From nabs.president at gmail.com Wed Jun 2 01:05:46 2010 From: nabs.president at gmail.com (Arielle Silverman) Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 19:05:46 -0600 Subject: [Mabs] NABS Hospitality Night at Convention! Message-ID: Dear students, This year at the NFB national convention in Dallas, for the first time, the National Association of Blind Students will be hosting a hospitality night for students! Come to the Affiliate Action Suite (room 2372 at the Hilton Anatole) on Saturday, July 3, between 8:00 p.m. and midnight for snacks, games, and informal mingling with other blind high school, college, graduate and nontraditional students. Feel free to drop in and out before or after the Rookie Roundup, karaoke, or salsa dancing. We weren't able to advertise this new NABS event in the main convention agenda, so please help us spread the word about the NABS hospitality night. Also, if you have ideas or suggestions for activities, please pass them along by writing to me off-list at nabs.president at gmail.com I look forward to seeing many of you in Dallas! -- Arielle Silverman President, National Association of Blind Students Phone: 602-502-2255 Email: nabs.president at gmail.com Website: www.nabslink.org From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Thu Jun 3 13:34:11 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 06:34:11 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] Nabs membership committee convention conference call Message-ID: Happy Summer Fellow Students! We have made it through yet another school year/semester and now we look ahead to the summer and National Convention! In preparation for this week-long amazing event, the national Association of Blind Students membership committee is pleased to present to you a convention conference call. On this call, we will be talking about what generally goes on during convention including the ajenda for the student meeting and other must- visits and experiences as a part of the action- packed week that will be. So, bring your questions and advice to our final conference call before we all make our way to Dallas Texas. Call Info: When: Sunday, June 6, Time 7p.m. EST Phone number: 712.775.7100 passcode 257963 Of course, the call will also be streamed and archived for your listening pleasure should you be unable to join the conversation. As always, thank you for your support, and we look forward to speaking with you all on Sunday! The Nabs membership committee -- Darian Smith Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Sat Jun 5 19:07:12 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2010 12:07:12 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] Reminder: Nabs membership committee conference call - National Convention Message-ID: Happy Summer Fellow Students! We have made it through yet another school year/semester and now we look ahead to the summer and National Convention! In preparation for this week-long amazing event, the national Association of Blind Students membership committee is pleased to present to you a convention conference call. On this call, we will be talking about what generally goes on during convention including the ajenda for the student meeting and other must- visits and experiences as a part of the action- packed week that will be. So, bring your questions and advice to our final conference call before we all make our way to Dallas Texas. Call Info: When: Sunday, June 6, Time 7p.m. EST Phone number: 712.775.7100 passcode 257963 Of course, the call will also be streamed and archived for your listening pleasure should you be unable to join the conversation. As always, thank you for your support, and we look forward to speaking with you all on Sunday! The Nabs membership committee -- Darian Smith Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Sun Jun 6 20:29:52 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 13:29:52 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] national Association of Blind Students membership conference call: National Convention- Today! Message-ID: Happy Summer Fellow Students! We have made it through yet another school year/semester and now we look ahead to the summer and National Convention! In preparation for this week-long amazing event, the national Association of Blind Students membership committee is pleased to present to you a convention conference call. On this call, we will be talking about what generally goes on during convention including the ajenda for the student meeting and other must- visits and experiences as a part of the action- packed week that will be. So, bring your questions and advice to our final conference call before we all make our way to Dallas Texas. Call Info: When: Sunday, June 6, Time 7p.m. EST Phone number: 712.775.7100 passcode 257963 Of course, the call will also be streamed and archived for your listening pleasure should you be unable to join the conversation. As always, thank you for your support, and we look forward to speaking with you all on Sunday! The Nabs membership committee -- Darian Smith Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Mon Jun 7 20:26:11 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 13:26:11 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] Thank you from the membership committee! Message-ID: On behalf of the membership committee of the National Association of Blind Students (Liz Botner, Candice Chapman, Antonio Guimaraes, nabslink audio coordanator David Dumphy and co-Chair Janice Jeang) I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for Joining not only last night?s call, but taking part in each of our calls over the past several months. Your support, interest and ideas have been much appreciated and will always be most welcome as Nabs moves forward with creating innovative ways to engage the student membership in discussions and activities that they feel are worthy ventures. As always, should you have suggestions for future conference calls, ideas on how to improve what we already do, have new ideas for projects, or just want to get involved in any way with the membership committee; please feel free to get in touch withus via the below contact information. Janice Jeang Co- Chair: Janice.jeang at gmail.com Darian Smith Co Chair: Dsmithnfb at gmail.com General Membership committee inbox: nabs.membership at gmail.com Want to Stay updated on what nabs is doing? Search ?National Association of Blind Students? on facebook and follow ?nabslink? on twitter. And of course, please sign up for ?Nabs-l?;the list serve for the National Association of Blind Students via nabslink.org. If you missed Last nights call, you can check out the archive at www.nabslinkaudio.org Again, much thanks to everyone and we look forward to your continued participation. See you in Dallas! -- Darian Smith Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From gwunder at earthlink.net Tue Jun 8 12:40:08 2010 From: gwunder at earthlink.net (Gary Wunder) Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 07:40:08 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] Requesting Assistance with Study Message-ID: <005d01cb0707$baa96420$260482a1@umh.edu> ----- Original Message ----- From: Kurutz, Steven A To: gwunder at earthlink.net Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 11:08 PM Subject: Requesting Assistance with Study Hello Gary, I am a student at Regis University working on my Master's thesis, which concerns the use of social networking systems by persons who are blind. Dr. Judith Chwalow of the National Federation of the Blind suggested that you may be able to help me with my research. I am seeking participants in an online survey that takes about 30 minutes to complete. I am willing to conduct the survey by telephone as well. A brief description of the study and the survey may be found at http://www.kurutz.com/OSNStudyMain.htm, and the survey itself is located at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OSN2010. I would greatly appreciate your participation in the survey, as well as your distributing this invitation to other individuals that would be interested in doing so. Thanks in advance for any assistance that you can give. I welcome any questions via e-mail or phone (303-949-3666). Best Regards, From nabs.president at gmail.com Wed Jun 9 03:19:29 2010 From: nabs.president at gmail.com (Arielle Silverman) Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 21:19:29 -0600 Subject: [Mabs] NABS Special Convention Bulletin! Message-ID: National Association of Blind Students >From the Desk of the President June 8, 2010 Special Bulletin: NFB Convention Highlights In just 26 days members of the National Federation of the Blind will gather in Dallas for the 61st NFB national convention. The convention promises to be a fun and enriching experience for first-time attendees and veteran members alike. Come to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, to learn about the latest in blindness programs and technology, and to be part of the process of changing what it means to be blind! Attached please find the full schedule of convention activities (the convention agenda). In this bulletin I have included information about NABS activities and a summary of other convention events. Please consult the attached agenda for information about activities not listed here in the bulletin. Please also consult the first three pages of the agenda for information about the layout of our convention hotel, the Hilton Anatole, and dining options within the hotel. The Hilton Anatole is located at 2201 Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX 75207 Hotel phone: 214-748-1200 If you have won an NFB scholarship or other convention award, you may be required or invited to attend events not listed here; you will be notified individually about these additional events. At this time the convention hotel rooms are all reserved. If you still need a room, contact your affiliate president to find out if anyone going from your state has a space in their room. If not, then contact me at Nabs.president at gmail.com If you are flying to Dallas, taxi and SuperShuttle service are available to take you to the Hilton Anatole. Average SuperShuttle fares run at about $18; average taxi fares run at about $40 from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport and about $20 from the Dallas/Love Field airport. You can reserve a SuperShuttle trip in advance by going to www.supershuttle.com or, if you are traveling in a group, catch a taxi outside the main terminal. I look forward to seeing all of you in Dallas! Schedule of Highlighted Convention Activities Saturday July 3, 2010 Saturday features several technology seminars, including a session about improvements in Blackboard accessibility. Consult the agenda for details and room locations. There will also be special sessions for middle and high school students on Saturday afternoon which NABS will be conducting where teens can discuss issues and concerns about preparing for high school and college. Exact times for these and other teen sessions are listed in the agenda. Finally, there will be goalball (sponsored by the Sports and Recreation Division) on Saturday afternoon and an all-day employment seminar on Saturday. On Saturday evening from 8:00 to midnight, NABS will be hosting a Student Hospitality Night in the Affiliate Action Suite, Room 2372. Drop in for snacks, games, and the chance to meet and mingle with other blind high school, college, graduate and nontraditional students. Feel free to drop in and out while also enjoying salsa dancing, karaoke, or the Rookie Roundup, a gathering for first-time convention attendees. Sunday July 4, 2010 On Sunday both the exhibit hall and the NFB Independence Market and Showroom of Innovation will open. Come to the Exhibit Hall to browse information and products from leading assistive technology vendors and to learn about our NFB training centers. Come to the Independence Market to buy canes, watches, and other blindness products, to pick up NFB literature, and to explore new innovations such as the Blind Driver Challenge. Both the exhibit hall and the Independence Market will be open on Sunday and Monday all day and on Tuesday and Wednesday during the lunch break. NABS will have a table in the exhibit hall where we will be selling water bottles and passing out student information packets. Come see us! Sunday is also a good time to pick up your registration materials if you pre-registered, or to purchase them if you didn't. The registration desk will also be open on Monday and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings before the general session. Check the agenda for programs on Sunday including the meeting of the Resolutions Committee and the Mock Trial, where the National Association of Blind Lawyers will provide a comical reenactment of a serious legal case involving discrimination against the blind. There will also be a writing workshop for youth ages 11 to 19. On Sunday evening from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. NABS will have its annual business meeting. Come early to register with us, or register online now by going to www.nabslink.org Annual NABS dues, which you will need to pay in order to vote in the elections, are $5. At our meeting we will hear about exciting new developments with the Blackboard learning platform and other news, and we will hear from NFB President Maurer and from a few of our student members about their experiences being in the NFB. We will also be electing two of our board members. Join our business meeting to learn the latest about issues affecting us as blind students, and become a part of our organization. Monday July 5, 2010 On Monday morning we will have the national NFB Board of Directors meeting, an open meeting where a variety of announcements about the convention and other general NFB matters will be given. On Monday afternoon and evening, a variety of NFB divisions will hold their annual meetings. Many NFB divisions are organized by shared professional interests, such as the National Association of Blind Lawyers, the National Association of Blind Educators, the Science and Engineering Division, and the Human Services Division. Check the agenda to find the division meeting(s) you want to attend. This is a great opportunity to meet blind people working in your field of study and to learn about the latest developments in techniques that can be useful to you in your career. Finally, on Monday evening, check out the teen talk sessions (separate Q&A sessions for boys and girls), the indoor rowing workshop and the annual play performed by students at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. All proceeds from the play support the teen summer program at the LCB! Tuesday July 6, 2010 Tuesday is the first of three days of general sessions. A highlight of the Tuesday session is the presidential report, when Dr. Maurer updates us on what the NFB has been doing over the past year and what work is still ahead of us. Check the agenda for a detailed description of the General Session program for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday evening, the NFB of Texas will be hosting a Texas-style barbeque and live music in Anatole Park, just outside the hotel. Barbeque tickets can be purchased for $45 during registration. There will also be more teen activities and an open house for the Colorado Center for the Blind. Wednesday July 7, 2010 On Wednesday we have more general sessions in the morning and afternoon. On Wednesday night NABS will be holding our annual Monte Carlo Night fund-raiser. Pay $10 to purchase chips and play casino-style card games; whoever has the most chips at the end of the night will win a cash prize. The Performing Arts Division is also hosting their annual Showcase of Talent on Wednesday night, and the exhibit hall will be open for the last time. Thursday July 8, 2010 On Thursday we will have one final day of general sessions, followed by the banquet in the evening. If you didn?t pre-register for the convention, you can purchase your banquet ticket for $45 during registration. I personally find the banquet and especially Dr. Maurer?s presidential address to be one of the most fun and inspiring parts of the convention. It reminds us of where we the blind of this country have come from, where we are going and that we are all united in the business of changing what it means to be blind. -- Arielle Silverman President, National Association of Blind Students Phone: 602-502-2255 Email: nabs.president at gmail.com Website: www.nabslink.org -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Convention Agenda.doc Type: application/msword Size: 2756608 bytes Desc: not available URL: From nabs.president at gmail.com Wed Jun 9 04:57:12 2010 From: nabs.president at gmail.com (Arielle Silverman) Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 22:57:12 -0600 Subject: [Mabs] Student Slate and New NABS Website! Message-ID: Hi again all, Attached please find the summer 2010 issue of the Student Slate, the quarterly publication of the National Association of Blind Students. As you will read in the Editor's Introduction in the Slate, we have just completed a revamp of the NABS website! Go to www.nabslink.org to check out the new site, and let us know what you think! I look forward to seeing many of you in Dallas! Arielle Silverman, President National Association of Blind Students -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Student Slate Summer 2010.doc Type: application/msword Size: 131584 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jsorozco at gmail.com Wed Jun 9 13:47:35 2010 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 09:47:35 -0400 Subject: [Mabs] FW: TABS Southern Strums Message-ID: Subject: [Nabs-presidents] TABS Southern Strums Southern Strums Comes to Dallas Texas. From the Desk of the President: The Texas Association of Blind Students is pleased to announce the return of Southern Strums! Southern Strums is TABS' biggest fundraiser of the year and our biggest event second only to our Spring Conference. Southern Strums provides a showcase for blind musicians to play for convention goers from all over the United States. The event will be held on Monday July 5,2010 from 7:00pm-11:00pm. at *Uptown Bar* & *Grill* www.uptownbarandgrill.com 2523 McKinney Avenue Dallas, TX 75201-1964 (214) 969-9433 The Uptown Bar and Grill boasts it has the "best burgers in Dallas" and offers half price burgers on the day it hosts our Southern Strums. The venue is conveniently located just 2.5 miles away from the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Get Directions from Mapquest Here . We are aware that the hotel does not have a shuttle, and so TABS is pleased to announce that we will be providing transportation between the bar and hotel from 6:30pm-11:15pm at no cost to those who purchase a Southern Strums ticket. Come support our Student Division while enjoying great food, drinks, music and mingling all for just $5! For more information, please visit: www.nfb-texas.org/tabs.html if you would like to participate in Southern Strums, email Juan Munoz at jcmunoz1989 at gmail.com Juan Del Rosario President Texas Association of Blind Students 7823 Comal St. Houston TX. 77051 Phone; 713-320-5519 Email; delrosariomartinez.juan at gmail.com -- -Juan Del Rosario President Texas Association of Blind Students www.nfb-texas.org/tabs.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Southern Strums Comes to Dallas Texas.doc Type: application/msword Size: 33280 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT00085.txt URL: From gwunder at earthlink.net Wed Jun 9 15:30:44 2010 From: gwunder at earthlink.net (Gary Wunder) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 10:30:44 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] Fw: Law Schools Discriminate Against Blind Applicants Message-ID: <001201cb07e8$ba58f3f0$260482a1@umh.edu> ----- Original Message ----- From: Freeh, Jessica To: Alpidio Rolon ; Amy Buresh ; Angela Wolf ; Anil Lewis ; Art Schreiber ; Beth Rival ; Bill Packee ; Bob Kresmer ; Carl Jacobsen ; Cassandra McNabb ; Cathy Jackson ; Charlene Smyth ; Christine G. Hall ; Dan Hicks ; Daniel Burke ; Don Galloway ; Donna Wood ; Elsie Dickerson ; Frank Lee ; Franklin Shiner ; Fred Schroeder ; Gary Ray ; Gary Wunder ; J.W. Smith ; James Antonacci ; Jennelle Bichler ; Jennifer Dunnam ; Joe Ruffalo ; John Batron ; John Fritz ; Joyce Scanlan ; Ken Rollman ; Kevan Worley ; Kim Williams ; Larry Posont ; Lynn Majewski ; Mary Willows ; Matt Lyles ; Matt Lyles ; Melissa Riccobono ; Michael Barber ; Michael Freeman ; Mika Pyyhkala ; Nani Fife ; Pam Allen ; Parnell Diggs ; Patti Chang ; Rena Smith ; Richard Gaffney ; Ron Brown ; Ron Gardner ; Sam Gleese ; Scott LaBarre ; Selena Sundling-Crawford Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 9:39 AM Subject: Law Schools Discriminate Against Blind Applicants FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chris Danielsen Director of Public Relations National Federation of the Blind (410) 659-9314, extension 2330 (410) 262-1281 (Cell) cdanielsen at nfb.org Law Schools Discriminate Against Blind Applicants National Federation of the Blind Files Suit Against Four California Law Schools San Francisco, California (June 9, 2010): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind people, and three blind students who have applied or are considering applying to law school in California-Deepa Goraya, Bruce J. Sexton, and Claire Stanley-filed an amended lawsuit yesterday against the Law School Admissions Council and four California law schools for violating provisions of the California Disabled Persons Act, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit was filed because the law schools require or encourage applicants to use a centralized Internet-based application process provided by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) through its Web site (www.lsac.org) that is inaccessible to blind law school applicants. Blind students must seek sighted assistance to use the LSAC system. Furthermore, blind law school applicants cannot perform other tasks on the LSAC Web site, such as downloading official study materials for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) that is required by almost all U.S. law schools. The four law schools are: University of California Hastings College of the Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and Chapman University School of Law. Blind people access Web sites on computers equipped with screen access software that converts what is on the screen into synthesized speech or Braille. The keyboard is used instead of a mouse to navigate the Web site and click on selected links or buttons. If a Web site is improperly coded, however, blind computer users cannot access or interact with the site. The law school applications available on lsac.org are completely inaccessible to screen readers, requiring blind users to resort to sighted assistance in order to complete their law school applications. In addition, the practice tests and preparation materials for the LSAT are not available in an electronic format that is accessible to blind computer users. Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind demands that those who control admission to the practice of law obey the law. For too long, blind people have experienced barriers to entering the legal profession, despite a long history of success and distinguished service by blind attorneys and judges. The National Federation of the Blind will not sit quietly while the LSAC willfully refuses to provide the same services to blind people seeking admission to law school that it does to the sighted. The LSAC is engaging in blatant discrimination against the blind and we will not stand for it. Since all of the schools named in our amended complaint either require or strongly encourage applicants to use the inaccessible LSAC application system, they too are actively discriminating against blind applicants and we will ask the courts to hold them responsible for doing so." The National Federation of the Blind and Ms. Goraya originally filed suit against the LSAC for its inaccessible Web site in February of 2009. The complaint filed today amends that action. The National Federation of the Blind recently filed complaints with the United States Department of Justice against nine other law schools across the United States that use the LSAC online application system. The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is investigating those complaints. Plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Daniel F. Goldstein and Mehgan Sidhu of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy; Laurence W. Paradis, Anna Levine, and Karla Gilbride of the Berkley firm Disability Rights Advocates; and Scott C. LaBarre of the Denver firm LaBarre Law Offices. ### About the National Federation of the Blind With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind. From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Wed Jun 9 18:56:07 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 11:56:07 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] (no subject) Message-ID: Hello fellow students, As you all know, the National association of blind students is planning a lot of exciting things at national convention. What you may not know however is that we as a board can?t do all of it ourselves. So we would very much appreciate your help in making The nabs activities a success this year! Where we would most appreciate your assistance is in two areas: 1. assistance in staffing the nabs table located in the exhibit hall. Here you will be partnered up with a nabs board member selling water bottles and handing out nabs literature. The schedule for tabling looks like this: Sunday, July 4: Shift 1. 9:00 a.m. ? 11:30 a.m. Shift 2. 11:30 a.m. ? 2:15 p.m. Shift 3. 2:15p.m. ? 5:00 p.m. Monday, July 5: shift 4: 8:30 a.m. ? 10:45 a.m. Shift 5: 10:45 a.m. ? 1:00 p.m. Shift 6: 1:00 p.m. ? 3:15 p.m. Shift 7. 3:15 p.m. ? 5:00p.m. Tuesday, July 6: Shift 8: 12 noon ? 1:45 p.m. Wendsday, July 7: Shift 9: 12 noon ? 1:45 p.m. As you can see, we have nine shifts, so if you contact me with your preference, I will be more than happy to get you scheduled in! 2. Staffing the nabs monte carlo night fund raiser. This is a great opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with us in putting together one of our most successful events that we do. For this we will need: Individuals who can work an early shift ( 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Those individuals will be asked to either a. Marshal. b. Set up for the event c. Deal card games( blackjack, poker, holdemand other such games) We will also need Late shift workers (9:30 p.m. ? 12:00 a.m.) Those individuals would be asked to: a. deal card games (blackjack, poker, holdem and other such games) b. assist with event clean- up and playing chip counting. Please let me know what shift(s) you are interested in working (exhibit hall, monte carlo or both). If Monte carlo, please let me know what job you would like to take on, if you would like to deal and what games you would like to deal (blackjack, poker, holdem or other such games). This is a great opportunity for you to meet the nabs board, and us to get to know you. As well, this is an equally great opportunity for you to meet a lot of new people and have some fun at the same time. Please contact me by July 1 if interested. I can be contacted at: dsmithnfb at gmail.com Thank you so much for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you all real soon And of course, See you in dallas!!! Best, Darian -- Darian Smith Board member National Association of Blind Students Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Wed Jun 9 19:19:06 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 12:19:06 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] Nabs needs your help at convention! are you in? Message-ID: *sorry for the re-post folks. Wel, at least you can't say you didn't get the message! :) Hello fellow students, As you all know, the National association of blind students is planning a lot of exciting things at national convention. What you may not know however is that we as a board can?t do all of it ourselves. So we would very much appreciate your help in making The nabs activities a success this year! Where we would most appreciate your assistance is in two areas: 1. assistance in staffing the nabs table located in the exhibit hall. Here you will be partnered up with a nabs board member selling water bottles and handing out nabs literature. The schedule for tabling looks like this: Sunday, July 4: Shift 1. 9:00 a.m. ? 11:30 a.m. Shift 2. 11:30 a.m. ? 2:15 p.m. Shift 3. 2:15p.m. ? 5:00 p.m. Monday, July 5: shift 4: 8:30 a.m. ? 10:45 a.m. Shift 5: 10:45 a.m. ? 1:00 p.m. Shift 6: 1:00 p.m. ? 3:15 p.m. Shift 7. 3:15 p.m. ? 5:00p.m. Tuesday, July 6: Shift 8: 12 noon ? 1:45 p.m. Wendsday, July 7: Shift 9: 12 noon ? 1:45 p.m. As you can see, we have nine shifts, so if you contact me with your preference, I will be more than happy to get you scheduled in! 2. Staffing the nabs monte carlo night fund raiser. This is a great opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with us in putting together one of our most successful events that we do. For this we will need: Individuals who can work an early shift ( 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Those individuals will be asked to either a. Marshal. b. Set up for the event c. Deal card games( blackjack, poker, holdemand other such games) We will also need Late shift workers (9:30 p.m. ? 12:00 a.m.) Those individuals would be asked to: a. deal card games (blackjack, poker, holdem and other such games) b. assist with event clean- up and playing chip counting. Please let me know what shift(s) you are interested in working (exhibit hall, monte carlo or both). If Monte carlo, please let me know what job you would like to take on, if you would like to deal and what games you would like to deal (blackjack, poker, holdem or other such games). This is a great opportunity for you to meet the nabs board, and us to get to know you. As well, this is an equally great opportunity for you to meet a lot of new people and have some fun at the same time. Please contact me by July 1 if interested. I can be contacted at: dsmithnfb at gmail.com Thank you so much for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you all real soon And of course, See you in dallas!!! Best, Darian -- Darian Smith Board member National Association of blind students Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dandrews at visi.com Fri Jun 11 23:39:25 2010 From: dandrews at visi.com (David Andrews) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:39:25 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] =?iso-8859-1?q?2010_NFB_National_Convention_Agenda_Availab?= =?iso-8859-1?q?le_on_NFB-NEWSLINE=AE?= Message-ID: 2010 NFB National Convention Agenda Available on NFB-NEWSLINE? Perk your ears convention-goers, as we've got some great news for you! We are pleased to announce that once again the entire agenda of the National Federation of the Blind?s national convention will be available on NFB-NEWSLINE?, helping you to make the most of this grand gathering. With the availability of the agenda, you can quickly and easily determine what options are available at a particular time and find when and where a desired meeting will occur. We believe that this will make it easy to plan your convention schedule?made even easier with the new access methods available through NFB-NEWSLINE? Online. You can access the agenda in numerous ways?by download to your digital talking-book player with NFB-NEWSLINE? In Your Pocket, by reading it on Web News on Demand, and, of course, by picking up any touch-tone telephone. With NFB-NEWSLINE? In Your Pocket, you can have the full agenda on one small device, providing increased portability and effortless access. You can easily scan through each day to learn what meetings and events are of interest and determine your schedule for the day. In order to download the agenda to your digital talking-book player, you'll need to add the agenda to your favorites. This can be done online via our favorites management tool under the link for ?Manage Your In Your Pocket Favorite Publications.? Naturally, you'll need to download the NFB-NEWSLINE? In Your Pocket software, available at www.nfbnewslineonline.org, onto your computer before you can place this content on your device. After you've logged in, select the link for NFB-NEWSLINE? In Your Pocket, which takes you to an informational page with software download links. Web News on Demand allows you to easily search for a particular meeting or event when viewing the full agenda on one screen, or you can view each day individually. You can also have the contents of the full agenda or a particular day or event e-mailed to yourself, and you are now able to download a zip file of the agenda to your portable note-taking device (such as the BrailleNote). To access Web News on Demand and the special features it offers, visit www.nfbnewslineonline.org and select ?Web News on Demand? after logging in. The easiest way to find the agenda is to select the link ?Publications Organized Alphabetically? and search for the title ?NFB 2010 Convention Agenda.? To access the agenda on the phone you'll want to enter the main menu (option number five) and select ?National Meetings of Interest to the Print-Disabled? (option number four) from the ?Newspapers in a Different State? menu. With the recent availability of our on-demand article-request feature, you can now request that details of a certain meeting or event be sent to your e-mail account; you can in this way set up your own agenda tailored to your interests and obligations. To use this feature, when listening to an article press #9 (pound nine) and the desired article will be sent to your e-mail inbox automatically, assuming your e-mail address is provided in your account. If you?d like to experience the flexibility and ease of use that is offered by NFB-NEWSLINE? Online, please visit www.nfbnewslineonline.org. If you've forgotten your codes, please call us toll free at (866) 504-7300. If you aren't signed up for NFB-NEWSLINE?, visit www.nfbnewsline.org to download an application or fill in the online application. David Andrews: dandrews at visi.com Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920 From dandrews at visi.com Thu Jun 17 07:50:32 2010 From: dandrews at visi.com (David Andrews) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:50:32 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] FW: Hey, have you heard the latest ? Message-ID: >From: "Andrews, David B B (DEED)" >To: David Andrews >Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:46:31 -0500 >Subject: FW: Hey, have you heard the latest ? >Thread-Topic: Hey, have you heard the latest ? >Thread-Index: Acr7f37cCYpyxLKkT6mamOwWh+4fiwR6mWmAAABKwfA= > > > >From: Wilson, Joanne [mailto:JWilson at nfb.org] >Subject: Hey, have you heard the latest ? > >Extra! Extra! Read all about it! > >The NFB Department of Affiliate Action will host the 2010 Back to >Basics seminar, and you don't want to miss it! > >What: The Back to Basics seminar is designed to serve as a training >session to help give chapter leaders countless tools for success. >The session will offer detailed and practical techniques that can be >used to build membership, to raise funds, to start meaningful >projects, to run fun meetings, and to make your life just a little easier! > >When: Monday, July 5, 2010 > >Time: 6:00-10:00 pm, the topic will change at the top of every hour, >so feel free to attend some or all of the seminar. > >Who: This training session is open to all NFB members. Special >recognition will be given to chapter presidents. President perks >include distinguished seating, extra opportunities to win door >prizes, and a wonderful gift from Dr. Maurer! Not a chapter >president? No worries, all attendees will leave with a chapter >development kit, will get to participate in our door prize drawings, >and will get to try out lots of hands-on activities! > >Need additional info? Give me a call at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2335, >or send an email to jwilson at nfb.org. > >Convention is right around the corner, looking forward to seeing you there! > >Best, > >Joanne Wilson >Executive Director of Affiliate Action >National Federation of the Blind >200 East Wells Street > at Jernigan Place >Baltimore, MD 21230 >410.659.9314 x 2335 >(F) 410.659.6893 >jwilson at nfb.org >"Voice of the Nation's Blind" > David Andrews: dandrews at visi.com Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920 From curtischong at earthlink.net Fri Jun 18 09:29:40 2010 From: curtischong at earthlink.net (Curtis Chong) Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:29:40 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] Comments Urgently Needed Message-ID: Greetings and felicitations: I am writing to ask for your help to influence the U.S. Access Board as it considers proposed amendments to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. In particular, the Access Board is proposing to deal with access to self-service machines "used for ticketing, check-in or check-out, seat selection, boarding passes, or ordering food in restaurants and cafeterias (220.2)." In addition to explicitly excluding drive-up only self-service machines, the proposed amendments will not require electronic information kiosks to be accessible. If you would like to help, please call or email the Access Board before midnight Monday, June 21, with a message saying that the ADA Accessibility guidelines need to include information kiosks as well as drive-up only self-service machines. Your message does not need to be very long. It just needs to make the point that you want the Board to include accessibility to information kiosks and drive-up only self-service machines in amendments to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. You can call and leave a voice mail or send an email to Tim Creagan, the Access Board staff member who is taking comments on the proposed rule modifications. The number to call is 202-272-0016, and Tim Creagan's email address is creagan at access-board.gov. For any of you who care to conduct extensive research into this issue, the proposed rule changes can be found at this link: http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/draft-rule.htm Whatever you do, it needs to be done by midnight, Monday, June 21. Thank you. Yours sincerely Curtis Chong, Chairman Committee on Research and Development National Federation of the Blind From dandrews at visi.com Sat Jun 19 02:55:56 2010 From: dandrews at visi.com (David Andrews) Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:55:56 -0500 Subject: [Mabs] Letter to Members Concerning Section 508 Refresh and Comments Message-ID: Dear Federationists: As many of you may have already heard, the U.S. Access Board has asked the public for feedback on some proposed changes to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, Rehabilitation Act, and Telecommunications Act. Specifically, the Access Board plans to update the standards and accessibility guidelines for electronic and information technology, as well as add kiosks to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. We urge you to make your voices heard and e-mail, fax, or post on www.regulations.gov your comments to these changes, as they have an enormous impact on a blind person's ability to access information. With a deadline of midnight on Monday, June 21, time is running out for us to influence the board. The National Federation of the Blind has been heavily involved with the formulation of these proposed standards and guidelines, but our role is not finished. It is important that we applaud the Access Board for the changes we support so they are not compromised, and that we highlight where the changes have not gone far enough to ensure full accessibility. More specifically, we have many concerns regarding both the definition of a "kiosk" and the kiosks that are exempted in the proposal. In the current proposal, the definition of "kiosk" is limiting. A kiosk is defined as a self-service unit used only for transportation (ticketing, seat assignments, boarding passes, etc.) or for ordering food. This definition should be expanded to include other types of services not mentioned, as kiosks are increasingly replacing customer service personnel in a wide range of services, including voting, jury service payments, and health care. The current definition is silent on whether a unit used for these services would be considered a kiosk, and also does not include visual display systems that are used solely for displaying information to users. Kiosks should have a comprehensive definition that leaves room for innovative ways kiosks may be incorporated into our society and eliminates any future debate over whether a different service is covered under the law and what standards may apply. In addition, the two exemptions for kiosks in the proposal will not ensure total accessibility. First, closed systems are exempted to comply with 302. This means a closed system does not have to provide spoken output, since it would not be required to be usable with "only the attachment of a personal headset." Under this assumption, there is no requirement for these systems to be accessible. Second, drive-up kiosks are exempted. Although people with certain disabilities are not drivers, they are all passengers who may encounter a drive-up kiosk; and exempting drive-up units is discriminatory to a disabled passenger. The NFB encourages the board to ensure that all kiosks be required to be accessible. These comments and others were compiled and formally submitted by the NFB to the Access Board. Now it is time for our members to make a statement and emphasize our concerns regarding kiosks. Your comments can be short--the act of sending in feedback is more important than the length of your remarks. You could say something as simple as "I think the definition of kiosks is too limited. Please expand the definition and remove the exemptions." You could also say "I think the definition of kiosks should be expanded and all exemptions removed to ensure full accessibility." You can call Tim Creagan at (202) 272-0016, e-mail your thoughts to ictrule at access-board.gov with "2010-1" in the subject line, fax to (202) 272-0081, or post your comments on www.regulations.gov. To view the full draft, visit http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/draft-rule.htm. If you need more information, please contact Lauren McLarney at (410) 659-9314, extension 2207. Sincerely, Joanne Wilson Executive Director, Affiliate Action jwilson at nfb.org David Andrews: dandrews at visi.com Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920 From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Sun Jun 20 17:19:11 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:19:11 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] News and Notes from nabs Message-ID: Hello fellow students, Ready for convention? A few announcements from the national Association of Blind Students: 1. Don?t forget to register online for the nabs meeting that will take place on Sunday, July 4. Registration is at 6 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7; but if you want to be sure to avoid the long lines, simply go to www.nabslink.org and look for the link ?become a member of the national association of blind students? link on the home page. Once you do that, all you will have to do is pay your $5 registration fee and you?ll be good to go! 2. On Saturday evening from 8:00 to midnight, NABS will be hosting a Student Hospitality Night in the Affiliate Action Suite, Room 2372. Drop in for snacks, games, and the chance to meet and mingle with other blind high school, college, graduate and nontraditional students. Feel free to drop in and out while also enjoying salsa dancing, karaoke, or the Rookie Roundup, a gathering for first-time convention attendees. Should you have any questions about any of our nabs events, please feel free to contact any of the nabs board and we would love to answer them for you! Have a great weekend and see you in Dallas! -- Darian Smith Board member National Association of Blind Students www.nabslink.org Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From jsorozco at gmail.com Fri Jun 25 17:53:05 2010 From: jsorozco at gmail.com (Joe Orozco) Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:53:05 -0400 Subject: [Mabs] Online Privacy Survey Message-ID: <5E59923AC63C496AB8589D540369160C@Rufus> Dear all, Our office is currently exploring ways to engage disability groups in the evaluation of accessibility features at popular websites. We are involved in active discussions with Facebook about their privacy settings, many of our recommendations already having been implemented, and we hope to use the momentum of these discussions to spearhead talks about accessibility. Please help us cement our privacy concerns by taking this brief survey. Your input is very much appreciated and will hopefully be a great starting point with talks of accessible websites in the very near future. My employer has not generally concentrated on the disability community as part of its work, and I hope that feedback from you guys will help it make accessibility issues a more prominent part of our activities. The survey can be found at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/online_privacy Sincerely, Joe Orozco From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Tue Jun 29 19:19:55 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:19:55 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] Nabs still needs some extra hands. Message-ID: Good Tuesday to you all, I first wanted to let you know that we all on the nabs board very much appreciate your willingness to volunteer to help us out at national convention with our monte carlo fundraiser and tabling in the exhibit hall. It cannot be stated enough what impact you all as fellow students have in making this division a healthy, successful and productive operation, because no one person, or group of people can ever do the work that nabs needs to get done alone. That said, we are still looking for fourd card game dealers to round out our amazing monte carlo mega team, so if you know how to deal poker, holdem or blackjack, this is the place for you! Monte carlo is a great time. You get to work with the nabs board and fellow students, as well as get to meet fun-loving folks who support us all, as members of the national association of blind students. If you are interested, please write me off-list at dsmithnfb at gmail.com and I?ll be glad to answer any questions you might have. Thank you for your help thus far and I'll see you in Dallas! -- Darian Smith Board member National Association of Blind Students. Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Tue Jun 29 19:42:11 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:42:11 -0700 Subject: [Mabs] A few reminders from the nabs board. Message-ID: Hello fellow students, We are fast approaching convention (can you believe it?) A few announcements/reminders from the national Association of Blind Students: 1. Don?t forget to register online for the nabs meeting that will take place on Sunday, July 4. Registration is at 6 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7; but if you want to be sure to avoid the long lines, simply go to www.nabslink.org and look for the ?become a member of the national association of blind students? link on the home page. Once you do that, all you will have to do is pay your $5 registration fee and you?ll be good to go! 2. On Saturday evening from 8:00 to midnight, NABS will be hosting a Student Hospitality Night in the Affiliate Action Suite, Room 2372. Drop in for snacks, games, and the chance to meet and mingle with other blind high school, college, graduate and nontraditional students. Feel free to drop in and out while also enjoying salsa dancing, karaoke, or the Rookie Roundup, a gathering for first-time convention attendees. Should you have any questions about any of our nabs events, please feel free to contact any of the nabs board and we would love to answer them for you! -- Darian Smith Board member National Association of Blind Students Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From nabs.president at gmail.com Wed Jun 30 22:32:01 2010 From: nabs.president at gmail.com (Arielle Silverman) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:32:01 -0600 Subject: [Mabs] Fighting Discrimination in Missouri Message-ID: Dear students, On the eve of our 70th anniversary as an organization, I am deeply saddened to distribute the below message, about a blind couple in Missouri whose newborn daughter was taken away from them by CPS, merely because they are blind. This situation affects all of us, especially since many of us are current or future blind parents, and it's a shocking reminder of how much work remains ahead of us as an organization. I urge you to read the below and to consider donating to this cause, either directly or by helping to babysit at convention to raise money for this family. >From the NFB of Missouri: Erica and Blake, a young couple were awaiting the birth of their first child with joy and happiness. Baby Mikaela was born at 12:45pm, May 21. Not unlike many new mothers, Erica experienced some difficulty in her first breast feeding of Mikaela; she called the nurse for some advice. By 6:00pm child protective services arrived at the hospital to say the parents could not take Mikaela home, unless they had a sighted person to live with them. In all the investigations, blindness is the only reason sited for the parents not being allowed to leave with their new baby girl. The Missouri affiliate has hired an attorney at $250 per hour, and her assistant at $85 per hour to bring Mikaela home where she belongs! Please help with any donations possible to unite this family. You may stop by the Missouri table, B 114 in the exhibit hall, or come by our delegation. We, the National Federation of the Blind can bring Mikaela home to her parents where she belongs! Thank you for any help you can give. And a more recent update: I just spoke with NFB of Missouri President Gary Wunder. Here is the latest: The parents initially thought that if they played by the rules, surely the judge would give them back their daughter at the first hearing. However, this did not happen, so a second hearing was scheduled for June 16. At this point, the parents realized that they needed an advocate and contacted the NFB of Missouri. After visiting with the couple in their home and determining that there were no extenuating circumstances and that blindness was the only concern CPS had about these parents, the NFB hired an attorney to assist them. The cost of this attorney is $250 an hour, and $85 for the services of the attorney's assistant. About two weeks ago, on June 16, the parents had their second hearing. The judge seemed outraged that the hospital had taken the child from this couple with so little cause and was further astounded that the hospital had never dealt with blind parents before. Unfortunately, this was not an evidentiary hearing, so no decisions were made and it was announced that there would need to be a third hearing. The problem is that this judge is going on vacation, so the earliest they could get a hearing with her was on July 20. The parents could have chosen to get an earlier hearing date with a different judge, but their attorney advised them to wait for this judge to return from vacation, because she had seemed so sympathetic and on their side at the second hearing. So, the situation as it now stands is that the parents are awaiting their third hearing on July 20, with this hopefully sympathetic judge. Meanwhile, the NFB of Missouri is paying for the parents to receive voc rehab training, to get letters from the state VR agency saying that these parents can indeed perform the tasks that were of concern to CPS. The NFB realizes that we shouldn't have to get a permission slip from the state VR agency to have kids, but their main focus at this time is to address the ridiculous "But, how does a blind person do that?" concerns of the hospital and CPS and get baby Micaela back with her parents where she belongs. So, the NFB of Missouri is incurring additional costs, as they are paying out of pocket for these voc rehab services for the couple. Gary asked me to pass along that the NFB of Missouri welcomes donations to help defray the sky-rocketing legal expenses and the cost of getting letters from VR professionals asserting that these parents have received training in the skills of parenting and can perform the required tasks. They are setting up a specific fund for these donations. You can make a contribution at the NFB of Missouri's affiliate table in the Exhibit Hall or by visiting Gary in the Missouri delegation during General Session. If you can't make a monetary donation or if you'd like to help further, I'm collecting names and contact info of Federationists who would be willing to baby-sit during Convention for parents who want to get out for an evening or even just attend a few Convention events without their children, and donate the proceeds to the NFB of Missouri to help with the legal costs of returning Micaela to her parents. If you'd like to volunteer your time, please contact me at stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov or on my cell at 708-359-3301. Please let me know the best way to contact you at Convention, a little bit about your experience with kids (this might include being a parent yourself, having worked as a counselor at a summer program, etc.), and which times you would be available. Furthermore, feel free to share my contact info with any parents who might be interested in this service during Convention. Thanks, Stacy Leigh Cervenka Legislative Assistant Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS) 303 Hart Senate Office Building Phone: (202) 224-6521 Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov -- Arielle Silverman President, National Association of Blind Students Phone: 602-502-2255 Email: nabs.president at gmail.com Website: www.nabslink.org From nabs.president at gmail.com Wed Jun 30 22:32:04 2010 From: nabs.president at gmail.com (Arielle Silverman) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:32:04 -0600 Subject: [Mabs] Fighting Discrimination in Missouri Message-ID: Dear students, On the eve of our 70th anniversary as an organization, I am deeply saddened to distribute the below message, about a blind couple in Missouri whose newborn daughter was taken away from them by CPS, merely because they are blind. This situation affects all of us, especially since many of us are current or future blind parents, and it's a shocking reminder of how much work remains ahead of us as an organization. I urge you to read the below and to consider donating to this cause, either directly or by helping to babysit at convention to raise money for this family. >From the NFB of Missouri: Erica and Blake, a young couple were awaiting the birth of their first child with joy and happiness. Baby Mikaela was born at 12:45pm, May 21. Not unlike many new mothers, Erica experienced some difficulty in her first breast feeding of Mikaela; she called the nurse for some advice. By 6:00pm child protective services arrived at the hospital to say the parents could not take Mikaela home, unless they had a sighted person to live with them. In all the investigations, blindness is the only reason sited for the parents not being allowed to leave with their new baby girl. The Missouri affiliate has hired an attorney at $250 per hour, and her assistant at $85 per hour to bring Mikaela home where she belongs! Please help with any donations possible to unite this family. You may stop by the Missouri table, B 114 in the exhibit hall, or come by our delegation. We, the National Federation of the Blind can bring Mikaela home to her parents where she belongs! Thank you for any help you can give. And a more recent update: I just spoke with NFB of Missouri President Gary Wunder. Here is the latest: The parents initially thought that if they played by the rules, surely the judge would give them back their daughter at the first hearing. However, this did not happen, so a second hearing was scheduled for June 16. At this point, the parents realized that they needed an advocate and contacted the NFB of Missouri. After visiting with the couple in their home and determining that there were no extenuating circumstances and that blindness was the only concern CPS had about these parents, the NFB hired an attorney to assist them. The cost of this attorney is $250 an hour, and $85 for the services of the attorney's assistant. About two weeks ago, on June 16, the parents had their second hearing. The judge seemed outraged that the hospital had taken the child from this couple with so little cause and was further astounded that the hospital had never dealt with blind parents before. Unfortunately, this was not an evidentiary hearing, so no decisions were made and it was announced that there would need to be a third hearing. The problem is that this judge is going on vacation, so the earliest they could get a hearing with her was on July 20. The parents could have chosen to get an earlier hearing date with a different judge, but their attorney advised them to wait for this judge to return from vacation, because she had seemed so sympathetic and on their side at the second hearing. So, the situation as it now stands is that the parents are awaiting their third hearing on July 20, with this hopefully sympathetic judge. Meanwhile, the NFB of Missouri is paying for the parents to receive voc rehab training, to get letters from the state VR agency saying that these parents can indeed perform the tasks that were of concern to CPS. The NFB realizes that we shouldn't have to get a permission slip from the state VR agency to have kids, but their main focus at this time is to address the ridiculous "But, how does a blind person do that?" concerns of the hospital and CPS and get baby Micaela back with her parents where she belongs. So, the NFB of Missouri is incurring additional costs, as they are paying out of pocket for these voc rehab services for the couple. Gary asked me to pass along that the NFB of Missouri welcomes donations to help defray the sky-rocketing legal expenses and the cost of getting letters from VR professionals asserting that these parents have received training in the skills of parenting and can perform the required tasks. They are setting up a specific fund for these donations. You can make a contribution at the NFB of Missouri's affiliate table in the Exhibit Hall or by visiting Gary in the Missouri delegation during General Session. If you can't make a monetary donation or if you'd like to help further, I'm collecting names and contact info of Federationists who would be willing to baby-sit during Convention for parents who want to get out for an evening or even just attend a few Convention events without their children, and donate the proceeds to the NFB of Missouri to help with the legal costs of returning Micaela to her parents. If you'd like to volunteer your time, please contact me at stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov or on my cell at 708-359-3301. Please let me know the best way to contact you at Convention, a little bit about your experience with kids (this might include being a parent yourself, having worked as a counselor at a summer program, etc.), and which times you would be available. Furthermore, feel free to share my contact info with any parents who might be interested in this service during Convention. Thanks, Stacy Leigh Cervenka Legislative Assistant Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS) 303 Hart Senate Office Building Phone: (202) 224-6521 Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov -- Arielle Silverman President, National Association of Blind Students Phone: 602-502-2255 Email: nabs.president at gmail.com Website: www.nabslink.org