Gallaudet University protesters began dismantling their encampment Monday as school leaders tried to move forward after a month of angry demonstrations rocked the campus and led to Sunday’s ousting of the incoming president.
The two sides hoped for healing while posturing over what to do with the 133 demonstrators who were arrested. The board said Sunday it will hold accountable those who broke the law or school policy. The demonstrators say they were justified in taking over school property and disrupting classes. Students also said they expected to be involved in the selection process.
The board bowed to the protesters’ demands Sunday, voting to fire incoming president Jane Fernandes two months before she had a chance to take the job. This is the second time in 18 years that protests have forced presidents from office at Gallaudet. In 1988, students rallied on Capitol Hill, demanding the board appoint a deaf president.
Outgoing president I. King Jordan said in a statement that the university must work to unite the campus.
“We should not look for a resolution to the struggle of recent months in terms of winners and losers,” he said. “If we do, Gallaudet and our students will be the losers.”
Demonstrators began organizing against Fernandes, 50, in May, when she was chosen over Ronald Stern, superintendent of the New Mexico School for the Deaf, and Stephen Weiner, an associate professor of communication at Gallaudet.
Most protesters said Fernandes would be an ineffective leader. Eight-two percent of the facultyvoted this month for Fernandes to resign or be removed.
Fernandes had said her resignation would hurt the university, allowing protests to determine the school’s leadership.
Gallaudet, which receives more than $100 million annually from the federal government, was rated “ineffective” this year by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The report cited problems with the school’s retention of students and its graduation rate; persistently fewer than 50 percent of undergraduates get their diploma.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
