Chapter 10: The Deaf President Now Movement

August Vincelette

Alana McCallion

Theresa Clancy

Introduction

This introductory chapter aims to explain the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement and

investigate it’s immediate and long-term effects as covered in Christiansen and Barnatt’s book

as well as several media sources. DPN took place in 1988 in Washington D.C. as a response to

the appointment of a hearing president to Gallaudet University. This movement was the first

exposure to deaf people’s rights for many Americans and resulted in monumental change for

the university itself and for accessibility laws across the United States.

Background

As discussed in previous chapters, Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc established the

American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817. After Amos Kendall established

the Columbia Institute for the Deaf in Hartford in Washington D.C. in 1857, Thomas’s son,

Edward Miner Gallaudet, followed in his father’s footsteps and became the school

superintendent. Under him, Abraham Lincoln allowed the school to award bachelorette degrees

to its students. This school was the first to award bachelorette degrees to deaf students and

was later renamed Gallaudet University in honor of Thomas Gallaudet.

Gallaudet is one of the only universities for deaf people globally, and, up until the DPN

movement in 1988, it had been run exclusively by six hearing male presidents. DPN sought to

change that, and as such there was a week of protests in support of a deaf president that led to
the resignation of an appointed hearing female president and the selection of the first deaf

president of the university.

Previous Presidents of Gallaudet University

The desire for Gallaudet to have a Deaf president started appearing in 1982, when

Edward C. Merrill stepped down from the presidency and talks of a deaf president started. His

replacement, Lloyd Jones, only lasted a few months before stepping down in 1984. The quick

turnaround of his presidency led the university to select Jerry Lee as a temporary, and later

permanent, replacement and to forgo a formal search altogether until he too stepped down in

1987.

There was stronger support for a deaf president during the search for Lee’s replacement

from all angles. One of the groups formed during the early stages to advocate for a deaf

president was the Ducks, a group composed of James Tucker, Fred Weiner, Paul Singleton, Jeff

Rosen, Steve Hilbok, and Mike O’Donnell. These men did a lot of the base work for the DPN

movement as they recruited students, got various campus organizations involved, and

scheduled the March 1st rally that kicked off the movement.

The Week of DPN

The first DPN rally took place on Tuesday, March 1st, and garnered more support than

anyone had expected. The only hearing finalist, Elizabeth Zinser, was asked to withdraw her

application as the final interviews took place. On Sunday, the Board of Trustees selected Zinser

as the president and she accepted the position. In an outrage, protesters met at the location of

the meeting and Jane Spilman, the chairperson of the Board, met with Jeff Rosen as well as

addressed the crowd but was unsuccessful in quelling the discontent. By Monday, the students
had occupied the campus and refused to open it back up until the following demands were

met:

1. Elizabeth Zinser must resign, and a Deaf person be selected president

2. Jane Spilman must step down as chairperson of the Board of Trustees

3. Deaf people must constitute a 51% majority of the Board

4. No reprisals against any student or employee involved in the protest

The Board of Trustees half-heartedly tried to stop the movement but were unsuccessful.

By Tuesday, news of the protests had spread nationwide. The school gates were

reopened but classes did not resume. There was overwhelming support for a deaf president

and, on Thursday, Zinser resigned and Dr. I King Jordan was selected as the first deaf president

on Sunday.

DPN and the Media

The media was essential to the success of the Deaf President Now movement as it

allowed the issue to be spread to the masses. In several instances, student body president Greg

Hilbok faced off against Zinser, and on an ABC Nightline segment, had award-winning deaf

actress Marlee Matlin join him in support. Zinser needed an interpreter to communicate with

Hilbok and Matlin, which reinforced their stance that she was unfit to run a deaf university.

These interviews, especially with Matlin’s appearance, were crucial in spreading their message

nationwide, which ultimately helped turn the tide in favor of the movement.

The media coverage did not end after the movement, however. After the protests, the

Emmy-winning television series “Deaf Mosaic” covered the events. They interviewed the newly
appointed Dr. Irving King Jordan, and his appearance on the show helped set the stage for the

rest of his presidency and helped ensure the movement lasted longer than him.

The Aftermath

The DPN movement had long-lasting effects for deaf rights and culture in the United

States. The new-found awareness for about deaf rights led to Congress passing both the

Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement act, the Television Decoder Circuitry Act, and

the Americans with Disabilities Act. All three acts have created opportunities for increased

accessibility for many deaf Americans and were passed shortly after DPN. However, it is worth

noting that the success of this movement did not increase enrollment in Gallaudet University,

an impact that many would hope for.

In the period since the movement, scholars have been able to identify why it was so

successful. The effectiveness of the movement can be attributed to several factors:

political/cultural climate, type of issue, protester effectiveness, outside support, temporal

progression of events, and environmental factors. None of these, on their own, would have

been enough, but DPN was able to combine them in a way that helped ensure their success.

Conclusion

The DPN movement was a massive victory for deaf civil rights activists both at Gallaudet

University and across the United States. The protests helped show many hearing Americans the

struggle for civil rights that deaf Americans were facing. This new attention led to new

accessibility laws that still impact the lives of deaf people. The movement has also been

attributed to several smaller movements across the country that aimed to put more deaf

people in positions of power, particularly over other deaf schools, and led to a new era of deaf
empowerment. It is undeniable that the Deaf President Now movement, however brief, had

long lasting effects that are still felt both in the deaf community and through the whole of

America.
Required reading:

Christiansen, J. B., & Barnartt, S. N. (2003). Deaf president now!: The 1988 revolution at
Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University Press.

Recommend reading:

Gallaudet, E. M. (1983). History of the college for the deaf, 1957-1907. Gallaudet University
Press.

Media:

ABC. (2013). Abc’s Nightline Special Interview. YouTube. Retrieved September 30th, 2021,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxLC0_qTYVw.

CBS. (2015, May 7th). Gallaudet protest 1988 - YouTube. Youtube. Retrieved September 30th,
2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El_qTr3L0G0.

Clancy, M. (2021, April 2nd). Video presentation REVEALS behind-the-scenes role Of "Ducks"
IN DPN. Gallaudet University. Retrieved September 30th, 2021, from
https://www.gallaudet.edu/video-presentation-reveals-behind-the-scenes-role-of-ducks-
in-dpn/.

Gallaudet University. (2020). Deaf Mosaic 402: Deaf president now. Retrieved September 30th,
2021, from https://media.gallaudet.edu/media/Deaf+Mosaic+402A+Deaf+President+
Now/1_09xzy4hx/162384581.