FYI .. here is my letter to the editor of "Editor and Publisher." I hope they will do a story about the media's coverage of the Gallaudet protest ...
Dear Mr. Greg Mitchell ..
I would like to strongly suggest that you do an article about the way the recent Gallaudet protests have been covered in the media.
I've been a deaf journalist for some 20 years and I was a close observer of this protest. There was a lot of frustration within the deaf community that the media was getting it wrong and being too quick to accept one side's version of the story.
Gallaudet's current and future presidents, I. King Jordan and Jane Fernandes, cynically chose an explanation of the protest that made themselves look "good" under the circumstances despite the damage it did to the deaf community.
It is not, as Jordan and Fernandes say, a protest about Fernandes not being "deaf enough." It has to do with her style as a leader -- cold, aloof, uncaring, vindictive, etc. She is not the kind of person deaf people want to represent them.
There is a general belief that the "fix was in" right from the moment that Jordan announced he would retire on December 31, 2006. Jordan had named Fernandes provost back in 2000 without going through the proper channels, and Fernandes later granted herself tenure, also without going through the proper channels.
It was a widely felt belief that the process was a sham and Fernandes was going to win regardless of what happened. Some people felt that the strongest candidates were left out of the final three candidates, that Fernandes was put up against weaker candidates so she could stand out and look good.
It is insulting to the roughly 100 people who camped out in front of Gallaudet for almost 12 days, and many hundreds of other protesters, to reduce their argument to the false claim that Fernandes is not deaf enough. In truth, it has to do with the process that put her into office and the kind of "leader" she has been on campus for many years. The fact that 2/3rds of the faculty voted no-confidence in her says a lot about her ability to be an effective leader.
I hope you will do an in-depth look at this story and if you need more help, please contact me. You can also check my website for more information ... www.deafweekly.com. Thanks,
Tom Willard
Editor, Deafweekly
Rochester, NY
Dear Mr. Greg Mitchell ..
I would like to strongly suggest that you do an article about the way the recent Gallaudet protests have been covered in the media.
I've been a deaf journalist for some 20 years and I was a close observer of this protest. There was a lot of frustration within the deaf community that the media was getting it wrong and being too quick to accept one side's version of the story.
Gallaudet's current and future presidents, I. King Jordan and Jane Fernandes, cynically chose an explanation of the protest that made themselves look "good" under the circumstances despite the damage it did to the deaf community.
It is not, as Jordan and Fernandes say, a protest about Fernandes not being "deaf enough." It has to do with her style as a leader -- cold, aloof, uncaring, vindictive, etc. She is not the kind of person deaf people want to represent them.
There is a general belief that the "fix was in" right from the moment that Jordan announced he would retire on December 31, 2006. Jordan had named Fernandes provost back in 2000 without going through the proper channels, and Fernandes later granted herself tenure, also without going through the proper channels.
It was a widely felt belief that the process was a sham and Fernandes was going to win regardless of what happened. Some people felt that the strongest candidates were left out of the final three candidates, that Fernandes was put up against weaker candidates so she could stand out and look good.
It is insulting to the roughly 100 people who camped out in front of Gallaudet for almost 12 days, and many hundreds of other protesters, to reduce their argument to the false claim that Fernandes is not deaf enough. In truth, it has to do with the process that put her into office and the kind of "leader" she has been on campus for many years. The fact that 2/3rds of the faculty voted no-confidence in her says a lot about her ability to be an effective leader.
I hope you will do an in-depth look at this story and if you need more help, please contact me. You can also check my website for more information ... www.deafweekly.com. Thanks,
Tom Willard
Editor, Deafweekly
Rochester, NY