[nabs-l] Justin Salisbury for NABS President

Sat Jun 7 03:01:40 UTC 2014

Hi All,

Great discussion!

First, I'll talk about the topic at hand. I do want to bring up
something that makes the policy a bit complicated. If the president is
seeking reelection, they still have to give their report. It would be
inane to remove the presidential report from the agenda. Furthermore,
the presidential report consists of one of the longer time slots on
the agenda.

On one hand, I think it is the responsibility of candidates to
campaign for themselves, and whether someone gets a slot is jut their
luck. If a candidate truly has a good agenda and is personable, they
should be able to influence election results based on campaigning
before the meeting. I was in a contested election for my position as
secretary in 2011. All of us candidates worked hard to convince NABS
that we were the best, and none of us had slots on the agenda. We did
such a good job of networking before the meeting that the secretarial
election had to be counted. I think this speaks to the power of
networking beforehand. Maybe I won because someone spoke out about me
during the agenda. I don't know, but I did not count on the meeting at
all to win me the election. I introduced myself to everyone at the
NABS hospitality night. I campaigned even before convention started.
And as a board member who is not seeking reelection, I plan to still
introduce myself to everyone at our NABS social, and I plan to always
campaign for NABS and the NFB whether I am at national convention,
meeting a blind person for the first time, or educating someone in
public. We can all get out there and talk and network, and although we
have few opportunities to meet in person, NABS does attempt to host a
few activities on the agenda to get students talking.

However, I realize that there is an unfair advantage, and there is no
way to completely guarantee that someone will not spam the agenda.
Furthermore, as Elizabeth mentioned, in 2011, the candidate, who in
fact was me, didn't even promote herself on the agenda; someone else
did. This promotion was unsolicited and actually evoked embarrassment
on my part and the situation has long since been resolved and is no
longer an issue. But I bring it up to say that such a policy can't
guarantee that other speakers won't use the agenda to promote who they
support, so in that sense, the policy is in no way comprehensive at
guaranteeing that the agenda won't contain campaigning.

All that being said, it appears that the membership has differing
views on the topic, and I encourage the opinions to keep coming.
Motions can be made, and the policy can be changed if we revisit it as
a board. And a good indication that a policy needs revisiting is when
the membership comes out and says something about it.

Like some board members have iterated, the policy was never secret,
but I agree that we could do a better job disseminating such
information and am happy to take ideas for that which segues in to my
second topic.

I have some great memories working on the board and getting input from
membership. The first 2 years I was on the board, I was on the Slate
committee. Along with the many members who contributed to our
newsletter, we did a holiday piece where we invited the membership to
write paragraphs about their holiday traditions. It was really fun to
collect and read the stories, and I hope that we can incorporate mass
mini articles like that in the future. I plan to volunteer on the
Slate committee again when I finish my term as NABS secretary at
convention.

Another memory that stands out and is much more poignant to our
movement than holiday stories was the TEACH stories campaign. I
collected about 60 stories that were printed and sent with delegations
to their appointments on the hill. This experience shows that personal
stories do matter and indirectly in the process, I was able to assist
several story writers to learn who their representative was. Knowing
one's congressional representative is crucial to making a difference
because notes from constituents matter most. This was a direct way
that NABS got involved with the TEACH act, and it was through the NABS
list and word of mouth that I was able to collect many stories.

Finally, last year, I could not attend national convention so I
offered to coordinate volunteers for our various events at convention.
Again, I reached out to NABS and people that I knew. My spreadsheets
quickly filled with awesome volunteers. That effort was carried out
through the NABS list.

Coupled with these good memories are frustrating memories. I know for
a fact and can prove through email archive searches that after every
national convention when I was on the board, we evaluated what
committees we wanted to have. This was always followed by recruitment
of committee members via the list serve. There have been a few great
souls who have come forward and done great work. For example, although
not at all comprehensive, Tony Olivero tirelessly maintains our
website. Although not always apparent on the surface, he has assisted
us in improving our web presence and efficiency. Online registration
for events was implemented by him, and now, whenever we update our
database with a new leader, their contact information automatically
populates the state student division contact page. Elizabeth is always
willing to get us tons of great auction items and door prizes donated.
Mary Fernandez was awarded a service award from us last year because
of the initiative she has taken to coordinate NABS candidate debate
calls and the national convention NABS mentoring program.
However, I cannot count the number of times one of our board members
or active volunteers has emailed NABS asking for help or contributions
for one project or another for us to convene and sadly realize that no
one responded to our emails.

I believe that as a board, we can do better at disseminating this
information on multiple social media platforms, and since convention
is around the corner, it is a perfect time to take suggestions and
make an action plan for how we will recruit committee members, event
volunteers, and contributors for our various fundraising efforts and
Slate newsletters.

Furthermore, only one tenth of congress seems to understand the
importance of the TEACH act. Sixty stories was not enough and
certainly not representative of the over 100 students who attend our
business meeting each year. I am excited that I got holiday stories,
TEACH stories, and volunteers, through my recruitment on the NABS
list. But I also remember hounding my board members to reach out to
their state student divisions at the last minute to fulfill our need
for event volunteers and to get our TEACH stories up.

As a board, we need to do better at communicating, and I hope to
continue to represent NABS as an active volunteer while I am in grad
school. But we shouldn't have to hound our membership to participate
in programs and to be active in the movement.

That being said, we are also an organization that helps each other.
Maybe you don't know how to get involved. Maybe you don't know how
your skills can benefit the movement. Please, please, please reach out
to a leader you trust or to one of the board members as I can
guarantee that we can always use you! Nothing makes my day more than
watching leaders come in my stead and take on new responsibilities. I
am still young and know that my mentors look at my leadership growth
in the same light. But I am not fulfilling my purpose in the NFB and
my overall purpose of being a good person living for the world if I am
not actively mentoring others. And I would absolutely love to talk to
any of you about how you can start with little projects and build your
leadership potential.

I appreciate that transparency is being brought up and I am not
holding NABS accountable to refute members who hold me as a board
member accountable. But I am genuinely looking forward to feedback
from everyone on how we can optimize a two-way communication stream so
we can best serve each other. This will optimize our effectiveness in
the movement.

So in short, participate in the Republican Blitz next week! We'll come
calling for convention volunteers soon, so be on the look out for
opportunities to sign up for shifts. We are always looking for door
prizes for our business meeting and this year, for Monte Carlo as
well, so contributions in that realm will be much appreciated. And
finally, please take the initiative to talk to us so that in the
future, these discussions can happen without an emotive email at the
beginning of the thread. :)

Cindy

On 6/6/14, minh ha via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Oops, sorry, I hit send by accident.
>
> As I was saying, it doesn't matter because that person already has an
> advantage over the other candidates. Lets say the speaker talks about
> his college experience at a NABS meeting, the students who would be
> casting the vote knows that much more about him than the other
> candidates who do not have the same opportunity. I'm actually really
> surprised that the NABS board was so thoughtful in coming up with this
> policy; it's one of the better ones that I have seen come out of the
> student division. The only thing I wish is that it would have been
> written out in the Constitution to make the policy more transparent so
> that Justin didn't have to feel like he was blowing the whistle.
>
> Minh
>
> On 6/6/14, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Aleeha,
>>
>> It doesn't matter whether or not the speaker uses that time for his or
>> her campaigning, the fact of the matter is that person has an
>> advantage
>>
>> On 6/6/14, Aleeha Dudley via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 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>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> 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/lizmohnke%40hotmail.com
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
>> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
>> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>
>
>
> --
> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>
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-- 
Cindy Bennett
Secretary: National Association of Blind Students

B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
clb5590 at gmail.com