[nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

Sat Jun 7 01:39:54 UTC 2014

Okay, so how about this proposal? What if, instead of not letting someone speak who wishes to run for the board, we say that, if the person does speak and intends to run for the board, they should not be permitted to use that time as a self promotion time. If they do so, they would then be violating the rules of the election, and, could, therefore, be disqualified from the elections process
Let me know what you guys think.
Aleeha

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 6, 2014, at 6:39 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hello Justin,
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for posting your intentions to run for the President
> of the National Association of Blind Students. I think emails such as this one 
> provide an opportunity for members to make an informed decision when casting
> their vote during elections. I also think it helps members who cannot attend national
> convention to feel as though they are still a part of this organization despite
> the fact that they are not able to attend national convention. Therefore, I
> encourage other members seeking election to post their intentions of seeking
> election to the email list as well.
> 
> 
> At first glance, I agreed with you on your position regarding
> the unspoken agreement that members seeking election should not appear on the
> agenda. I was rather schocked to hear such a policy existed in the first place.
> However, as I thought about it some more, I could understand why such a policy could
> be important for our organization.
> 
> 
> The 2011 national convention stands out in my mind as a
> rather memorable convention for me. One of my favorite things about national convention
> is the part during the student seminar where each scholarship winner is asked
> to say a few words about themselves, where they go to school, what they are studying,
> and what kind of career they hope to follow upon graduating from college. I have
> often been inspired by some of the words spoken during these short speaches.
> 
> 
> During the 2011 national convention, I recall one of these speaches
> being radically different from the rest of the speaches. However, what I
> remember about this particular speech was not what the person said about themselves,
> but rather what this person said about someone else. What I remember about the speech
> was how this person took this time to endorse a close friend who was seeking
> election that year. As I was listening to these words, I found them rather
> distasteful for a scholarship speach, and thought they provided an unfair
> advantage for the person being endorsed  for the election.
> 
> 
> Therefore, I can definitely understand why the National
> Association of Blind Students has a policy not to have those seeking election to
> speak on the agenda. I imagine this policy was not created to prevent anyone
> from appearing on the agenda, but rather to give those who seek election a fair
> chance during the elections. 
> 
> 
> I understand the value of learning from mistakes in life,
> however, if this person were seeking election today, and asked to speak on the
> agenda, I most likely would not include this person on the agenda. It seems to
> me that it is difficult enough to create a smooth election process that is fair
> to everyone, so I do not believe we should jeperdize this goal on the account
> of one person.
> 
> 
> Please feel free to disagree with my position. However, I just
> simply do not believe it is fair for someone to have the opportunity to promote
> their bid for election during their spot on the agenda. It just seems to create
> a disadvantage for others during the elections.
> 
> 
> Warm regards,
> 
> Elizabeth
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org; nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org; ctabs.president at gmail.com; massabs at nfbnet.org; wabs at nfbwis.org
>> Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2014 23:41:13 +0000
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President
>> From: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> 
>> 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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