Thousands of revelers packed the Grand Hyatt Hotel ballroom March 7 for a night of festivities celebrating Deaf President Now's tenth anniversary.

The black-tie event was short on speeches and long on dancing. After emcee Raymond Merritt introduced the three student leaders of DPN in attendance, Board of Trustees Chair Glenn Anderson came to the stage and announced that Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry had officially designated March 13, 1998, as "I. King Jordan Day," in honor of Gallaudet's first deaf president.

The surprise announcement brought applause and cheers from the crowd. "I wish that the major of Washington, D.C., had named it 'DPN Day' instead of IKJ day," President Jordan told the party-goers.

Following Jordan's speech, the show began. Fred Beam, Renee Suiter, Tom Quinn, Sherry Duhon, Dwight Benedict, Agnes Muse, and others from the DPN Gala Committee signed the song "Celebration," with backup singing provided by Gallaudet staff members and friends.

Giant screens were placed on both sides of the stage to provide accessibility, and throughout the evening film clips from DPN were shown.

"It was just so much fun," said Duhon, who served as coordinator of the Gala Committee. In addition to performing on stage, Duhon coordinated ticket sales, recruited Gala volunteers, and arranged for deaf awareness training to Hyatt employees prior to the event. "If I had to do it all over again, I would," she said.

Most of the attendees were Gallaudet alumni, and many came from out of state to attend the event. The party lasted until well after 2 a.m., when the last of the late-nighters trickled out of the ballroom. Praise for the event was unanimous. "It's really nice to see so many people all dressed up and having a great time," said one partygoer. "We should do this every year!"