Deaf President Now! (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[orchestral flourish unfolds]

[chalk scuffing]

[horns honking]

[sirens blaring]

[bottle fizzes]

[sirens wailing]

[interviewer] Ready?

[Greg] I don't see the interpreter.

[Bridgetta] What's the microphone for?

[engines roaring]

[Jerry] I usually sign about right here.

Yep, about right here.

But I move a lot when I get emotional.

[wheels clattering]

[metallic screeching]

[Tim] I think it's probably better

if I use my glasses.

Okay.

I think I can be okay without them.

[interviewer] Everybody ready?

Yes! Finally!

I have a story to tell.

[vehicle roars past]

[distant sirens wailing]

[abrupt silence]

[Jerry] I was in my girlfriend's room.

All of a sudden...

the lights started flickering...

[thudding reverberates]

...and I could feel a vibration.

Someone was kicking at the door...

which means "Hurry up, hurry up!"

So I went quickly to the door...

and went downstairs

to the entrance of the campus.

[crowd chanting]

[percussive music]

[reporter] We're going live

to Gallaudet University,

where students are protesting

because they want a say

in their school's future.

A new president is about to be named

and the students want

one of their own at the top.

[abrupt silence]

[horn honks]

[Greg] I was on my way back from KFC.

Eating from the bag while driving.

[percussive music]

I was also signing with the other hand,

but I was dating a hearing girl,

and she was freaking out.

She was like, "Deaf driver, oh gosh!

Eyes on the road."

I'm like, "Chill."

[muffled thump reverberating]

[Greg] When I got to campus...

[muffled thumps reverberating]

...people were banging

on the hood of my car.

[reporter] Students here have been

demonstrating and waiting all day

outside the gates of Gallaudet University,

while inside the board of trustees

have been meeting.

Now, if students get their way,

the university is going to have

its first Deaf president

in 124 years.

[abrupt silence]

So I was walking down the hill,

and I saw tons of people.

[crowd cheering]

There was all this excitement in the air.

And I thought to myself,

"They're going to pick a Deaf person."

[reporter] Gallaudet is the only

university for the Deaf in the world,

and has never had a non-hearing

president in its 124-year history.

[reporter 2] In 1864,

Abraham Lincoln signed a law

founding the first college

in the world for Deaf students.

It's the right time. Come on.

[crowd clamoring]

[electronic music]

Someone had brought a box over.

It was a bunch of flyers.

Someone gave me a piece of paper.

I saw the paper...

picked it up, read it.

[abrupt silence]

[crowd shouting]

See, I told you.

Hearing people.

I looked around and all of a sudden...

[crowd shouting]

[reporter] There's a firestorm

this evening at Gallaudet University.

The school's board of trustees

bypassed two Deaf candidates

for the school's presidency...

in favor of a woman who can hear.

I refuse to accept this.

[reporter 2] Among the finalists,

two Deaf men,

Harvey Corson and I. King Jordan,

Dean of Gallaudet's College

of Arts and Sciences.

The controversy centers

around the third candidate,

a hearing woman, Elisabeth Zinser.

[Jerry] It was impossible

that they chose hearing, not Deaf.

Oh, they were so angry.

They felt insulted.

[Greg] They wanted violence.

My first thought was, "control."

They were totally out of control,

completely out of hand.

[interviewer] I look

at footage of you then,

and you're pretty f*cking cool.

I was a lot thinner.

[crowd jeering]

And so I stood up and I said,

"Hey everyone, sit down."

And everyone did.

[crowd murmuring]

I am as insulted as you all

when they tell us that Deaf people

are not qualified!

[crowd cheering]

[interviewer] I see an

individual who is fired up...

and ready to throw down.

Were you born that way?

[Jerry] To other people,

I was an innocent angel,

but my parents were like, "Uh, no."

I was a little demon from hell.

[interviewer] Let me clarify,

you're not an angel?

Well, I have a little bit of a halo,

but it's tarnished a little.

It's a little crooked.

My father was

the best dental lab technician around.

A lot of people went

there because of my dad,

but they had no idea that he was Deaf.

The lab technicians would say,

"Oh, that's really embarrassing

to have this Deaf person work with us."

so they put him in the basement.

And that's where he would work every day.

He was never allowed to sit upstairs.

[interviewer] Was he bitter?

[Jerry] Deaf people were

used to that back then.

They just took it.

But I'm not going to accept that.

[rhythmic music]

How upset are you?

[crowd roars]

How upset?

[crowd roars deafeningly]

Better.

That's not gonna happen to me.

The world can't stop us!

[crowd cheers]

[reporter] This controversy

has shined a spotlight

on a group of people who have been

used to doing their business

without the glare of publicity:

the board of trustees

at Gallaudet University.

I asked them

to send one person to explain to us,

and they said, "We're busy."

[student] Bullshit!

[Bridgetta] The board members,

they didn't want to have

a public confrontation,

which means we're nothing to them.

That's their attitude.

So, we were like, "Where's the board?

Where is the board? Where?"

We wanna know why!

We want an explanation!

But I know where

the board of trustees are.

[vigorous music]

[reporter] Angry students

marched to the Mayflower Hotel

where some of the board of

trustees were scheduled to dine.

[Jerry] I was in the front.

I led everyone.

I guess the students just chose me.

[Greg] I was the student body president,

but I was inaugurated

just a few days before.

We can't let that happen! We can't! Can't!

So I was pushed into the water

without knowing how to swim.

Feels like a slap in our face.

[Greg] A lot of people

started coming up to me.

Like I'm responsible.

They're looking at me as the guide, like,

"Guide me. What's next?"

[interviewer] Who was in charge?

I was.

[students shouting]

[crowd jeering]

The board is on the 3rd floor.

You know what they are doing?

They're sitting around

eating this nice meal,

making fun of the students.

Don't let the board leave

without addressing us.

[all yelling]

[crowd clamoring distantly]

[reporter] Students now have their eye

on the chairman of the board of trustees,

Jane Bassett Spilman.

[crowd roaring distantly]

Ugh, that woman.

[reporter] There's a lot of anger,

and we still don't understand,

and it seems to me

we should have chosen a Deaf president.

[Jerry] She was the epitome

of snobbery and wealth.

Dressed in her Admiralty clothing.

[reporter] You are

representing the Deaf nation.

[crowd chanting]

[Bridgetta] It was chaotic.

Everybody was signing at the same time.

[shouting intensifies]

[Bridgetta] We needed crowd control.

[deep thud reverberates]

[deep thud]

[crowd shouting angrily]

According to DC police,

you'll be arrested.

It's your decision.

[Bridgetta] So I decided

to take over the stage.

The police feel the crowd is too close.

I need you to give us space.

[deep rhythmic thudding]

I hear nothing.

I am totally deaf...

[thudding continues faintly]

...but I have rhythm in me.

I know how to follow a beat.

[rhythmic thudding intensifies]

You can move and follow music

because you can feel it.

["Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil]

[Bridgetta] In high school,

I was a cheerleader.

[music abruptly stops,

rhythmic thuds]

[music resumes] Hey Mickey

Oh, Mickey you're so fine

You're so fine, you blow my mind

Hey Mickey...

We had a Pac-Man dance.

Oh, Mickey you're so fine

You're so fine, you blow my mind...

There's a joke within our community.

If you get in the car

and you turn on the radio

and we're like, "Yeah, music, yeah..."

and it's the news.

[interviewer laughs]

["Hey Mickey" continues]

[Bridgetta] Movement and rhythm...

is everything.

["Hey Mickey" drumbeat]

Spilman out! Spilman out!

Spilman out!

[Bridgetta] I realized

what we needed was rhythm

to keep everyone on the same beat.

Spilman out!

[crowd chanting continues]

[chanting dissipates]

You guys are successful.

The board will listen to you now.

[crowd cheering]

[Jerry] So Spilman agreed

to talk to the students.

And the police say they'll be around her,

they'll protect her.

I came to say, my name

is Jane Bassett Spilman.

I'm chairman of the board

of trustees at Gallaudet.

[young Tim] Excuse me, Jane.

Excuse me, we are not satisfied

with the decision

that you've recently made.

Now, you owe them an explanation...

[Tim] When I met with Spilman,

I was angry.

We had Deaf candidates.

We were ready for it.

They were good candidates.

Two to one.

Two Deaf candidates to one hearing.

[young Tim] And I think that they

should be owed an explanation by you.

Now, Tim, what you wanted me to do

was to come down here

and talk to these people.

[Tim] She was very prim and proper.

[Spilman] You wanted me

to talk to the students.

Like a stereotypical lady from England.

Like...

if you're having a tea party.

Let me do something.

Let's chat a minute first

and then let's see if we can't talk

about that in a minute, okay?

[Spilman] Now, I think it's about time

for you all to maybe go back to Gallaudet,

and let's have a quiet evening...

- [student] Bullshit!

- [crowd jeering]

Calm down.

[student] I have a question.

I have a question.

Can you sign? Can you sign?

- [Spilman] No, I do not...

- [crowd roars]

She had no understanding

of anything related to Deaf people.

Nothing.

[Spilman] All right.

[young Tim] Jane, if I could

just say something...

So I asked, "Why?

Why did you appoint Zinser?"

And then she said,

"Deaf people are not ready to function

in a hearing world."

What?

Did she actually say that?

She said that?

And the interpreter said,

"You heard it right."

[crowd shouting]

[Greg] We wanted to scream out.

[muffled shouting]

But how do you scream out...

in our language?

["Fight the Power" by Public Enemy]

[news anchor] Their world may be silent,

but their anger tonight

is loud and clear.

I am so damn angry

that this makes me sick.

[news anchor 2] We talk to Dr. Zinser

from her home in Greensboro.

[Zinser] I would want them to know

that I am privileged

to serve as president

of that great university.

We've waited for 124 years.

Why, why? Hearing, why?

I just started burning inside.

As you can see behind me,

several hundred Gallaudet

students have started to gather

inside the campus gym.

[Zinser] Having said that,

I don't think that we can look

at one characteristic of an individual,

Deaf or hearing,

as being, in and of itself,

a qualification for a position.

We've got to fight the powers that be

[crowd roaring]

[Greg] We got together in a group,

in a small circle, discussing,

"What do we do next?"

Something must be done,

but what?

Should we have a rally tomorrow or not?

Should we do this?

No, we shouldn't do that.

[interviewer] So what did you do?

Fight the power...

We will make many people pissed off.

[music abruptly stops]

[deep bass rumbling]

[music resumes] Fight the power

Which store?

Go to the one on Florida Street.

[Tim] It wasn't just about

getting a Deaf president.

It was more than that.

Hearing people always push us down.

["Fight the Power" continues]

[reporter] Students claim

the board of trustees

simply is prejudiced against Deaf people.

Go now!

[Jerry] The time was now to light a match.

Fight the power...

Lynda, a question before you go:

Do the students have any chance at all

of turning the decision around?

According to board president Spilman

this is a final decision.

They're not going to change their minds.

Fight the power...

[Greg] The fire ignited.

[student] It's now or never.

We want it now.

We want a Deaf president now.

Fight the power

We've got to fight the powers that b...

[abrupt silence]

[faint electronic beeping]

[Tim] My grandfather called me

on the TTY.

A machine that we use to make phone calls.

GA means "go ahead,

it's your turn to start typing."

But he doesn't type very fast.

[TTY beeps and keys clack]

My grandfather said...

Oh, Lord.

He didn't say it,

but I know what he was thinking.

Just accept it.

Keep your head down.

My parents divorced

when I was six years old.

My father figure, really,

was my grandfather.

He went to Columbia University

in the 1930s.

There was no interpreter.

He had to lip-read,

but he graduated

with three different degrees.

So he had very high expectations of me.

[reflective music]

If we were signing out in public,

he didn't like it.

He would always tell me,

"Sign in, like, an 18-inch box.

Nothing bigger."

And so I was like, "Okay, let me slowly,

gradually sign bigger and bigger."

That was like a death wish.

He would say, "It's very important

that you fit in to the hearing world."

I was thinking, "Why?

I shouldn't have to fit in

to the hearing world.

I have my own world."

[birds cawing]

[reporter] On an age

sometimes driven by angry,

noisy demonstrations...

their protest, like their world,

was largely one of eerie silence.

[protesters cheering]

[reporter] The charge made by students

at Gallaudet University for the Deaf

is that their school administration

refuses to listen.

And so the students

have closed the school down.

[rhythmic music]

We locked all the gates.

[Tim] And students used buses...

to block any entrance to the campus.

[student] Who are you? Are you security?

Do you work here? Are you staff?

It's almost like in the military,

you have, like, full deployment.

You set out your base.

[reporter] Are the students prepared

to continue blocking the entrance?

That's for sure.

We'd give up our soul

in order to get a Deaf president.

We were the law of the land.

[spirited cheering]

[news anchor] Students are

particularly incensed

by the university trustees'

Chairman Jane Bassett Spilman...

who defended the selection of a president

who doesn't know sign language, saying,

"Deaf people are not ready to function

in the hearing world."

[Spilman] That erroneous statement,

allegedly...

"Deaf people cannot function

in the hearing world,"

which is patently untrue.

- [interviewer] You didn't say that?

- I did not say that.

I was misinterpreted, misrepresented.

What did you say?

Well, I was working

through an interpreter, of course.

And it was... [laughs]

very unique circumstances

with the helicopters overhead

and the thousand students

outside of the window

screaming and yelling.

It was a wild time.

And so, what I said,

I cannot tell you what I said,

because I don't remember with all of that.

- You have a home in Bassett, Virginia.

- Three.

[interviewer] Well, you had

three homes to run to,

to hide from all this.

Right.

[interviewer] Did you ever think,

"Let me get out of here"?

Not one time.

I'm the kind of person that believes...

that you set your course

of what you think is right...

and come hell or high water,

you stick by that course.

[crowd] We want a Deaf president now!

We want a Deaf president now!

We want a Deaf president now!

[administrator] The board

is very pleased to meet with you

with one consideration, that's all,

that you open the campus.

[crowd] No!

[young Tim] Deaf president first,

then we will open the campus.

[interviewer] So the board

says they won't meet

unless you open the campus.

Yeah, that's what they said.

- [administrator] Can I finish?

- [crowd jeering]

[young Tim] No.

[administrator] Then I guess

there's no discussion. Bye.

If you don't wanna negotiate...

[interviewer] So what did you say?

[administrator] All they're asking

is that you open the campus

- during that meeting.

- [crowd jeering]

[news anchor] The students rejected

a trustee's offer to meet with them

if students allowed Gallaudet to reopen.

[news anchor 2]

Many buildings were empty.

The chalkboards in one classroom

told the story.

"No classes today," it said,

calling anyone who attended a traitor.

[Jerry] But on that Monday,

a lot of students, they were resistant.

They didn't want to get in trouble.

They were scared

it was gonna hurt their grades.

And some students didn't believe

a Deaf person could do it.

I'd be like explaining to them, you know,

"We need to convince them."

And they said, "No, I don't think

we can have a Deaf president.

We can't do that."

[Greg] That was in the back of my mind.

I was worried sick.

I didn't show it,

but I felt it in my stomach.

[interviewer] Were you scared?

Ha ha ha.

No.

[indistinct chatter]

[man in suit] Who is the man

in charge of the keys?

[administrator] If there's

a student spokesperson,

they'll listen more to that.

Who's the...

Who's the spokesperson?

[rhythmic music]

[Greg] And that's when

we decided that we needed

to pick a leader.

[young Tim] Okay. Now, it's time

for us here to pick a Deaf president...

[interviewer] Describe Tim.

Very enthusiastic, energetic.

We would like Spilman

removed as the chair of the board.

[Bridgetta] It was all men.

And I kept forcing myself to jump in

because I had to.

[young Bridgetta]

Spilman maybe has finances...

[interviewer]

How would you describe Bridgetta?

[young Bridgetta] ...but she doesn't

really have a heart for Deaf people.

Strong.

[exhales]

[Tim] A woman's liberal.

Bridgetta would always

assert her "women's issues."

Jerry and the other people

in the class, they were like,

"Oh, Bridgetta's always bringing up

women's rights, women's rights."

I support women, I'm a feminist.

Somebody said, "If there's one lifeboat

that's full of Deaf men,

or one lifeboat full of hearing women,

which one would you jump into?"

I support a female president

but Deaf comes first.

[interviewer] Describe Jerry.

[rhythmic music]

The time is now.

Enough with the oppression!

He was so emotional. Gets mad easily.

Punching against the wall

instead of finding the key

to open the door.

Greg, on the other hand...

was the extreme opposite.

He was more rational.

[interviewer] What kind of person is Greg?

You really want to get into that?

[interviewer] Yeah.

[Jerry] Greg is very quiet.

He just signs small.

[Jerry] He doesn't show

much emotion at all.

He's not really outspoken like me.

My energy flies from my hands

out to other people.

[Jerry] I can rouse up an audience.

[crowd cheering enthusiastically]

And then we all agreed

that Greg Hlibok would be the leader.

We were all in agreement. No question.

I felt that he was not the right person.

[news anchor] Greg Hlibok was

an ordinary engineering student

at Gallaudet University.

He received the armband

that now symbolizes their cause.

He is the leader of a movement.

[crowd cheers]

[young Greg] ...live with this until we get...

until we get it.

I felt it was given to someone

who really didn't know the difference

between a hole in the floor

and their as*h*le.

[indistinct chatter]

[Tim] But we knew we would lose

without a plan.

I'm not the one making decisions,

I'm only controlling the meeting,

and that's it.

Meaning I will decide who speaks.

[Tim] So we met with a lot of faculty,

staff, alumni

who had tried for years

to get a Deaf president.

And so they were there

to advise the students.

So, what's next?

What do you students plan to do?

And so we came up with four demands. Four.

Number one... a Deaf president.

We'll do nothing until

we have a Deaf president.

Two... Spilman resigns from the board.

Three... fifty-one percent of the board

must be Deaf.

And they strongly suggested

adding a fourth demand:

no reprisals.

So the students felt safer to be involved.

We will continue to push through

until the demands are met.

That's what the students want, right?

[Bridgetta] But most important,

we can't be divided.

We have to stay together,

stick together, stay strong.

Open up this-this gate here.

There'll be no problem.

Just open up this gate.

We want this gate open.

[young Jerry] Why should we?

[Jerry] But then they tried to look

for another way to get into the campus.

They secretly cut the fence...

and they got through.

And I can assume they were like,

"Oh, we got in."

Then they realized

we had locked those offices as well.

[administrator] Can you stop that please?

[student] No. Keep rolling.

I'm trying to negotiate.

Can we just talk for a second?

[Jerry] But then we were informed

that Spilman and the board

would be willing to talk with us.

There's no texting.

So how we get all the students together...

we pull all the fire alarms.

And everyone would know

to go outside.

[reflective music]

[Greg] I remember looking out the window,

and I could just see the sea of people.

I mean hundreds, all over the fields,

waiting for Spilman.

[interviewer] In that moment,

what did Gallaudet mean to you?

That's real interesting.

I feel like crying.

[scattered distant cheers]

[Jerry] Think about it here.

I'm an alien here.

You're all hearing.

[scattered cheers, whooping]

But when I came into Gallaudet...

it's home. It's my world.

[reflective music continues]

[Greg] When I went to Gallaudet

as a freshman,

it was a mecca.

There's students from all walks of life

who come to Gallaudet,

and they find each other.

[Bridgetta] International students come

from across the world to come here.

Because there's only one

place like this in the world.

Where Deaf people can be Deaf.

When I got there, I felt so moved.

It's like going to another country,

and everyone's speaking

a different language.

[Jerry] How can you describe

feeling comfortable,

safe,

like you're with your family?

[reflective music continues]

[Jerry] The light of the Deaf community...

is Gallaudet.

So we couldn't accept a leader

who didn't understand our world.

[Greg] We were waiting for Spilman

to come into the room...

[scattered clapping]

...to see what she was going to say.

When she says her first line, you listen.

If she's not going to change the decision

then we walk out.

[students jeer]

Good afternoon, everybody.

Yesterday, the board of trustees

of Gallaudet

selected a new president.

In the judgment of the majority

of the board of trustees,

Dr. Elisabeth Zinser fitted these criteria

with the exception,

and I will admit it is

an important exception,

but with the exception

of an understanding and

wide knowledge of Deafness,

she fitted this criteria.

However...

this woman is deeply committed

to being a part of this institution.

She is deeply committed to serving you

as a fine, successful president.

[interviewer] How would you sign

what Spilman was doing?

This hand is the underdog.

And this is the power.

[Spilman] She is deeply committed

to working with you

and being a strong advocate

for Deaf people everywhere.

[scattered heckling]

I just had a meeting with the board.

They refused to meet with our demands.

[crowd roars angrily]

[Bridgetta] Hearing people think

that they are superior.

[crowd continues roaring angrily]

We actually have a word for this:

audist.

[angry roaring intensifies]

[Bridgetta] Sometimes they're not aware

that they're being audist,

but sometimes they are.

[angry roaring continues]

And then, somebody pulled the fire alarms.

[abrupt silence]

[alarm bells blaring]

It's awfully difficult to talk

above this loud noise.

[abrupt silence]

124 years.

Enough!

- [alarm bells blaring]

- [crowd shouting]

[abrupt silence]

Time is now.

No bullshit.

- [alarm bells blaring]

- [crowd shouting]

[abrupt silence]

Deaf President Now

- [alarm bells blaring]

- [crowd shouting]

[abrupt silence]

Not for me. Wasn't loud for me.

[alarm bells blaring]

[Greg] If she was able to sign,

she wouldn't have had a problem.

[woman singing] Silent night

Holy night

All is calm

All is bright...

[Greg] So I grew up in a Deaf environment.

A barrier-free environment.

Holy infant so tender and mild...

[Greg] At that time,

TV didn't have captions.

So one of the best moments of my life

was sitting around the kitchen table,

signing with each other.

Hours on end.

[Greg] We'd bang on that table.

Things have been spilled on that table,

because when you're signing,

your hands hit things

and spill stuff on the table.

But growing up, my parents noticed

I was able to hear a little bit.

So I tried using hearing A*DS,

that helped me to speak a little better.

I could talk on the phone,

but really, I would only call my grandma.

[reflective music]

And somebody said, "Hello?"

"Hello?" "Oh, I caught that."

"How are you?" "Good."

"How's your day? How's the weather?"

I felt to myself like, "Oh!"

It's kind of an ego boost, right?

"I can do this."

And so my father said,

"You're going to a public school."

He thought that Deaf school was less than.

He graduated in engineering

without an interpreter.

He just read everything by himself.

He thought,

"It doesn't matter if you're Deaf."

It was just, "Try to speak...

try to lip-read...

do your best."

[muffled speech]

[Greg] In the classroom,

the teacher would be speaking.

[muffled speech]

I would just fake nod,

to pretend like I knew what was going on.

[muffled speech]

[Greg] I could catch

a few words here or there.

[faintly] Rocket.

But then if the teacher would turn away,

look at the blackboard and be talking,

I wouldn't know what's going on.

So I was told to move to the front.

The kids would say...

"You have broken ears."

And so, my world became really dark.

[muffled speech]

[Greg] This was the hearing world...

[reflective music]

...and I wasn't one of them.

[car horn honks]

[sustained honk]

[reporter]

Just after two o'clock this afternoon,

the rumor spread that President Zinser

was coming to campus.

[interviewer] So day three...

Zinser says that she's

going to come to campus.

How did you react to that?

[car horns honking]

[reporter] Hundreds of students

crowded the front gate with greetings.

[reporter] What do you say

to your students

who say, "We're not going to be

able to respect you"

because you are not one of them?

[Zinser] I believe that once

we become acquainted,

it will be a relationship

that will be a very warm one

and a very productive one.

[scattered booing]

[reporter 2] Elisabeth Zinser's

background includes undergraduate

and masters degrees in nursing.

But no experience with Deaf people.

[news anchor]

Dr. Zinser, just so I understand,

you're a trained nurse

and you have a PhD.

To us, she wasn't qualified.

Qualifications means you understand

Deaf culture and you're Deaf.

[young Greg] She's not invited.

She's not welcome at this university.

It's not her university.

The police want to open this one gate.

Okay, now we gotta be more careful.

How is she planning

to get into the campus?

[administrator] Can a cab get in?

[young Tim] Okay, we need to see

who the people are inside the cabs,

because the thing is, we don't want

Jane Bassett Spilman and Zinser coming in.

[reporter] It's come to this,

students peeking through squad cars

to see if the newly-named president

is trying to sneak onto campus.

Stop.

Open the trunk.

"No Zinser. Fine.

You can go on campus."

[news anchor] And they were

not playing Finder Keeper.

The words were "find her, dump her!"

We were like a secret military base,

where you have an army with a mirror

searching under cars.

[reporter] Only a few vehicles permitted

through student barricades.

Stop.

"No Zinser."

[reporter] All day,

rumors swept the campus.

Zinser was to be brought in

in a helicopter

and left somewhere on campus.

So I actually had students

run around watching the helicopter.

If they saw it landing,

they were going to lay on the ground.

[young Tim] We will block Zinser

from coming in, period,

until we see a Deaf president out there.

We will warmly welcome

that person to come in.

That is for sure, no one else.

[crowd cheering]

[reporter] King Jordan,

Dean of Arts and Science at Gallaudet

and one of the candidates

rejected for president,

joined the protesters

to offer his support.

I applied for the position of president.

I'm a Deaf man.

I think it's very clear that I would like

to see Gallaudet University

have a Deaf president.

[crowd cheers]

[interviewer] When you

showed up to the campus,

honestly, honestly, honestly,

did you believe

that the students would succeed?

No.

[young Jordan] Okay.

[upbeat music]

Hello, I'm I. King Jordan.

I think a lot of us didn't believe

that the students would succeed.

I'm very, very happy with the work

that's been going on

in the last eight months.

But ready to, uh...

[scoffs, laughs]

[Tim] What kind of man

was I. King Jordan?

He seemed very nice, very polite.

The smile and the warmth.

[young Jordan] I always try

to make the same message.

Stop focusing on the "dis-" in disability.

[Greg] Anyone who took

a class under him said

that he was a great professor.

So what you do is use the formula

for Z Y prime minus...

- [student] Y.

- Y prime, good.

He was deaf...

but not Deaf deaf.

Now I can't hear anything.

I mean nothing. I have no sound.

If a jet plane was right there,

I wouldn't be able to hear it.

- Nothing.

- [interviewer] Zero.

Zero, zero.

All my life, I'd been a hearing person,

but I bought a motorcycle.

And one night when I was riding home,

I hit a car.

When I woke up, there was no sound.

I was told to go to Gallaudet

and that will help me.

My first day, I was trying to sign,

and some of the guys around

would make fun of me.

In my first class,

I sat down and watched the professor...

and he didn't even move his lips.

He just...

Oh, my God, how am I gonna do this?

[Jordan] I was really the odd man out.

We are a big family. A powerful family.

And I want...

[Jordan] Students were very supportive

of me as president.

But there are people in the Deaf community

who say I'm not really Deaf.

[young Jordan] If you are willing

to work with me,

we can prove to the world

that Deaf people can do anything.

Thank you.

And there are people

in the hearing community

who don't understand

what it's like for me to be Deaf.

So I'm not sure I really

have one foot in each world.

I'm... I'm teetering.

[percussive music]

[Zinser] Today is

the day in which I'm going to attempt

to establish the communication

that is needed with the students

and ask them to give me an opportunity

to interact with them on a personal level.

[Jordan] On Tuesday afternoon,

I got a request

from my immediate supervisor

to help Zinser meet

with the student leaders.

So I went to the students

and I told them about the phone call.

They asked to meet with us

on campus and we said, "No."

And they asked,

"Well, what do you want to do?"

I said, "We'll meet,

but on a neutral territory."

[reporter] Now, behind me,

the students are just getting the word

that there is a meeting

between student leaders

and Dr. Zinser.

The students were like,

"Stay strong. Be stubborn. Fight!"

[crowd cheering]

[Jordan] Picture your typical cheap motel.

[Greg] Zinser came in.

She had a power suit on.

Dressed for success.

Very authoritative. This gusto about her.

[Jordan] And the whole idea was for her

to show her strength.

"I am in charge."

But then she started to speak.

[abrupt silence]

[Bridgetta] And she kept saying,

"I will do a lot of good for you.

Don't worry.

I'm here to help."

[Greg] She comes from a medical background

and so her lens

on Deafness is...

that there's something to fix.

[Jerry] And it's the same old thing,

over and over...

for years and years.

"I need to help you.

I need to do this for you."

[Greg] "Let's fix your broken ears."

There is this philosophy...

so that the Deaf may speak.

[Greg] It all started with

Alexander Graham Bell.

[interviewer] I thought he was

supposed to be some American hero?

Once you know

the other side of who he was,

you might have a different opinion of him.

[Jerry] His wife was Deaf.

His mother was also Deaf.

And his biggest issue was how

society looked down upon them.

He viewed them as something to fix.

So he tried to enforce

this shift in Deaf education.

[British narrator] The world

has been a silent place.

There is no such thing as a sound.

They don't even know what a word is.

Without words, there can be no thoughts,

only feelings, with nothing

to join them together.

[Greg] When I went to school,

they required speech class

every single day.

[Tim] I would be in class,

and they would pull me out

to go to speech.

[narrator] He will have 3,000 hours

of individual speech training,

learning the mouth movements

of the words he cannot hear.

I had to put my hand

on the teacher's nose.

[narrator] He is learning

to feel the breath stream

made by different sounds, using a mirror

to recognize the lip movements.

Pretty good. Make it tight.

[Bridgetta] I was the poster child

for Speech Therapy Month.

They advertised:

"This is the girl who's going to learn

how to speak and hear."

[narrator] With a number of devices

developed by the Bell Telephone Labs,

the children are tested

to find the exact degree

of their hearing loss.

Specially trained teachers work with them.

I would pick up my headset

with my transmitter

that I would wear on my chest.

[muffled chatter]

[narrator] The microphone link

direct from the teacher

to the children's hearing A*DS

amplifies that sound they hear.

[very muffled chatter]

[Tim] We were forbidden

from using sign language,

but when the teacher looked away

we would sign down low to each other

until the teacher looked back.

If we put a child

in a signing environment,

he's gonna learn to sign.

If we put a child in a talking

environment, he's going to have to talk.

And it's not cruel to do that.

If you signed, they would smack

your hands with a ruler.

I was able to figure out the CH sound.

The teachers were thrilled.

"Oh, you can say 'ch' sound."

Then the teacher would stop the class

and call the other teachers

from other classrooms

to come to the hallway

and they were like, "Say it again.

Do you mind saying 'ch' again?"

And everyone was like, "Wow!"

I felt a boost of self-esteem from that.

[silence]

And then in the fifth grade,

I was in a play.

A Christmas Carol.

And there was no signing.

It was only speech...

[silence]

...and some hearing people came,

and they were giving

us a round of applause,

as if we did an awesome job.

I felt so good.

And so at the end of the play,

we were like,

"Did you understand any of that?"

And the hearing people had said...

[children speaking with difficulty]

[Greg] ..."We didn't understand any of it."

[children speaking with difficulty]

[reflective music]

They forced us to be hearing

and think like a hearing person.

I mAy A CrISmAs CarD.

[teacher] I want you to pause.

[boy] I mAy...

[Bridgetta] Teachers

had informed my parents,

"Your daughter is not progressing well."

It was almost like,

"You don't hear or speak?

You're stupid."

[girl] KrIstIn FeL a CoW wA...

[teacher] Okay, but you forgot part of it.

[reflective music continues]

[Tim] Sign language is its own language.

Signing is so important to me.

It's who we are.

[Bridgetta] They view Deaf people

as something bad.

[Jerry] As a defect,

an error.

As hearing impaired.

We are not impaired.

[abrupt silence]

[Greg] Zinser said,

"I will get a teacher

to teach me sign language,

I will learn how to sign.

I'll be able to communicate

with you in a couple of months."

[Tim] You don't get it.

It takes years to learn sign language.

You have to live, sleep, eat and breathe

with Deaf people

to understand the frustration,

and the oppression.

Everything she said,

they said, "No, no, no."

[Jordan] "Not acceptable, not possible.

You can't be president of Gallaudet ever."

I was really amazed.

So we left.

What she was trying to do failed.

[crowd chatter, drum beating]

[Greg] So we got back to campus.

And in that moment,

there was such a deep sense of connection.

This sense of empowerment emerged.

[percussive music]

We started to believe in ourselves.

Like, we were gonna win.

[interpreter] The team leaders,

these are our team leaders.

[music swells]

We saw hope.

[speaker] Dr. Zinser is,

I am told, en route...

to the Press Club.

And should be arriving shortly,

but we didn't want

to delay you any longer,

and Mrs. Spilman is present

to begin the proceedings.

[car horn honks]

[Jordan] Zinser was in the front seat,

I sat in the back seat.

I could see her holding her phone

and talking.

[abrupt silence]

And I didn't have an interpreter.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

The purpose of this briefing

is for the board of trustees

of Gallaudet University

to make a statement.

And I say,

"You can drop me off at Gallaudet."

And she said, "No.

We're going to the National Press Club."

I was locked in the car.

- Together, we're united.

- [crowd cheers]

Hello, Dr. Zinser.

[Jordan] Much to my surprise,

my immediate supervisor

grabbed me and said, "Okay,

now you need to go up

and you need to support the board."

And now I would like

to introduce to you...

Dr. King Jordan.

And, King, maybe you might have

a word or two

you'd like to have with these people.

I want you to know

that I must do what's in the best interest

of Gallaudet University itself.

Therefore,

it's my responsibility as a dean

to give her any support

I can in that effort.

[abrupt silence]

[reporter] Are you asking students

to stop protesting?

This, uh... This has been a very

difficult position for me,

I want you to know.

I regret very much

that I've become any kind of focus here.

[Jordan] That was really hard for me.

Remember, I was a dean,

so they could fire me in a minute.

[reporter] Do you think the time

has come for the protest to stop?

Yes I do, yes I do.

[silence]

I think it's time to enter

into a meaningful dialogue

with the new seventh

president of Gallaudet.

Thank you.

[Greg] I was in a state of shock.

We were trying to do a lot for him,

and then in this moment you pull that crap

and you switch sides?

This has been a very

difficult position for me,

I want you to know.

You're weak, so weak, look at this!

We're here to support you.

It's my responsibility as a dean

to give her any support I can

in that effort.

[Bridgetta] I felt betrayed.

[Greg] I thought to myself,

"He's not really Deaf."

The values that were instilled

in him through his upbringing

were based in a hearing world,

and that stuck with him.

If he was born deaf, I don't think

he would've been a traitor.

I was simply a candidate

for the position,

and because I'm Deaf,

then I've become more

of a focus than I should have become.

[news anchor] On campus,

students were kept apprised

of what was being said

in the news conference.

[Greg] It was such a low point for us.

[Zinser] I am expecting

the students to help to educate me

about Deafness and about sign,

which I am beginning to do right now.

[Bridgetta] They always win.

[Greg] For the students,

it amplified their anger.

[Zinser] At this point,

things are a bit out of control,

as you know.

The governance system on

the campus has broken down.

[crowd yelling]

[Zinser] If it gets

any further out of control,

I will have to take action

in order to bring it under control.

[distant siren wailing]

[news anchor] Our top story this evening,

members of the board of trustees

spent the day in planning sessions

aimed at a strategy to take control

of the Gallaudet campus.

[Bridgetta] We kept saying,

"No violence, no damage.

No violence, no damage."

Apparently, we're gonna have

to arrest a bunch of people.

[siren wailing]

[crowd chanting]

[Bridgetta] We already

had that stereotype,

"If they don't speak,

then they're stupid."

And so, now, do we wanna add violence?

Move from the sidewalk, sir.

[crowd yelling]

[Greg] The media was there

with their cameras.

If we'd riot, then we've lost all support.

We need outside support,

especially the media.

There are a lot of cameras on us.

The threats, intimidations,

demonstrations, disorders...

[young Tim] All that I wanna know

is what's gonna happen exactly

before you do anything.

[interviewer] This is an editorial.

"The students don't seem to understand

the damage that this venture

into activism may do

to the school's reputation."

So the police

struck a student in the face.

Whoever wrote that...

screw you.

[news anchor]

The American taxpayers, I understand,

are paying 75 percent

of the cost of the school.

What if Congress said,

"We're going to cut off federal funding

unless you all get back to classes"?

What if everything blows up...

to the point where Congress

withdraws funding?

Gallaudet will shut down.

[silence]

[distant traffic humming]

[Greg] By Wednesday,

we had lost three nights of sleep.

[Greg] We didn't eat a whole lot.

And so, people were worn out.

I'm sure you're feeling drained

so I want to keep this meeting short...

[Greg] Someone informed us

that we had been offered an interview

that evening on national TV.

Possibly one million viewers.

And so they asked me to go on air, live,

with Zinser.

[interviewer] Did you wish it was you?

[abrupt silence]

[Greg] In the limo, I was very nervous.

It was a huge responsibility for me.

This was our last chance to be heard.

So I put on my hearing aid.

[muffled traffic rumbling]

- [muffled siren wailing]

- [Greg] I like to hear

because I like to have

that surrounding awareness.

[crew] Okay, we're coming up

on one minute to air.

[crew chattering]

- [man] You let me know when you're ready?

- [man 2] We're rolling.

[muffled chatter]

[news anchor] The charge made by students

at Gallaudet University for the Deaf

is that their school administration

refuses to listen,

and so the students have

closed the school down.

[Bridgetta] I was with

my friends in my dorm.

Many students were

together in multiple rooms.

[news anchor] She will be

among our guests, and so too

will be the president of the Gallaudet

student body, Greg Hlibok.

[crew] Nine, eight, seven, six...

[muffled] ...five, four, three, two, one.

[muffled chatter]

[man] And into it.

[Nightline theme plays]

[announcer] This is ABC News Nightline,

reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.

You may find it momentarily distracting,

but if ever the content of a program

ought to be accessible

to the nation's hearing impaired,

this one tonight is it.

A great many Deaf

or hearing impaired people

don't have access to a closed caption set,

so tonight you can all read along.

[man] We're live in 90 seconds.

[Greg] There were just so many

things to think about,

all these thoughts were

flying around in my head.

And then the media relations

were giving me feedback,

and there was makeup,

and everyone's tapping me.

And I was like,

"No, no, no, this is too much.

I just need to focus."

[muffled crew chatter]

[chaotic music]

[Greg] Then I told myself...

"I'm Deaf.

That's who I am.

All that I can do..."

[crew counting down]

[Greg] "...is be myself."

- [crew] Four, three, two, one.

- [overlapping voices]

[abrupt silence]

[Koppel] Dr. Zinser...

doesn't there come

a point where you have to say

the university has got

to be able to do its business,

and if it can't do it with me, it's gonna

have to do it with someone else?

I believe at the present time

that a very strong sentiment

is being sent to me

with regard to asking me to step down

but I am not convinced at this

point that that is uniform.

I've had many indications of support...

[interviewer] How did Zinser do?

[Jerry] She was very professional.

I have had indications

of support from King Jordan.

Very calm.

Now, Greg, let me ask you this.

Would you be prepared

to create some kind of a solution

that will be to everyone's benefit?

What's happening now is to no one's.

Okay, Ted, um...

my remarks now are addressed to Dr. Zinser

because I really feel it's important

to address what she said.

Well, let me ask you

to be a little more directly responsive

to the question that I asked you,

and that is,

since there's been

all this talk about dialogue,

would it be possible

for example tomorrow, for you...

[interviewer] How did Greg do?

It was almost like,

"You're talking about me,

and I'm on national TV..."

He was insecure.

[Koppel] ...to sit down and

try and work something out.

We're coming to the end

of the school year,

I'm sure a lot of people's lives

are being disrupted here.

Cannot something be done

by dialogue, even at this point?

[Greg] I was sitting, and I was thinking,

"This is really not good."

Maybe I was just scared.

[Zinser] So I'm committed

to assuming the responsibilities

that I agreed to assume last Sunday night,

until such time as the board of trustees

may elect to ask me to step aside...

[Jerry] He just took it.

[Zinser] ...I've taken the position,

having been invited to serve as president...

[Jerry] His mentality was

the same as most Deaf people.

[Jerry] Just like my father.

"You're gonna put me in the basement?

Fine."

He just accepted it.

[Jerry] It's just habit.

They've just taken it so long,

and they have this strong belief,

Deaf people are not capable of anything.

Do what you're told.

Stay where you are.

They internalize being told

they can't their whole life.

And that's why that word, "can't"...

[abrupt silence]

...it's just stuck in their heads.

[silence]

[Koppel] Dr. Zinser,

I know you can understand it,

because you're an empathetic person.

Can you understand it to the point

that you might even say,

"If it's that important

to all these people, I would step down"?

The board of trustees

has the authority to make a judgment

about who should be the next president.

I'm not in a position to do that.

[Koppel] Down to the last 30 seconds.

Thank you, Ted. I do believe

that Deaf individuals

have great capacities...

Then prove it!

May I finish...

May I finish my statement?

I truly believe... I believe very strongly

that a Deaf individual one day...

No, that's old news.

I'm tired of that statement.

"One day," again and again.

"Someday, a Deaf person..."

We've gotta break this cycle.

We've been hearing this for 124 years.

We're getting tired

of hearing this statement.

And then he finally started to speak up.

This is just a cycle.

Every time a new president

comes in, they say, "Well, one day."

Past presidents have

always said that. "Someday..."

[Koppel] I'll tell you what, yeah,

we're gonna go over a little bit.

Dr. Zinser needs to have

a chance to respond to this.

Thank you, Ted. I want to indicate

that the university deserves

to have the continuing

strength into the future,

- whether...

- [young Greg] Excuse me.

Are you implying that a Deaf person

can't continue that for the future?

[Zinser] Not at all.

Greg, I apologize for making

a statement that aggravated you.

His signing got much more emotional.

So this shows that the past presidents

have failed then, if they haven't

provided any Deaf leaders.

[Jerry] He found his voice.

Okay, remember,

the board's got 17 hearing people.

Almost all of them cannot sign at all.

All of them don't know

anything about Deaf people.

They come in and meet, three times a year,

they vote on things, and then leave.

I want to be as Deaf as I can be.

They don't know anything about Deafness

so Dr. Zinser should not

follow the board of trustees.

They should follow what our demands

and desires are because we know.

[Koppel] All right, folks,

I'm afraid we really do

have to bring this

to a conclusion right now.

That's our report for tonight,

I'm Ted Kop...

[abrupt silence]

[birds chirping]

[car horn honking]

[car horn honking]

["Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO]

[multiple car horns honking]

[car horns continue honking]

Sun is shinin' in the sky

There ain't a cloud in sight...

[news anchor] Students gain strength

as car horns they can't hear

blare support for their cause.

And don't you know

It's a beautiful...

People were waving out their windows.

Runnin' down the avenue

See how the sun...

- [microphone thuds, music stops]

- It was like... oh, oh, sorry about that.

Sorry.

It's a hearing thing, I know.

[music resumes] Mr. Blue Sky...

I opened up the newspaper, the front page.

...for so long

Where did we go wrong?...

I got chills.

What started as a student protest

at the nation's only liberal

arts college for the Deaf

is commanding national attention tonight.

I'm in sympathy with the students.

I think it's imperative.

I think it's a good idea.

It just exploded and it was strong.

[telephones ringing]

[news anchor] And more calls

came from across the nation

pledging support and dollars.

[man] Financial contributions can be sent

to National Association of the Deaf,

care of the Deaf President Now campaign.

[news anchor] In fact, the students claim

to have already collected

in excess of $27,000 for their cause.

[young Greg] We are becoming stronger

and we are becoming bigger

and bigger as a group.

People were continuously

asking me for interviews.

[news anchor] Greg "Hle-bok".

[news anchor 2] Greg Hlibok.

He is Greg "Hill-bok."

Someone came over and

handed me a microphone

and I said, "Oh, no, I don't need that.

No, I'm good. Thank you."

[news anchor] Don't you think

they had the best interest

of the university in mind?

No.

Hey there, Mr. Blue...

[news anchor] It's our understanding

that there are busloads of people

from all over the country

who are coming in here to participate.

[young Tim]

We're not only receiving reports

from across the country,

but around the world.

In Sweden, Germany, Africa.

We got a fax from China.

I didn't understand the Chinese language,

but there was a picture

of this person cheering.

It's the beginning of our

civil rights movement.

[news anchor] When you say

Gallaudet students

have been oppressed,

what do you mean by that?

[young Greg] Do white people speak

for Black people at the university?

[Tim] There were a lot

of African Americans

on the street cheering us on.

They understood.

[news anchor] For many years, the Deaf

have been a rather passive minority.

This week, they've been

a rather demanding one.

Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why...

[young Greg] Hearing people

tell us what they can do for us.

They tend to say that, "We will help you,"

but what we're asking for...

- Is to do it yourselves?

- Yes.

["Mr. Blue Sky" continues]

[congressman]

We express our disappointment

in the action of the trustees.

The students of Gallaudet are right.

The time has come for the trustees

to admit that they made a mistake.

We're not gonna stop.

We are gonna continue to fight.

[Greg] Before, we were in the dark...

[crowd chanting]

...so now the world could see us.

We're getting stronger and stronger

and we're really strong now.

["Mr. Blue Sky" fades]

[crowd cheering]

[Jordan] Until that point,

I thought it was just a student protest.

And it took me a little time

to understand this is not just a protest.

This is a revolution.

And I sat there thinking,

"What have I done?

I'm dean now...

but I will be Deaf forever."

[young Jordan] Yesterday,

I gave a statement recognizing

the legal authority of the board

to name the president

of Gallaudet University.

In fact, my personal reaction

to the board's decision

was and is anger.

I must now publicly affirm my support

for the point of view held

by the Gallaudet community.

Then King says, "I made a mistake,"

and we're like, "Oh, oh."

[young Jordan] We often say

that the best teacher

is a good learner.

Gallaudet University has been learning

a great deal from its students.

They have become our teachers.

All Deaf people owe Gallaudet students

a debt of gratitude

for insisting that our time is now.

[crowd roars]

[reporter] Joining me now live,

here at Gallaudet

is one of the student

leaders, Bridget Bourne.

Can you give us some student reaction

to Dr. Jordan's change of heart?

[Bridgetta] He had this awakening.

It was like, "I get it."

He became a better, new Deaf person.

He realized that instead of,

"Oh, I've lost..."

No.

It's okay to be Deaf.

[orchestral music]

[reporter] Yesterday

you stood with President Zinser.

Tonight, if they're watching

or if you have a message for them,

what would it be?

I would ask Dr. Zinser

to look into her heart...

to look at what's

happening around the nation,

and really think very seriously

about what this means to the Deaf world.

[musical swell]

[abrupt silence]

[TTY beeping]

[Zinser] I arrived at Gallaudet University

to find a growing crisis.

[Greg] I woke up...

Apparently the night before,

when everyone was asleep,

there had been a press conference.

[Zinser] The symbol of this office

is so significant

that we must respond to that larger issue.

I concluded therefore

that the best way to restore order

was to tender my resignation.

[silence]

Wow, she actually resigned!

And everyone said,

"The TTY, it's for you."

So I had to go across campus.

[suspenseful music]

And when I got into the van

they stepped on it.

I didn't even have

a chance to close the door.

The TTY was in a glass cubicle.

Like a mini fishbowl,

and everyone's staring at me.

[keyboard clacking, TTY beeping]

[Jerry] I was right next to Greg.

It was me, Tim, Bridgetta, the four of us.

We were really close.

[Greg] And it said,

"Who are your siblings?"

To verify I'm not some

imposter on the keyboard.

[board member] ...Jane Bassett Spilman.

She does have a statement

to share with you.

Mrs. Spilman?

[Spilman] Good evening.

There was, as we have all

come to realize this week,

a serious gap in our understanding

of the complexity

of the problems we faced.

In the minds of some,

I have become an obstacle

to the future of the university.

And because I care very deeply

about Gallaudet's future,

I am removing that obstacle.

Today, I submitted my resignation.

[Greg] The cubicle was just shaking.

The TTY just started to have random

characters running across it.

[Spilman] The board was not simply

called upon to select a president,

but to aid in the consummation of a dream.

The elevation of a Deaf person

to the presidency

of the greatest educational institution

of the Deaf and hearing impaired

in the world.

[TTY beeping frantically]

[musical swell]

[Spilman] The students and their leaders:

Tim,

Bridgetta,

Greg,

Jerry.

You have found unity,

built strength and purpose,

shown courage,

and discovered power

to affect your own future.

[crowd cheering]

[news anchor]

Students at Gallaudet University tonight

are hailing what they are calling

the start of a brave new era.

[reporter] There will be no reprisals

against the students

for their protest,

and a majority of Deaf people

will be put on the board.

[crowd chanting] King! King! King!

[young Jordan] This week, we can truly say

that we, together and united,

have overcome our own reluctance

to stand for our rights.

[crowd cheering triumphantly]

Deaf Power!

Deaf Power! Deaf Power!

Deaf Power! Deaf Power! Deaf Power!

[cheers and applause]

How do I feel?

Out of this world.

I can't explain it.

I just felt so proud.

I had never been so proud

to be Deaf.

We are one!

[Jerry] We just forgot

everything that happened

between us that week.

We hear all the time,

"You can't, you can't."

We're like, "No, not this time.

Deaf can."

[Bridgetta] I was looking around thinking,

being Deaf in a hearing world,

it doesn't stop you from anything.

You will remember this forever!

[Tim] I talked to my grandfather.

He said, "You were right."

My heart felt heavy.

To see my grandfather say that to me.

I must have done something right.

[students cheering]

[music swells]

The world thinks we're nothing!

Are we nothing?

[crowd] No!

- Are we nothing?

- [crowd] No!

[abrupt silence]

We will be heard!

[silence]

[percussive music]

[orchestral music]