[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, on July 4, 1861, President Lincoln 
celebrated our Nation's 85th year of independence by declaring to 
Congress:

       The principal aim of the U.S. Government should be to 
     elevate the condition of men--to lift artificial weights from 
     all shoulders--to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for 
     all--to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance in 
     the race of life.

  Just a few months prior to enunciating the aim of his Government, 
President Lincoln signed into Federal law the authorization to confer 
collegiate degrees to the deaf and the hard of hearing in a campus in 
Washington, DC, not far from here. For the first time in our Nation's 
history, and still to this day, Gallaudet University is the only 
liberal arts university in the world dedicated to pursuit of access to 
higher education for deaf and hard of hearing students.
  Mr. President, 2009 marks the bicentennial, as we know, of President 
Lincoln's birth. All around our Nation, parents and children, students 
and teachers are reconnecting the history of Lincoln's life to our 
world today.
  Mr. President, 2009 also marks the 145th anniversary of Gallaudet 
University's charter, signed by Abraham Lincoln himself. As our country 
struggles through economic calamity and armed conflict overseas, let us 
mark the significance of these events by honoring the principal aim 
that President Lincoln and thousands of Gallaudet students have 
embarked upon: That every American has an unfettered start and fair 
chance at the American dream, that it be free of prejudice and 
ignorance and, instead, full of opportunity and access.
  Today, Gallaudet annually enrolls more than 1,600 undergraduate and 
graduate students who take courses in more than 40 majors. Today, more 
than 15,000 Gallaudet alumni are leaders in their fields and in their 
communities, sprinkled all over the United States of America.
  Serving on the board of trustees of Gallaudet is one of the great 
honors of my life. My mother, an English teacher, put such a premium on 
education. Education has anchored my life as a child in Mansfield, OH, 
and now as a Senator representing Ohio in Washington. I am reminded 
each day of this country's rich history, the tapestry of America's 
diversity--of our language, of our families, of our communities. The 
tapestry of America's diversity teaches us that wisdom and goodness 
persist in each of us, despite efforts to marginalize and discriminate 
by a few of us.
  One hundred and forty years ago, the four members of Gallaudet's 
first graduating class--four people--received degrees signed by 
President Ulysses S. Grant. To this day, the tradition continues. Every 
graduate of Gallaudet is conferred a degree signed by the sitting 
President of the United States. This simple act by a President--
President Obama will continue that tradition this year--confers to the 
students the faith in this country's capacity to elevate the condition 
of each of us.
  I congratulate the students and the faculty, the alumni and the 
supporters of Gallaudet for teaching all of us the meaning of the 
values President Lincoln laid before us--that we educate ourselves as 
part of a community that, full of opportunity and free, as President 
Lincoln said, free of artificial weight, we educate ourselves as part 
of a community that works toward the good of our society.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I ask to speak for 10 minutes as in morning business.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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