[nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

Darian dsmithnfb at gmail.com
Fri Jun 6 07:04:34 UTC 2014 

Justin, and all:
Firstly I would like to acknowledge Justin for such a heartfelt solicitation for support and clearly spelled out vision for where he sees the division going.
I don't claim to know it all, but I suspect that as a sitting member of the board of directors of the national Association of blind students(the student division of the national Federation of the blind), that I might have some perspective to add to what seems to be developing into a bit of a controversy.
Into thousand nine I was elected to the board of directors of the national Association of blind students. That year we had a particularly active and even full elections.
Fairly soon after the installment of officers, a committee was appointed to look into election procedures and policies.  Sometimes months this discussion, we thought that it was a good idea to create a policy that would not allow for officers of the division who were running (remember, all candidates are allowed to state their case for election under a time format). We have had board members speak when they are not running for offices, and any member of the division who might wish to speak on the agenda is welcome to contact the current president of the division.
In short, any one is allowed to speak on the agenda, the only time this isn't the case is if a board member is intending to run for election.  This policy is, while not a universal policy in the organization, not an violation of our national Constitution, so it is not in violation of the Student Division Constitution.  
It is important to understand that policy decisions are well within the rights of an organization to come up with, they can also be revisited and changed as the board sees fit.   The national Association of blind students has never operated as a division of exclusivity (at least not as long as I have been involved in it) , and has always been open to new ideas and different ways to go about stuff.   To be sure, not every idea gets used, and not every idea that is used works out. However, this division has seen some growth over the past five years because of the collaborative efforts individuals both on and off the board have contributed to it. 
I look forward to the work that we do as members of the national Federation of the blind, to secure equality of opportunity for the blind , and through our networking, mentoring, support , education, advocacy and collective organizing that we can live the life we want, blindness will not hold us back, together we will lift each other uup.  

  for

> On Jun 5, 2014, at 8:19 PM, Christopher O'Meally via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Are you sure this is what it looks like?  I know people on the bord well and I just can't see them doing something like that. Maybe there is an explination of some sort. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 5, 2014, at 11:04 PM, Justin Salisbury via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> 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
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> 
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