+ CONTEMPORARY CIVILZATION 1

Gallaudet, here in Washington, D.C., is the nation's only university for deaf students. For a week, students have been blocking the campus gates to protest the choice of its new president. The school's faculty may vote today to support that protest. There was a similar outcry the last time the school picked a president. Back then, students protested and won: They got the first deaf president in the school's history. The dissent going on this time shows how Gallaudet has come to hold a special importance to deaf people. NPR's Joseph Shapiro reports.

JOSEPH SHAPIRO, reporter: Eighteen years ago, the argument was clear: a deaf school needed a deaf president.

This time, the protesters are having a hard time explaining exactly what it is they don't like about the choice of Jane Fernandes as president. She's deaf. She's a Gallaudet administrator. And even most of her opponents agree: She's got the skills to run the school.

Anthony Mowl is one of the student protesters. He speaks through a sign language interpreter:

ANTHONY MOWL: She's an administrator, not a leader. Gallaudet, we made it clear, we don't want an administrator. We want a leader. We want someone who can inspire.