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National Deaf Life Museum
History
The Deaf President Now (DPN) Protest
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In March 1988, Gallaudet University experienced a watershed event that led to the appointment of the 124-year-old university’s first deaf president.
Since then, Deaf President Now (DPN) has become synonymous with self-determination and empowerment for deaf and hard of hearing people everywhere.
The Issues
A day-by-day chronology of events:
Profiles & Viewpoints
Brief biographies of key individuals involved in the protest and personal accounts
Impact
How DPN affected deaf and hearing people around the world
This website was initially created as part of the 10- and 15-year celebrations of DPN. Much has changed at Gallaudet University and for the deaf community around the world since DPN. The content has been lightly updated for the 25-year celebration but for the most part remains a snapshot of the events of March 1988.
Photo credits: Yoon K. Lee, Chun Louie and Ken Kurlychek
In 1856, Amos Kendall, a postmaster general during two presidential administrations, donated two acres of his estate in northeast Washington, D.C. to establish a school and housing for 12 deaf and six blind students. The following year, Kendall persuaded Congress to incorporate the new school,...
Resource Type: History
March 1, 1988 Mr. Philip Bravin Presidential Search Committee Gallaudet University 7th and Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Dear Mr. Bravin: It is my understanding that Gallaudet University is in the process of selecting a new President. I also understand that you have identified...
Tim Rarus, a government major from Arizona, was the most politically experienced of the "Gallaudet four," the students who quickly rose to leadership positions during the DPN protest. The other three were Greg Hlibok, Jerry Covell, and Bridgetta Bourne. As the outgoing Student Body Government...
Instead of coming to campus and announcing its decision as was planned, the Board of Trustees had the University's Public Relations Office hastily hand out press releases at 6:30 p.m., an hour and a half before many had expected. The release announced that, rather than...
In 1988, Gallaudet University was the site of student-led protests that today is called Deaf President Now, or simply DPN. But DPN was more than a protest. It was also a unique coming together of Gallaudet students, faculty, and staff with the national deaf community-all...
Resource Type: Program Information
Deaf President Now (DPN) was the result of many individuals standing up and saying, "I do not, we do not accept degraded status-yes, we require-that others accept this in us as well." Roger Wilkins, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and long time advocate for the rights of...
March 11, 1998 Subcommittee on the Handicapped 113 Hart Senate Office Bldg. AN OPEN LETTER TO STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ADMINISTRATORS, ALUMNI AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY Dear Folks: Congratulations. You have succeeded in educating the world about deafness, the concerns of deaf people,...
March 10, 1998 Mr. Greg Hlibok President, Student Body Government Students for a Deaf President Now Alumni House Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave., N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 Dear Greg: I wanted to let you know that I support the students' efforts seeking the ouster of...
February 25, 1988 Gallaudet University The Board of Trustees 7th & Florida Avenue NE Washington, D.C. 20002 Dear Members of the Board: It has come to my attention that the Board of Trustees will soon be selecting a new president for Gallaudet University. Assuming the...
February 18, 1988 Philip Brann, Chairman Presidential Search Committee Gallaudet University 7th and Florida Avenue, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 Dear Mr. Brann: It is my understanding that Gallaudet University is in the process of choosing a new President. I also understand that, after an arduous...
The following quotes were made during, or shortly after, the DPN protest of March 1988. The source for these and other quotes used throughout this website are from either the book by Jack Gannon, The Week the World Heard Gallaudet or Gallaudet in the News...
One of the groups most directly involved in the cause for a deaf president was the President's Council on Deafness (PCD). Established in the mid-1980s as an advocacy and advisory group for deaf faculty and staff at Gallaudet, the PCD's chief purpose was to promote...
"Deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world." are the words Jane Bassett Spilman, Chair of Gallaudet University's Board of Trustees, is reported to have said on the night Elizabeth Zinser was chosen as president. Spilman denied saying this, and many contended...
As vice-chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Meadville, Pennsylvania native, Elizabeth Zinser, was named president of Gallaudet University on March 6, 1988. This sparked a protest by many students, alumni, faculty, and staff who felt that although she was a qualified...
One of just four deaf Board of Trustee members in 1988, Bravin was chair of the presidential search committee responsible for the selection and screening of finalists. A 1966 graduate of Gallaudet and an IBM executive, Bravin became the intermediary between student leaders and the...
Below are links to the text of letters of support received before and during the DPN protest. Although these letters have been re-typed for this website, every effort has been made to retain the exact wording and spelling of the originals. Vice-President George W Bush...
Subcommittee on the Handicapped 113 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 February 29, 1988 Mr. Philip Bravin, Chairman Presidential Search Committee Gallaudet University 7th and Florida Avenue, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 Dear Mr. Bravin, It has come to our attention that the Presidential Search...
March 9, 1988 TO THE STUDENTS OF GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY: I want to send you my warmest feelings of personal support in your effort to reshape your education and assert your vision. Gallaudet University is a proud symbol of the deaf community. Yet in its 124...
March 9, 1988 Board of Trustees Gallaudet University Washington, D.C. Dear Trustees: I urge you to reconsider the selection of a new president for Gallaudet University. While I hesitate to urge the Board to vote for one candidate over another, it is important to emphasize...
Only three years after being named the seventh president of Gallaudet University in 1984, Jerry C. Lee announced he would be leaving to take a job as vice-president of Bassett Industries. His resignation began an intense debate about the need for a deaf president. A...
Yoon Lee, student photographer "On the 8th Day of the DPN Movement, around 8 p.m. some students were running toward the Field House and signing, 'WE WON! WE WON! EVERYONE GO TO THE FIELD HOUSE!' I was already tired from taking pictures every day and...
"My all-day interview happened on Saturday. It was very intensive, and when it was over, I felt confident. I knew I had done well. I went home that evening and told Linda that I was sure I would be offered the job. On Sunday, I...
An impassioned speaker and activist, Gerald "Jerry" Lee Covell was well known at Gallaudet for his involvement in campus politics and extracurricular activities. He was tagged as the protesting students' "spiritual leader" due to his fire-and-brimstone speaking style. He had just completed an unsuccessful bid...
Elected president of the Student Body Government only a day before the March 1 rally, Greg Hlibok found himself thrust into the spotlight as the official student leader of DPN. A member of a close-knit New York deaf family, which included two older brothers who...
The spark that ignited DPN was the announcement on March 6, 1988, by the University's Board of Trustees that a hearing person had been selected as Gallaudet's seventh president. In the months — or by some accounts, the years — leading up to this date,...
Below are links to the text of a wide variety of documents related to the 1988 DPN protest. Although they have been re-typed for this website, we have retained the look, wording and spelling of the originals. Student Body Government Letter to Faculty
Presidents Panel Panelists: I. King Jordan Robert R. Davila T. Alan Hurwitz Moderator: Brian Greenwald Tuesday, February 5 12:30 - 1:50 p.m. Elstad Auditorium Watch it online. Board of Trustees Panel Panelists: Philip Bravin Glenn Anderson Pamela Holmes Benjamin Soukup Moderator: T. Alan Hurwitz Wednesday,...
Bridgetta Bourne-Firl Student Activist Jerry Covell Student Activist Greg Hlibok Student Activist Tim Rarus Student Activist Phil Bravin Board Member Elisabeth Zinser Hearing Presidential Candidate Jane Spilman Board chairperson President's Council on Deafness Special Advisory Group Jerry C. Lee Former President Dr. I. King Jordan...
A government major in 1988, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl was heavily involved with college politics and once ran as Jerry Covell's running mate in a bid for Student Body Government leadership. A soft-spoken yet charismatic student and a natural leader, she joined forces with the new SBG...
Deaf Empowerment: Emergence, Struggle, and Rhetoric Katherine A. Jankowski, Gallaudet University Press, Washington, DC ISBN 1-56368-061-0 Deaf President Now! The 1988 Revolution at Gallaudet University by John B. Christiansen and Sharon N. Barnartt, Gallaudet University Press, Washington, DC ISBN 1-56368-035-1 The Week the World Heard...
Video: Watch it online Photos by Matthew Vita