Fremont, California, March 24, 2004 – approximately 160-200 plus Deaf and Hard of Hearing people alongside with hearing students showed up to stage a rally at Ohlone Community College in Fremont, CA. Keynote speakers gathered from the Deaf Communities around the bay area and from out of state, most notably 1988 Deaf President Now (DPN) student leaders Greg Hlibok and Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, along with National Association of the Deaf (NAD) President Andy Lange. The theme of the rally was “Deaf Dean Always,” which reflected the Deaf Community’s desire for Ohlone Community College to strongly consider a qualified Deaf Dean to replace the existing Deaf Dean Ron Burdett who announced his retirement last December 2003.

Andy Lange, NAD President, exclaiming his support for a Deaf Dean Always!

Mr. Ron Burdett is the only Deaf Dean in a community college in the United States. The distinct possibility that he would be replaced by a hearing person created uproar with the deaf community. Three Ohlone Student leaders surfaced to solicit the help of the deaf community leaders in starting the “Deaf Dean Always Movement.” The three Ohlone College Student leaders Jeremy Beaver, Megan Malzkuhn, and Steve Vollmar built the momentum to the point where the news media paraded to Ohlone College asking to interview all those involved, especially the local newspapers “The Argus,” Ohlone College’s “The Monitor,” and the local ABC T.V. News.

Mr. Burdett, the current Deaf dean first came aboard as the Ohlone College Deaf Center’s (OCDC) Coordinator in 1973 and his status continued until 1988. In the fall of 1988, he was accepted as the Division Director, a steppingstone to the Dean position. In 1998 he officially became the first Deaf dean at Ohlone College, and he has been serving since and announced his retirement as of this May.

Bridgetta Bourne-Firl says NO WAY!

Ohlone Community College in Fremont is situated in Northern California up in the Ohlone hills. It is located near California School for the Deaf where some of the current staff had one point or another attended Ohlone College or taught there. Fremont is home to roughly 6000-7000 Deaf residents according to the Mayor’s office. Ohlone College has 169 Deaf and Hard of Hearing students currently registered, in addition to the Interpreter Training Program students and the hearing students taking ASL, Deaf Education, and Deaf Culture classes, and the rest are students of other disabilities.

The “Deaf Dean Always” rally brought many students, faculty-staff, and parents together. Many people held signs and signed/chanted “Deaf Dean Always.” Some signs read “Deaf Dean or BUST,” and “Deaf MUST.” The rally kicked off with David Eberwein, Deaf Counseling Advocacy and Referral Agency (DCARA) Board President, who was first to speak. Eberwein echoed Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” with a personal touch by adding that “Our children will never see each other criticize one another again,” explaining that deaf children are dissuaded from believing in each other because the general deaf children consensus was that they “can’t” do it. This rally is in part to put a stop to it and to increase deaf morale and belief that any qualified deaf person can fill in the higher-up positions of Deans, Presidents, Superintendents, Lawyers, Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacists, and Law Enforcement positions. It’s all about being a role model to Deaf children and to foster dreams of being successful in the hearing world.”

Shea Rasmus sharing her youthful words of wisdom!

Next in line of speakers was a 12-year-old female student, Shea Rasmus, from CSDF. She walked up to the podium and signed “I would not want to enroll in a college with a Deaf program that has no deaf dean because it would make my path fruitless, and I would not feel comfortable investing my future by putting time into my studies in a place void of top deaf leadership.” She drew one of the loudest cheers.

Former student leader of the DPN protest, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, pointed out that “According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, there are 110 community colleges in California. Each college has an average of five deans and there are about 550 dean positions in the state of California alone (not including the rest of the United States); We are asking just this one position to be filled with a Deaf person in a department that provides courses related to Deafness, related to the language of ASL.”

Bourne-Firl continued to justify, “Is it discriminatory to try to hire a Deaf person to head that very department? The Deaf students and communities don’t think so. If there were a Women’s Studies Department, would a college choose a male dean? Absolutely not! The NFL has an agenda to increase the hiring pool of African-Americans to hold Head coaching positions. Is that Discriminatory? NO! It’s only fair, since most NFL coaches are white.”

Greg Hlibok voices his support for the same cause he fought for in 1988’s DPN Movement at Gallaudet.

The other DPN Student leader and former SBG President of Gallaudet University, Greg Hlibok, stepped in to remind the rally-goers that “Deaf people in the past have fought for what we have nowadays-it’s all about deaf empowerment. Who will speak for us if no one from us is up there? Will they be better able to empower us? Look out for us? And in some occasion-speak for us?”

To further the point, Joey Baer, Content Area Curriculum Teacher Specialist at CSDF, presented that “In Deaf Culture, we always get together and protect each other’s rights. As a faculty sponsor for “Deaf Voice,” (a new SBG organization for Ohlone Deaf students) and after talking with many students, I’m convinced that students want a Deaf Dean. We do believe the hearing and the Deaf should work together in any situation. Yes we support that, however, the new Dean has to be a deaf individual who will be able to connect with Deaf students 100%.”

Other Deaf people from the audience were given an opportunity to react to the speakers and the rally overall. Dee Kennedy, Curriculum and Media Services Director at CSDF, says, “The rally was wonderful, it surpassed my expectations. Our leaders came and delivered important messages. I was especially gratified by the fact that the Ohlone President and some of the people serving on the Interview Panel came and heard our messages. I hope they listened as well.”

The rally was wrapped up with a joint statement released by the three Ohlone Deaf student activists Beaver, Malzkuhn, and Vollmar, “We are not anti-hearing. We are just trying to preserve the principle that Deaf people do not get the same level of opportunities that are open to others. We are merely trying to preserve what the role the Dean of the Deaf Services means to the deaf students at Ohlone. We believe that the opportunities lie within another Deaf person to make a difference for the Deaf students of Ohlone. Ohlone owes that much to us.”

All in all, they resounded that, “A Deaf Dean possesses the best understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic background of Deaf/disabled personnel and students. The Deaf Dean position is a beacon of hope for all Deaf and disabled people. Two things bind us as a cultural group: We are Deaf and use ASL, and we are the lifeblood of the Ohlone College Deaf Center; we need a Deaf Dean!”

In response to the rally, the Ohlone College Deaf Center’s webpage stated clearly that, “The OCDC is designed to open doors to educational and occupational opportunities for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.” The majority of the students voiced their hope that history will take place and set a precedent for many other Deaf Deans to step in and to carry the torch for others to pick up where it was left off.

Diana Herron, Joey Baer, and David Eberwein- core planners for the rally