[nabs-l] Finding a niche in campus orgs

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi all,

First, I feel like this fraternity I am in deserves some explanation.
It is not your typical sorority which girls join for social reasons.
This is a professional music fraternity for women, and although it is
not exclusively open to music majors, all members are there because
they have a sincere interest in music.  These are the people I go to
class with, and spend the majority of my time with in general since
music students spend at least 75 percent of their time in the music
building every day.

It was a little difficult, because at the end of last year my member
in training class was allowed to come to the last meeting of the year,
since we had been initiated and were oficial sisters by that point.
We were told we could nominate ourselves for appointed positions at
that time, and several people said they thought I would be good for
one which involves keeping records straight and organizing people to
help out at events for the music department.  Being a pretty organized
person and good with computers, I agreed that this position would be
good for me, and signed myself up.  I was appointed, and started
asking questions over the summer about how I could make it work.  My
thought was that I could have an excel spreadsheet on my laptop, and
just make sure I brought it to all the chapter meetings.  I was told
not to do this, because the chapter already had everything on google
drive.  I was given a link to a google docs spreadsheet, and used the
vision I had to make the form.  I've managed to make this job work
with the amount of vision I have, but I still don't have access to
things like our calendar, and forms that I personally did not make
because I don't know the layout of them, and using my magnifier
software can be very confusing if I don't know the layout of the
document.  I know when I asked about the excel spreadsheet the
president probably just didn't understand, and that since I could make
it work my inconvenience was trumped by the need for the chapter, and
the job honestly isn't the problem.  It has been really difficult, and
people have gotten unnecessarily mad at me for accessibility issues
that weren't my fault, but the bigger issues are just a lack of
communication in general and the fact that I don't have access to
changing documents.

I get emails when things are posted, but I just can't access them with
jaws since they're all on google docs.  The other problem with getting
text coppies of the documents is that they're always subject to
change, and do quite frequently, so I don't know how effective getting
text coppies of calendars and such at the beginning of the semester
would be if things are constantly being moved around and modified.  I
tried to talk to our current president, but since she's a music ed
major who is student teaching this semester, she hasn't really been
responsive to this issue.  I have let our new president know of the
issues, and told her that I really just want to problem-solve for the
future, but there isn't much she can do in the last few weeks of the
semester anyway, and technically she still has not been installed as
the new president, so I told her that it isn't something that I expect
her to turn her attention to right away by any means.  I also
suggested that it might be something the exec board as a whole looks
into, so I expect that we'll talk about it over the summer.

I do have some friends in the group, so it isn't like I have no one in
there to talk to or feel close to, I just don't feel like a part of
the group as a whole because even those who know me well seem to think
that I haven't done my job as well as I should have, and they
obviously didn't think I should have had gotten elected to a position
on exec board.  Perhaps I am taking elections a little personally, but
my roommate was elected to serve as the chapter's treasurer, and it
seems like she's always saying things about exec board. E.G, she said
something in passing when we were having a conversation about when to
go grocery shopping, and she said, "How about this day, because we'll
be out of class early and we won't have exec board to worry about."
She knows I don't have any exec board to be a part of, and I know the
exec board for our organization does not even meet on that day of the
week, so it was just very odd.  The one thing the group I left had
going for them was that their online management system was completely
jaws accessible.

I have also considered joining different groups to try to branch out,
even if I stay in this one.  Last semester I had my current roommate,
plus another who I was even closer to.  The latter roommate no longer
attends my university, and she was kind of like my closest friend on
campus.  (We lived on the same floor freshman year, had a bunch of
classes together, she already was cool about the blindness stuff
because her grandmother had macular degeneration, so she introduced
herself and we got really close, and still are from a geographical
jdistance).  Next year I will be living in an apartment by myself,
since my other roommate will be commuting and I'm kind of hesitant to
go into a random roommate situation due to some negative experiences.
However, I am an extroverted person, so I'm going to need to be around
people and have my apartment primarily be the place where I keep my
things and sleep.  I'm thinking of either joining the campus concert
committee, which brings a concert from a well-known band to campus,
best buddies which is a mentoring club which pairs college students to
younger students with developmental disabilities, or colleges against
cancer, which raises awareness for the American Cancer Society and
organizes Relay for Life on campus.  I think these things are all
relevant to my major, and also things I could see myself enjoying.  I
have good communication skills and am pretty organized, so  I think I
could still be an asset to an organization on campus, even if it isn't
this particular one I am in right now.

On 4/7/14, Beth Taurasi <denverqueen1107 at comcast.net> wrote:
> I hated campus organizations altogether.  I joined mainly because of
> political motives, but none of those orgs were accessible, and could not
> accommodate me at all.  Anyway, I couldn't rush for sororities because
> of blindness and the nonacceptance on campus.
> Beth
> On 4/7/2014 10:52 AM, Julie McGinnity wrote:
>> Ah "the agenda".  I have been officially federationized...  I mean if
>> you could have some time in a meeting to talk about how you access
>> documents and such.  Lol
>>
>> On 4/7/14, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Kaiti,
>>>
>>> This sounds like my undergrad experience completely.  Of course, my
>>> small liberal arts school didn't have fraternities, but when I tried
>>> to get involved with organizations on campus, I had similar
>>> experiences.  I agree completely with Arielle.  Finding one or two
>>> people to hang out with in the organization will make the experience
>>> so much better for you.  Have you asked the leaders if you could have
>>> a few minutes on the agenda to speak about how you do things like
>>> access documents?  Maybe if they understand that google docs is
>>> inaccessible to you, you will come up with some sort of accomidation.
>>>
>>> I also was friends mainly with those older and younger than I, so I
>>> seriously understand this.  I would recommend talking to someone in
>>> the organization you trust about your concerns and then consider
>>> dropping it if you can't get anywhere.
>>>
>>> On 4/7/14, Carly Mihalakis <carlymih at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> Good morning, Justin,
>>>>
>>>>           Good advice, if you are of a belief that working within the
>>>> system which is, it sounds like, already stacked against you will be
>>>> somehow, effective.
>>>> So-called leaders will always have political strings manipulating
>>>> their limbs so none of their  actions ought to be taken at face value.
>>>> for today, CarAt 01:28 AM 4/7/2014, justin williams wrote:
>>>>> Have you approached the leaders of the fraternity? I'm sure you have,
>>>>> but
>>>>> I
>>>>> just have to at least ask.  If so, it does not sound as if they are
>>>>> responsive.  If not the leaders, then maybe the advisor.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
>>>>> Shelton
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2014 6:31 PM
>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Finding a niche in campus orgs
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>
>>>>> For the past 2 years I've struggled to find my place in organizations
>>>>> on
>>>>> campus.  I felt the same way in high school, but here is my situation
>>>>> now.
>>>>>
>>>>> Freshman year I was in a club for my major, as well as a community
>>>>> service
>>>>> fraternity.  I ended up leaving that fraternity at the end of my
>>>>> freshman
>>>>> year because of a few things, but mainly because I felt the chapter
>>>>> was
>>>>> run
>>>>> in a very beaurocratic style, and the same people always did
>>>>> everything
>>>>> and
>>>>> never let those of us who were on the outside do much.  The elections
>>>>> seemed
>>>>> more like a popularity contest, with really personal digs made by
>>>>> current
>>>>> exec board members against candidates who they did not want to see in
>>>>> future
>>>>> exec board positions.  Though I didn't run for anything, even as an
>>>>> outsider, a member just watching and casting my votes, it left a
>>>>> bitter
>>>>> taste in my mouth.  If that was how it was going to be run, I didn't
>>>>> want
>>>>> to
>>>>> be a part of the organization.
>>>>>
>>>>> That spring semester I pledged another fraternity that I liked a lot
>>>>> better.
>>>>> This one is a professional organization more geared towards my major.
>>>>> It
>>>>> is
>>>>> smaller, and still does service, which I like.
>>>>> However, I have increasingly felt like I am not a part of the group.
>>>>> One of the main problems this year has been a lack of communication
>>>>> and
>>>>> access to the google docs resources.  Of course, these things work
>>>>> fine
>>>>> for
>>>>> the other 20 members of the chapter who are sighted, but they do not
>>>>> work
>>>>> for me.  I feel that when I miss a piece of information that was
>>>>> posted
>>>>> online, or when I don't know to do something because I can't see it,
>>>>> people
>>>>> are like, "Well, she screwed up again," rather than thinking, "Oh, I
>>>>> wonder
>>>>> if she didn't see it."
>>>>>
>>>>> This all sounds much more bitter or dramatic than I really feel, but I
>>>>> am
>>>>> a
>>>>> bit frustrated by this.  I have good ideas, and can do my job very
>>>>> well
>>>>> if
>>>>> I
>>>>> know what is expected of me and have the accessibility to do it.
>>>>> However,
>>>>> with the google docs system, and the lack of communication I receive
>>>>> from
>>>>> my
>>>>> sisters about visual things they just pick up on naturally, I am
>>>>> unable
>>>>> to
>>>>> contribute in the way I want to.
>>>>>
>>>>> I think my struggles with these things has also impacted me socially.
>>>>> We had elections a few weeks ago, and I was the only junior who was
>>>>> not
>>>>> elected to an exec board position.  I ran for 2, and really wanted the
>>>>> recording secretary position.  I feel like the issues I had this year
>>>>> have
>>>>> made me seem like I am uncapable of carrying out these
>>>>> responsibilities
>>>>> to
>>>>> my sisters, when they really don't know my situation and never asked.
>>>>> I
>>>>> specifically chose to run for recording secretary because I have
>>>>> particular
>>>>> experience with this position, and I also know that the minutes are
>>>>> taken
>>>>> in
>>>>> Word Docs and member standing is kept track in a spreadsheet.  I would
>>>>> have
>>>>> run into no technological glitches whatsoever, so this position would
>>>>> have
>>>>> been great for me.  I also gave up membership in other clubs and
>>>>> musical
>>>>> ensembles in order to make time for an exec board position should I
>>>>> have
>>>>> gotten one, so I'm thinking false social perceptions have gotten in my
>>>>> way.
>>>>>
>>>>> I also feel socially left out sometimes because not all members of the
>>>>> chapter will talk to me.  I mean, I'm certainly not expecting to be
>>>>> best
>>>>> friends with everyone, but some of them just don't even speak to me,
>>>>> which
>>>>> isn't a good feeling.  And yes, I do try to speak to them.
>>>>> They don't openly shun me, and it's not nearly that bad, but unless I
>>>>> say
>>>>> something to them they won't say hi, or ask how I'm doing even when
>>>>> we're
>>>>> sitting next to each other.  This is not just a chapter issue; the
>>>>> people
>>>>> this happens with also don't really socialize with me in classes, and
>>>>> I'm
>>>>> one of those awkward people who gets along more with people who are
>>>>> older
>>>>> and younger than her than with students in my year.
>>>>>
>>>>> I really don't want to sound whiney, because that was not my intent at
>>>>> all,
>>>>> but I'm wondering how people in similar situations got through these
>>>>> issues.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Kaiti
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>
>>> --
>>> Julie McG
>>> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
>>> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
>>> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
>>> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
>>> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
>>> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
>>> life."
>>> John 3:16
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Check out my Wordpress blog: denverqueen.wordpress.com or you can reach me
> by skype at denverqueen0920
>
>
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-- 
Kaiti