Gallaudet University is a liberal arts university in Washington D.C. comprised of mostly Deaf and hard of hearing students. It was founded first in 1856 on two acres simply as housing for 12 deaf students. It was not until the following year that it became the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. It did not become Gallaudet College until 1954, and was named after the superintendent. In 1986 it was renamed Gallaudet University after the President Ronald Reagan signed the Education of the Deaf Act (Public Law 99-371), which is how it is known today. Their mascot is the noble bison, which has been representing their school since 1941. It is a school with a rich history in protecting the striving Deaf unity that
