Students at Premier School for the Deaf Block Controversial Appointment

Student protesters at the nation’s premier school for the deaf have proclaimed victory after the board of trustees voted Sunday to terminate the appointment of the incoming school president. Gallaudet University had been the scene of ongoing student and faculty protests over the hiring of Jane Fernandes to head the school - taking over the position from I. King Jordan. Since the beginning of this month, students have taken over a campus building and blockaded the school’s entrances. Students also seized the administration building and some went on hunger strike. More than 130 people were arrested during the protests.

Fernandes, who has been at Gallaudet for 11 years, has long been a controversial figure on campus, and the protest concerned a range of issues. Some faculty were angry when Jordan appointed her provost six years ago without a regular search and said that the presidential search process was stacked in her favor. Others said she wasn’t the inspirational leader the deaf community needed. And some were angry that a strong black candidate - board of trustees chairman Glenn Anderson - was eliminated early in the process.

Latoya Plummer joins me now from Washington DC -- She is one of the student leaders who has been protesting for the past month. Jennifer Kaika will be interpreting for LaToya.

* LaToya Plummer. Junior at Gallaudet University.

* Jennifer Kaika. Interpreter.

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