Jeff Rosen Interview 1 (Post DPN)
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Description
Jeff Rosen discusses his Deaf President Now experience. He gives a lot of context for deaf people's anger, a detailed look into the protests, and how the protests relate to other political movements happening. Part 1.
Publication Date
1988
Keywords
Deaf President Now
Recommended Citation
Gallaudet University, "Jeff Rosen Interview 1 (Post DPN)" (1988). Deaf President Now Protest. 81.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/dpnvideos/81
Comments
Jeff Rosen discusses his DPN experience. He says people often ask him "why did you get involved in this?" because he has a good life, good job, etc. He is always pushing for advancement to the next level of access for deaf people. He tells the story of when he was in Seattle, Washington and he met a deaf woman who was well known as an advocate. Due to a lack of access she didn't have the credentials needed to truly succeed and told Rosen he is lucky he had all the support he needed. He says it was her generation's work that made his generation able succeed and he wants the same for future deaf children. He discusses that first meeting with the others when the idea of a rally was first brought up. In the following weeks, conversations with members of the deaf community made it clear that the general consensus was that the Board would vote similar to their makeup. From the beginning there was pressure to not do push for change. He says throughout the entire time the Board refused to open communication channels. He talks about how Gallaudet is the perfect place to unite the deaf community. However, if deaf people are not considered up to par within Gallaudet itself, how can they ever be the same out in the hearing world? He says Gallaudet did not do enough to encourage deaf leadership and bridge that gap. He discusses when the announcement was made about the appointment of Dr. Zinser he was nervous. When he was told the news, they all went to the Field House. Everyone anticipated the appointment of Dr. Zinser, but after all of their work making it clear their preference, it was a spark that set the fire.