1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: What's up everyone? Welcome to this day in History class, 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: where we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: Today is March nineteen. The day was March thirteenth. Deaf 4 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: President Now. A student protest at Galadet University in Washington, 5 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: d C. Came to a close. As a result, Dr 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: I King Jordan was named the eighth but first death 7 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: president of the university. Just a week earlier, another hearing 8 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: person have been chosen as the seventh president of the university. 9 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: Galadet is a university for people who are deaf in 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: heart of hearing, so this decision was a disappointment to 11 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: many people on campus and in the deaf community. There 12 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: were plenty of death people who were qualified for the position. 13 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: People have been asking for a deaf person to be 14 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,839 Speaker 1: named president for a while, and two of the three 15 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: finalists for the presidency were deaf, but the board of 16 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: trustees had decided to appoint Elizabeth A Sensor, the only 17 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: hearing candidate to the position. This sparked outrage and marked 18 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: the start of a week long protest that would catalyze 19 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: change at the university and an American Deaf Culture and 20 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: Law galladat University was founded in eighteen sixty four, but 21 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: in all those years leading up to the protests in 22 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight, the university had never had a deaf president. 23 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: Considering it's a university specifically for the death and heart 24 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: of hearing that may seem pretty ridiculous, but there were 25 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: still prejudices against death and heart of hearing people, and 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: there was conflict within the community of educators of deaf people. 27 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: Some educators dubbed manualists, supported using language to teach deaf students. 28 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: The other camp, the oralists, believed deaf people should learn 29 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: to read lips and speak, so educators at Galadet and 30 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: other schools for the deaf were mainly people who could hear. 31 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: Some schools didn't hire any deaf teachers, and in the 32 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: beginning at Galadet, there weren't many deaf candidates who were 33 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: qualified to be president of the university because education for 34 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 1: the deaf in the United States was sorely lacking. All 35 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: of this is why by nineteen eighty eight, Galadet had 36 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: only had male presidents who could hear, but between nineteen 37 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: eighty three and nineteen eighty seven the school had trouble 38 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: keeping presidents. It went through three of them in that 39 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: short time. When the seventh president, Jerry Lee, stepped down 40 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty seven, the Board of Trustees began the 41 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: search for someone who could take a spot. A consultant 42 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: was hired to make sure the school found the best candidates. 43 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: By mid January, the pool was narrowed down to three 44 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: deaf people and three hearing people, and on February the 45 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: three finalists were announced. Dr Harvey Corson, Dr i Kan Jordan, 46 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:17,519 Speaker 1: and Dr Elizabeth Senser. Corson and Jordan were both deaf men, 47 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: while Zinser was a hearing woman. By this point, there 48 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 1: was no valid reason for a deaf person not to 49 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: be president of the university. Throughout the search for a 50 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: new president, deaf advocacy groups, faculty and alumni have been 51 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: lobbying for a deaf president. President George Bush and civil 52 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: rights leader Jesse Jackson had even made known their support 53 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: for a deaf president of the university, but it was 54 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: the action of the university students that really kicked the 55 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: momentum into high gear. On March one, more than one 56 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: thousand students, faculty, advocates in the deaf community, and other 57 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: supporters of the movement participated in a rally to demand 58 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: a deaf president. Over the next several days, the student 59 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: body government president asked Zensor to withdraw. Students camped out 60 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: intense and a TV crew came out to the campus. 61 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: So when the Board of Trustees interviewed each candidate on 62 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: the fifth and the sixth, it seemed like there was 63 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: a good chance the next president would be deaf. Instead, 64 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: at six thirty pm, the board handed out press releases 65 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: saying they picked Sensor the only hearing candidate, and people 66 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: were upset. Some of the protesters met with the board 67 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: after interrupting a press conference. The chair of the board 68 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: and one of the deaf trustees held, but not much 69 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: progress was made, so students began boycotts, sit ins, and 70 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: marches in protest of the board's decision. By March seven, 71 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: protest leaders have formalized their demands. They were that one 72 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Sensor must resign and a deaf person be selected 73 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: president it too, James Billman must step down as chairperson 74 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: of the Board of Trustees, three deaf people must constitute 75 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: a fifty majority on the board, and four there would 76 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: be no reprisals against any student or employee involved in 77 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: the protest, but the board didn't budge, so the protesters 78 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: formed the Deaf President Now Counsel, an assembly of students, faculty, staff, alumni, interpreters, fundraisers, 79 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: and legal liaisons. The protests gave more media attention, and 80 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: on March t Sincer announced her resignation. On Sunday March, 81 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: the board met and announced that they would honor the 82 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: other conditions. Dr I King Jordan was named president. Jordan 83 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: went on to play a role in supporting the Americans 84 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: with Disabilities Act of nineteen and he remained president until 85 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: two thousand and six. I'm Eve steaf Coote and hopefully 86 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 87 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more about the 88 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: Deaf President Now protest, listen to the episode of Stuff 89 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:16,599 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class called Deaf President Now. You 90 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 1: can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at T 91 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: d i h C Podcast. We'll see you here in 92 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: the same place tomorrow.