Deaf students shut down their university until it hired its first deaf president

In 1988, Gallaudet University's board picked a hearing candidate for president despite two qualified deaf finalists. Students responded by barricading the campus and refusing to leave until their demands were met. After a week of national attention, the board reversed course and appointed I. King Jordan as Gallaudet's first deaf president in its history.

— Gallaudet University, Deaf President Now — Student protest, March 1988