elisa_abenchuchan's Xanga

Friday, December 08, 2006

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 04:21:02 GMT

i would like my therapy back

xanga has always been a sort of a therapy - a sounding board, a ranting machine, etc, for me. i could just go to my laptop and type furiously or slowly about any subject that was bouncing around in my head. but now with all the protest this semester and my blogging and then the new blogsite, my therapy disappeared. i'm bringing it back, but for obvious reasons, i have to guard my privacy somewhat. all my blogs related to deaf issues and the president and etc will be public (at elisawrites.com), obviously, even though i haven't been regular lately... but come christmas break i plan to type a lot more, since we now know who the three candidates for the interim president position are. anyway - i want to rant from time to time about ridiculous and irrevelant things, sometimes i just need to stretch my fingers and massage my thinking cells. so, if you're (weirdly) interested in my pointless ramblings, juz ask me to add you on my protected list...

happy holidays, everyone!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:28:51 GMT

Open Forum Tonight

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

What: An Open Forum

The first open forum was a success, with great suggestions for making it even more so next time.

This open forum will group people into three rooms (a mix of faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, and community members in each group). Each group will have one moderator.

This open forum is intended to allow people to share their concerns regarding barriers to unity, their frustrations regarding â€œthe system,â€ ideas for processes that will lead to a more united and healthy campus.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come!

When: Monday, November 20th, 7 to 9pm

Where: We are trying to secure MPR and Subflex A/B in the Student Acacemic Center. For now, meet in the marketplace area.

Sponsored by the Student Body Government and the FSSA Coalition

This information was taken from www.gufssa.org

Unfortunately, I have a class tonight and will not be able to attend. I am confident that other bloggers will cover the event. If you don’t have class, be sure to show up and get your voice/hands heard ' src="http://www.elisawrites.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif">

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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:49:24 GMT

Comment Away!

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

I always loved getting comments on my blog, because a blog is at its best when it becomes a conversation rather than just a person talking. But during the protests, I felt that I had to close it because I did not have time to go through comments and make deletions –Â some comments were totally not necessary.

But I miss the conversations. And now that things have settled down some, I’m bringing it back. I’ve opened the comments at my blog at Xanga and I enjoy it very much. Comments can be negative towards me, sure, or positive, sure, but when it comes to making threats or demeaning any person other than me, it’s when I don’t enjoy comments. I also hate cenorship, but I will delete those comments.

I’m looking forward to the conversation. See you in the blogosphere.

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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:48:03 GMT

What Rejection Does to the Deaf Community

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

I was wandering in the halls of books at the Gallaudet library, looking for books related to deaf education for one of my classes. I was taking my sweet time, as I always do in libraries - there’s just too many books to look at. I came to two books about Miss America Heather Whitestone, remember her? One of them was written by her mother and one by Whitestone herself.

Mildly curious, I skimmed the one by the mother. It had some cute pictures in it and some sad but cute stories about her and her deaf daughter. It talked about her “hard choices”, such as choosing oral education for her daughter and later letting her take Signed Exact English classes. It was what I expected. I put it back and decided I would look at Whitestone’s book. I flipped the pages, looking at the pictures in the middle first (you know you do that, too) and then moving through the book, glancing at chapter titles. One caught my eye - “Miss Deaf Alabama Pagent.”

Whitestone talked about how many people at the deaf school didn’t understand her because she signed in SEE. She talked about how one deaf girl was angry that Whitestone brought her hearing mother. She talked about how other deaf girls also danced to music in their talent competitions, but their motions were “simple.” She said that her ballet dancing didn’t “hit” the deaf audience because “they didn’t hear the music or felt it in their hearts.” She said that she couldn’t understand the judges who signed in ASL, because “the vocabulary of American Sign Language is very limited and they communicate thoughts, rather than complete sentences.” She explained that the judges couldn’t understand her because she signed in English, which had “a rich vocabulary and grammatically complete sentences.”

By that time, I was boiling inside. How many people have read this book and murmured at the limitations of ASL? They would think, it must be true, since Heather’s deaf, so she should know. I glowered with anger - but I read on.

Whitestone went on to say that she was completely rejected by the other deaf girls in the pageant because she spoke to the waiter at the restaurant that they went to — the deaf girls were being immature (this is my word) and signing ASL to the waiter and Whitestone got tired and just spoke the other girls’ orders. Whitestone drove back home with her mother, wondering, she was rejected by the hearing world and now she had just been rejected by the deaf world. Where did she belong to?

Now I wasn’t mad at Heather anymore. I was mad at the deaf girls. If they had accepted Heather and welcomed her — became her friends, taught her ASL and its rich vocabulary and structure, introduced her to the deaf community — who knows what Heather could have given back to the deaf world.

This is one of the reasons why the Unity for Gallaudet movement is so important. Some people have said that it should be called Unity for the Deaf. I agree. Rejection does nobody good. This is why so many reacted with anger at what Fernandes and Jordan and Coogan said to the media, that the protestors were rejecting Fernandes because of her being not deaf enough. The deaf community has been trying to get together, to unite, to be more accepting ofÂ each other, and now it was being dividedÂ all over again by misinformation.

The deaf community then came together for real, all kinds of deaf people, and became united towards a single goal. Now that the protest activities are over, we must never forget the ultimate goal. Unity.

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 04:20:17 GMT

Mosdeux Does It Again with “Resonare”

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

The guys at Mosdeux have produced another stellar film.

Whoever says that film is not art should watch this movie. Only 12 minutes long, it will have you thinking for more than 12 minutes after the end credits roll. I think that this clip belongs to an art gallery — art is open to interpretations, and this movie is just begging for different perspectives. I can see myself having a long, interesting debate with a group of friends about the meanings and themes behind this short film. Already, I’m bursting to discuss what I think the movie is saying, but I can’t without spoiling the movie for you.

What I CAN say: the colors are vivid and meaningful, the characters are multifaced without even saying anything, the action is realistic, and the settings fit the mood of every scene. Sure, there might be a lot of fade-outs between shots, but I think it adds to the overall mystique of the film.

Watch it and then chewÂ on it for a while. Maybe it’ll be sweet or a bit sour or however you like your apples, but it’ll be worth a chew (and more).Â Watch Resonare on November 14th at www.mosdeux.com. And then enjoy debating with your friends about what you think the filmÂ means. I know I will.

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Monday, November 13, 2006

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:51:04 GMT

Search for Interim President Begins; Bot Issues a Call for Nominations

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

Call for Nominations

Search ProcessÂ for Interim President

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 03:53:36 GMT

Did You Film the Protest?

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

The Second Deaf Rochester Film Festival Seeks Films of the Gallaudet Protest Experience

The Deaf Rochester Film Festival (DRFF) is committed to promoting films by Deaf filmmakers who use film to communicate the Deaf experience and/or visual aesthetics. Because of the value of film as a medium of historical preservation, we would like to encourage both student and professional Deaf filmmakers to consider submission of their film work–particularly films related to the “Unity for Gallaudet” movement.

The Festival dates are March 23-25, 2007 in Rochester, New York. Our keynote presenter will be filmmaker, Wayne Betts, Jr.

The new Deadline for film entries is December 1, 2006. Notification of acceptance/rejection will happen no later than January 15, 2007.

Send your film to:
Deaf Rochester Film Festival
c/o Karen Christie
NTID/RIT LBJ-1271
60 Lomb Memorial Dr.
Rochester, NY 14623
Or check the website at Www.ntid.rit.edu/DRFF

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 03:07:47 GMT

Letter from the New BOT Chair

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

TO: Campus Community

FROM: Pamela Holmes, â€˜74, Chair

DATE: November 11, 2006

RE: Board Update Regarding Interim President Selection

On Saturday, November 11, the Board met to discuss next steps in this important transitional time at Gallaudet. I am sending you this letter as the newly appointed chair of the Board. I hope you will join me in welcoming the newly appointed vice-chair, Mr. Frank Wu. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the meeting because of flight cancellations due to snow, but I was able to participate electronically in the afternoon.

Recognizing the importance of involving the Gallaudet community, we began our day by meeting with representatives from key constituency groups including students, faculty, university staff, representatives from the Clerc Center, and alumni. Also, prior to the meeting, the Board had an opportunity to meet with representatives from a parent group. We heard from the constituency groups their ideas about what characteristics an interim president should have and what the selection process should be.

Taking into consideration the information gained in our morning meetings, the Board deliberated at length and defined the characteristics of an interim president and determined the selection process. In the afternoon, we reconvened in Executive Session and decided to establish the Interim President Selection Advisory Committee (IPSAC) to recommend candidates for the Interim President to the Board. The committee will be made up of representatives from key constituencies and will convene as soon as possible. The goal is to recommend candidates to the Board in time to have an interim president in place by the end of the year.

Further details of the composition and charge of the IPSAC will be forthcoming shortly.

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 03:07:14 GMT

It’s November Already?

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

I know, I’ve been missing for a while now. I had to attend to other things in my life that I had neglected for so long… I’m still catching up with school and work, but I’ll be fine. December will be sweet when it finally comes.

I’ll be here, updating here and there. It’s really nice to know that there are loads of other bloggers on the net working hard to update the Deaf community. Maybe next semester will be much better for me and I can roll up my sleeves and blog more, because I won’t be teaching then.

See you all in the blogsphere!

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Monday, October 30, 2006

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:33:10 GMT

What’s Next?

This entry was originally published at gallaudet protests

Be sure to check out www.deafread.com for many discussions about what should happen now. This link sandman makes for good reading.

Today the protestors cleaned up the campus and their deadline was 5 PM. I’m at McDaniel College, so I don’t know if the campus is all clean now.

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