Protest for a Deaf President

     1988 Washington D.C, at Gallaudet University, a protest broke out involving many who ad various disabilities, had impacted U.S Health, Education, and Welfare Department Headquarters in 1977, still had not received much publicity nationwide as a civil rights issue. President Jerry Lee of Gallaudet University announced his departure, so he was in search of new committee presidential candidates. He was suddenly outraged that for 124 years of the world’s top university for the deaf had operated by not allowing a deaf person to become president. ABC Clio introduces the protest of allowing the deaf to become president of Gallaudet University.

“They decided to hold a rally. Flyers carried the message, "In 1842, a Roman Catholic became president of the University of Notre Dame. In 1875, a woman became president of Wellesley College. In 1886, a Jew became president of Yeshiva University. And in 1926, a Black person became president of Howard University. AND in 1988, the Gallaudet University presidency belongs to a DEAF person." Thousand of buttons read "DEAF PRESIDENT NOW," which became the slogan for the protest.

At the rally on March 1, 1988, about a dozen speakers standing on the bed of a truck signed civil rights messages. The rally moved from site to site on campus, followed by about 1,500 students, alumni, and faculty chanting and waving the sign for applause. Coincidentally, a few minutes before the rally began, the names of the three finalists under consideration by the search committee were announced. They were I. King Jordan, the popular dean of the college of arts and sciences, who had been deaf since young adulthood; Harvey Corson, president of a Louisiana residential school, who had been deaf since birth; and Elisabeth Zinser, the administrator of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who was a hearing person".

Since Elisabeth Zinser was chosen, students worked hard to prevent her from going on campus grounds. The protest grew so large, that students took their issues directly to Congress, because Gallaudet is a federally charter university. Zinser stood no chance to win against the students and eventually was forced to resign. Week after the protesters began, 17 members of Gallaudet’s board selected Jordan as the schools first deaf president. This protest demonstrates the power that we as individuals have. By working together we can allow our ideas to be heard and major changes to society can occur. Its remarkable to now see a Gallaudet University have a deaf president all because of a group of protesters than never gave up on believing in hope.