[nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

Fri Jun 6 03:04:02 UTC 2014

Aleeha!  Thank you! My vote is only one, as is yours.  If we all use them together, we can make a difference.

Way to represent our scholarship class!  #Orlando2011

Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: Aleeha Dudley [mailto:blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 10:40 PM
To: Justin Salisbury; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

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