[nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

[Aleeha Dudley]

How could there possibly be a policy like this? It is against the
constitution of the NFB!
Aleeha

On 6/5/14, Justin Salisbury via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Fellow Federationists:
> Did you know that the National Association of Blind Students board, a bunch
> of people I love, has a private agreement that presenters on the agenda
> cannot run for officer positions? I think the mere fact that I am blowing
> this whistle tells you where I stand on it. I am running for President of
> the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) because I love NABS,
> including my fellow board members, and don't like the way NABS functions
> today. I was going to disappear from the board and NABS leadership because I
> was discouraged.  I wanted to focus on chapter, affiliate, and division
> development, legislative advocacy, and the broader initiatives of the
> National Federation of the Blind. I wanted to "participate as an integral
> part of the National Federation of the Blind," which I quote from the NABS
> constitution, but I did not feel like NABS was a vehicle to do that.  I had
> come to believe that the primary role of NABS had become a blind student
> networking outlet. Thankfully, some friends and role models of mine from
> Baltimore picked me up off the ground and told me not to give up on NABS.
> We will not have to sacrifice the social element of NABS if we move it to
> our peripheral attention. People love people, and I have faith that we will
> always build personal relationships. I want us to focus more on activity
> between the big, face-to-face gatherings that only happen a couple of times
> per year. I want our board to be more hands-on as regional representatives,
> and, fundamentally, I want to bring more organization to our organization.
> The National Federation of the Blind is the organized blind movement. I have
> led workshops and written an article in the Student Slate about creating
> advertising directories in student divisions. This master email list through
> which I am contacting you was my idea and my project. I want to focus on
> unified communication structures for student divisions, like Facebook,
> Twitter, and NFBnet email lists. The power that comes from being organized
> is tremendous; a little organizing goes a long way. Then, we can focus on
> both student-specific issues and the broader efforts of the National
> Federation of the Blind. If we look around the country, college campuses are
> hotspots for legislative advocacy. I want NABS to reflect this in the
> organized blind movement.
> I have a mind for organizing everything except my apartment. The more highly
> we prioritize organization, the more organized we will be and the stronger
> the organization skills of our members and leaders will be.
> I have the kind of love that enables me to work all night long to further
> our movement, and it's because I love NABS and my fellow blind students that
> I am not giving up on NABS. I always focus on preparing and empowering my
> successors, evident in my article on leadership philosophy in the April 2014
> Braille Monitor. I do not hold grudges. I grew up on a gravel road in
> northeastern Connecticut and attended a regional high school on the UConn
> campus. I attack a problem with the same tenacity and work ethic that has
> produced two years of dual NCAA men's and women's basketball championships
> from my hometown UConn Huskies. This job will not be easy, but I will not
> give up on NABS.
> I love doing the work of the Federation so much that I have left my top-ten
> economics doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attend
> Louisiana Tech University to become a cane travel instructor. I am in the
> pool of potential speakers for our agenda so that I can tell everyone how my
> experience at the Louisiana Center for the Blind changed my life and career
> path. I pray that I will have the opportunity to share my story, but I
> understand that this would violate the private agreement within the NABS
> board and will attempt to get it adjusted in my case. Whether I speak or
> not, I am writing my story as another article to submit to the Braille
> Monitor.
> I am proud to be a national leader in our movement and even more proud to
> have other national leaders supporting and encouraging me. I have a
> decorated resume with many titles and accomplishments, but I want voters to
> focus on my love for NABS and my fellow blind students, on the railroad that
> we can build together, and on the effort to achieve equality, opportunity
> and security for the blind.
> I will be forever grateful for your vote, Justin Salisbury for NABS
> President, at our national convention. I guarantee that countless other
> blind students and non-students will be grateful, as well.
>
> Love,
>
> Justin Salisbury
> Board Member
> National Association of Blind Students
> president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu>
>
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-- 
Aleeha Dudley and Seeing Eye Yellow Labrador Dallas
Vice President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Email: blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter at @blindcowgirl199

The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.
- Arabian Proverb