Deaf President Now Research Paper

1004 Words5 Pages
Brookelyn Smith ASL 2 Period 3 Mrs. Murphy 24 September 2015 Deaf President Now Deaf President Now was an important part of history for the deaf community, but what exactly happened, and what led up to this event? This event began in March of 1988, when yet another hearing person was elected for Gallaudet University’s seventh president. This may not seem that bad at first, but when looking at the candidates this president was up against- two of the three final candidates were deaf! Was this just a coincidence, or did the school not want a deaf person as president? What began the search for a seventh president of Gallaudet University was the announcement of the sixth president, Jerry Lee, stepping down from his position in August of 1987. By…show more content…
However, the students continued to boycott going to their classes throughout the day to continue their rallies and protests. A Deaf President Now Council was also formed on this day, with four deaf students becoming the leaders of the council. This was the day the rallies officially became the Deaf President Now protest. On March 9th, the fourth day, Gallaudet buses blocked the main entrance of the school to keep anyone from driving inside. Meetings were also held throughout the day, one of the meetings which Irving King Jordan, one of the other previous candidates as Gallaudet president, announced his support for Zinser, and by the end of the night, board members began urging Zinser to step down as president, showing that the protesters were winning this battle. By now, the media was all over this protest, making it harder for the board to ignore their…show more content…
Also on this date, one of the original candidates by the name of Irving King Jordan announces his support of the Deaf President Now protest. The longer the protest went, the more the protesters were winning. One of the leaders of the Deaf President Now Council was even on ABC’s “Good Morning America”! Now that one of their demands was met with Zinser out of the picture, the protestors had to focus on getting the Board of Trustees to meet the rest of their demands. They even created buttons the next day with “31/2” on it, signifying the 3 and a half demands that needed to be met by the Board of Trustees. March 12th was a relaxing day for the protestors. Rather than rallying and protesting, they instead had an on-campus art festival and a barbecue as a celebration. On March 13th, though, all the demands were finally met: Spilman resigned, 51% of the Board was filled with deaf, and I. King Jordan was announced Gallaudet’s newest president- the first deaf president of Gallaudet
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