Draft:Deaf President Now

Deaf President Now (DPN) was an eight day student protest at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. It started on March 6 and ended on March 13, 1988 (Gallaudet University). The reasoning for this is the Board of Trustees chose Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing woman, over two qualified deaf candidates, Dr. I. King Jordan and Dr. Harvey Corson, to be the seventh president of Gallaudet University (Gallaudet University). Since Gallaudet had been in existence for 124 years and had never had a deaf president leading the university, students and the deaf community were extremely angry about this decision. They felt that no one was allowing them to make decisions about their own education (Gallaudet University)

As a result, students, faculty, staff, and alumni came together and shut down the entire campus. They did this by barricading all of the gates, burning effigies, and holding press conferences to demand changes (Gallaudet University, n.d.). Some of the student leaders involved in organizing the protest were Greg Hlibok, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus, and Jerry Covell. These students worked behind the scenes to bring together various groups of deaf people to work toward a common goal.

For example, they were able to unite oral deaf students with culturally deaf students who use American Sign Language (Gallaudet University, n.d.; Rarus, n.d.). Protesters made four non-negotiable demands to the Board of Trustees before anyone would stop protesting: Elisabeth Zinser must resign immediately and a deaf president must be selected; Board Chair Jane Bassett Spilman must resign from her position; the Board of Trustees must be restructured so that at least 51% of its members are deaf; and no one will be punished or disciplined for participating in the protest (Gallaudet University, n.d.). By the end of the week, the protest was successful and the students achieved all four of their demands. Zinser resigned from her position, Spilman stepped down from her role as Board Chair, Phil Bravin became the first deaf individual to serve as chairperson of the Board of Trustees, and Dr. I. King Jordan was selected as Gallaudet's first deaf president in history (Bravin, n.d.; Gallaudet University, n.d.)

However, DPN did not only affect Gallaudet University. It served as a major turning point for disability rights throughout the United States. The momentum generated by DPN led directly to several significant pieces of legislation being enacted such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, the Closed Captioning Bill, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Gallaudet University, n.d.; Rarus, n.d.). Most importantly, DPN fundamentally changed how hearing individuals perceive deaf individuals. It demonstrated to the entire world that what deaf individuals can accomplish far exceeds what they cannot hear (Gallaudet University, n.d.). This entire civil rights movement increased interest in American Sign Language courses offered at both high schools and colleges, provided more opportunities for deaf actors to appear on mainstream television programs and in movies, and provided deaf adults and children worldwide with a strong "Yes, I can" attitude that continues to inspire people today (Gallaudet University, n.d.; Rarus, n.d.).

"The impact of the Deaf President Now protest - The Deaf President Now (DPN) Protest". Gallaudet University.

"The Issues" Gallaudet University.

"The Deaf President Now: Profiles and viewpoints" Gallaudet University.