[nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of theBlind

Sat Jun 14 18:19:11 UTC 2014

I would also like to know this.

Christopher O’Meally
VABS Board Member
chris.omeally at gmail.com

On Jun 14, 2014, at 9:25 AM, Mikayla Gephart via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> What is going on in virginia, ? We can all help each other out.	

> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 13, 2014, at 10:12 PM, Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> hi Chris,
>> communication is good, but national doesn't track what every state division does, at least not to my knowledge.
>> Your state president and affiliate should communicate with your state division though.
>> I think you in your MD division communicate with national because you're right in MD but remember this is not typical.
>> Just saying. But overall,
>> good message. Glad your  division is strong, and I wish I could say the same about the virginia student division.
>> 
>> Ashley
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- From: Chris Nusbaum via nabs-l
>> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 6:02 PM
>> To: 'Justin Salisbury' ; 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of theBlind
>> 
>> Dear Justin:
>> 
>> I thank you for this latest note and, quite frankly, for your last one as
>> well. In my view it always behooves us as members to have these kinds of
>> open discussions about how we would like NABS to operate. It is particularly
>> gratifying when a member of the Board poses these questions to the open
>> forum of the listserv, thereby opening the door for public discussion and
>> debate. As someone who has served on the Board of the Maryland Association
>> of Blind Students for the past two years now, I willingly admit that such
>> conversations are too often reserved for the Board members and committee
>> leaders. I think we forget to poll the membership on these questions between
>> conventions, which I fear widens a potential gap between the membership and
>> the leadership. As our nation is called to be one governed by the people, so
>> our Federation is in essence a people's movement. Thank you for reminding us
>> to return to this essential principle. With this said, I have spent some
>> time pondering your questions and would like to provide my thoughts and
>> experience.
>> 
>> To me, the essence of a division's unity with the wider movement can be
>> found in its close communication with state and national leaders as well as
>> its support of Federation-wide policies and programs. The NFB Pledge calls
>> us to "support the programs and policies of the Federation, and to abide by
>> its Constitution." In the experience of our student division here in
>> Maryland, we began to fall apart when our leadership felt that they could
>> reinvent the wheel and halt the close relationship which used to exist
>> between the student President and the affiliate President. Their goal in
>> doing this was to make the student division its own entity, operating on its
>> own terms and making its own rules. They thought the division would be more
>> effective if it was not perceived as operating solely at the whim of the
>> "big wigs" in Baltimore. The result, however, was the opposite of what these
>> past leaders had hoped for. The members, and ultimately the leaders
>> themselves, became apathetic. Very little events were held and almost no
>> revenue was coming into the treasury. Eventually, the division became
>> completely dependent on the affiliate to remain afloat financially. Even our
>> bank account was joined with the affiliate's. Only when a new Board led by a
>> new President were elected did the division begin to grow. This new Board
>> was energetic about our cause, willing to work, and--most importantly--they
>> were willing to cooperate and communicate with Federation leaders at the
>> state and national levels. Our division President often jokingly tells the
>> Board that at times it seems like she is on the phone with the affiliate
>> President nearly every day.
>> 
>> Over the past few years we have found this close communication with our
>> state and national offices beneficial in the continued growth of our
>> division. It allows us to provide mutual support to each other, as I believe
>> divisions are meant to do. When the state and national movements launch a
>> new initiative, we can use our resources to support it. In return, the state
>> and national leaders can use their connections to advertise our initiatives
>> and fundraisers to more people than we ever could on our own. Moreover,
>> invaluable insights can be gained from such communication. Often we on the
>> MDABS Board contact our state President with our ideas and ask for advice on
>> how they can be carried out. I personally and MDABS collectively have found
>> that the experience of older Federation leaders has been very helpful to us
>> in planning more effective events and generally growing a stronger
>> organization which remains an integral part of the wider movement.
>> 
>> Therefore, I believe that NABS is doing a very good job currently of
>> remaining united with the Federation as a whole while staying true to that
>> which makes us unique. We have divisions, I believe, to serve the needs and
>> concerns of those who have a special interest in certain issues which only
>> effect a certain group of people. NABS, for example, exists to serve the
>> needs of blind students specifically. However, I believe we must remember
>> that we are also, as you so eloquently stated it, a "division in the
>> National Federation of the Blind." This status calls us to maintain
>> communication between our colleagues in the movement who are not students.
>> It also requires that we honor the pledge we took upon joining this
>> organization: that we would, both personally and collectively, "support the
>> programs and policies of the Federation." So long as we maintain this level
>> of communication and mutual support with our fellow Federationists, in my
>> opinion, we will remain on the right track.
>> 
>> Yours in the movement,
>> 
>> Chris Nusbaum, Secretary
>> Maryland Association of Blind Students: a division in the National
>> Federation of the Blind of Maryland
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Justin
>> Salisbury via nabs-l
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 11:44 PM
>> To: 'nabs-l at nfbnet.org'; 'ctabs at nfbnet.org'; Massachusetts Association of
>> Blind Students List (massabs at nfbnet.org); List for NABS State Presidents
>> (nabs-presidents at nfbnet.org); Wisconsin Association of Blind Students List
>> Subject: [nabs-l] NABS: A Division IN the National Federation of the Blind
>> 
>> Fellow Federationists:
>> It appears that my last letter missed the mark.  The emotions that I wanted
>> to produce to begin the Justin Salisbury campaign were not what I achieved.
>> Since the only direction to move is forward, that is where I will go.  In
>> one look back, I sincerely apologize for writing in a way that produced such
>> a variety of emotions.
>> I want to thank those who have supported me over the years and those who are
>> supporting me today.  From my very first Federation event, I knew that this
>> organization would always push and empower me to be the best I can be. I
>> remember being so unsure of my own ability to succeed in math and science as
>> a blind person and then being approached by a blind engineer and a blind
>> environmental scientist at the end of the banquet. I thought I had already
>> received the best rehab training and had achieved the pinnacle of
>> mathematical competence as a blind person, which was inherently below that
>> of a sighted person; boy, was I wrong. They wouldn't let me doubt myself,
>> and they made it clear that I could always find a mentor in the National
>> Federation of the Blind. One of the things that makes our movement so strong
>> is that you don't have to be the chosen one to seek advice from the best
>> leaders and mentors. I remember thinking that I could not possibly have
>> anything important enough to discuss with Dr. Maurer, and then, I found
>> myself telling him about my boyhood dream of serving in the military. I have
>> grown out of that shyness one step at a time.  I now seize and treasure my
>> opportunities to take advice from and bond with some key players in our
>> movement. I do not receive this support because I am uniquely deserving of
>> it; I receive it because I seek it and seek it with the desire to make the
>> Federation stronger with it. So far as I know, there is no chosen one for
>> this position until our membership chooses at our business meeting, and I
>> hope that the chosen one will be me.
>> If anyone here has not yet read the June Braille Monitor, I strongly
>> recommend reading the article by the young Marc Maurer, who was then
>> President of the National Association of Blind Students. What I find most
>> appealing is his attention to the purpose and function of a division in the
>> National Federation of the Blind. While the early NABS would provide
>> advocacy help to anyone desiring it, the primary duty of the division is to
>> the National Federation of the Blind. It is not to lead the Federation on
>> student initiatives but to advise the Federation on student initiatives and
>> provide a learning forum. The early NABS existed to inform the entire
>> Federation membership and prepare us all for the effort to help blind
>> students achieve. Instead of looking at NABS as a division of the
>> Federation, we should consider NABS a division IN the Federation. If I am
>> elected President, I understand that I am not going to be the primary leader
>> of the National Association of Blind Students; the primary leader will be
>> the President of the National Federation of the Blind, and our movement will
>> be unified.
>> To me, the value of this model is evident. We need to have this kind of
>> NABS. Now, I want to ask questions of our membership and facilitate
>> discussion in order to learn how the membership wants the NABS President to
>> best serve. How do we want to fulfill this role in the Federation? What role
>> do our members want to play in achieving this model?
>> I eagerly await every reply.
>> 
>> Sincerely yours,
>> 
>> Justin Salisbury
>> Board Member
>> National Association of Blind Students
>> president at alumni.ecu.edu<mailto:president at alumni.ecu.edu>
>> 
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