Gallaudet, Reprisals, and Awards
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE:Â
Gallaudet’s academic review has been upgraded from ineffective to adequate. However, the OMB continues to be highly critical of Gallaudet’s performance. Â
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/summary/10003306.2006.html
NO ADDITIONAL PUNISHMENT:
President Davila:
I don’t speak in public about individuals who are going through the judicial system. Each individual is dealt with on a case-by-case basis because those are the requirements of our judicial system. The process is highly confidential, but I want to tell you now that no student who was arrested will receive additional punishment in any way or form. We feel that they have already had an experience that they will always remember and that’s enough. We don’t think anything else is necessary.
Bob’s latest vlog: http://pr.gallaudet.edu/video/?vid=11
AWARDS:
I was pleasantly surprised to get word that I’ve received two awards, for Best Advocacy Blog and Best Design, especially given that I’d only begun late last summer. Thank you for your votes. Overall, it has been a tremendous pleasure working for different causes on the Internet. As you know, my passion is civil rights and empowerment of the deaf people and it has been an invigorating Fall, with so many of us working together. I would like to take a moment and express my appreciation to many people who worked with me during the heyday of the protest, including Jennie, Bren, and Brian. This blog was an accumulation of information passed to me by countless pagers and emails, from both student and alumni protestors. We all contributed to the victory of Unity for Gallaudet.
I wish to express my congratulations to others who have also won awards. I also want to commend the many other bloggers and vloggers for their dedicated work. We are seeing an explosion of new blogs and vlogs, and it looks like 2007 will be a exciting year. Thank you all for your congratulation messages.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE:Â
Gallaudet’s academic review has been upgraded from ineffective to adequate. However, the OMB continues to be highly critical of Gallaudet’s performance. Â
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/summary/10003306.2006.html
NO ADDITIONAL PUNISHMENT:
President Davila:
I don’t speak in public about individuals who are going through the judicial system. Each individual is dealt with on a case-by-case basis because those are the requirements of our judicial system. The process is highly confidential, but I want to tell you now that no student who was arrested will receive additional punishment in any way or form. We feel that they have already had an experience that they will always remember and that’s enough. We don’t think anything else is necessary.
Bob’s latest vlog: http://pr.gallaudet.edu/video/?vid=11
AWARDS:
I was pleasantly surprised to get word that I’ve received two awards, for Best Advocacy Blog and Best Design, especially given that I’d only begun late last summer. Thank you for your votes. Overall, it has been a tremendous pleasure working for different causes on the Internet. As you know, my passion is civil rights and empowerment of the deaf people and it has been an invigorating Fall, with so many of us working together. I would like to take a moment and express my appreciation to many people who worked with me during the heyday of the protest, including Jennie, Bren, and Brian. This blog was an accumulation of information passed to me by countless pagers and emails, from both student and alumni protestors. We all contributed to the victory of Unity for Gallaudet.
I wish to express my congratulations to others who have also won awards. I also want to commend the many other bloggers and vloggers for their dedicated work. We are seeing an explosion of new blogs and vlogs, and it looks like 2007 will be a exciting year. Thank you all for your congratulation messages.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
How did you get the best design award if its a cookie cutter one? It’s the same as the other deaf-read based ones (Elisa Writes, Mr. Sandman, etc.).
February 6th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I was very surprised when I heard my blog was nominated for the best design. Even though it is a cookie cutter, its style apparently appeals to many people, including me.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
One of the DeafRead editors designed your sites. So, is it fair if your site wins an award even if you did not design it yourself? Is it fair that DeafRead allowed you to be nominated if one of their editors designed your site?
Please be honest with yourself- and us, Mishka Zena.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Yes, a DeafRead editor set up the blogs for me, including the designs. However, with this current blog, I replaced the original design with a different design more pleasing to my eyes. So, to answer your question, DeafRead has nothing to do with the selection of this particular design. I am being honest.
 Hmm, is there a problem with me getting this award? Am I missing something? Please let me know.
February 6th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Very nice vlog from Utah, it inspired me today. Yea, congrats on the awards, guess where my votes went? (wink wink).
February 6th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Aww, Mishka, it’s just the old, you-know-what rearing it’s ugly head once again. So best to let sleeping dogs lie. Btw, congratulations. I can’t imagine where you got all of the energy all those months. It must have taken it’s toll on your health, I know. And I/we thank you for that!
February 6th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Thanks, Mike and DT
I honestly don’t know where I got the energy, but I guess it’s the passion against social injustice and oppression driving me.
February 6th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I concur with no. 6. And then I voted for you.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I third with #8.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
You deserved both awards! You did a great job reporting. Congrats!
February 6th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I think it’s a very eye-pleasing and relaxing design. You worked very hard, and earned both awards.
February 6th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Many thanks!
February 10th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I agreed with Alan and big-time conspiracy that you do not deserve the Best Design award AT ALL! I am sure the votes were rigged by Deafread to make them look good. Your blog is powered by Deafread Blogs.
You just need to choose a template and theme. I believe you did not open the php files or even the stylesheet yourself and modify the codes.
Are the images ( landscape) yours? Or are they “stolen” off of the Internet?
You said that Deafread designed the whole thing and you modified a little bit. So, do you really feel that you desrved the award?
Did you create any images on your own? I think Michele Mcauffille and Deaf Dish designs are the most original ones. I agreed with the readers that Deaf Dish deserved the award, but not as a tie with you. It is really an insult to her and Michele. I also believe that Michele should be either 2nd place or being tied with Deaf Dish. Deafeye? His blog is also a cookie cutter, the one of most popular themes in the WordPress world. Deafeye’s logo is an unique and original but not the rest. There is nothing original about your design.
I feel you should not accept the award, even the nomination.
What’s more, it is so obvious your voters know nothing about art and design.
Be honest, Elizabeth.
February 11th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Elizabeth,
Funny, you refused to post my comment I made yesterday.
It indicates you are 100 percent guilty.
Why do not you decline the award? If you feel you deserve the award, be brave and put up the badge onto your blog to tell the whole world that you deserved the best design award even though you know you do not deserve it at all.
I am quite surprised that you did not post my comment. I was not nasty, but I was telling the truth. In fact, I read your blog all the time. Now, you refused to post my blunt comment in which question me of your integrity. It appears that you publish only positive or subtle comments. Interesting.
You just lost a loyal reader.
So long.
February 12th, 2007 at 1:01 am
What, I didn’t have access to my blog until now as I’m out of town, so I didn’t have the opportunity to release the comments earlier. I would appreciate it if you don’t jump into conclusions about me refusing to post your comment. You brought up a good question which I hadn’t thought of before. So I’ve forwarded your comment to DeafRead editors. This is a new territory for everybody and obviously we need more dialogue on this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, what. But I do want to make a comment: I am sure that there is no conspiracy with DeafRead editors about ‘fixing’ the vote system as they are ethical.
February 12th, 2007 at 1:13 am
The award wasn’t the “Best Original Design”, it was “Best Design” You modified it enough for your personal preferences so you deserve it if you were voted the winner.
Yes, the numbers have spoken: You are one of the winners. There’s always next year’s blog awards if others want to try to win in that category.
There’s no conspiracy here, no matter what the people think. We did the voting counting to the best of our abilities. The voting was done in a completely impartial manner.
These awards are just show show some appreciation for the Deaf bloggers and the this kind of criticism serve no real purpose.
February 12th, 2007 at 1:31 am
Good Gawd! Why are you picking on Elizabeth? Let her enjoy the award. She’ve earned it. If you have an issue, take it with DeafRead editors, not Elizabeth! This disgusts me
February 12th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Thank you, Jared.
Readers, I hope this answers your concerns. If you have any more questions or concerns, you will need to contact the DeafRead editors.
Diane, thank you for your support. Before I left, I did ask around many friends and some readers privately and they all told me I won the award fairly. I’ve already answered these concerned readers’ questions honestly. The questions were valid as I’ve not thought of these questions before, neither did many others, so I asked the DeafRead editors myself, too. They responded that I won the award fairly, too, and that I did nothing wrong by accepting the award.
 I also agree that Teri’s design is outstanding and so are the other nominatees’. However, the people have decided with their votes that they liked the design I picked along with Teri’s.
February 12th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Elizabeth, I’m sorry that you had to confront such comments. You chose the design, and that was enough in the voters’ eyes. It has nothing to do with being powered by DeafRead Blogs. There are two other nominated blogs powered by DeafRead Blogs, but neither won, nor did they do well.
Next year in the 2007 Blog Awards, we will clarify what contends as a “Best Design” blog, but for 2006, Mishka Zena is the winner. Hopefully, this will motivate bloggers to be creative and take it upon themselves to innovate!