Push for Deaf-centric Values Hurting Diversity?

What Dr. Angela McCaskill said to the press last week on Tuesday about the 2006 protest was an eye opener.  What she said made me remember what Bridgetta Bourne-Firl (one of the four leaders in DPN1 protest in 1988) said back in 2006 about the DPN2 (Deaf President Now 2) protest. The 2006 protest began on May 1, 2006 the day when Celia May Baldwin, the chairperson of Board of Trustees, announced the 9th president of Gallaudet University to be Dr. Jane Fernandes. One day earlier Alison Aubrecht and Julie Bourne wrote an article piece posted on April 30, 2006 in the Chronicles of Deaf Higher Education: Search for the Next Gallaudet President on "Deaf-centric" values and what Bridgetta Bourne-Firl said about having a "Deaf-centric president" at Gallaudet University, a departure from having a deaf president:

Sufficiently Deaf-Centric?

Discussions broke out in the hallways of the university, on the community forums, and through e-mail distribution lists about how and whether a person with varying level of deaf-centric views should immediately translate into the "qualified person" to lead Gallaudet University.  Some blog comments conveyed the belief that the person with cochlear implants and the ability to speak would do a better job of lobbying at Capitol Hill.  Others disagreed, stating that a culturally Deaf person would be the only possible qualified leader of the Deaf Nation worldwide.

Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, one of four Deaf President Now student leaders and the outreach director at California School of the Deaf at Fremont, eloquently signed in Joey Baer's ASL blog her account of a valuable lesson that she learned from one black university's president about how a gradual transition must occur in order to gain widespread acceptance.

Bourne-Firl explained, "the university president was very dark skinned and very proud of his role in the society as a Black man.  This president said that at first, these universities would only hire the light-skinned presidents, because the general white population was able to somewhat identify with the new presidents.  These light-skinned presidents basically paved the road for presidents that are more closely aligned with their student bodies, and that man was a result of that process." 

Bourne-Firl described how when she presented at different locations, many people asked her why the selection of a late-deafened deaf adult was made instead of a culturally deaf person, and she used this story as an analogy.  She concluded, 

"Now is the time for Gallaudet to select someone with a strong deaf center."

There's more to it than meets the eye. People may not realize about why DPN2 really took place. Even to this day I still believe that to a large degree the Deaf President Now Protest 2 which began on May 1, 2006  for the ouster of Jane K. Fernandes was all about her not being that "culturally deaf enough" or not "Deaf-centric" enough. Bridgetta Bourne-Firl made that clear in 2006 before the protest began.  Protesters and leaders on the push to get Jane K. Fernandes out from becoming the first deaf woman president of Gallaudet University claimed that the protest was really all about JKF's bad administrative records as Provost of Gallaudet University. Other excuses to not have her because she wasn't "social enough" with students and staff which is saying she's not "Deaf-centric" enough because sociability among culturally deaf students is considered a cultural norm and an expectation.

"She does not have a relationship with the (Gallaudet) community in general. She keeps herself hidden." - Ryan Commerson (Video Time stamp @1:09..with a delayed caption)

Other unpopular "incidents" like J.K. Fernandes punishment of students who tore down a football goal post or the pulling of alarms in celebration in a hotel at Gallaudet University were the "reason" to not like J.K Fernandes.

SHAPIRO: I think that's right. Some of it, by the way, goes back to Gallaudet's winning football season this year. Gallaudet's played football since 1883. Some historians of football give them credit for developing the football huddle. That was a way to prevent people from stealing their signs. And they've had a lousy football team, I should say, for a long time, but they got a new football coach this year and they went nine and oh. And they celebrated after the last game they tore down the goal post.

Some students also were celebrating at a hotel nearby, and they set off fire alarms. Jane Fernandes was the provost of the school. She had been provost for six years. She disciplined those students, and a lot of students felt she was acting like she thought she was their mother. It was her job as provost to discipline them. But some people felt that she'd been too strict.

Frankly, anybody pulling fire alarms for fun deserve to be punished. There's an inherent safety concern there. You simply do not pull fire alarms unless there is a true emergency to do so.

Other excuses was that the Board of Trustees did a "rush job" for "hurrying" to select JKF as president when in fact there was never a "rush job" to begin with. Or because of the fact that JKF has a hearing husband as a disqualifying reason to not pick her as president of Gallaudet University.

The difference between the two protests in 1988 and 2006 is really quite simple.

The first one was all about getting any deaf president into Gallaudet University as in (d)eaf President Now (dPN1) versus 2006 which was all about getting a Deaf-centric president into Gallaudet University as in (D)eaf President Now (DPN2). Not to mention that 2006 protest with the amount of bullying and threats were quite apparent. Even so far for a deaf/hh person to phone in to the DPS at Gallaudet University a bomb threat.  None of these events, even the assaulting of Dr. I. King Jordan with fluids and a plastic bottle that struck him in the head, were ever spoken up by any the 2006 protest leaders among the faculty members condemning those kinds of actions. Being silent about all this spoke volumes.

I. King Jordan became the first deaf president in 1988 after a successful push to replace Zinser who was voted by a mostly hearing Board of Trustees to become the first hearing woman president at Gallaudet University.  However, it was better than nothing since I.King Jordan was never born deaf. Never grew up in a deaf family. He lost his hearing in a motorcycle accident at age 21.  A late deafened person who learned sign language as an adult and was forced into the world of silence. While as president of Gallaudet University (and even before then while as part of the Gallaudet University community) his method of communication was strongly oral along with signing or SimCom. Although he's been president for 19 years he announced his resignation which surprised and sadden many people. But it also woke up the monster inside of Gallaudet University as an opportunity to finally get a "Deaf-centric" president for the first time in Gallaudet University's history.

In 2006 the selection for president of Gallaudet University were down to three finalists of the presidential search process. Dr. Weiner, Ron Stearn and Dr. J.K. Fernandes. Both Dr. Weiner and Ron Stern grew up in a Deaf-centric family. Both of their parents were Deaf parents. Both knew ASL from the beginning of their life.

This 2006 protest has never really been about "diversity" but about ensuring "Deaf-centrism" be the ideological goal surpassing all other concerns one at a time. J.K. Fernandes saw what Gallaudet University is supposed to be, a campus that show true diversity which is opposite of what the goal of "Deaf-centricism" is about.

One person from Dana Point, California had this to say in a live chat with Dr. Jane K Fernandes with the Washington Post hosting it:

Dana Point, Calif.: Is it your intention to make Gallaudet University accessible to all modes of education for the deaf (i.e., ASL, SEE, Cued, Oralism, Rochester, Pidgin, etc.)? Lately, it has become ASL-only and I fear this may turn off some prospective students as CSUN and RIT have reported increased enrollment as a result.

Jane K. Fernandes: At Gallaudet, we plan to welcome all kinds of deaf students to campus. We will continue to uphold our bilingual ASL-English philosophy. In the future, as there will be many ways to be deaf, we will strengthen programs designed to teach Sign Language to deaf or hard of hearing students who don't know it and increase the level of support we provide to them.

Before I go further the definition of "deaf centricism" is certainly different from "deaf centric" from two different "ASL experts" who are culturally deaf.

Deaf centricism  is defined as "feeling proud as a deaf individual and become a capable citizen in a hearing society" according to Sandra Ammons, a noted ASL and Deaf Studies scholar. Versus the definition of "Deaf centric" by Ella Mae Lentz founder of Deafhood Foundation which is to mean anything from a pro-Deaf/ASL view:

There is also another term that's the same and that is "Deaf center."

Bridgetta Bourne-Firl advocated for a "Deaf centric" president in 2006. Clearly a show for others to realize that Jane K. Fernandes was never considered as a person who is "Deaf centric" is double-speak for "not culturally deaf enough."  Fernandes was born deaf to parents with a deaf mother and hearing father. Didn't learn sign language until the age of 23. Has a hearing husband. A very "oral person" when it comes to speaking much the same way I.King Jordan communicates signing and speaking at the same time. He was born hearing but lost it after a motorcycle accident at the age of 21.

President Hurwitz of Gallaudet University is considered a "Deaf-centric" person since he was born profoundly deaf and was born to deaf parents. He described himself in his Candidacy Presentation letter to Gallaudet University  emphasizing profoundly deaf where both of his parents were deaf.

WHO AM I?
I was born profoundly deaf. Both of my parents were deaf. That’s who I am. You all know what that means.

Yes. You know what that means. That means he's "Deaf-centric." He made clear that he socialized mostly with his deaf parents and their deaf friends while growing up at his home in Sioux City. There was a Deaf club that Hurwitz and everyone attended together nearly every week. A stark difference from I.K. Jordan and J.K. Fernandes' own upbringing not born to deaf parents or used ASL to communicate while growing up. Clearly there was a preference in the beginning that took shape on May 1, 2006 at the start of the DPN2 protest. Even during the very early stage of the protest Joey Baer even mocked at IKJ's SimCom signing in his own video that was quickly taken off of the internet which gave me a huge insight in the beginning on what this whole DPN2 protest was really about. Even Elisa Aubrecht made a comment about recognizing ASL and not SimCom.

ElisaWrites
POV: Entrenched with the protesters in their "tent-city" at the school's front gate, '06 grad Elisa Abuchuchan blogs about events as they happen. She says, "I personally support the protest but I try to present more factual information rather than my opinions."

FYI: Abuchuchan, a '06 graduate, has been blogging since the protests began on May 1. On some days, she posts 10 updates or more.

Sample post: "David Simmons and Christine Roschaert [on a hunger strike] talked to the crowd. They explained that they were starving for real, quality education. They are starving for linguistic equality, the university needs to recognize ASL as an official language, not sim-com. English classes and foreign language classes are required, but no ASL classes are required. They are starving for social justice. They are starving for a real president. Jordan and Fernandes’s goal is to divide and conquer, twisting things to the media. They are starving for the presidential search process to be reopened. They want a transparent process that includes the faculty, the staff, students, and alumni."

Now, what's interesting is that we have Dr. Angela McCaskill who signs in a fashion just like SimCom. Just as well, Dr. Angela McCaskill's own upbringing was also not of born to a culturally deaf family despite her two other sisters who are deaf as well along with two hearing brothers. Her signing clearly shows that much like I.K. Jordan and J.K. Fernandes when they all learned sign language as an adult.

I grew up in Mobile, Alabama. My parents were Willie McPherson (deceased) and Janie McCaskill, currently living in Mobile—both hearing. They never married; basically, I grew up in a single-parent household. I have three sisters and one brother. The first three are deaf and the last two are hearing. My oldest sister, Carolyn, is deaf and was the first Black Deaf Miss Gallaudet in 1976. She is a professor in the Department of ASL & Deaf Studies at Gallaudet and resides in Largo, Maryland. Jacqueline, who is also deaf, graduated from Gallaudet in 1978 and currently lives in Mobile. I am the third sibling and I am hard-of-hearing. My youngest sister, Sharrell, is hearing and currently works as the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Officer at Gallaudet. My brother is the last sibling, also hearing, and currently resides in Mobile.

I initially attended segregated public schools in Mobile during the 1960s and ’70s. My first experience with integration occurred in middle school where I attended Azalea Middle School and W.P. Davidson High School, both predominately white schools. I was very active and ran track. Even though I have always had a passion for cheerleading, I was not allowed to try out for the cheerleading team due to household chores after school (cleaning, cooking, babysitting, etc.)

I graduated from Davidson High in May 1976 and immediately enrolled at Alabama State University during the summer. In May 1980, I received my Bachelor of Science Degree [in Social Work]. I was very active at ASU. I ran track, played on the softball team, and was a cheerleader. My experience at ASU was the best days of my life. I moved to Washington, D.C. in 1980, immediately after graduating from ASU, and moved in with Carolyn. This was the beginning of a new era for me. I grew as a person when I became immersed in Deaf culture and the Deaf world. It has been my life since. I love it! Even though I have two Deaf sisters, I didn’t know American Sign Language growing up. I was fluent with the manual alphabet. I begin to learn ASL and made many new deaf friends. Ruth Reed and Pamela Baldwin were the two deaf friends that I met upon arrival in Washington. They took me under their wings and taught me ASL. I am forever grateful for their friendship and support, and we remain friends to this day, 31 years later!

One of her sister had a working relationship with J.K. Fernandes. On January 20, 2006 a memo written to I.King Jordan about a plan "Towards an Inclusive Deaf University: Achieving Equitable Educational Outcomes for All Students" where Gallaudet’s future would rests on its ability to build an inclusive deaf university. Those who helped write the plan are:

Jane K. Fernandes, Judy Berglund, MJ Bienvenu, Jeffrey Hardison, Frances E. Kendall, Carolyn McCaskill, Jane Norman, and Leslie Page.

The link to the paper is located under a subfile called "faux-inclusion" on a website called Gally Protest.org. I suppose Gally Protest.org thinks the paper is no good which is funny since it advocates diversity and inclusiveness with better educational outcomes while still recognizing ASL and English. What are the odds that people will actually say that the paper is "flawed" or "no good"?

The three McCaskill sisters at Gallaudet University in high positions who are well respected in the Gallaudet community. And it's no wonder that president Hurwitz has backpedaled from the possibility of firing Dr. Angela McCaskill in the latest sinkhole phenomenon that threaten to swallow Gallaudet University. He'd be dealing with three McCaskills and not just one. Along with a very public and national backlash. Bad mojo.

It's interesting how these people with very similar backgrounds were targeted by supposedly the "true Deaf-centric" people for a variety of reasons.  All of these actions appear to be more likely targeted, perhaps subconsciously or consciously because for not being "Deaf-centric" enough. One has to wonder why some faculty members in very high positions took the time and effort to find Angela McCaskill's name in a petition she signed.  There's an agenda afoot and it's not quite abundantly clear but we can probably take a wild stab at it. Perhaps will know with better details in the future exactly the kind of relationships among these faculty members.

But, is this what you called "Shared Governance" at Gallaudet University? Punish them first and ask questions later? Whatever it is, it's a big mess in what seems to be a slog of an effect to push "Deaf-centric" values to the forefront at the expense of minimizing true diversity and potentially hurting Gallaudent University's own survival. The culturally deaf community is certainly at a cross road. What will people think, dear and hearing?

Addendum:

This is what Jane K. Fernandes said in 2008 in the UNC Asheville magazine who interviewed her after she became Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

“Protesters wanted to see a president with different characteristics than I had. Basically, I was not ‘deaf enough’ because I am able to move pretty easily between the deaf and hearing world. I speak English. I sign ASL. They really wanted someone who was more totally a member of deaf culture to represent them,” 

Indeed. Some people would agree.

Is Wikipedia accurate about Gallaudet 2006 protest?

I went to a Wikipedia page that covered the 2006 Gallaudet University protest and was curious whether the historical depictions were accurate? Of course, as people would already know Wikipedia is a source to be wary with since it it editable by anyone who have access to it. Whatever leaning a person has and whatever bias he or she may hold it'll get reflected in the writeup. So, perception of history can easily be changed with a few words or omissions of certain facts. But is it accurate? What is missing? 

Questions abound such as who really started the push for "Unity for Gallaudet" protest which is an altogether an oxymoron combining "protest" with that of demand for "unity." Reason I'm bringing this up is because of the recent revelation brought up by Dr. Angela McCaskill in a Tuesday press conference where she stated that:

"I quickly looked back to the protest of 2006 (see video on Unity for Gallaudet with MJ Bienvenu in it). Several radical people pushed the students to the front to debate student's agenda. It was not the student's agenda. It was not student's agenda back then and it is not student's agenda now."

There must be more to this charge. What does McCaskill know that we don't know since she had access to faculty members in 2006 and saw what went on on the inside. I think she saw enough of what went on that simply disgusted her. Enough so to make such a charge in a live news conference.

Yet the irony in all this bullying was discovered when I found out that President Hurwitz requested that Gallaudet University establish an anti-bullying policy for faculty, staff, and students back in 2011 stating (see page 2):

We are currently developing an anti-bullying policy for faculty, staff, and students. A brief video, “It Gets Better,” was made by Gallaudet students and is available at http://youtu.be/WoaYsF_OzXU."

It gets better?

Looks like it got a whole lot worse straight up at the faculty level and from a person who high on the authority list as one of the faculty Senate member of Gallaudet University. More on that later below.

Who knew that their very own Dr. Angela McCaskill, Chief Diversity Officer, would become a bullying victim from faculty members who squarely have set agenda against her from the beginning which brings me to Celia May Baldwin who was a victim of bullying during the 2006 protest. I saved Baldwin's 2006 memo outlining her reason why she resigned from the Board of Trustees stating that she received threats during the 2006 protest.

May 9, 2006

MEMORANDUM

TO: Bill Graham, Board Secretary

FROM: Celia May Baldwin

SUBJECT: Tenure on the Board of Trustees

After many sleepless nights and much reflection these past several days, I regret to tell you that on Sunday night I came to the decision to resign from the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. The presidential search and the controversy that has ensued have put enormous strain and stress on me. I simply could not ignore the numerous aggressive threats I have received over the past weeks.

I cannot express how disappointed I am that it has to come to this point. However, I trust that you will give me your full support and understanding in my decision.

It is my sincerest hope that you feel I have served Gallaudet University to the fullest in the years that I have been on the Board. I admire and respect each of my colleagues on the Board and am glad that I had the opportunity of working closely with several of them in the recent months as the Interim Chair. I also appreciate all the assistance I received from the President's Office. I am truly saddened by recent events.

I am confident that we all share the same goal of working towards the best possible future for Gallaudet University. Thank you for allowing me to serve this fine institution.

Question for ya'll.

Where were the faculty members who were in support of the 2006 "unity" protest  when these threats occurred? Who stood up and said that issuing such threats to members of the BoTs and said that it "ain't cool." Who publicly voiced that they do not condone such actions against BoT members?

Where was M.J. Bienvenu when that happened? 

Did she not care about threats made to certain members of the BoTs?

Where were the 145 full-time regular faculty in 2006 who were in attendance for the no-confidence vote, out of a possible 220 but made the vote count appear bigger when it wasn't since 145 faculty members in total for the special meeting were in attendance. A total of 140 voted on  the "no confidence" vote where there was a 93 to 47 vote where of "No confidence" in Fernandes with a difference of 46 votes.  140 out 220 voted attended the "no confidence" vote which means only 63% of the faculty voted on the subject which leaves 80 faculty members who refused to attend the special meeting or could not attend the special meeting.  It wasn't a faculty Senate vote but a non-binding vote in a special meeting during the height of the "Unity for Gallaudet" protest.  And this calls into question the validity of the whole vote when you have barely 60% of the faculty members attending for a special vote by which they admitted it was not a faculty Senate vote.  

Jumping back to Celia May Brown.

Did faculty members who were in support of the 2006 protest ignored threats that were made to Celia May Baldwin? Was this a classic sign of allowing bullying to happen by keeping quiet about it? How come the 21-member faculty Senate never voted on the "No confidence" vote? Wouldn't that yield a more powerful, official vote and voice against J.K. Fernandes? How many of those 21 members of the faculty Senate actually participated in the non-binding vote in a special meeting that day? Who were those 21 members of the faculty Senate back in 2006?

Me wonder.

And now, today, we have faculty members who used Angela McCaskill's petition signature as a blunt weapon to bully against her by essentially forcing president Hurwitz into a corner to try and get her fired.  Some faculty members who may have been key in helping start the 2006 protest may have been the ones who pushed students out in front and center to get them to protest in their favor. Who, as far as we're concerned, never condoned the threats that were made against Celia May Brown back in 2006.

Now here is what gets interesting.

Kendra Smith  and M.J. Bienvenu are members of the 22-member faculty Senate for the 2010 - 2013 term. Those two are involved in the whole McCaskill/Gallaudet University mess as charged by Dr. Angela McCaskill. Kendra Smith represents Graduate Studies group while M.J. Bienvenu represents University Faculty Officers and as University Faculty Vice Chair. A powerful position with a lot of pull.

The roles, responsibilities and authority given to these members are described in the faculty Senate page:

Charge
The principal decision-making body of the faculty:
 1.Review and advise the administration on the relative merits of creating new administrative structures, revising existing structures, and re-defining the purposes and functions of existing programs.
2.Make recommendations to the administration regarding the academic calendar.
3.Establishes courses of study, requirements for admission or transfer, and requirements for graduation for degrees; determines academic discipline.
 4.Reviews faculty grievances and makes recommendations to the President.
5.Verifies faculty eligibility for promotion and tenure.
6.Recommends to the president and Board of Trustees candidates for degrees; and regulates faculty status and conduct.

This Committee has the following authority:
 •Principal decision-making body of the University Faculty. Oversees quality of academic programs. Recommends candidates for degrees.
•Advises Provost, President, and BOT

Powerful responsibilities and the delegation of authority to those Senate members. This has an air of conflict of interest at work in the effort to oust McCaskill. Also, does this reek of "deafhoodism" all over again but in an all different format at the political level with a twist that it's become a good ole-girls network (14 out 22 are women in the faculty Senate) with Bienvenu near the top of the authority delegated to her? 

Also, is Bienvenu a tenured professor? 

And so all in all we can only surmise what has been going on now since 2006 with McCaskill bringing it up. Perhaps this goes back much earlier than 2006. And exactly what kind of a professional relationship there was between McCaskill and Bienvenu all those years they've known each other?

It's obvious that Bienvenu has an axe to grind toward McCaskill for some reason or another that she was willing to push such an agenda in a very public way. Perhaps time will tell eventually this sordid tale yet to be told. The 2006 chapter thought closed is now open again. What really went on and why?

Maybe it's time to add and revise some of the Wikipedia entry on "Unity for Gallaudet" protest?

Defacing The Volta Bureau in D.C. and more

I've seen some recent pictures of those protesting against AGBell and the symposium today in Washington D.C. where pictures of AGBell's signs at the Volta Bureau in D.C. were defaced with adhesive tapes and placards covering them up though no permanent damage.

Just to make myself clear, I'm not against protesting per se but as long as it is done peacefully and leaving alone private properties by not defacing them and that a protest does not interrupt the normal course of business as an unintended consequence. It's worse when the intended consequence is to interrupt the normal course of a business. Protesting can be a tricky thing and sometimes the lines are blurred.

In Washington D.C. there are laws regarding graffiti and defacing private properties. In this case, the use of adhesive tapes and placards to alter signs at the Volta Bureau and such an action could be considered as defacing and even be called as "graffiti" (note my emphasis in the bold underline)

"(4) "Graffiti" means an inscription, writing, drawing, marking, or design that is painted, sprayed, etched, scratched, or otherwise placed on structures, buildings, dwellings, statues, monuments, fences, vehicles, or other similar materials that are on public or private property without the consent of the owner, manager, or agent in charge of the property, and the graffiti is visible from a public right-of-way.


"(5) "Graffiti material" means any aerosol can, bottle, spray device or other [*1614] mechanism designed to dispense paint or a similar substance under pressure, indelible marker, paint stick, adhesive label, and engraving device capable of leaving a visible mark on a natural or man-made surface.

The Volta Bureau is a private property. Also, graffiti doesn't mean it has to be permanent per se. You can see they used adhesives (tape) and with posters that were used to cover up the signs. The question is, do they intend to leave such markings behind ?

From D.C. criminal defense lawyers.

DC Graffiti/Defacement Laws & Penalties
The offense of graffiti is pretty self explanatory. But this doesn’t just apply to spray painting on walls or marking up a fence. You could face this charge for keying a car or smearing mud over the property of another.

According to the law, this offense applies when writing, drawing figures, cutting, chipping, covering, painting, or marking on public property or the private property of another without their permission.

Generally this offense carries up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines. You will also likely be required to perform community service and pay restitution if convicted of defacement or graffiti. - Ref: DC Code 22-3312.01

Also, I've gotten reports of noise being made at near or inside the Omni Hotel in D.C. where the AGBell symposium is being held. This reminds me about D.C.'s local ordinance on creating noise during a protest. A few years back there was a protest at another hotel in D.C. where the problem of noise nuisance was raised. 

An effort was undertaken in 2008 to toughen the District’s unusually liberal noise laws but the city’s labor organizations orchestrated, with the help of D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), an amendment limiting it to residential areas. “A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed 80 decibels inside the nearest occupied residence in districts zoned R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3 or R-4” is the relevant passage cited by the city’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. That means no recourse for Ms. Iwamoto, who lives in a commercially zoned neighborhood one block away from the Madison — or for the many other residents whom city officials have successfully lured to mixed-use developments aimed at enlivening the downtown.


Labor officials argue that protest is the only method available to workers to fight for their rights against adversaries with greater resources. But the demonstrations of the Madison workers were not aimed at getting a message across; they were intended to create a nuisance that would cost the hotel business. No other city, according to the advocacy group Noise Free America, allows unlimited amplification in the name of free speech. Indeed, courts have upheld limitations on amplification to safeguard public health and safety. No one is suggesting that anyone’s voice be stifled, only that it not be artificially — and noxiously — augmented.

I agree. It's one thing to protest with a show of solidarity and support, and another thing when protesters deface private properties and artificially create loud noises that can interrupt services and/or businesses. Businesses do have the right to protect their customers and businesses from such interruptions. Such an example would be to make so much noise at the hotel that CART services couldn't be provided adequately for those attending at AGBell's Listening and Spoken Language Symposium (and that the police had to intervene to stop the noise interruption).

Even Sean Gerlis said this about Deaf protesters defacing/desecrating a private property:

On behalf of Bobbie Beth Scoggins, Prez of NAD & myself, we NAD do not condone this behavior....to desecrate AGB's building.

Glad to hear that the protest went without much of a hitch and was for the large part peacefully done despite a few obnoxious moments and the arrival of several police cars to the scene of the protest outside of the hotel building where the symposium was held, and that protesters were told to leave the hotel.

ADDENDUM: Sorry to say this but no where did I say the taping incident damaged the AGBell plaque signage on the front of its building. No where did I say that police complained. Although I seriously doubt the people inside of The Volta Bureau building were aware of the defacing that took place taking only minutes to do and removed. Just a matter of the fact that defacing did occur and I made it clear from the beginning of this blog that no permanent damage was done in the first place. Sorry Patti, your screaming and hyperventilating isn't helping all this. NAD made it clear that they supported the protest in principle but not the covering up the AGBell signs and such. We know which group is the more mature ones.

Round Peg in a Square Hole - "Wrong Street"

Click here to enlarge.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us