Gallaudet Response to Protests

Gallaudet University president Alan Hurwitz is accepting email about the controversial play to be performed on campus starting tomorrow but calls are being sent to chief of staff Don Beil. Gallaudet students have had "a series of dialogues" about the play called Corpus Christi which portrays Jesus and his disciples as gay. Playwright Terrence McNally will be on campus tonight to meet with the actors.

Here's what Gallaudet provost Stephen Weiner had to say about the peformance:

"Gallaudet University neither endorses nor condemns the views expressed in Corpus Christi, or any dramatic production. We understand that there are people who will find this play affirming, liberating, and cathartic, and others who find its message disrespectful, distasteful, and repugnant. We seek to allow all views to be aired openly and respectfully, and we hope that open discussions will allow individuals to listen to one another. This is the hallmark of an academic institution."Gallaudet spokeswoman Mercy Coogan told me that Hurwitz, who is deaf, is accepting e-mails but routing calls to his chief of staff, Don Beil, who is hearing."

Read more about the controversy in an earlier post here.