Deaf President Now was a protest at Gallaudet University in 1988 from March 6th to 13th to object to the appointment of Dr. Elisabeth Zinser as president of Gallaudet University, a university that serves the deaf. The Board of Trustees of the University selected Dr. Zinser over two other qualified deaf candidates after the students and other members of the deaf community made clear their wish for a deaf president of Gallaudet.
The protest had four student leaders: Greg Hlibok, Bridgetta Bourne, Tim Rarus, and Jerry Covell. The students, along with other members of the deaf community, made four demands to stop their protest.
The first demand was that Dr. Zinser resign as president of the University.
The second was that Jane Spilman resign as the chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The third was that the Board of Trustees must reach a 51% deaf majority.
The fourth was that there should be no reprisals against the protesters.
Due to the protest and recognition of the greater civil rights issue at hand, Dr. Zinser announced her resignation on March 11th. The Board of Trustees met on March 13th and announced that Jane Spilman resigned entirely from the Board and that Phil Bravin, a deaf Board of Trustees member, was appointed as Board Chair. During that meeting, they also appointed Dr. I. King Jordan (one of the deaf candidates) as the new president of the University and established a task force to explore increasing deaf representation on the Board. They also confirmed no reprisals for anyone who participated in the protest.
This video collection consists mainly of videos filmed by Deaf Mosaic. Snippets of these films made it into episode 402, which can be seen here.
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Mike O'Donnell Interview 2 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
Mike O'Donnell discusses his role and experience in the Deaf President Now protests. As someone who works on Capitol Hill, he gives a bit of context to how things can and will be different in the future. He touches on civil rights and systems of power. Part 2.
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Ole Jim Reception 1 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
A celebratory reception post Deaf President Now moderated by Angel Ramos that recognizes several leaders during the protests and some changes since.
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Ole Jim Reception 2 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
A celebratory reception post Deaf President Now moderated by Angel Ramos that recognizes several leaders during the protests and some changes since.
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Paul Singleton Interview 1 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
Paul Singleton provides some context into his life, his Deaf President Now experience, and his hopes for the future, part 1
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Paul Singleton Interview 2 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
Paul Singleton provides some context into his life, his Deaf President Now experience, and his hopes for the future, part 2
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Tim Rarus Interview 1 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
Tim Rarus recounts his Deaf President Now experience, part 1
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Tim Rarus Interview 2 (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
Tim Rarus recounts his Deaf President Now experience, part 2
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John Yeh Interview (Post DPN)
Gallaudet University
John Yeh discusses his role in the Deaf President Now protests. He mainly discusses how he helped out before the protests officially began.
