Petition Re: JKFernandes teaching in the ASL and Deaf Studies Dept at Gallaudet
biggest thanks to Judy Gough of Ca. for getting a ton of signatures in just a hour or two of time
biggest thanks to Ella Mae Lentz for mentioning the importance of taking a peaceful stand
after more signatures are gathered, the petition will be sent to Dr. Davila with a cover letter requesting a formal statement from Gallaudet U. on this issue
Again our goal is not to incite hostility or any kind of ruckus but rather to give a tangible response to Veditz’s plea “I hope you will cherish and defend our beautiful sign language as the n-o-b-l-e-s-t g-i-f-t God has given to Deaf people.”
———————————————————– (feel free to lift the petition and alter as you feel fit)
We, the undersigned, object to Dr. Jane Fernandes’ appointment to teach in the Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University.
Our objection is based on the following reasons:
•   Dr. Fernandes has continually misrepresented to the media ASL users as being monolinguists and exclusionary.
•   Dr. Fernandes has maligned ASL and Deaf culture by spreading myths and misunderstandings about ASL and Deaf culture.
•   Dr. Fernandes has regulated ASL to be a self-help tool and an aid to militancy. And in doing so has disputed any academic value of ASL.
•   Dr. Fernandes has not demonstrated currency in the field as evident by the faulty information she gives to the media on the topic of bilingualism and biculturalism.
It has been a long and hard journey to have American Sign Language be recognized as a full-fledged language. It has continually been difficult to have ASL be taught for academic credit in various schools and universities. Professionals have had to educate academia and school boards on how a visual language can still have written components and how testing can maintain proper rigor with other languages in the curriculum. Having a professor in this field who is actually promoting and perpetuating an inferior view of ASL is harmful to the socio and linguistic study of American Sign Language.
We, the undersigned, know of no University in this country that would employ a professor who has misrepresented, tarnished, and undermined the field in which s/he teaches in. For these reasons we request that Dr. Fernandes NOT have an appointment as a faculty member in the Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University
Signature               Address
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October 28th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Please sign my name
“Jean Boutcher”
for me.
Merci beaucoup.
October 28th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Or do you want me to print out
and sign my name on the printed
petition and mail it to Dr.
Davila?
October 28th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
jean - pls print out and have others sign their own john hancock then send to davila
the more the merrier
peace
p
October 28th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
I don’t think that it is a good idea to have JKFernandes come back to Gallaudet University due to a lot of damages she caused. We have our bad scars from her. She owes a lot to us and still disrespects us. She seems like that she is playing games with our minds, doesn’t she?
I noticed that my daughter, Renca Dunn who is a junior at Gally has some damages in her mind that JKFernandes caused. JKFernandes is a negative leader in many ways and evil powerful Deaf students don’t need to look up.
Please consider it and keep growing postive values in Gallaudet University as we have been through a long healing process.
In fact I am very happy with a new administration. Stick with it, please!
Thanks so much.
Lynn Dunn, Class of 1981 plus mother of Renca Dunn
October 28th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Maybe the students would eventually chase her out. Let them make the mockery of her in her classroom until the last day of class withdrawal. I think that gonna be fun.
If you think I’m being too mean, well, if I could recall her unfriendliness & arrogance, then I’ll say why not? Her role as a Provost was a big big mistake and she failed her communication expectations, period. Bye!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:40 am
lynn - very sorry for ur daughter’s pain. i do hope gally will consider a support group / think tank with facilitator / mediator - see DE’s comment in the “return of IKJ, JKF, and KK” previous post
i do believe the Deaf community is suffering a bit of Post Traumatic Stress from all of this turmoil
i wish for u and ur daughter and all involved peace and healing
K is K - mockery and chasing someone out is FUN? I guess i dont understand your definition of fun. Your justification is based on revenge and not love. I do not see the wisdom and peace in that. I understand and appreciate your anger. But i do not support your message of using hostile tactics - it HURTS us and it HURTS our cause
Civil disobedience - means not obeying an injust system civily - resisting/disobeying in a civil and peaceful way
it might be best for the students in their classes - only if they so desired (it came from them and was their own position) staged “silent protests / sit-ins” in their classrooms rather than boycotting - this way their dissent / resistance would be visible, viable and peaceful
I do support resistance - i do believe resistance can be “the secret to possessing joy”* but the resistance must always be peaceful
much peace
p
*comes from Alice Walker’s book - Possessing the Secret of Joy
October 29th, 2007 at 8:32 am
pdurr ~
did you want the petition to be signed electronically or via hard copy (paper)?
when done, do we send it to you via email or postal?
October 29th, 2007 at 10:19 am
If Fernandez comes back just don’t sign up for her classes. She’ll go away.
October 29th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Re: petition
copy and paste to word file print and circulate amongst folks in ur area if u desire then mail to davila and the chair of the gallaudet board
re: dont sign up and she will just go away?
why would or should she if the University is still obligated to pay her due to tenure and now one has lardge any formal complaint
why wouldnt she just hang out and enjoy the free time and the income
October 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
[…] teaching their assigned subject matter at Gallaudet should be voiced via peaceful methods - petitions, “sit-ins,” […]
November 5th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Patty Durr, I dont think its appropriate for you to discuss about the idea of signature sheet because you are a faculty of sister insitution of Gallaudet, which is NTID at RIT. I suggest you to focus your own work in deaf studies instead of discuss such things at Gallaudet.
November 5th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Re: 11 aSays
thanks for your comment
my concern for our sister Institute and for the field of Deaf Studies prompts the petition
see the posting re: JKF’s quotes in the Chronicles of Higher Educ. - these statements affect the public’s and academia’s view of Gallaudet, Deaf Studies, ASL, and bilingualism. To remain silent is incongruent with true peace.
I respect your opinion that you do not think it is appropriate for me to discuss the petition in this blog. I am of the opinion that it is inappropriate for us to do nothing when Deaf Studies, ASL and Gallaudet are maligned in the media and in academia.
Peace
Patti
November 30th, 2007 at 7:40 am
[…] may recall a petition objecting to Dr. Jane Fernandes teaching in the Dept of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet […]