Answers to the questions
originally published in the July 2007
issue of DEAF LIFE

COLLEGE TIES

Gallaudet University has gone through several name changes. What was it originally called?

Answer:
There were four major previous names: 1) Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind (revised to “Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb” when the blind students were transferred to a school for the blind); 2) National Deaf and Dumb College; 3) National Deaf-Mute College; 4) Gallaudet College (1894). The most recent change came in 1986, when Gally was accredited as a university. During its early years, it was informally known in the Deaf community as “Washington College.”

What are Gallaudet University’s official colors, and why were they chosen?

Answer:
Gallaudet’s colors are buff and blue. (Buff is yellowish-beige or tan.) They were based on the colors of the uniforms worn by Washington’s Continental Army.


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