This is a cross post, but please take the time to read, and respond.

The University of Bristol is currently considering plans to close the CDS’ long-running BSc degree in Deaf Studies and other parts of CDS’ work.

Why?

This is said to be for financial and academic reasons, that it is expensive and does not fit faculty priorities.

What would this mean?

Around 75 % of CDS staff will lose their jobs, including most Deaf staff. It will reduce CDS to a ‘rump’. We believe the consequences of these proposals will have a disastrous impact on Deaf and hearing people in many ways. These include :

• exacerbating the existing crisis in the UK Deaf community caused by the acute shortage of interpreters,
• negative effects on the present students,
• severe reduction of CDS’s ability to continue its 30 year tradition of initiating and supporting progressive academic and other Deaf-related developments, including lobbying for Deaf rights and achieving equality with hearing people,
• retardation of the global development of quality Deaf Studies work,
• negative impact on Deaf people’s access to a wide range of vital information.

Under UK law, the University is required to carry out an assessment of the effect of its planned actions on Deaf/disabled people, and on the community in general. It is clear that you, the wider community have not been consulted in this way.

Your help is needed

So we ask if you can help this campaign. Please as soon as possible send a letter to the University decision makers. To express your own views about the value of CDS’s work. You would need to do this in the next few days, a decision is being made this week.

Please feel free to use headed paper from your own organisations if appropriate. Please also circulate this email widely and ask others to do so.

If you need detail about CDS history and list of achievements to help you write your letter of support, you can download them here: CDS History and CDS History: Detailed

In your letter, please do not mention individual CDS staff by name, as this may have a negative effect.

People to contact

Professor Eric Thomas
Vice Chancellor
University of Bristol
Senate House
Tyndall Avenue
Bristol BS8 1TH

Professor David Clarke
Deputy Vice Chancellor
(at the same address)

E mail: dvc@bris.ac.uk

Please copy any letters to: savebristolcds@gmail.com so we can monitor correspondence.

Thank you for your help. Together we can try and protect the global development of Deaf Studies from other similar threats in the coming wider financial crises.

Also, you can sign the petition, keep up to date with our Twitter stream and add a Twibbon to Your Twitter Avatar.