Tuesday, 03 October 2006

• An Interview with Gally Protester, Elisa Abenchuchan

   

  When Unity for Gallaudet erupted last May, I was out of town, so just like many other readers, I've kept a close eye on the protest reported faithfully by two Deaf bloggers.  One was a Gallaudet Graduate Student, Elisa Abenchuchan, who kept us riveted on her blogs, waiting anxiously for her next entry. Her exceptional talent in describing the details and the events made us feel we were there on the campus with her. She is back again, reporting on the current protest and keeping us informed, including me who is out of town again.

  1) Please tell us a little about yourself and your background
  
  I grew up on the Gallaudet campus, attending Kendall while my mom was a part-
  time student at Gallaudet. When I graduated from Kendall and she graduated from
  Gallaudet, we (mom, me, and my little brother) moved to Florida and I attended
  FSDB until graduation. Then after that, I received a BA in English and a MA in
  Linguistics from Gallaudet. Right now I am teaching two classes at Gallaudet and
  I am also a graduate student at McDaniel College, studying Deaf Education.
  
  2) What got you interested in the protest?
  
  The issue of the next president of Gallaudet has always been a big topic on
  campus among my friends even before the BOT announced their selection. To be
  honest... I have always thought that Gallaudet could do SO much more for the
  cause of deaf people. They don't realize the potential influence they could have
  on the world. I had hoped so much that the next president of Gallaudet would see
  this and usher the deaf community into the next level of existence.
  
  Then the BOT announced that Fernandes would be the next president. Everybody
  just rushed to the front gate and protested and gave speeches. I had my camera
  with me, so I took pictures, and several people who were off campus at the time
  paged me and asked me to fill in, so that was the first time I 'reported' on the
  protest. Then I decided to blog on it and got a great response, so I just
  continued doing it. The more I reported on the protest, the more I believed in
  it, so I was more motivated to continue blogging.
  
  3) How did you manage to keep up with the wonderful reporting during the
  Protest? I know young people have a lot of energy, but I think I speak for many
  people when I am impressed with your dedication in keeping the readers posted
  while participating fully in the protest.
  
  I have to thank everybody out there in the deaf community (this includes
  hearing allies) who told me how much they benefited from my work, gave me their
  support, cheered me on, sent me emails (I still haven't answered them all), and
  referred others to my blog. I wouldn't still be doing this without the support
  of the community, definitely. Also, my boyfriend, Nicholas Vita, was there for
  me all the way. Without him I would have crashed and burned.
  
  4) Tell us what you hope the protest will accomplish
  
  There's so much that needs to be accomplished.
  
  Faculty governance. It is obvious that the faculty has not been satisfied for
  some time now. They have met and decided that they did not approve of Fernandes
  when she became Provost, and their voice wasn't heard by the administration.
  Last spring, they met again and declared that they did not accept Fernandes as
  the 9th president. They are still not being heard. From what I've seen so far,
  it seems to be a trend at Gallaudet. The faculty's voice is not valued at
  Gallaudet. This needs to change.
  
  Respect and sincere appreciation of staff members from the administration.
  Staff members should be considered as important to an university as is its
  faculty members. This is not true at Gallaudet, where staff members don't know
  if they are coming back to work the next day. There is no security, no
  appreciation, no respect.
  
  A better relationship between students and the administration. After all, the
  students are the reason for the existence of Gallaudet. The SBG and other
  student organizations do not have much power because, in the past while I was a
  student there, every time they try to change something or suggest something to
  the adminstration, all they get are head nods and committees that do nothing.
  
  True and honest recognition of the strong presence of audism and racism on
  campus. Students have been trying to discuss these issues, but the
  administration apparently refuses to truly recognize these problems. Even worse,
  a group of faculty members had a meeting with Fernandes and she denied knowledge
  about the serious problem of audism and racism on campus. We need an
  administration that is sensitive and willing to take action against any and all
  forms of -isms.
  
  In a nutshell, we need an administration who is willing to listen. Who will
  value all groups of people at Gallaudet. Who will truly engage in a conversation
  with students, staff, and faculty. We don't have that and we haven't had that in
  a long, long time, definitely not during my time at Gallaudet.
  
  5) Can you explain your thoughts about the current position we all are in?
  
  I think the issues of the protest are very justified but it is not easy to
  summarize the purposes and reasons behind the protest into one sentence. You
  have to take a good half-hour to explain all the issues to someone who doesn't
  know what's going on, and that kind of makes things harder.
  
  Last spring, the energy was awesome. Everybody on campus and off campus from
  coast to coast pitched in one way or another towards the cause of the protest.
  The unity was unbelievable. Then summer happened. If you don't watch the fire
  and keep it going, it will die out fast.
  
  But our fire didn't die -- the embers were still glowing and the FSSA is now
  adding more wood. I see more and more flames every day. I am definitely looking
  forward to October 2.
  
  6) Why do you think of Gallaudet Administration persists in failing to engage
  in an effective dialogue with the dissenters?
  
  I don't understand it at all, to be honest with you. Even a corrupt politician
  would know better than to do what the administration has been doing – blatantly
  twisting the protest's purposes to the media, imposing regulations that attack
  students' civil rights, professing ignorance about issues that have been hotly
  debated in recent months... It just doesn't make sense. The biggest feeling I
  get from them is the lack of respect. They seem to just not care.
  
  Above all, they seem to truly believe that all this will go away. Fernandes
  keeps on saying "we need to move on, we need to move on" instead of saying,
  "Let's resolve the issues, what can I do to best help you all?" They think that
  we will just give up. It's upsetting to see how little they think of us.
  
  7) Any opinion regarding the new policy restricting student's expressions? The
  intimidation tactics of the security guards, including taking pictures of the
  protesters?
  
  It's just a really, really sad sight to see. It just doesn't seem like America.
  
  
  8)  Ten years from now, what do you see yourself doing?
  
  Ten years from now, I'll be 34 years old. I don't really have a step-by-step
  plan for the next ten years, but I do have a lot of goals that I hope to
  accomplish. I definitely want to put my two degrees in linguistics and deaf
  education (will receive it in 2007) to good use. I will be somewhere working my
  hardest to see that every deaf child receives the education they deserve in the
  language that is the most accessible to them.
  
  Also, I hope that in ten years I will be able to tell my kids that Gallaudet is
  still the best place for them to receive a college education.
  

   

  Thank you, Elisa. It's my hope, too. :)

  To protest against Gally, contact your Congressional people

  U.S. Senate: Senators Home

   

  United States House of Representatives, 109th Congress, 2nd Session: Member Web Site Listing(Alphabetical)

   

             Click on Contact section

   

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