[nabs-l] . Re: Justin Salisbury for NABS Presiden

[Darian]

Justin,
Since Sean has addressed the concerns surrounding the policy,
I will attempt to address the concern you present regarding getting to know the board.

Understanding that there is a finite amount of time to get a large amount of information to people, aside from the students social, and our website, there isn't a great deal of time to introduce board members. 
One might consider two possibilities: the first possibility would be to have introductions prior to the start of the agenda. The trick with this is to get all of the board members into the room and away from registering and crowd control in order to do those introductions.
A second possible option is to have a open board meeting at national convention in much the same way that our national board has done. 
No matter what option is thought up, identified or implemented, it is up to the board to make themselves available, and individuals wishing to get to know the board to take the initiative in order to make that happen.
That's just my little opinion on the matter.
Thanks,
Darian

> On Jun 6, 2014, at 11:29 AM, justin williams via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I understand that everyone doesn't have a chance to speak on the agenda, but
> we have a finite time in the meeting, and to tel someone who is running for
> office that they can't speak seems to be contradictory free choice, though,
> all of your arguments make really good sense.  It just doesn't seem as if
> doing such is necessary. Besides, how do we meet the officers anyway.  I
> never quite knew who they were even when I was at the nabs meeting.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sean Whalen via
> nabs-l
> Sent: Friday, June 06, 2014 2:19 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Cc: nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] . Re: Justin Salisbury for NABS Presiden
> 
> Good Friday afternoon NABS,
> 
> I wanted to briefly jump in on this thread to offer a few important points
> and clarifications.
> 
> First, the policy to exclude individuals who are campaigning for Board
> positions from speaking on the NABS agenda at convention is not a "private
> agreement" among the NABS Board. It was a decision that has been discussed,
> considered and voted on several times dating back to Arielle Silverman's
> stint as NABS President. I very much understand why Justin and others have
> concerns about this policy. There is certainly an element of unfairness to
> it. But it is important to acknowledge that there are also legitimate
> arguments in favor of the policy. The strongest of which being that placing
> somebody on the agenda who wishes to run for a position benefits that
> individual enormously in his or her bid. A speech on the agenda familiarizes
> everybody in the room with the candidate and leaves the candidate fresh in
> the mind of all meeting participants. Clearly permitting one candidate this
> opportunity while denying it to others is not fair. And if everybody who
> were running for a position was entitled to a spot on the agenda, we would
> have little time left for anything else. I am not saying that I either
> oppose or support the policy; I didn't vote last time we considered it. But
> it is something that was and has been openly discussed among the NABS Board
> and voted on. Some on the Board voted against the policy last time we
> discussed it, each of whom had a full opportunity to voice opinions and each
> of whom possesses one of the equally-weighted nine votes that the Board uses
> to make decisions between national meetings. There is certainly space for
> disagreement, but there is no "whistle" to be blown. The process by which
> the decision was made was legitimate.
> 
> Second, nothing in this policy in any way conflicts with the Constitutions
> of the National Federation of the Blind or the National Association of Blind
> Students. If anybody is aware of any such conflict, I would be very grateful
> if it could be brought to my attention, in which case we will certainly
> change course immediately.
> 
> Please, anybody with questions or concerns about this, feel free to contact
> me to discuss them.
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Sean Whalen
> President, National Association of Blind Students
> (608) 332-4147
> nabs.president at gmail.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/justin.williams2%40gmail
> .com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dsmithnfb%40gmail.com