[nabs-l] The "state of the student divisions"

Tue May 5 05:07:04 UTC 2009

I cannot agree with Arielle more. Blind students are a minority, and
as such we should strive to help and support each other rather than
argue and accuse each other. It is true that this grant came out, and
some took advantage, some did not. It was mis-information, or lost
information. But that's not what really matters: now we know that
vital information can be lost in the list-serve, so instead of making
such a big deal out of it, lets figure out a better way of
disseminating important announcements, and there already have been
suggestions, and get on with it. This is not the last grant for which
we'll have an opportunity to apply. Next year, we will be more aware
of what is going on, and take full advantage of it, if it is a
reasonable goal for our individual state divisions. so lets work
together, and learn to learn from our mistakes, take constructive
criticism, and add it all up, so that our individual states become
stronger and better organized, thus making our national presence also
stronger.
Mary

On 5/4/09, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Having watched this thread unfold over the past few days, I don’t feel
> it is necessary or appropriate for us to be sending emails back and
> forth with such an accusatory tone. The grant opportunity did go out
> on the list, but as others have pointed out, many of us simply missed
> it. This isn’t anybody’s fault but just something that happens on
> high-traffic email lists. In the future we may want to set up a page
> within the NABS website to post such grant opportunities, and/or
> repost it a few times.
>
> I also don’t feel it appropriate for us to be putting down student
> divisions who knew about the grant but who didn’t follow up on it.
> This should be seen as a learning opportunity for the future rather
> than a chance to tear each other down.
>
> Our student divisions are all in existence because of the motivation
> and drive of their leaders, but as we’ve discussed frequently here and
> at NABS events, many of our state divisions are small, young, and/or
> struggling to establish or maintain basic structure. Again, much of
> this is just a result of being part of a small community, and being
> students. There simply aren’t a huge number of blind students in any
> state, and student organizations in general tend to be transient at
> times. For these reasons, it can be difficult for many state divisions
> to get organized quickly enough to decide what kind of project they
> would want to do with grant funding, let alone writing a proposal and
> being  able to commit to pulling it off. For example, when I was
> president of  the Arizona student division we wanted to organize a
> camping/hiking trip, but we simply couldn’t get enough students to
> make a commitment to participate to go forward with planning the
> logistics. In this kind of situation a grant may or may not have
> helped to bring more students into the event—money is nice, but isn’t
> everything.
>
> That’s not to say that we should just accept inactivity from our
> student divisions, however. Let’s see Joe’s message as a challenge
> rather than an attack, and all go back to our states to decide what
> new projects we’d like to initiate, and make a real commitment to
> spearhead these projects. It doesn’t have to be anything big, or even
> anything that requires outside funding, but just something new to get
> more students in or at least to motivate and inspire our existing
> members.
>
> Remember that the NABS board members are all here to offer support and
> guidance, and feel free to email any of us if you have questions, or
> even if you’d just like one of us to sit in on your next division
> conference call.
>
> Respectfully,
> Arielle Silverman
> First Vice-President, NABS
>
>
> On 5/5/09, T. Joseph Carter <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Jim,
>>
>> I think it's a fair concern.  There are lots of reasons why students
>> divisions may not be doing well, but if they are not, we need to know
>> about it.  Certainly, Joe cannot be expected to do more--and we all
>> have our own circumstances that may reduce what time we can give to
>> the organization.
>>
>> Even so, if more is needed, need to be honest with ourselves about
>> the nature of the problem or else we cannot solve it.  I don't know
>> if Joe's concern is founded or not, since I can speak only for
>> Oregon.
>>
>> Joseph
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 04, 2009 at 01:22:48PM -0700, Jim Reed wrote:
>>>Joe,
>>>I am somewhat offended by you questioning the state of the state student
>>> divisions, simply based on the poor turnout for your grant.
>>>
>>>I will tell you what the state of the state divisions is:
>>>
>>>As students we are all still learning.
>>>
>>>As students, we are all busy.
>>>
>>>We are all hear as volunteers because we want to be. We are hoping to make
>>> a better life for ourselves and others; but, as vollenteeers, we are not
>>> obligated to do anyuthing.
>>>
>>>As volunteers, not all of us will have the all the requisite skills needed
>>> to serve our organizations, thus serving in a state division is also a
>>> learning oppertunity. It is incumbent upon national and state leadership
>>> to make sure we have the oppertunity to learn the  requisite skills.
>>>
>>>So Joe, next time, instead of threatening to call people out for being
>>> lazy
>>> if they don't fill out your grant application, offer to teach us the
>>> grant
>>> writing process. If you truely think we are incapable to manage a grant,
>>> then do something to fix that situation.  Otherwise, please keep your
>>> judgemental comments to yourself.
>>>
>>>The state of the state divisions is not one of appathy; given the right
>>> conditions and oppertunities, it is one of desire, energy, and
>>> willingness
>>> to learn.
>>>
>>>Respectfully,
>>>Jim Reed
>>>President, Montana Association of Blind Students
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Ignorance killed the cat; curiosity was framed."
>>>
>>>
>>>
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-- 
Mary Fernandez
Emory University 2012
P.O. Box 123056
Atlanta Ga.
30322
Phone: 732-857-7004
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that
greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
President Barack Obama