Jeff Rosen Interview 3 (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 3.
Publication Date
1988
Keywords
Deaf President Now
Recommended Citation
Gallaudet University, "Jeff Rosen Interview 3 (Post DPN)" (1988). Deaf President Now Protest. 83.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/dpnvideos/83
Comments
This video continues the Jeff Rosen interview regarding DPN. He begins by discussing the first full day of protests when they closed the campus and would not let anyone in. He talks about how the Board initially demanded they open campus to start a conversation. They refused, and the Board met with them anyway. The meeting wasn't productive. The participants expressed why the appointment of a deaf president was important, and yet the Board didn't seem to care. They suggested to the Board to cancel out their initial vote since technically they didn't have the required four deaf people to vote according to their bylaws. The Board took a long time to deliberate the possibility but in the end decided to keep their original vote and to go to the Field House. Upon arriving to the Field House, Jeff realized that they were just buying time. They had made their decision and they stood by it. Jeff uses the example of South African apartheid and how even as the Black people were eventually allowed to vote, they had such a different mindset than those already in power. They became a class minority, and the "solution" was to become "white" by going to white schools, learn their way of thinking, acting as they do. In the process they lose their roots and become strangers in their own land. He mirrors it to the deaf community and efforts to make deaf people assimilate into the hearing world to succeed. He talks about how DPN has changed how people view the community and how deaf people view themselves. He talks about how the selection process also reflected the deaf community's values in that he knew Dr. I. King Jordan would be the highest ranked deaf candidate because of his speaking ability due to systems of power. He also discusses how at Gallaudet he has unrestricted communication and in that way he, and many other deaf people, learn a lot about themselves by communicating thoughts and ideas with others in a fully accessible environment. The Deaf community needs to recognize themselves as leaders to elevate the community by pushing for change.