Gallaudet Closed for a Second Day

Yesterday was another topsy-turvy day at Gallaudet, with professor Barbara Stock sitting on a garbage bag in the grass, watching through the iron fence for students who did not come to her 9 a.m. class.

The football players who have become the gatekeepers since deciding to shut the school down allowed voting faculty members in at 11 a.m. for a meeting, shepherding them through campus in a group so they could not sneak to their offices.

At midafternoon, faculty worried about police actions held an impromptu debate with the crowd of students, trying to persuade them to move their protest inside and reopen the campus. When students refused, faculty members moved their meeting to the front lawn, now dotted with dozens of tents.

Students practiced locking arms and going limp, ready to be dragged out by police. Protest leader Ryan Commerson told them they could demand an interpreter, but they must not resist or even touch an officer in any way -- even though touch is an important way to get someone's attention in deaf culture.

"I know no one wants this," said Coogan, the university spokeswoman, looking at the white police motorcycles. To outsiders, she said, it might seem hard to understand why administrators had not taken action to restore order.

For the deaf community, she said, "it would take so long to recover."

In 1990, a deaf student died after being restrained by campus police.

Yesterday afternoon, Jordan arrived with a police officer and explained to the crowd that students have a right to protest, but not to stop education.

D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said his officers are at the school to monitor the situation, not make arrests. "This is a Gallaudet problem," he said. "We're not here to take it over unless there is property damage or if someone's personal safety is in danger. Hopefully, they can talk to each other and get the matter resolved."

Staff writers David A. Fahrenthold and Allison Klein contributed to this report.