An Open Letter to Deaf Vee,
This letter is being submitted to ask you to make it a practice to stop posting open letters with no validity against schools for the Deaf. These letters are doing harm, not only to the two schools already involved but also to schools for the deaf nationwide. The pandemic has hurt us in education as so often mentioned in various publications. We are struggling to keep schools staffed. Student enrollment is on the decline. As a part of the Deaf community, do you not care about the Deaf students? Or are you truly more about gaining likes for your website? Continuing to post these letters will drive away both staff and parents from schools. Many staff, even those named as sponsors in these letters, did not know the letters were being written and posted. These staff face retaliation for something they were not involved in. Parents who are struggling with the idea of sending their child to a Deaf school and have limited knowledge of Deaf culture will more than likely not send their child after seeing these letters. You are single-handedly harming Deaf children and their future.
We stand in solidarity with our Deaf children and staff members at all schools for the Deaf.
Deaf Vee Journal Team Response:
Deaf Vee Journal receives requests for submission and if submissions fit what we generally post, we post them. Sometimes when difficult situations are discussed, people use us as an outlet. Our staff and volunteers have no personal stake in any cases shared or posted on the website and if any of our staff do have a stake, that person recluses themselves from the article drafting and submission. We have always and will continue to ask that you consider attempting to resolve your issues before using us as an outlet. We should be used as second to last if not last resort, not the first option.
To blame Deaf Vee for years of damage coming out on the surface is to ignore the problems at hand. Sexual assault on deaf school property has been a problem for years and the abusers should be the ones being held accountable not the messenger. If we as a community continue to sweep problems under the rug we are not addressing the core issue at hand. We also want to remind people that employer retaliation is against the law.
If you know anyone or are a victim of retaliation by your employer please contact: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) who both work together to coordinate investigations of complaints. For additional assistance, please contact: OFCCP: 1-800-397-6251 (TTY 1-877-889-5627) or the OFCCP Help Desk.
