Here is an ASL video that combines two reports by Deaf Vee Journal on 10 alumni of the Kappa Gamma Fraternity suing Gallaudet University and Washington Post. The transcript is below.

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Mary Pat Luetke-Stahlman: This vlog is to share a combination of two articles that Deaf Vee Journal posted. The first article was shared on June 16, 2021; seven days after the suit was submitted by Ralph G. Riser the attorney on behalf of the Plaintiffs. The second article was posted three days later on June 19, 2021.

The Washington Post and Gallaudet University are being sued by ten former students for making allegations of defamatory statements, according to Inside Higher Ed, a website dedicated to higher education in the United States. The Washington Post happens to be owned by Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon.

Deaf people would remember what the University President Dr. Roberta “Bobbi” Cordano said about Kappa Gamma fraternity. Kappa Gamma fraternity is the face of systemic racism in the Deaf community, she said. In the lawsuit, it is alleged that the Washington Post article caused this to become a big story, leading to the resignation or termination of many plaintiffs. It was also the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite the photographs provoking much anger from many members of the community, the National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA) posted a response to Dr. Bobbi Cordano's attempts to divert from the main issues at hand, racism at Gallaudet.

Plaintiffs filed joint complaints against defendants and requested sums ranging from seventy-five thousand dollars to five million dollars. The lawsuit was filed on June 16, 2021, and several parties filed notices of voluntary dismissal since that date.

By voluntary dismissal, we mean that the person has voluntarily removed themselves from the lawsuit. If there were only one defendant, the entire lawsuit would have been dismissed, however, there are several, so only their portions of the lawsuit would be dismissed. The remaining plaintiffs continue to pursue their claims.

The following plaintiffs have removed themselves from the lawsuit: Joel Barish, Ernest Willman, Scott Plummer, Roger Kraft, James Beldon Jr, and Brandon Hill. The remaining plaintiffs are as listed:

Millios was terminated from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf after seven years and is suing for three million dollars.

After working for The Learning Center for twenty-three years, Patrick Costello was forced to resign. He is demanding five million dollars.

Steve Florio was the subject of hours of investigations by two state agencies, and then he was fired from his position with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Five million dollars are being demanded by Florio.

As of June 24, 2021, the last individual remaining is Timothy Mallach, who resides and works in Canada. He had been a Resident Counselor for twenty years and a Deaf Interpreter for fifteen years when he was forced to resign. Mallach demands three million dollars.

Befoer six plaintiffs were removed, the total amount requested for the suit was 21 million seven hundred thousand dollars but that total has now been lowered to sixteen million dollars, along with disbursements and attorney fees. The defendants have 21 days after the 9th to respond, and they can very well request an extension, which would add another 14 days. At this time, there is no further update however Deaf Vee Journal will continue to update the community.