Communications with The Bark

April 6th, 9:49pm

Hey [Bark Reporter],

My name is [Student] and I am a Deaf Studies minor. I do not speak for anyone else involved with the petition, nor to I come to you as any emissary of the program or affiliates. I stand as a student who read your piece on the Deaf Studies petition in the Bark and, as someone who has been part of this story, it left me a bit confused. I’m wondering if you’d be willing to share with me what administration has shared with you because this is the first I am hearing specifically from any official source that “Deaf Studies minors who are already enrolled will be able to finish the minor through UMD.” It’s an incredibly reassuring message, but I’m sure you can understand how confusing I was to see it for the first time in a piece about how the email on April 3rd cleared up “confusion” surrounding the issue. Here is what students have received from administration, I’m happy to forward the full emails to you if you’d like to see them also. 

On Monday, students in the Deaf Studies minor received an email from Ann Miller, CEHSP Director of Advising and Academic Services, saying that "effective immediately, UMD will no longer be offering the Deaf Studies minor." In this email, we were informed that UMD would "still be offering the 4-semester sequence of  ASL2001-3004," and that, for students who have completed one or more 3000-level courses in the minor, we'd "have the opportunity to take courses through another school to fulfill the remaining requirements." We then received a"transfer guide" showing us which colleges would fulfill our remaining requirements - the closest of which is an hour and a half away. This led students to believe courses for the Deaf Studies minor would no longer be offered through UMD after the current academic semester, and, if we wanted to pursue our minor under this administrative plan, then we'd have to pay independently to take online courses through alternate universities. 

Naturally, myself and my fellow students in the minor were confused and upset by this news. It is the expectation that when a service is advertised and paid for - as is the case with the Deaf Studies minor which many of us came here to take and which we have been paying into through the classes we've taken - that the service will then be provided by the institution. Beyond the pure business of it, this minor holds great emotional, cultural, and personal value for so many of us. Seeking to understand the situation better and express concern over the detrimental impacts of this decision, many students sent emails to the administration detailing their questions and the impacts of this decision. The response we received was not only disheartening and felt wholly dismissive to all our concerns, but it was blatantly contradictory to the message - detailed above - we'd all previously received.

From Jill Pinkney Pastrana, CEHSP Dean, I received an email that claimed "any currently enrolled student will be provided a pathway to complete their program at UMD within a reasonable amount of time." This was a distinct difference from the message provided earlier saying we'd have to "take courses through another school." This news came in a joint email to the Deaf Studies and Coaching minors and addressed none of the personal concerns of the Deaf Studies students. To be so clearly shown that our concerns are unaddressed by the administration of CEHSP is frankly startling. In this email, Coaching minors were reassured that "courses for the coaching minor continue to be available in the fall 2025 class schedule for new and returning students" giving them time and reassurance that the minor will be phased out without disrupting personal completion while the Deaf Studies minor students were told, "new enrollments in the deaf studies minor have been suspended beginning fall 2025," and that some unknown, unclear future "pathway" would be provided to currently enrolled students.

From Matt Massman, the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations, "on behalf of Chancellor Nies, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rebecca Ropers, and [him]self," I received a strikingly similar and equally dismissive email which claimed again that "currently enrolled students are provided a pathway to complete their program within a reasonable amount of time" and little else of any real substance. Notably, this email said nothing about the supposed “pathway” occurring at UMD. 

So, clearly based on your article administration has been far more open with you about their future plan, and I would love to know what they had to say. I am hoping it can enlighten me to the influences that shaped your article because as of right now I am frustrated by the juxtaposition between how this situation has played out and how your piece paints the story. Admin is still yet to send an actual clear message to students telling them classes will continue to be offered and the first email we were sent was far more than a miscommunication; calling it such grossly misrepresents what was said, what was done, and why students are upset.

I hope to hear from you,

[Student]

April 6th, 11:28pm

Hello [Student], 

I want to thank you for engaging with the piece and reaching out to me. Your frusteration and confusion is definitely warranted and, as you said, is shared by many of your compatriots in the program.

I have read the emails sent by administration to students on both March 31 and April 3 regarding the changes to the program, though thank you for your offer to share them. In regards to the influences that shaped the article, I spoke to many sources directly, both students and staff, to get more information. I am afraid that outside of the people mentioned in the article, I am unable to disclose who those sources were.

In terms of the future of the program, I have recieved the same information that "any currently enrolled student will be provided a pathway to complete their program at UMD within a reasonable amount of time.” This was communicated to me by both Dean Pinkney Pastrana’s April 3 email, as well as directly by Lynne Williams, head of UMDPR. Though the specifics of “reasonable amount of time” are not finalized, I have been assured that all effort will be made for students to graduate as close to their expected graduation date as possible. As I stated in the piece, this “grandfather process” is "a required component of UMD’s accreditation.” The colleges listed in the transfer guide are still an option for students who wish to proceed on that route, though I personally doubt anyone will. 

As to what the all of specifics of that pathway are, it has not been made entirely clear to me. Importantly, Associate Dean Carlson told me that the classes that have been offered in the past in the Deaf Studies program WILL be offered next year (possibly excluding certain electives that are and have been on a rotation basis preceding the events of the past week). 

I hope that I have addressed these concerns to your satisfaction. If not, please feel free to reach out again and I will try to assist in anyway I can. 

Sincerely, 

[Bark Reporter]

April 7th, 9:37 am

Hi [Bark Reporter],

Thank you for such a timely and informative response. I do have a few follow-ups and clarifying questions.

Would you forward me a link for the accreditation process you’ve referenced? That is precisely the information I have been looking for since this whole thing began and I’d love a chance to look over the primary documentation.

Like you mentioned, the specifications of a proposed “pathway” have not been clarified to any students and it sounds like they haven’t been fully clarified to you, so, given that the second email from upper administration fails to even imply the pathway is at UMD, I’m sure you can understand my concern that there has still been no straightforward confirmation about what will and will not be available to students.

Associate Dean Carlson seems to have been slightly more forthcoming with you - though I will point out that Carlson has said nothing to students directly. It’s very hard for me to trust what is said by administration when it all comes in vague messages that do not actually promise any change from administration’s original goal - to cut the entire program except ASL 1-4. What Carlson has said to you now “that the classes that have been offered in the past in the Deaf Studies program WILL be offered next year (possibly excluding certain electives that are and have been on a rotation basis preceding the events of the past week)” does not guarantee anything more than that ASL 5 will also be offered by UMD. The rest of the courses within the Deaf Studies minor are technically considered “electives” although 6 credits of them are required to graduate with the minor. 

I suppose I am just frustrated. It’s a complicated gray area, and PR and administration would love to smooth over without making any concrete promises - it leaves them more options, and it makes perfect sense administratively - but students are still confused and in the dark. What I find most difficult to swallow within your article was that the two passages discussing administration's response

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UMD Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Lynne Williams said April 3 that the March 31 email was intended to help students in registering for classes beginning April 1. To her, it was a clear miscommunication, and she hoped the update could provide clarity to students.

“Hopefully this [April 3] message reassures them that they can complete their degree here, that we will work with them to make sure that we can do that,” Williams said. “And that was just really unfortunate, and a gap. We need to do better in our communication moving forward, and make sure that we've got everything buttoned up, because we don't want to provide that level of stress and uncertainty.”

-

were not followed by an indication of the continued lack of clarity students and educators are facing. It's so hard to see the administration speak about "moving forward" and how "it was a clear miscommunication" as if the issue has now been resolved. I am still completely unclear as to what the path forward is and I was really hoping your article would have reflected that continual disconnect. I'm more than happy to explain myself further and please know I hold absolutely no malice towards your person - we are all doing the best we can with fragments of a larger story.

Thank you for your time,

[Student]

April 7th, 12:13 pm

Hello [Student], 

The accreditation information was gathered from interviews with sources. I unfortunately do not have specfic documentation to share, though UMD’s Accreditation page may be helpful to you. The university is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission. 

In regards to Associate Dean Carlson, it appears as though Dean Pinkney Pastrana is taking the lead on this. All major communication will most likely be run through her (assumption, not fact based reporting). AD Carlson was quoted in the piece as a substitute to Pinkney Pastrana, who was away from campus last week on a long-scheduled trip.

I should clarify my statement regarding the courses. What has been communicated to me is that the main ASL courses will be offered next year, as well the core classes (ASL 4110 - Deaf Culture and ASL 4298 - ASL Skill Building Workshop). The two elective courses, ASL 4100 and ASL 4105, may only have one offered a year. For students who need an elective, they would be able to take either. It is not guarenteed to work out this way, but at least one will be offered. Students may also be able to work with college administrators to find a substitute for a class or drop the credit requirement entirely. 

Our editors made the decision to put student reactions before the administration’s comments, though I did write on the confusion and frustration of educators after those paragraphs (See below). 

—

Deaf Studies Program Coordinator Christina Cariveau and ASL Lab Head Mary Soltis were told of the program’s end on Friday, March 28 by Dean Pinkney Pastrana. They were instructed not to tell the rest of the Deaf Studies staff of the change. Cariveau said she was under the impression that administrators would share the information with the rest of the staff before the announcement, but Deaf Studies staff Monica Marciniak, Michael Knapp and Dawn Stevenson, were all informed of the change by students.

“A student emailed me immediately to express their condolences for the decision and I was completely unaware of what they were referring to,” Marciniak said.

Members of the faculty did not directly receive the April 3 update from CEHSP, with some either learning about it from students or from The Bark asking for comment. Once they had seen it, several members of the staff agreed that it felt “unclear and confusing.”

“It feels like we, as ASL faculty and members of the Deaf community, were completely left out of the conversation,” Knapp said. “There was no communication with our team before this decision was made. It’s frustrating and hurtful.”

—

I understand your frustration with the administration's characterization of the situation. I have been told that students are free to reach out to to the Vice Chacellor of Academic Affairs and the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations, as well as the Dean and Associate Dean if they have any questions or want to talk about it. It seems you have reached out to some of these people already.  

My goal is to continue reporting on this if any major developments occur. I take no malice from your emails. If you would like to talk more about this, I can meet you in-person around 4:30pm after our weekly Bark Meeting in Humanities 220. 

Sincerely, 

[Bark Reporter]

P.S. As an aside, The Bark does allow students to write and submit opinion pieces. If this is something you would like to do, I can get you in touch wih people who can get the process started. 

After these correspondences and similar concerns echoed by other students, The Bark published another article regarding the April 7th protest

WDIO ABC News, Northern News Now, FOX 21, and MPR have all published articles following the student led protest on April 7th

Northern News Now published a follow-up article after the forum with administration April 10th.

Duluth News Tribune published an article following the story on April 14th.

If you are a news organization or student who has interacted with a news organization and you want to share those communications please do so by emailing umddeafstudies.comm.messaging@gmail.com.