Jordan Ignored Parents’ Pleas
Alarmed parents, including several whose children were assaulted by campus security guards during the abortive HMB raid, sent two letters to Jordan regarding their childrens’s safety and misconduct of security guards
Have they received any response from Jordan since then?
None to this day.
These parents are naturally very concerned for the welfare of their children. Their concerns should be respected and responded. After all, they made the decision to entrust the welfare of their children to an university.
Yet they have received no response.  Personally I have never heard of an university president flagrantly ignoring parents of the university students.
Why has Jordan chosen to ignore parents?Â
Do you think that was an appropriate reaction?
 Do you think BoT should know about Jordan ignoring thiese concerned parents?
Let BoT Hear From You. Â Â http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena/2006/12/03/let-bot-hear-you/
FIRST LETTER TO JORDAN
9 October 2006
Dr. I. King Jordan
President
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear President Jordan:
This is to lodge a formal complaint against the university for the physical assault that was committed against my daughter, Tara Holcomb, who is currently a student at Gallaudet. Tara stated that she did nothing to provoke the assault, yet one of the campus police officers twisted her arm and shoved her in a physical manner while she kept on signing, “this is a peaceful protestâ€. Tara reported to me that she was terrified by the act of the officer and his inability to communicate with her. She is puzzled why he had to resort to physical violence without communicating with her in a peaceful, non-violent manner.
I also want to ask for clarification regarding your statement to Debbie Curtis, the chief of staff for Representative Pete Stark that no act of violence was committed on campus. To be more specific, she called your office last Friday about this assault and received erroneous information that no student was harmed.
For this reason, I’m requesting that an investigation take place and expect that a formal apology will be forthcoming. I want to be assured that there is no reason for my daughters (or any other student for that matter) to be terrified by the presence of the Campus Police officers. They should not fear for their personal safety on campus. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Thomas K. Holcomb
Father of Tara Holcomb
Cc:Â Debbie Curtis, Chief of Staff for Rep. Pete Stark
SECOND LETTER TO JORDAN
President I. King Jordan
Gallaudet University
Our children are students at Gallaudet University and have been participating in the peaceful protest against the flawed process leading to the selection of the 9th president of Gallaudet University. The recent events at Gallaudet have caused us great concern so we are contacting you, as President of Gallaudet, to ensure us that they will not be harmed in any way.
Many of us are graduates of Gallaudet and we vividly remember the poor communication skills and limited awareness of deaf culture among many Department of Public Safety officers. This often resulted in tense situations. We also are very aware of the communication problem that existed between the DPS officers and Carl Dupree, a student involved in the scuffle, that led to his death.
It appears that the lack of sensitivity and communications skills on the part of DPS has not changed. On recent trips to Gallaudet to visit our children, we saw and experienced first-hand how many DPS officers are limited in their ability to communicate in ASL. In addition, it is painfully clear to us that many officers continue to demonstrate poor understanding of deaf culture. The physical harassment against and the lack of effort to communicate with Tara Holcomb by a DPS officer is alarming to us.
Many of our children do not speak. They do not lipread well. They use signing as their primary mode of communication and ASL as their language. They chose to attend Gallaudet because they want to be in a barrier free environment and in a place where deaf culture is respected and celebrated. They expect every staff member on campus including DPS officers to be fully capable of communicating in ASL and to practice what is considered the basic rule in the deaf culture-to sign at all times in the presence of deaf individuals.
It is clear to us that the issue surrounding the poor communication among DPS officers and lack of awareness regarding Deaf Culture continues to be real. In light of escalating tension on campus the past few weeks, we are fearful that the incident with Tara Holcomb is only a prelude to something more dramatic.
As President of Gallaudet University, we want to know what steps are being taken to ensure that communication break down will not occur between the DPS officers and deaf individuals on campus. Can you please tell us what is being done to ensure that our children will not be placed in a situation where they cannot understand or be understood by the DPS officers? Can you please assure that even in a tense moment, the DPS officers will be able to perform their duties in a professional manner and take steps to ensure that communication happens in a clear and straightforward manner?
To ensure the complete safety of our children, we would like to propose the following items:
All DPS officers who are not able to sign fluently in ASL be removed from the protest site to ensure that no miscommunication occurs.
All DPS officers who have not been trained in deaf culture and are not aware of the basic cultural rule of signing ALL the time in the presence of deaf individuals be removed from the protest site to reduce the degree of animosity among deaf protesters toward these officers.
All DPS officers are immediately provided with Deaf Culture 101 workshop and sensitivity training on how to show respect for deaf culture and to deaf individuals on campus. More specifically, signing at all times in the presence of deaf people needs to be required. Mocking at deaf people among themselves in spoken English is not acceptable. Expecting students to lipread the officers is no reasonable.
We do not want another Carl Dupree incident on campus. We do not want our children to be the next Carl Dupree. For this reason, we hope to get an immediate response to this concern. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Parents and Family members of Gallaudet University Students
Cc:Â Fred Weiner, Special Assistant to the President
Cc: Debbie Curtis, Chief of Staff for Congressman Pete Stark of California’s 13th Congressional District
Cc: Lynn Woolsey, Congresswoman of California’s 6th Congressional District and GU Board of Trustees Member
Signed by:
Sylvia J. Wood
Max C. Malzkuhn
Alyce Slater Lentz
Ken Pedersen
Johnny Coleman
Jaime Jackerson
Barbara Morrison
Valerie Herbold
Rick Herbold
Lin Grossinger
Jane Jackerson
Kathy Greene
Jeanne Dike
Charles Farr
Linda Jarashow
Ginny Malzkuhn
Brian Malzkuhn
Deidre Kennedy
Sandra Ammons
JoDee Dike-Johnson
Michele G. Berke
Thomas K. Holcomb
Brian Rasmus
Marjoriebell Holcomb
Teresa Eyrond
Paul Eyrond
Lisa Matovich
Alarmed parents, including several whose children were assaulted by campus security guards during the abortive HMB raid, sent two letters to Jordan regarding their childrens’s safety and misconduct of security guards
Have they received any response from Jordan since then?
None to this day.
These parents are naturally very concerned for the welfare of their children. Their concerns should be respected and responded. After all, they made the decision to entrust the welfare of their children to an university.
Yet they have received no response.  Personally I have never heard of an university president flagrantly ignoring parents of the university students.
Why has Jordan chosen to ignore parents?Â
Do you think that was an appropriate reaction?
 Do you think BoT should know about Jordan ignoring thiese concerned parents?
Let BoT Hear From You. Â Â http://blog.deafread.com/mishkazena/2006/12/03/let-bot-hear-you/
FIRST LETTER TO JORDAN
9 October 2006
Dr. I. King Jordan
President
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear President Jordan:
This is to lodge a formal complaint against the university for the physical assault that was committed against my daughter, Tara Holcomb, who is currently a student at Gallaudet. Tara stated that she did nothing to provoke the assault, yet one of the campus police officers twisted her arm and shoved her in a physical manner while she kept on signing, “this is a peaceful protestâ€. Tara reported to me that she was terrified by the act of the officer and his inability to communicate with her. She is puzzled why he had to resort to physical violence without communicating with her in a peaceful, non-violent manner.
I also want to ask for clarification regarding your statement to Debbie Curtis, the chief of staff for Representative Pete Stark that no act of violence was committed on campus. To be more specific, she called your office last Friday about this assault and received erroneous information that no student was harmed.
For this reason, I’m requesting that an investigation take place and expect that a formal apology will be forthcoming. I want to be assured that there is no reason for my daughters (or any other student for that matter) to be terrified by the presence of the Campus Police officers. They should not fear for their personal safety on campus. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Thomas K. Holcomb
Father of Tara Holcomb
Cc:Â Debbie Curtis, Chief of Staff for Rep. Pete Stark
SECOND LETTER TO JORDAN
President I. King Jordan
Gallaudet University
Our children are students at Gallaudet University and have been participating in the peaceful protest against the flawed process leading to the selection of the 9th president of Gallaudet University. The recent events at Gallaudet have caused us great concern so we are contacting you, as President of Gallaudet, to ensure us that they will not be harmed in any way.
Many of us are graduates of Gallaudet and we vividly remember the poor communication skills and limited awareness of deaf culture among many Department of Public Safety officers. This often resulted in tense situations. We also are very aware of the communication problem that existed between the DPS officers and Carl Dupree, a student involved in the scuffle, that led to his death.
It appears that the lack of sensitivity and communications skills on the part of DPS has not changed. On recent trips to Gallaudet to visit our children, we saw and experienced first-hand how many DPS officers are limited in their ability to communicate in ASL. In addition, it is painfully clear to us that many officers continue to demonstrate poor understanding of deaf culture. The physical harassment against and the lack of effort to communicate with Tara Holcomb by a DPS officer is alarming to us.
Many of our children do not speak. They do not lipread well. They use signing as their primary mode of communication and ASL as their language. They chose to attend Gallaudet because they want to be in a barrier free environment and in a place where deaf culture is respected and celebrated. They expect every staff member on campus including DPS officers to be fully capable of communicating in ASL and to practice what is considered the basic rule in the deaf culture-to sign at all times in the presence of deaf individuals.
It is clear to us that the issue surrounding the poor communication among DPS officers and lack of awareness regarding Deaf Culture continues to be real. In light of escalating tension on campus the past few weeks, we are fearful that the incident with Tara Holcomb is only a prelude to something more dramatic.
As President of Gallaudet University, we want to know what steps are being taken to ensure that communication break down will not occur between the DPS officers and deaf individuals on campus. Can you please tell us what is being done to ensure that our children will not be placed in a situation where they cannot understand or be understood by the DPS officers? Can you please assure that even in a tense moment, the DPS officers will be able to perform their duties in a professional manner and take steps to ensure that communication happens in a clear and straightforward manner?
To ensure the complete safety of our children, we would like to propose the following items:
All DPS officers who are not able to sign fluently in ASL be removed from the protest site to ensure that no miscommunication occurs.
All DPS officers who have not been trained in deaf culture and are not aware of the basic cultural rule of signing ALL the time in the presence of deaf individuals be removed from the protest site to reduce the degree of animosity among deaf protesters toward these officers.
All DPS officers are immediately provided with Deaf Culture 101 workshop and sensitivity training on how to show respect for deaf culture and to deaf individuals on campus. More specifically, signing at all times in the presence of deaf people needs to be required. Mocking at deaf people among themselves in spoken English is not acceptable. Expecting students to lipread the officers is no reasonable.
We do not want another Carl Dupree incident on campus. We do not want our children to be the next Carl Dupree. For this reason, we hope to get an immediate response to this concern. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Parents and Family members of Gallaudet University Students
Cc:Â Fred Weiner, Special Assistant to the President
Cc: Debbie Curtis, Chief of Staff for Congressman Pete Stark of California’s 13th Congressional District
Cc: Lynn Woolsey, Congresswoman of California’s 6th Congressional District and GU Board of Trustees Member
Signed by:
Sylvia J. Wood
Max C. Malzkuhn
Alyce Slater Lentz
Ken Pedersen
Johnny Coleman
Jaime Jackerson
Barbara Morrison
Valerie Herbold
Rick Herbold
Lin Grossinger
Jane Jackerson
Kathy Greene
Jeanne Dike
Charles Farr
Linda Jarashow
Ginny Malzkuhn
Brian Malzkuhn
Deidre Kennedy
Sandra Ammons
JoDee Dike-Johnson
Michele G. Berke
Thomas K. Holcomb
Brian Rasmus
Marjoriebell Holcomb
Teresa Eyrond
Paul Eyrond
Lisa Matovich
December 6th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Mishkazena,
Please allow me to say that I am quite pleased with your blog and your thoroughly well researched reports as well as your professional approach in a non-intimidating manner. I think that you should become a reporter for Gallaudet’s several publications — or even for a newspaper. Study Maureen Dowd’s and Paul Krugman’s weekly op-editorial columns in The New York Times.
I must also add that I and many other people are attracted to your writing style. Each word you use is very much alive — not like others that are dry or à la George F. Will – soooooo dry.
Do not waste your talent. Get busy and get in touch with someone to help you get a job as a writer for Gallaudet.
You need no degree in English.
Look at Hemingway.
Jean Boutcher
December 6th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
1. ” Why has Jordan chosen to ignore parens? ”
1. To find out would be to write in The Buff and Blue with a copy to the BoT.
3. ” Do you think BoT should know about Jordan ignoring thiese concerned parents? ”
3. Absolutely!
I hope that you will send
a copy of your blog to the
Board of Trustées. Silence
is wrong! Silencde means
an admission that Jordan
was right.
December 6th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Why, thank you, Jean
Actually I had no formal training as a reporter. This is my first time and I just started, maybe four months ago.
It is very essential that other people express their views to BoT. Maybe you can help by sending them copies of my articles, too, as I don’t have time to do that. I’m producing new articles while also working on the second part of the protest. It seems many people don’t understand that the protest isn’t over yet.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
I agree it’s great what MZ is doing.
I think down the road the deaf community should be supporting her via donations.
I think maybe it’s dangerous to work for a newspaper since they are all pretty much controlled by Corportions.
I bet down the road, journalists/reporters will look at MZ with envious because of her freedom of speech/press. She can write whatever she wants to without approval from her editors!!
MZ – you know we are ready to support you via donations whenever you want.
Ridor has his, why not you?
I agree with JB – I love your writing styles, too!
December 7th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Thanks, Iammine.
This is a protest blog. I’ve not decided what to do with the blog after the protest is over. Actually I never expected this blog to be so successful, so that took me by surprise.
Again many thanks