REMOVE THAT FENCE!
This letter came from a member of the Michigan Signing Community...
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I know this probably wasn’t what the Deafhood presenters had in mind when they talked about Deafhood last Saturday but this fence issue has been a hot topic lately and has touched the core of each of our MSD Alumni “Deafhood centers”.
Remember when the Deafhood presenters said there was always that something that links each of us. Well – this is one. Every alumni I’ve talked to cringes each time we think about a chain link fence bisecting our own campus! A chain-link behind Fay Hall and Supt’s Cottage! How dare they! Lansing’s reason for this decision is this - Fay Hall and Supt’s Cottage no longer belongs to MSD and they can put a fence anywhere they want.
Dave Sanderson, MSD Administrator, is meeting with Lansing folks on Monday November 27th to talk about this very issue. We need letters from the community – sending a strong message that we do not want an ugly fence through campus.
Many of us feel strongly about NOT having the fence cut through the campus. If there has to be a fence – it should be out front by Court and Miller Roads. We also feel strongly that it should be cast iron/wrought iron with brick – and not chain link!
I’m attaching two letters. One I wrote and sent to Dave this morning. The other one was written by Dawn Taylor. Feel free to edit, copy, paste, add, delete whatever you want – and send your own letter to Dave Sanderson (sandersond@michigan.gov) BEFORE this Sunday November 26th.
If you have sample letters – feel free to send to others for ideas of what to say in the letter.
If we could get a whole bunch of letters to Lansing – they will see the error of their ways and reconsider the fence placement. The more letters – the better.
Thanks as always for your help! Forward to other alumni and friends of MSD. For those who work at MSD – share with other staff and students.
We will tackle other important projects soon – but first let’s beat this fence thing. Grin.
Again – your letter needs to be sent to Dave Sanderson (sandersond@michigan.gov) ASAP – before the meeting on Monday November 27th.
See below for sample letters:
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Sample Letter #1:
November 21, 2006 Dear Mr. Dave Sanderson: As an alumni and a parent of a first grader at Michigan School for the Deaf, I’m writing to express my concerns about the decision to fence-in parts of the MSD Flint Campus.The Michigan School for the Deaf has a rich 150-plus history and is treasured by every deaf citizen in the state. My heart never fails to fill with pride and a strong sense of belonging each time I drive by the massive Fay Hall with the huge columns and carved-in-stone words saying “Michigan School for the Deaf”. My husband and I are very passionate about MSD - so much that we choose to celebrate our wedding vows at the historical Superintendent’s Cottage on campus in 1994.Current school children walk pass the Fay Hall and the Superintendent’s Cottage every day between the Heck Building, our cafeteria and Stevens Hall, our dorm. With today’s dwindling enrollment and lack of access to high curricular standards for deaf children – there aren’t very many things for our students to feel proud about. For years, students have been walking past a closed, cold, empty, bleak-looking building but today Fay Hall is being filled daily with deaf-centered organizations. It’s become alive and the sense of ownership is now stronger than ever.Separating the two buildings - Fay Hall and Superintendent’s Cottage from the rest of the campus is akin to ripping a person in two. Placing a chain-link fence behind Fay Hall and the Cottage means every day our students will be walking by something that symbolizes – incarceration, poverty, and hopelessness. Separate from the two powerful buildings on campus that symbolizes – our pride, our history, and hope for a better future.I’m writing this to ask you choose a fence design that our proud, historical campus deserves - classic wrought iron with bricks - and place it alongside Miller Road and Court Street. From the Miller Road Main School West Entrance all the way around to east end of the campus – past the Old Brown Hall Annex.. Thank you, Stevie NaeyaertMSD Alumni – Class of 1986MSD Parent – Class of 2017Sample Letter #2
November 21, 2006 Dear Mr. Dave Sanderson, This letter is in response to the proposal to install a chain-link fence on the campus of the Michigan School for the Deaf. I, as a member of the Deaf Community, a parent, and/or an alumnus, would like this proposal amended. Instead of running the fence behind the Superintendent's House and Fay Hall, I strongly support the fence being run around the perimeter of the campus (along Court Street and Miller Road) and that the fence sections within public view should be made of cast iron and brick instead of chain link. It is important to understand the importance of residential schools for the deaf within the Deaf Community. Schools for the Deaf are often the first place a deaf child truly feels like he/she belongs. These campuses are viewed as "meccas" to us. We cherish them and aim to preserve them as important parts of our heritage. By placing a chain link fence through the campus, its history will be marred along with the self esteem of the students forced to walk alongside it as if in a prison instead of at their home-away-from-home. Thank you for addressing my concerns. Sincerely, (your name)(your address)
