Gallaudet Students Talk With Officials, Continue Protest

Gallaudet University students opposed to the school's incoming president continued to occupy a classroom building yesterday, meeting with university officials but apparently making little progress toward a resolution.

Hundreds of students took over Hall Memorial Building on Thursday night, demanding that the school reopen the presidential search that led to the appointment of Jane K. Fernandes in May. Yesterday afternoon, a handful of protesters still stood guard at the building's door while, inside, dozens of students engaged in a sign-language discussion with school officials.

"It seems that the administration is negotiating and hoping that we'll open school on Monday," Ryan Commerson, a graduate student, said through an interpreter. Asked whether that is likely to happen, Commerson said no.

Commerson said protesters were trying to get help from their congressional representatives; more than two-thirds of the school's budget comes from Congress. They say Fernandes will be an ineffective leader, and they fault the search process for not including more ethnically diverse candidates.

"We will continue as long as it takes Congress to intervene," Commerson said.

Although protesters said there have been rumors that they will be forcibly ejected from the building by police, Mercy Coogan, a spokeswoman for Gallaudet, said the university had no such plans.

"We're still working with the students, still working hard to produce a peaceful resolution," she said.