy over Fernandes' selection to be the next president. I was apprenhesive about this protest and still regarded Fernandes with a open mind. I thought it'd blow over in a few days.

However as the days went by. I started recieving a ton of emails from my deaf newsletters about this controversy surrounding Fernandes. I don't know the backgrounds of the presidential candidates but i was surprised that there was such a huge commotion over the selection of the new President.

There was a reason the board of trustees was formed and I know that they would go on to do a good job in finding the best candidates that is the most qualified for Gallaudet University and the best person to lead the new generation of Deaf/deaf students. They wanted to avoid what happened with the Deaf President Now movement and pick the best person to lead the only deaf university in the country.

Based on what i've heard, I King Jordan was a great leader for Gallaudet University. He will be missed on the campus and outside in the Deaf community.



I started writing the above after finding out about the Gallaudent President protest in May. My initial feelings were that the Gallaudet students were trying to establish another successful legacy like in the DPN protest and get their footprints set in the History of Deaf Culture.

Now that the protests have escalated to their boiling point including a shut down of the Gallaudet University campus, I reflect back to what the initial argument is all about. I keep hearing a lot of conflicting views about deafness and how Deaf culture applies into this protest of the incoming president. As I've said, there was the possibility of JKF(the incoming president-elect) not being "Deaf" enough. Or there was the possiblity of not saying "hi" to the powerful students on campus and having that strike a nerve.

I know that I am not in the right to make a judgement here. I am trying to make sense of all the issues in this protest. I don't fully understand why Jane Fernades isn't qualified enough to at least warrant a chance to lead the University. I have no "politicial" power in or around Deaf culture or deaf communities, I am just one person that is deaf and is trying to make his mark in today's world.

From the other perspectives i've read about this protest, the students involved are very passionate enough about it that they started a shutdown of some of the important buildings on campus so that they could lock down the campus and not get anyone involved on campus into a "conflict of Interest." They really feel that they're benefiting the future good of Gallaudet University and Deaf culture itself.

I considered going to Gallaudet University for graduate school. I went to visit last november and it was a great experience getting involved and meeting some new people. I made the decision later on not to attend Gallaudent University because it wasn't the right time for me to do so. However I look back at what if i had decided to attend Gallaudent University, where would I be on this topic? I don't honestly know, i'm not there but sometimes I wish I could be so I could see how this ends up and If it benefits the good of deaf not Deaf people everywhere.

I truly am not against the Deaf culture because this is a great community that has helped me figure out what I am in today's world but I don't feel like i belong just yet. I probably won't ever belong because I am my own culture, an hybrid of cultures. I see myself as a deaf person, i don't see myself wanting to improve only the Deaf culture but I want to improve the lives of deaf people in general.

The Deaf culture has helped establish many of the things that benefit our everyday lives, there are organizations that are focused on Deaf culture to fight for the everyday rights of deaf people. I want to help with that and improve the everyday rights.

What this has to do with the presidential protest? I want the outcome to be positive for all deaf people, not just the Deaf culture. We don't need a setback to bring negative attention for deaf people all over the world.

Everything that the Deaf culture does out in the spotlight affects how deaf people are perceived. I can remember an example of negative attention from something that occured because of something from Deaf culture. It was Gallaudet's homecoming of last year and a group of deaf people were causing mischief and causing a ruckus in a hotel despite repeated attempts of hotel staff to cease their actions, they were disturbing the peace and it was chronicled in the washington dc newspapers. I was geniunely embarrased when i found out about this incident.

I realize that this isn't a situation involving mischief but a very serious situation with deaf students and alumni as well as staff fighting passionately for something they believe in. I just don't want the outcome to have negative repercussions for deaf people the world over. I wish both the board of trustees and the protestors the best of luck in reaching a compromise so that it benefits the good of deaf people in general.