Classes were scheduled to resume Monday at the nation's only liberal arts university for the deaf and hearing-impaired after more than 100 demonstrators were arrested in a protest over its incoming president.
Gallaudet University had been virtually shut down since Wednesday, when students formed human chains at the gates into campus as they demanded the resignation of Jane K. Fernandes, who was appointed in the spring to succeed outgoing President I. King Jordan in January.
Those opposed to Fernandes' presidency say she isn't open to different points of view and that the selection process did not reflect the student body's diversity.
Fernandes, however, has said some people do not consider her "deaf enough" to be president — a characterization that some students have rejected. Fernandes was born deaf but grew up speaking and did not learn American Sign Language, the preferred method of communicating at Gallaudet, until she was 23.
Students continued to block the campus' main gate Saturday. A D.C. police spokeswoman said 133 students were arrested Friday night after ignoring university warnings not to block entrances to a school buildings.
"We want to get this university back in business," Gallaudet spokeswoman Mercy Coogan said Saturday. "Dr. Jordan, more than anything, didn't want arrests to happen. Protesters themselves made that decision."
Those arrested went limp and were carried to a police van. The team of officers making the arrests then repeated the process. After each arrest, another protester took the empty place on the blockade line.
District of Columbia police took protesters to a holding center, where they were offered a choice of paying a $50 fine or receiving a citation, which requires a court appearance.
The protesters want the presidential search process reopened and a promise that they will not face retaliation.
"Our goal is to not allow the university to reopen until our two demands are met," said LaToya Plummer, 25, a junior from Suitland, Md.
In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Saturday, Fernandes wrote that while American Sign Language is fundamental to the university, Gallaudet must work to include a broad spectrum of deaf people.
"By welcoming and including the diverse spectrum of deaf people, by respecting and appreciating our differences, we strengthen our core," she wrote.
