[nabs-l] Protests on College Campuses

Wed Jan 21 14:38:09 UTC 2015

I think this is a great idea, but to comment on Derek's most recent
post, don't forget the student leaders who can't attend Washington
Seminar.  I for one would love to be there, but as I'll be finishing
up week 2 at the end of this week and am taking 20 credits, I simply
would miss too much class.  Of course Washington Seminar is important,
but when taking the pulse of people there don't forget there are a lot
of really strong leaders who for work or school reasons can't be there
as they would like to be.

Backtracking a bit, I think this is a wonderful idea and something I
know I personally would like to be involved in, but I think the
problem will be gathering a significant amount of support.  Derek made
some great points about the problems gathering support.  Ohio's
student division in the past few years is very similar to his
description of the Mas student division, and it is a little daunting
because I know I'm the only (openly) blind person on my campus.  I
know of two other people in the DS system, but they're large print
readers and choose to not associate with blindness organizations
because they don't self-identify that way.  I think there are a lot of
people on campus who would feel like subminimum wages violate the
Catholic Marianist tradition and would lend support, but the
difficulty there that I see would be getting these people who feel far
removed from the issue, and most likely have not heard of it much in
the media, to actually show up to an event and view it as something
inmportant in the midst of their own classes.  I know I could count on
the local chapter and board of the affiliate to lend support, but in
order to make it a successful protest in terms of numbers it would
probably take more than one person to accomplish, at least on a campus
my size or larger with over 10,000 students and one blind person
actively involved in the NFB initiatives.

Like Michael, I think a conference call would be great for figuring
this out.  I'm eager to do it, but I do think the concerns I share
with some others should be addressed to allow a larger number of
students to organize and mobilize protests on their campuses.

On 1/21/15, Derek Manners via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I do think we should take the pulse of the student leaders at Washington
> Seminar to gage potential interest.
>
> Best wishes
> Derek
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jan 21, 2015, at 1:56 AM, Justin Salisbury via nabs-l
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Michael,
>>
>> I love you enthusiasm!
>>
>> I know that we can get together and put our heads together on our own
>> accord at any time we want. Back when I was a NABS Board Member, I
>> remember the good feelings and general sense of coordination that came
>> about when the board had an opportunity to comment on topics like this. I
>> don't want to plan any conference calls until I've heard good vibes from
>> more than one officer about it, but I am hopeful that we will all agree to
>> move forward.
>>
>> Simply from reading your enthusiasm, you sound like someone I'd love to
>> get to know. Let's try to connect off-list, too.
>>
>> Take care,
>>
>> Justin
>>
>> Justin Salisbury - Running Thunder Phoenix
>> Graduate Student
>> Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
>> Louisiana Tech University
>> Email: jms132 at latech.edu
>> Twitter: @SalisburyJustin
>>
>> But, of course, we will not fail. We will continue to climb. Our heritage
>> demands it; our faith confirms it; our humanity requires it. Whatever the
>> sacrifice, we will make it. Whatever the price, we will pay it. Seen from
>> this perspective, the hostility and backlash (the challenges and
>> confrontations) are hardly worth noticing. They are only an irritant. My
>> brothers and my sisters, the future is ours. Come! Join me on the stairs,
>> and we will finish the journey.
>> - Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Michael D Ausbun [mailto:mausbun at unr.edu]
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 12:02 AM
>> To: Justin Salisbury; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Protests on College Campuses
>>
>> Hello,
>> I believe we, here in Nevada (both down in Vegas and up where I'm at,
>> Reno) would highly be interested in participating in a national protest.
>> If possible, can we have a conference call after Washington seminar, to
>> discuss this as a collective whole? I for one, and I believe the rest of
>> the students in Nevada, Will not be attending the seminar; never the less,
>> we are probably all interested (I need to chat with the other officers to
>> make sure before I just volunteered them, probably).
>> Awesome idea!
>> Michael
>> Secretary, Nevada Association of blind students Treasure and cofounder,
>> University of Nevada, Reno floss if he club
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Jan 20, 2015, at 9:45 PM, Justin Salisbury via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Thank you for the compliment, Darian.
>>>
>>> I believe we have enough talented leaders in our movement that we could
>>> get a good batch of university protests together. It can be some work,
>>> but we wouldn't want to have students doing it alone. There are things
>>> that protest organizers can recruit other people to do. A lot of sizeable
>>> universities have local chapters near them, and many of our student
>>> leaders are active in organizations on their campuses that might be
>>> willing to help shoulder the load. I think the biggest key is making sure
>>> that the direction comes from someone with a sound philosophy and who
>>> directs people they can trust. Good friends can be helpful, too.
>>>
>>> I can appreciate that some students may think this is beyond their reach
>>> just like that first drop route or cooking a meal for 40 during training.
>>> Just like with those milestones in training, we build our skill sets to
>>> the point where we can jump that hurdle before we try. If most of us just
>>> give our best effort and try to do a little more than we believe we are
>>> capable of achieving, we will be proud of the results.
>>>
>>> If anyone doesn't believe that, pack a bag and come to Ruston, Louisiana,
>>> for nine months!
>>>
>>> Sincerely yours,
>>>
>>> Justin
>>>
>>> Justin Salisbury - Running Thunder Phoenix Graduate Student
>>> Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Louisiana
>>> Tech University
>>> Email: jms132 at latech.edu
>>> Twitter: @SalisburyJustin
>>>
>>> But, of course, we will not fail. We will continue to climb. Our heritage
>>> demands it; our faith confirms it; our humanity requires it. Whatever the
>>> sacrifice, we will make it. Whatever the price, we will pay it. Seen from
>>> this perspective, the hostility and backlash (the challenges and
>>> confrontations) are hardly worth noticing. They are only an irritant. My
>>> brothers and my sisters, the future is ours. Come! Join me on the stairs,
>>> and we will finish the journey.
>>> - Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Darian Smith [mailto:dsmithnfb at gmail.com]
>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 2:28 PM
>>> To: Justin Salisbury; National Association of Blind Students mailing
>>> list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Protests on College Campuses
>>>
>>> Hi all:
>>>
>>> Justin, as usual you bring about some real good ideas.
>>> this concept  has  historically been effective in the days of the civil
>>> rights movements, and today various political associations still employ
>>> similar tactics, so there's no reason why we  couldn't go about the
>>> attempt.
>>> On the other hand, a good deal of blind students either are the only
>>> blind person on campus  or go about their semesters with the idea that
>>> they are the only blind person  on campus.
>>> In order for such an effort to gain wide-spread traction, blind students
>>> would need to feel motivated to get involved with our legislative work,
>>> supported with the tools and personal encouragement to organize other
>>> students  and believe that they have the time to devote to making this
>>> happen  on top   of their academic responsibilities   as most students
>>> feel they have a tough enough time simply being a student, and doing that
>>> job  at a high level.
>>> I think that the vision you have is a strong one and one i have always
>>> wanted to see our collective student division become strong enough/active
>>> enough to do.
>>> I'm interested to hear what your thoughts and the thoughts of others
>>> might be on the matter.
>>>
>>> Darian.
>>>> On Jan 20, 2015, at 11:35 AM, Justin Salisbury via nabs-l
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Fellow Federationists:
>>>>
>>>> I've been thinking about an idea for how NABS can contribute to the
>>>> legislative work of the National Federation of the Blind, and I have
>>>> talked with a few friends about it. Now, I want to ask what the NABS
>>>> membership thinks of it.
>>>>
>>>> We could coordinate protests on college campuses and do it
>>>> strategically to raise awareness to our legislative causes. I bet
>>>> there are a lot of college students who would stand up and protest
>>>> subminimum wages if they only knew about it. We could do it with our
>>>> other bills, too,
>>>>
>>>> Another dimension we could add is If we coordinated them to be all on
>>>> the same day, or at least multiple ones on the same day. This could help
>>>> us get national media attention. For example: Today, students at
>>>> Harvard, Yale, Louisiana Tech, and four other universities protested the
>>>> outdated practice of paying wages like three cents per hour to workers
>>>> with disabilities.
>>>>
>>>> This would require heavy involvement of local students, but the returns
>>>> could be amazing.
>>>>
>>>> What do people think of this idea?
>>>>
>>>> Yours,
>>>>
>>>> Justin
>>>>
>>>> Justin Salisbury - Running Thunder Phoenix Graduate Student
>>>> Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
>>>> Louisiana Tech University
>>>> Email: jms132 at latech.edu<mailto:jms132 at latech.edu>
>>>> Twitter: @SalisburyJustin
>>>>
>>>> But, of course, we will not fail. We will continue to climb. Our
>>>> heritage demands it; our faith confirms it; our humanity requires it.
>>>> Whatever the sacrifice, we will make it. Whatever the price, we will pay
>>>> it. Seen from this perspective, the hostility and backlash (the
>>>> challenges and confrontations) are hardly worth noticing. They are only
>>>> an irritant. My brothers and my sisters, the future is ours. Come! Join
>>>> me on the stairs, and we will finish the journey.
>>>> -          Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> 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
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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/mausbun%40unr.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/dmanners%40jd16.law.harvard.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/crazy4clarinet104%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Kaiti