Tidbits for 11.3.05

Royal Visit: Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla is on an official tour in this country for the first time since 1985. That is 20 years ago. However, it is interesting to note that every cities that they planned to visit, all cities are heavily populated with open-minded Liberals & Democrats: New York, Washington DC, New Orleans and San Francisco.

Fantastic Advertisement: I kept on getting this from many friends via the email. The last one came from Zachary, an incredible sweet, good-looking hearing guy who is also fluent in ASL from New York. In this video, the person as a bankteller used to be a student at Gallaudet for some numbers of years. Long story, but that guy is identical twin from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is known that one is gay, one is not. But the truth is that both are, one is out of the closet, one is not. Get it?

As for the comments that some cannot understand the French words on the film, I once took French under Ms. Carole Frankel at Gallaudet and ... yes, Dr. Rachel Hartig. It was fun weathering the explosive antics of Ms. Frankel and lackadaisal dull of Dr. Hartig. It says:

"The world is harder when it's not conceived for you.
From now on, the EDF spaces are accessible for all."

Marriage Is A Form Of Slavery: Years ago, men purchased women from their fathers, they often had a ceremony, similar to today's wedding, that cements the trade of properties to the other. Which is why many feminists often shouted, "Sold! Sold!" at women who got married in churches.

Now, many frantic Xians, conservative pigs and lying Republicans are working hard to mislead the public that to drive the law to ban the same sex marriage is not to discriminate on gays, but to protect the idea of marriage between man and woman. C'mon, don't give me that shit.

It is not the ceremonial that gays are after for. It is about the benefits that comes with marriage that enabled between two persons as one. That means what? It is my right to obtain one if I want it whether if you like it or not.

Ex-Gays Are Not Real: Trust me, many clamored that they were "cured" of homosexuality. Each time, they claimed, I rolled my eyes. There are many persons out there that said they are now straight, but in reality, when nobody is looking, they ran off to a gay bar or an adult bookstore to solicit unsafe, anonymous sex before going home to their wives.

Hell, I see that many times in Union Station's bathroom next to Sbarro Restaurant -- you can see many Congressional aides finishing their day of work and strolling in that bathroom for as long as an hour! Does one has to pee for an hour? Use your common sense. When they are done cumming in someone's mouth, they hit the Metro to their homes and greeted their oblivious wives with a kiss and a hug.

And you wanted to protect that value?

SouthPark Nailed It Well: Last night, the new episode of SouthPark rocks! It talked about gay marriage. Apparently, what happened is that Mr. Garrison, the teacher at the school where Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny attended, had a lover named Mr. Slave. Mr. Garrison decided to undergo the sex-change operation and is now Mrs. Garrison. Mr. Slave does not want a female, he wanted a male. So Mr. Slave found his beau in Big Gay Al and is slated to be married under the same sex legislation bill which needs the Governor to sign on a Saturday. When Mrs. Garrison found out that Mr. Slave is going to marry Big Gay Al, Mrs. Garrison organized the drive to force the Governor to veto the same sex marriage bill to derail the marriage of Mr. Slave and Big Gay Al. Of course, drama ensued.

But of course, the ending has its happy ending -- we always win. Xians always lost. Har har! *snorts*

A Message from Mike Higgins, Gallaudet SBG President: There is an email circulating to the student body at Gallaudet regarding the fiasco surrounding the Homecoming Ball at Hyatt and the goalpost mob.

From: Campus Activities < campus.activities@gallaudet.edu>
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 14:50:58 -0500
Subject: Letter from the Student Body Government President

Fellow Students of Gallaudet,

A few situations have taken place the past few weeks that have affected all of us here at Gallaudet University, either directly or indirectly. I, as the Student Body Government President, feel like I have a responsibility to speak to the community. What you will read here comes right from the heart. I believe that this kind of thing should be said face to face, but because we never have all our students in one place at once, I want to e-mail you all. I am deeply disappointed by the events of the past 10 days.

On Homecoming weekend, we had our Homecoming dance at the Hyatt. Homecoming is supposed to be something fun, and filled with tradition and pride at being a Gallaudet student. The Student Body Government Homecoming Committee put quite a bit of time into the planning of this event to make it a success for everyone involved. Then a group of students just decided that they didn't have to follow the rules of common courtesy. They either forgot or ignored the fact that there were other guests staying at the hotel. The average price for a room in the Hyatt is about $200 dollars a night. If you had paid that much, wouldn?t you want a relaxing stay and a good night's sleep?

I have absolutely no respect for those students who thought the world revolved around them that night. Because of those students, everyone else will have to pay the consequences. Is that fair to the rest of us? Not at all, but that?s how the world works. We were trusted to behave decently at an event off campus, and now we lost that trust. I don't know how we can earn that trust back, but I do know it will take time. Most of us are only Gallaudet students for four or five years, and that's just a short time in our lives. Why would we want to do something that limits the opportunities that we have during this time? The students who come after us will also suffer the consequences. A few students have made the rest of us here at Gallaudet, and also the Deaf community look bad. I hope these individuals understand this.

And then, only a week later, we have this other thing that happened at the football field. Yes, the football team went undefeated and yes, they deserved to celebrate their achievement. However, the way that they chose to do it was not appropriate at all. It doesn't matter that the athletic department had replacement goalposts ready, the thing that everyone is forgetting is how dangerous something like that is. A human life is a priceless thing, and those students involved forgot about that. As the Provost said, only two weeks ago, someone died doing the exact same thing.

I am sure the students at that school thought it would be fun and nothing would happen to anyone. Now, nobody got hurt here and we can consider ourselves lucky. However, what do you think would've happened if someone had been injured, paralyzed or, even worse, killed? We would have had to explain to parents what happened and seen friends grieving. Hardly a fair tradeoff for celebrating an undefeated season in my opinion.

Many of us have had challenges and experiences in life, and those lessons should prepare us for how to react to situations as they pop up. I ask each student here on Kendall Green to think twice before doing something that affects the well-being of not only themselves, but those of others. We need to work together to figure out how to ensure that these kind of situations don?t happen again. Ignoring the situation or getting upset about this solves nothing.

Over the next few days I will be contacting student leaders to ask for their support and ideas. I plead with you to take what we say seriously, because we only want what is best for Gallaudet and our students. Right now I am envisioning a town hall style meeting where everybody can gather and share their thoughts. The most important thing to come out of this is for us to develop a plan to restore trust and respect with our administration, with the Hyatt, and with others who may question the behavior of the Deaf community. I have always been proud of calling myself a Gallaudet student. The past week, I have not been. I want to change that. To do so, we need to work together.

Thanks,

Mike

Any opinion on this? I think it is just cheap words, it was mentioned that the Buff and Blue newspaper already had two articles on civility prior to the fiasco. Apathy rules as usual? All I can do is sit back and eat popcorns.

"I am a fashion god": Can you guess who said that line?

Cheers,

R-

Our Own Jules Injured In DC

One of our blog readers, Jules of Denver, Colorado, recently visited Washington, DC and was struck in a hit and run in DuPont Circle. She was seriously injured, sustained two broken legs, fractured cervical vertebrate and an internal bleeding in cervical vertebrate's veins. Not only that, her glasses were destroyed -- she has 20/250 vision which is legally blind to start with.

She was sent to George Washington University Hospital. There, she was pretty mistreated by the doctors and nurses. They knew that she cannot read the documents without her glasses, but that does not matter to them. Jules has requested her friend to get in touch with me, I was horrified.

Here is the message from Jules via one person:

What is horrifying is how the hospital is treating her. If ever there needed someone on her side who can shake things up, it's now. The first 36 hours she had no interpreter in E.R. at all, despite the fact the Administrator admitted to me they have clergy on staff who sign. Julie was made to sign a living will, organ donation, surgery consent among others, despite the fact she has 250 vision without her glasses which were destroyed in the hit and run. She couldn't read the forms that she was signing and they knew it.

She has spotty at best, access to interpreters, somewhat better now after calling and bellowing ADA at the top of my lungs at the Administrator, because George Washington University hospital allowed their contract with a local Interpreter company expire. Administrator told me it was because they wouldn't return her calls, even though she was unaware when I first spoke to her, that Julie was deaf at all. The interpreter broke protocol and let me know that the situation is that the contract hasnt' been renewed, and the nurses seem to keep "forgetting" to call in an order to a company who has no contract with them, for an interpreter for the following day. At best, she's had access to interp's for a few hours at a time, going as long as a day or two without them.

The hospital administrator told me she had met Jules legal obligation to communication access by providing her with a TTY. However, was shocked to find out that a TTY such as the one she has required a receiving TTY on the other end, as "words come across the screen I've seen it myself."

The hospital Concierge when contacted, didn't want to give a message to a Deaf Patient because and I quote here.. his name was william by the way.. "How can I read it to her if she's Deaf?" I had to explain to the idiot that she could read IF she has her glasses because she's not a moron. His reading skills were not necessary. I'm sure they're fabulous.

The nurse on duty Thursday refused to give a message to her despite the fact that she hadn't had an Interpreter accessable to her all day, because it wasn't "My job". I asked her name, and she hung up on me.

Jules was thrilled to receive a bottle of shampoo and an air matress following said snit fit to the Administrator over her lack of care, on sunday. She didn't know how she was going to get her hair washed, but hey, she had a little bottle of shampoo.

She was originally told she was being shipped to Craig Hospital in the Denver region, on Saturday or Sunday. Jules asked me to make sure they had an interp there for her when she got there, as she wasn't getting good access as it was in D.C. I called Craig Hospital, and they informed me that not only were they not able to accept any new Spinal Cord injury patients as they're full, but they couldn't accept one with a bleed such as hers. It was dangerous to move her. They had no record of her coming in, no notice from D.C. of her condition, and had nothing to evaluate even if they could take her should they have a bed. I gave her the number to the Administrator at GWU, and she then called me back a few minutes later to inform me that the Administration at GWU refused to discuss her with them, denied she was being sent there, and if anyone had any questions about interpreters to ask Julie herself. All this despite the fact I was calling on Julie's behalf at her request simply to make sure she had an Interp available when she got there. A fact both Adminstrators knew well.

Jules has repeatedly asked for intervention on her behalf, I've called everyone I know, I've rattled every cage I can think of. She asked me if I'd rattled your cage yesterday when I spoke to her via an interpreter who actually showed up.

So here I am. Rattling your cage. Don't take my word for it, Talk to Jules if you can get through. They're planning on shipping her out on a commercial flight tomorrow to Colorado, if they're not lying to her again, to Spalding hospital. This is the latest, not the most accurate if history proves correct. She's a bit worried about getting on the plane, because she's been informed on the one hand that if the bleed in her neck clots it could paralyze her or kill her. She was then informed on Sunday by the Dr. that they would give her a shot to counteract the blood thinner that was preventing said clot. She's now being told, remarkably despite there's no additional testing to the contrary, hey they're mistaken, different kinda bleed, must be safe to ship her and have taken her off coumadin. Insurance refuses to cover Medivac, something that all the medical professionals agreed to up to this point, that she needed. So commercial is her only option, and they're pushing her to get up on her feet and walk with a broken neck on two broken legs so she'll qualify for the flight. The commercial airlines apparently won't take her if she's as injured as she is, unless they can show marked improvement in mobility and that she's not "medically fragile". Which hey she is.. seems to be about getting her the hell out of D.C. rather than treating her with respect and ethics.

By the way, GWU says that this is a "rare" occurance, as they "rarely get in deaf" and they RARELY require assistance. Really? You could chunk a rock from the hospital and hit Gallaudet. They've got an active E.R. Suppose Deaf never get injured in D.C.? If so I want to move there! The interpreter who was interp'ing for Jules sunday when I told her this, broke protocol again, and told me that was a lie, they, when they had an active contract, were there on a weekly basis if not daily and was herself horrified by how Jules is being treated.

She's being glared at by medical staff if there's no interp around to "tend to her needs". She's being treated like she's a moron, and she frankly doesn't know which bit of info is true. They seem to be shoving her towards a door, any door and concentrating on getting her the hell out of their hospital rather than concentrating on accurate information and access to communication. She is CONSISTANTLY being treated without knowing what the hell it's for or why other than obviously for her injuries. So she can't protest, she can't really question, because the staff isn't trained to take their damned time and communicate with her.

Jules is being swallowed by politics and incompetence. Cross your fingers she gets to Denver with no more damage than she's already encountered in D.C.

Upon learning of this, I quickly got in touch with a lawyer in Washington, DC that specializes in disability rights. I then called GW Hospital about this.

After getting the brunt of transfers to the proper person, I got ahold of Administrator -- before I could talk about this, she muttered which the VRS Operator interpreted: "Oh, I know who you are talking about!"

I expressed my dismay of what is happening, the administrator said that she is not at liberty to discuss about anyone else because of HIPAA law, but the hospital is working to rectifying the problem. I asked her where Jules is. She mentioned that she was discharged to another hospital in Denver.

I then placed a call to Craig Hospital in Denver -- they hadn't admitted anyone by her name. They also said that George Washington University Hospital has not gotten in touch with them about Jules. I do not know where she is as of now.

It is shame that a prominent hospital located in one of America's largest Deaf Communities continues to fail the Deaf patients when they sought for help.

Of course, I'm still on this case as of today. Trying to locate Jules to make sure that she's OK and get some well-deserved care.

UPDATE: Finally got ahold of Jules in Denver area. She is with her mother at Spalding Hospital. Got her connected with the lawyers in DC. As of now, Jules is doing OK and has an interpreter by her side to guide her through the rehabilitation. IN time, the lawyers will be able to get her consent in order to do what is needed to blast GW Hospital for their mistreatment.

R-

Smell The Burnt Scrapple If You Can!

When the sun arose above the tidewater region of Virginia during my youth, there is something about this particular food that makes me wake up immediately on Saturdays. Knowing Mother's cooking habits, she'd make pancakes and throw in the Scrapple as well.

The smell of Scrapple waffled throughout the Taylor household was simply overwhelming that Mom did not have to wake us up. The burnt smell of Scrapple did the trick, really.

Mom made it clear that each sibling gets 2 or 3 slices. But I often took 3 or 4 because I knew Hedy abhorred it. The taste of it is intoxicating. It kinda melts in your mouth, really. But very fatty and greasy, I guess. Maybe that is why I'm like this today.

Few weeks ago, wandering throughout the supermarket with Jason, who seemed to in tune with food shopping -- I dread food shopping. Hell, I dread shopping about anything else. I preferred to find a gay guy who will do it for me. I'll be content with what one has to offer, really! I saw the box of Scrapple sitting on some shelf, it also mentioned that it is one of the Finest in Pennsylvania. Apparently, Scrapple first originated in Philadelphia region -- I asked Jason if he ever had tried that.

He gave me a dirty look and said, "No."

He was not the first one to think like that. Many gave me the dirty look when I said I liked Scrapple. Anyway, I snatched it -- it is been years since I munched that shit -- and later in the week, I sliced it carefully up as many as 15 thin slices and baked it in the oven.

I was hoping that I could munch few before I head out for an appointment with something that you do not need to know. But that was not to be so I instructed Jason to pull it out of the oven.

When I returned from the appointment, there were only 6 left. I smirked and asked Jason if he liked it, he smiled and said, "Yeah, it tasted good."

Go figure.

It may look hideous but it is so fatty and delicious!

Cheers,

R-

Stuff About Gallaudet Drama

GoalPost Picture? Check this.

Goal Post Picture II? Check this.

Funny Comments: DreamLove4 wrote this on her LJ:

WOW! Last night was the wildest ever I saw! All of Gallaudetains went insane and made everything goes so wild as out of the control! They planned to break the goal post down because the club football team record is 9-0 as the undefended team for Gallaudet University. They did try to break the goal post on Saturday night, but their mission was failed because DPS busted them. They still stubborn to annouce everyone to show up at Clerc # 505 for discussing how to break the goal post down w/o DPS bust or whatever bsbsbs... End-up everyone spread out from Clerc and ran toward the football field. Many students already shook the goal post, i meant thousand of gally students helped to break the goal post. First they did struggled, second the goal post was half to go down. That time, dps actually came quickly to try arresting those gally. DPS did arrest some students but they released them because its not fair to arrest too many students. DPS decided to call DC cops! Thats even worse! lol.... Students still mad that they werent finishing to break the goal post down. Got good idea, so gallyers ordered all dorms expect my sweet north ballard dorm sweet to make a false fire alarm to focus CRE/HRE/RA/SRA cannot handle all of us includes DPS/DC cops cannot, too. So, students can go ahead to finish their goal post down! FINALLY ABT THE TIME! THE FIRST GOAL POST WAS DOWN!!!!! All suddenly, DC cops hit one of my friends and called the ambulance! Oh man! It sounds so HUGE DRAMA! But welcome to college life, only i can say that (winkz)... Know what?? gallyers still go ahead to football field to break other goal post down. That time was from 11pm till about 2-4am. THEIR MISSIONS had successful! LOL! I think this is hiliarious because Gallaudet University football isn't yet to be division 3 and will become division 3 in two years later...

Not Amusing One: Zabrina thought it was such memorable event. Stupid gal.

As Expected: It did not surprise me that I'd find the Valencias of Arizona to be part of this drama at the hotel.

One Source From The Inside: Someone told me a while ago that he was disgusted with a freshman emptying the wastebasket right out of his bedroom window on 3rd floor of Ballard West in the broad daylight. One staff confronted this particular student about this appalling behavior. One student shot back in ASL: ME WRONG? NOTHING. I CAN DO THAT!

The way he said it in front of my friend makes him boiling red. This happened last August or September.

Theory(ies)? A friend warned me that the large majority of students that did this came from Maryland School for the Deaf, Model Secondary School for the Deaf and many mainstreaming programs at public schools. One person wondered if the changes in demographics in student body at Gallaudet contributed to the changing of attitudes as well. This is plausible theory.

After all, I already met a kid from Maryland School for the Deaf who lashed out at me just because I do not know where Spring Ridge is. I'm like, "Am I supposed to know where it is?" Later, I found out that Spring Ridge is the subdivision not far from Frederick where well-to-do deaf families resided. Here is the message to folks who lives in Spring Ridge -- who the fuck cares?

The second theory is that there are more students at Gallaudet that has wealthy parents than ever. Normally, Gallaudet has few students whose families are wealthy, but not today -- one said that there are many numbers of students that rented the rooms with no blink or sweat on their foreheads, mainly because they knew their parents will take care of it eventually.

Another Inane Comments: Pr3ttyinpink (Why is that people tend to make up the inane usernames?!) has something to say about Gallaudet.

DC Police showed up more than 5 times in a span of 3-4 hours
-some dude lit up fireworks and got arrested
-one guy got punched by police and went to hospital
-another dude jumped on a cop car and got chased by cops
ALL dorms' fire alarm was pulled repeatly every 30 minutes
the football team and some volunteers tore down the goal posts because we, for first time in 122 years, was undefeated with 9-0!
It was an interesting RIOT last night.

Unrelated to Gallaudet Fiasco: This is even amusing one, hat tip to Trudy for the link. You know, it did not surprise me that it happened in Waco, Texas!

Cheers,

R-

A Message From ... Dr. Jane K. Fernandes

From: Provost Jane Fernandes
To: Student Body
Subject: Recent Campus Incidents
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:10:37 -0500

Dear Campus Community,

I am writing to inform you about two recent, very serious incidents involving our students. The incidents are related, and I believe they are warnings of deeper issues on campus that we must deal with directly and immediately.

Homecoming

Following the Homecoming Ball on Saturday, October 22 at the Hyatt Hotel, a number of students returned to the rooms they had rented in the hotel that night, and became loud and boisterous. When asked by hotel management on behalf of guests staying in rooms near the students’ rooms to be quieter, the students rudely refused and instead, made more noise and became more obnoxious. They ran up and down the hallways of the hotel banging on doors at random and shouting obscenities. Hotel guests also had to endure several fire alarms during the night which our students set off.

President Jordan and I have received numerous letters, emails, and calls of complaint from Hyatt officials and guests. One man told of how the constant noise and foul language scared his two daughters to such a degree that they couldn’t sleep for days. The hotel, which had to refund thousands of dollars to the guests whose evening was disrupted, has asked the Student Body Government to reimburse this cost. Needless to say, Hyatt officials and guests do not and will not hold Gallaudet University and its students in high regard for a long time.

An investigation to identify the students who pulled the fire alarms is underway. In addition, the University will not support students’ contracting with any hotel for next year’s Homecoming or any other event. Further, serious consideration is being given to revision of policies which would significantly impact the future of off-campus events.

Goalpost Incident

The most recent incident occurred early this morning when a large group of students tore down both goalposts on the football field. Fortunately, none of the students was injured, though the possibility of someone getting hurt, even killed, was very real. You may know that just two weeks ago a 20 year-old student at the University of Minnesota-Morris died in a similar goalpost incident.

I realize that some consider taking down goalposts a harmless prank or a way to celebrate the success of one’s football team. In actuality, such behavior results in destruction of university property—vandalism—and is potentially very dangerous, which is why no college or university sanctions such an activity. At other universities, football players typically condemn the tearing down of goalposts. However, Gallaudet football players and other students gathered early this morning refused to acknowledge the risk involved when it was explained to them by CREs and DPS and MPD officers on the scene. Instead, a mob mentality took over as a few crowd leaders urged everyone to resist instructions to disperse back to their dormitories. Fire alarms were pulled in all the dormitories forcing students outside where they joined the crowd. Such behavior is not only offensive; it is completely out of order.

University officials are aggressively investigating this incident to determine the students responsible for organizing and encouraging the crowd to ignore campus authorities and destroy campus property. Those found guilty will be penalized, and could be suspended or expelled.

These incidents signal to me a significant lack of respect for other people and their property, complete disregard for public safety, and an astonishing absence of common sense and good judgment. We as a community cannot condone this behavior.

The University’s strategic plan includes a goal which says that Gallaudet promotes an environment where everyone is included, valued, and respected. In order to achieve this goal, we must first be aware of what our students are doing and respond with decisive action. We must set clear expectations that reflect this goal—through our words and our actions and reinforce them at every opportunity.

Sincerely,

Jane K. Fernandes
Provost

True Biz!

Since Gallaudet football team did the improbable run to cap the undefeated season, the surprise and shock rolled throughout the Gallaudet community as well as many Deaf communities across the nation -- that the team did it all. Coach Ed Hottle did it in his first year as Head Coach. How many coaches gets to do the undefeated season in the first year of coaching? And Coach Ed Hottle did it.

And the information from Gallaudet has reached me that the students numbered between 80 to 120 has flocked to Hotchkiss Field and pulled down the goal post, perhaps to celebrate the fact that the team went 8-0.

It was mentioned that some students jumped on Department of Public Safety's cars (DPS) as well.

Remember the football team is not in NCAA Division III, but it is making plans to return to Division III by 2007. Next year, I was told that they plan to schedule 5 Division III schools. Either way, Gallaudet went 8-0 this year, that is what it counts the most. Coach Ed Hottle obviously set the tone for the program on the right track. Perhaps, the next challenge for Coach Ed Hottle is to keep the players stay on the team for four years, not two or one.

I'm relieved that nobody at Gallaudet gets whacked down by the goal post like it did in Minnesota. I guess by Monday morning, the faculty would shake their heads, "See? Freshmen lack the civility once again."

What a life. C'est la vie!

Congratulations, Coach Ed Hottle and Gallaudet Gridders.

UPDATE: It was reported that about 350 students participated in taking down not one but two goal posts. It was said that the University is exploring to take action on several students -- they also triggered the fire alarms in all dorms. It brought the DC Police and SWAT team into the university -- several students were arrested.

Cheers,

R-

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