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Students speak out against deaf education cuts

January 27, 2010

From left, Melissa Rich, Michigan Deaf Association Representative and Freida Morrison, Michigan School for the Deaf Alumni Association president, use sign language to signify clapping during a protest against a proposal to discontinue American Sign Language courses at MSU held Dec. 4 outside the Administration Building.

Photo by Hannah Engelson | The State News

The inboxes of university administrators could soon be filled with thousands of e-mails containing one sentence, “Please keep MSU’s Deaf Education Program for our deaf children who use ASL in Michigan.”

Launched by students to save the Deaf Education Program, the campaign comes about three months after MSU officials announced the program faces discontinuation.

The e-mails are directed at university officials including MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, MSU Provost Kim Wilcox and a member of the MSU Board of Trustees, said communication junior Katie Hosmer, who started the campaign.

“Something we’ve said is, ‘You know, if nothing else, we want to go out with a bang,’” she said.

“We are not quite sure if people understood at first how many people did support this and how determined we are to fight.”

Under a moratorium approved Dec. 14 by Wilcox, no new students are being admitted into the Deaf Education Program.

The program is one of 22 programs, including American studies, retailing and music therapy, slated for potential discontinuation.

Wilcox referred questions regarding the moratoriums to Linda Stanford, associate provost for academic services.

Stanford said the decisions came after “a lot of thinking” and were not made lightly.

A moratorium is a first step toward program discontinuation, but can be reversed, Stanford said.

“What it really does is close the front door so no one new can be admitted to the program,” Stanford said.

“That then gives time to manage resources and have conversations … so we can say ‘This is what we really want to do,’ ‘Do we have the resources we need?’ ‘How are we going to move the students through the program and be fair to them?’”

In response to the announcement, students in the Deaf Education Program created a petition, organized a Dec. 4 rally and attended the December Board of Trustees meeting to voice concerns, said deaf education sophomore Katie Sweers, who said she e-mailed officials as soon as she heard about the campaign.

“It’s our way of saying that, even though we haven’t heard a lot from administrators about if they’re making a decision to change what they’ve decided to do, this is important and we want you to know where we stand,” Sweers said. “We need this program, especially in Michigan. There’s no other one like it.”

Hosmer said students have not heard from administrators regarding the program’s future since a November e-mail announcing its potential discontinuation.

The e-mail campaign stems partly from students’ concern about not knowing where the program stands, she said.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Hosmer said.

“I have no idea if they’re reconsidering or if the decision has been made. We’re really in the dark here.”

Stanford said the viewpoints of students and others affected by the cuts are important and have been taken into consideration by the provost. In some cases, she said, the cuts are not as difficult or forbidding as they might seem.

“It’s important to understand that what the university is doing right now — it’s not just budget cuts but it’s also, as the provost and president have made clear, positioning ourselves for the future,” Stanford said.

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