WEEK IN REVIEW
Oct. 15-21
Sunday, October 22, 2006; Page C04
Incoming Gallaudet Chief Stands FirmFernandes Asks Board Backing Amid Protests
Jane K. Fernandes vowed to assume the presidency of Gallaudet University, the nation's premier school for the deaf, even as some board of trustees members urged her to resign and alumni joined protesters critical of her selection.
In an e-mail she sent to trustees, Fernandes urged the board to stand behind her, saying, "The Board needs to make clear to the faculty, students, staff and alumni that they don't run the University, the Board does."
  A Dog's Day "Walk for the Animals," sponsored by the Washington Humane Society and U.S. Humane Society, raised funds to help end pet homelessness. (By Michael Robinson Chavez -- The Washington Post) |
The standoff at the campus in Northeast Washington started in the spring but flared up this month after students returned to campus. Protesters who oppose Fernandes becoming president in January say she lacks management skills and was chosen in a truncated search slanted in her favor. Fernandes said she is a lightning rod for changes in deaf culture that have been heightened by the popularity of cochlear implants, enabling many deaf children to attend mainstream schools and speak.
Early Youth Curfew Fades Into the NightCouncil Strips Bill, Passes Revised Crime Bill
The D.C. Council approved a revised emergency crime bill that allocates money for police overtime, surveillance cameras and youth programs.
But the bill passed Wednesday was just as notable for what it did not contain -- an extension of early curfew hours. As a result, the youth curfew has returned to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on weekends.
The crime package replaced a similar 90-day measure that expired after being adopted in July amid a surge in homicides, robberies and assaults. The crime rate has gone down since, but there were seven homicides in the District in the first 10 days of this month.
Anemic College Graduation Rate FoundReport Places Most of the Blame on D.C. Schools
A report commissioned by city and school officials said that 9 percent of D.C. public school freshmen will complete college within five years of graduating from high school, a figure far below the national average.
The report predicts that nine of 10 will be stuck in low-paying jobs for lack of higher education and largely blames the problem on the schools for failing to prepare them.
School system officials said the report, called "Double the Numbers for College Success: A Call to Action for the District of Columbia," will spur them to expand dropout prevention efforts and strengthen academics. They say they hope to eventually double the number of college graduates coming from D.C. public schools.
The Joke's on WilliamsMayor Is Roasted as His Term Winds Down
Bald jokes, bow-tie jokes and travel jokes were in abundance Wednesday night at a roast in honor of Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), who is in the final lap of his eight-year run as mayor.
Williams sat on the stage rubbing his bald pate at the roast, which was part of a fundraiser for Southeastern University.
He consented to be the butt of their humor on one condition: "Make it funny."
A Slice of Knowledge From Big AppleFenty Visits New York to Learn From Its Mayor
The presumed next mayor, council member Adrian M. Fenty, took a trip Monday to the Big Apple to speak with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and do some brainstorming about how to run a big city.
Subjects ranged from macro to micro: homeland security and procurement, policing and contracts. But near the top of the agenda was a discussion of public education.
Halfway through the day, Fenty (D-Ward 4) announced that he expects to offer the D.C. Council a plan that would give him control of the District's public schools, based largely on the New York model. Bloomberg (R) took over New York's schools in 2002 and imposed a wide range of changes.
But Bloomberg sounded a note of caution to the eager Fenty.
"He doesn't know what can't be done," Bloomberg said. "He'll have his disappointments and his rocky periods going forward. But he's going to try."
