Open Letter to Gallaudet University from Alabama Deaf Community

October 15, 2006

OPEN LETTER TO GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

Dear Dr. I. King Jordan and the Board of Trustees:

Since the appointment of Dr. Jane K. Fernandes as President-elect of Gallaudet University, the campus and indeed the Deaf community, as a whole, has been thrown into turmoil. We, the deaf community of Alabama, hereby plead with the Board of Trustees, Dr. I. King Jordan, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes, and the FSSA to come to a peaceful and lasting resolution immediately.

Since the protests started in May, there have been seven open letters from the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), open letters from the Gallaudet University Alumni Association and numerous other letters from its chapters from around the country. Countless letters from concerned individuals have also been sent. All of these letters have begged, pleaded, and even forcefully called for a resolution to this situation to no avail. To quote from one letter from the NAD, “by any definition, this is a crisis.”We are saddened and distraught at the images we are seeing on our televisions, the scathing editorials in the press, and the heart-rending stories from students on various websites. We do not want to see any further damage done to our beloved campus, and more division within our community.

We call for open and honest dialogue in these chaotic, and we daresay, these violent times.

Sincerely,

Alabama Deaf Community for Unity
CC: FSSA
GUAA