| I was fortunate enough to be majoring in Deaf studies during my undergraduate days and one of the courses I took was under Dr. H. Dirksen Bauman in which I explored different oppressions in the Deaf community and other things affiliated with it. We, as a class, had the honor of partaking in a project that nobody thought would become something huge later on. The project was the first making of the documentary “Audism Unveiled”. Ever since that there has been several drafts edited and re-filmed into the “one” which most of the Gallaudet community have seen. We came to realize and recognize that Audism is so indwelt in our dear community, both, by our own and our oppressors’ making. Several things that were mentioned where Audism was and still is recognized in were; families, work, schools, and communities. A lot were learnt in that class and the result that was produced showed such. BUT… as recent I have come to this realization that Audism isn’t always systematic but also can be formed through the likes of individuals. I have always known that but in a hearing individual we would argue that he or she is part of the system that produces such characteristics and results of Audism so the faults weren’t on the individuals but the system. But right now with this renewed recognition and reasoning, I have come to recognize that Dr. Irving King Jordan, himself, is a walking Audism machine.
In 1988, he was selected as a token “deaf” president only because the Board of Trustees turned to the remaining two candidates after Dr. Elizabeth Zinser resigned and THAT was a mistake during that time. Many potential Deaf candidates surely hadn’t considered applying for the presidential position prior to the Deaf President Now movement because the “glass ceiling” was as visible as it could be back then. What should have happen back then was the re-opening of the presidential search process with a renewed sense of value and empowerment. Surely the positive results of the movement would have attracted and motivated many more Deaf candidates to apply for the position. And the Board of Trustees, under the watchful eyes of the Gallaudet community, would make choices that please the Deaf community. With Dr. Jordan’s limited experience at that time as it is now known that his administrative experience was very limited before becoming president, I have every reason to believe that many other Deaf candidates potentially could have became president. How different our history would be. Nevertheless, Dr. Jordan was chosen as president, and with that, he also became the role model for many, if not all, Deaf people in America and abroad. The glass ceiling finally broke and it didn’t matter how deaf Dr. Jordan was as long as he had the “deaf” label. Given the success of the movement and his appointment, Dr. Jordan was thrust in the seat as “the” spokesperson and role model for the Deaf community. We voluntarily, out of awe and inspiration, “worshipped” and “glorified” Dr. Jordan for the past eighteen years. With all the mumbo jumbo, Dr. Jordan began to become comfortable and grow to be a master of his trade.
Indeed, he was “the” representative of the Deaf community and its success. With us allowing him to become the representative, he has practically grown into the position and the responsibilities that come with it. But instead of serving as a spokesperson for the community and the university, he has become THE community and THE university. Considering his background which was hearing, his values and understanding of Deaf culture differs from what other Deaf people think of theirs. Not to put all the blame as we played a part in Dr. Jordan’s sad transformation from a hero who was an iconic symbol of breakthrough to the sole self-representative deaf individual that the Deaf community had. With the glorification and his status as a hero, he had evolved from a man who barely had any administrative experience to a fully seasoned administrator, bringing plenty of success and recognition for Gallaudet. There is no question about that. However, with the overload of praises, it is apparent that, while unobvious, his ego has inflated considerably. By being a hero, there wasn’t much direct criticism towards his actions as president and the representative of the Deaf community. Whatever decisions that he made, many people followed him till the end regardless of any possible questions or concerns they could have about a particular situation or decision. Nobody wanted the hero status to be removed and our perception of him as a hero continued to be cemented in place regardless of the outcomes of his decision making. This a natural undertaking of a minority culture where “heroes” has such role and symbolism in which the members of the community holds them at such high regard. When we cease to critically question something and, even more, openly question the decision making and actions of a leader, but instead remain inside under the layers discussing or complaining about the ineffectiveness of his decisions or leadership, we are allowing the leader to become the undisputed representative of the community and allowing him or her to make decisions without the consultation of the communities. That is what has happened here at Gallaudet with Dr. Jordan. He implemented and changed many things at Gallaudet, but most of them are in accord to his vision not the community’s. Surely, many decisions that Dr. Jordan has made were positive and had enormous returns BUT there are some that were alienating. Sometimes the few results that were negative have bigger and longer-termed impact on a community. So in step by step, Dr. Jordan had shaped Gallaudet into the University he thinks it should be and in order to continue his glorious tenure, fiscal support and reap is necessary. For the last few years, he has been selling off Gallaudet’s soul, bit by bit and they were not noticeable unless put together in bunches like it is right now.
While it is no secret that there are people inside and outside of Gallaudet, faculty members, staff, students and alumni, who had participated in conversations about when Dr. Jordan will retire, not because they are going to lose their hero but because they saw the need for a new leader. Gallaudet, after flourishing for some years after the historical event, has become stagnant once again in many different areas. What do I mean by stagnant? Ever since Dr. Jordan became president there were many things that used to be but aren’t anymore such as the Student Body Government. Don’t get me wrong here, they still do exist but not in the same kind of capacity as they used to operate in. The once powerful SBG has given or was stripped of most of it’s, if not all, power and responsibilities which since has became the Campus Activities office which is run by staff members under the watchful eye of the Dean of Students’ office. The SBG isn’t autonomous anymore as they depend on external sources for money and permission. The athletic program here at Gallaudet just had endured a 18 year period in which its sports teams has their worst years in Gallaudet history with the exception of this year’s teams, the women volleyball teams, and the Rhonda Jo Miller-led basketball teams. Dr. Jordan, an avid marathon runner and a faithful jogger on Kendall Green, obviously didn’t share the same sentiments that his “hearing” predecessors did regarding sports. It is rather strange that he would feel that athletics isn’t a major recruiting tool in brining many talented Deaf athletes to Gallaudet University. Instead of investing resources in expanding and improving our athletic program he chose to lower the academic standards to allow many more Deaf students to come to Gallaudet. We should commend athletic director James Destefano for doing more than just holding down the fort during his tenure. With such limited resources, he had managed to keep the program floating and even flourishing as of late, all without Dr. Jordan’s help. Our once beloved hero has completely turned corporate but with such a blind eye for our athletic program. I don’t need to elaborate more on how important of a role our athletic program can play in our recruiting of more Deaf students, national recognition, and fiscal gain because it is obvious that all of us share the same sentiment except Dr. Jordan. To top this off, as reported in our beloved Buff and Blue, Dr. Jordan was nowhere to be seen when our athletic program went through such an outstanding year. Not even congratulation to our football and volleyball teams for their superb and inspiring play this year in which their successes were reflected through the fans and the media. Gallaudet was more than just a dot on the map this year thanks to our athletes.
Shared governance is nonexistent here at Gallaudet as Dr. Jordan’s self appointed elitists had their own say in what the policies here at Gallaudet should be. There are whispers and even laughter behind the wall, blind to our eyes and deaf to our ears, among some faculty and staff regarding low expectations of our students. Our students’ lack of mastery of the English language has become a common lunchroom joke among some faculty/staff members. The ouster of fiery yet respected Roz Rosen back in 2000 outlines this attitude that the administration has towards Deaf people who, in their eyes, are too outspoken and considered a threat to their position. Maybe I will have a contract out on my head after this article has found its way to the mainstream and I hope it will take at least what Dr. Jordan and his golfing buddy, Paul Kelly has managed to mismanage ($3.9 million). I would complain less if that money went to the development of a nine-hole golf course here on campus and a formation of a collegiate golf team. Free of speech, which has become a common and encouraged practice at nearly all universities, are discouraged here at Gallaudet if it is directed towards the administration, especially. Dr. Jane K. Fernandes was thrust into power in 2000 by Dr. Jordan, bypassing the faculty approval and a national search which is a major malpractice. It is no wonder that the faculty is a major player in the FSSA. Shared governance, in my mind, is a sense of power sharing in which the faculty, staff, students and alumni are all contributors in the shaping of Gallaudet as an university in regards to policies, expectations, appointments of officials, fiscal expenses, distribution of power, and contracts to mention a few. Speaking of contracts, the rich history of Gallaudet has been “raped” as of recent when the small gift of five million from the multi-multi-multi billion dollar Sorenson media, a subsidiary of the greater Sorenson Companies group, resulted in the naming rights, patent rights, licensing rights of our to-be-bulit Language and Communication Center. The naming of a corporate mogul on one of our buildings is a first as every other building has a landmark name or is named for different individuals dedicated and tied historically to Gallaudet and the Deaf community in general. Not even University of Maryland had any corporate naming on any of its academic building. All the corporate business is on the athletic and non-academic side. With that gift, Sorenson practically purchased a stake of ownership in Gallaudet and with a snap of a finger and probably some more friendly donations, Sorenson can trench itself deeper into Gallaudet. It is all Dr. Jordan’s doing. Do you realize that Sorenson is such an enthusiastic player in videophone technology not because of its potential but because it doesn’t cost him a cent and is a very profitable venture. To satisfy my mathematician father, I did some number crunching and came across this disturbing fact. The $5 million gift from Sorenson, based on the estimated $2.2 billion net worth of the company, is less than a quarter of a percent of what the company has. Suppose I had $1,000 in my bank and I wanted to produce 0.0022 of that much, I will need to come up with just $2.20 and that can be produced in a span of 5 minutes of asking around for spare change. And it is apparent that our precious language, ASL, and the meaningful moment of unification of several departments (ASL and Deaf Studies, Linguistics, Communication studies) that has been separated physically for so long can be purchased for 0.0022. On top of that, Sorenson Media of Sorenson Companies has patent rights to future research or findings produced in that building. I wish I had $6 million so I can simply outbid their $5 million donation and ensure that ASL stays pure and free of any connection to Audism. |
