[Colorado-Talk] Fwd: Support Needed: Requesting Student Testimonies by December 23

Cindy Coffin cindy.coffin80 at gmail.com
Sun Dec 15 18:40:39 UTC 2019


Dear NFB members of Colorado, if you know only students or a student or
yourself as a student at one point in time, NABS needs your help. I am
looking for three students from Colorado to fill out the google form in the
email that I am forwarding to you. H.R. 5312 that supports the Aim High
Act  did not pass the House of Representatives last week.  If three
students can fill out their testimony by the 23 of December, this would be
appreciated. Thanks Cynthia Coffin President of CABS.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <trishak.nfb at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 14, 2019 at 8:45 PM
Subject: Support Needed: Requesting Student Testimonies by December 23
To: <cindy.coffin80 at gmail.com>
Cc: <slabarre at labarrelaw.com>, Kathryn Webster, National Student President <
nabs.president at gmail.com>


Dear Cynthia,



I am writing to request for you and your student membership’s participation
in a very important initiative for the National Association of Blind
Students. As of Friday, AIM High, or H.R. 5312, was dropped in the House of
Representatives! This bill works to create guidelines for accessibility
standards in higher education, and now we need to share our stories with
Congress so that they know the importance of this bill to the success of
blind students everywhere!



We would really appreciate your contribution by writing a short testimony
about a time you faced an accessibility challenge with educational
materials and what the passage of AIM High would mean to you. You can
submit your statement through this Google form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf68TacBetKMAHZcMhGJLmYgeWDIjjpSm9Sz1OUwYKxzsIEAg/viewform?usp=sf_link>.
Our goal is to get at least 3 testimonies from every state by December 23,
but I would love for Colorado to have more. We will be sharing these
stories with your representatives on social media, by email, and in person.
Here is an example from NABS Secretary Mausam Mehta.



“Last August, I was really excited to dive into the prerequisite coursework
for my perspective program at the University of Virginia. As a sophomore,
pursuing a degree in business and economics, I quickly discovered
significant access barriers, primarily in the form of inaccessible
instructional systems in accounting that I could not use independently with
my assistive technology. This forced me to rely on a sighted counterpart to
input my work, frustrating me to not be able to fully take charge of my
academic aspirations. Unfortunately, this issue is not unique to
accounting. Inaccessible materials are a preventable reality for blind
students, and right now, our representatives have the power to take an
important step in reducing these barriers across the country. I strongly
urge Congress to pass AIM High (HR5312) to ensure that blind students, like
myself, can be competitive applicants for top programs without the
lingering question of access slowing us down.”



I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Scott, if you know other
outlets to get the word out to the state that we are collecting student
testimonies, we would really appreciate if you can pass along this
information and my contact.

Thank you so much for your investment in our movement!



Best Regards,

Trisha Kulkarni

Board Member | National Association of Blind Students

A Proud Division of the National Federation of the Blind

Trishak.nfb at gmail.com

www.nabslink.org
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