Washington Post Revised Article Update: Still Looking Into It

As previously reported here on May 14th, the Washington Post posted online an article that included a comment from Gallaudet's spokeswoman, Mercy Coogan, that could be construed as being unflattering for the adminstration. However, the final online article omitted any reference to Mercy Coogan's comment.

The comment pertained to Ms. Coogan publicly stating that the awarding of tenure to Jane Fernandes involved a "procedural error. . .an unintentional mistake in the dean's office[.]"

When asked about Ms. Coogan's comment being deleted from the article's final revision, the author of the article, Susan Kinzie replied on May 17th:

"I'll check on that -- several of the stories changed from edition to edition as more news came in during the evening."

Since two weeks have passed, I've send an email to Ms. Kinzie requesting a follow-up...STAY TUNED:

NAD Issues Fifth Open Letter

The NAD PR people must be really busy these days, having issued its fifth open letter yesterday, defending Jordan's selection for its keynote speaker.

Jordan was offered the keynote part way back in January and he had accepted that same month. Why the NAD decided to wait four months to announce it, I have no idea.

Instead, the NAD issued its announcement soon after condemning Jordan's administration in a previous open letter in the midst of the Gallaudet protests and now admits that it "may have unintentionally sent a confusing message." Well, duh.

Aside from that, the latest open letter does make some good points by specfiically encouraging and hoping for open dialogue.

Read the letter yourself and have a safe and sane Memorial Weekend:

http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=1713607

Animal Farm Redux?

In its simplest form, "Animal Farm" was a cautionary tale by George Orwell of socialism being misdirected to serve a single group's own interests. Farm animals, made up of a variety of species, feeling mistreated by their human masters, band together and overthrow the humans.

While the pigs, dogs, horses, and sheep initially and successfully unite together, it soon becomes obvious that the pigs have something else on their minds: Ensuring that they stay in power, even if it means co-opting their former masters (humans) into a working partnership.

I'll leave it to you, Dear Reader, to grasp the general similarities that I perceive between Orwell's tale and with I King Jordan's ascent to the presidency and its aftermath, especially the final paragraph of the tale...

"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike.    No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs.  The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

***

I'd like to close this posting with a quote that I feel some may find useful in explaining the rationale behind some of Jordan's decisions as of late:

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

---"An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."

http://www.bartleby.com/59/13/powertendsto.html

FSSA Website Update & NAD Speaker IKJ

The official website of the Faculty, Staff, Students and Alumni (FSSA) of Gallaudet University has been significantly updated. It's a must-visit website, so if you haven't gone...then GO! http://www.gallyfssa.org/

Also, it's important to note that even though there's been a huge decrease in news and updates, the battle is certainly far from over. Even though it's all quiet on the front, there is a current shifting of resources and personnel on both sides in preparation of what surely will be the most contentious Fall semester in Gallaudet's history.

Many have questioned why the Board of Trustees' most recent letter states that there will be no reprisals for protestors that extended ONLY to the day of Gallaudet's graduation ceremonies, leading many faculty and staff to fear for their jobs should they remain actively engaged in activities that the administration may perceive as disloyal.

Many have also said that they welcome the idea of I King Jordan speaking at the NAD opening ceremony, saying this will provide them with an opportunity, outside the confines of Kendall Green, to personally dissuade Jordan from continuing with his current strategy of dividing the deaf world.

For a moment, comments along those lines did make sense to me to the point where I thought about retracting my condemnation of the NAD for selecting Jordan as its opening speaker.

However, I have decided to remain steadfast in my condemnation of the NAD's announcement simply because it seemed so much in contrast with the NAD's own letter condemning Jordan and his administration's tactics in the protests. Yes, Jordan was probably asked to speak at the conference months ago. Why didn't the NAD make such an announcement then? Why, I'd like to ask, did the NAD chose the WORST time possible in glowingly announcing Jordan as its opening keynote speaker?

At the very least, this is a sign that the NAD in moving in uncertain directions, unsure of where to go. I strongly encourage those of you who are members of state associations and thus having voting representation at the NAD conference to make a concerted effort to attend the conference and make your presence known! If the NAD administration, presumably speaking for all deaf people, isn't reflecting the nation's deaf community then it is upon us to change the NAD!

The next few months should certainly be fascinating.

What Exactly is "Playing the Deaf Card?"

According to wikipedia's definition of "race card":