[nabs-l] Joining local chapters

Fri Sep 18 23:26:24 UTC 2015

Good afternoon Chaue. Arielle I could not of said it any better. For example are used to be really involved with our state of Florida student division now that I have a full-time job, and I'm graduate school it's extremely difficult for me to attend the chapter meetings. So I've decided to be involved with one or two things within the NFB for example the national Association of guy dog users and or the human services division. Good post.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 18, 2015, at 7:18 PM, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Kaiti and all,
> I believe that there are many different ways to be involved and levels
> of involvement in the NFB, and it's not necessary to consistently
> attend one local chapter to be a part of the organization. In fact,
> when I was in graduate school, I stopped attending my local chapter
> meetings for about a year and a half because they were held on
> Thursday evenings at a place on the end of town that was not very
> conveniently accessible from campus (it was a good place for chapter
> members whose workplace was at this location). The meetings also
> coincided with dinnertime and food was not served at this location so
> I would either have to pick up food on the way over or not eat until
> very late. During my first year of graduate school I did attend these
> meetings, but after my second year when I was teaching a Thursday
> afternoon class, working on master's research and serving as NABS
> president I stopped attending. It was technically possible for me to
> attend but just a very inconvenient time and location for me then. I
> felt kind of guilty about this, but also knew that I was putting a lot
> of time into my other NFB duties within NABS and our state's student
> division. Eventually the meeting was moved to Saturday mornings at a
> place that was much more accessible by bus. I came back and was
> elected to the chapter board later that year. Notably, while I
> returned, some other chapter members left because the new time and
> location no longer fit their schedules. So the point of this is that
> it is impossible for the chapter to find a time and location that
> suits everyone. Have you suggested to the chapter president other days
> and times when you would be able to participate? It isn't obvious to
> me when a good time would be for students, and in fact, I would have
> thought Saturday afternoons would be ideal for students (it worked for
> me when I was in college, but I didn't have a job or a fraternity
> commitment). If you are in contact with some students locally who
> might want to join the chapter, perhaps you could poll their schedules
> and then suggest some alternative times to the president, who may just
> not know what times are best for you and others.
> I do think there is a deeper issue in this post however, which is how
> do ambitious students balance the NFB with school, jobs and
> extracurricular activities? It is a tough question, and our student
> divisions regularly lose some would-be great leaders because these
> individuals are simply too busy with other things. I do think we need
> to welcome those members who only have a few hours each month to give
> to the organization or who prefer to serve on only one level (only
> locally, or only nationally, or only in one special-interest division,
> etc.) There are simply a limited number of hours in each day, and
> everyone has their own personal set of priorities that dictate how
> many hours they can give to each major project in their lives. I would
> welcome other thoughts on this.
> Arielle
> 
>> On 9/18/15, Darian via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Kaiti,
>> As a former chapter president I can understand where the chapter president
>> is probably coming from.  From the presidents standpoint,   It is completely
>> possible that while what you are saying is a very valid line of reasoning
>> for your situation, it may be an excuse for other students in your situation
>> and that he has gotten that excuse a time or two before.
>> It can be difficult to decipher win someone really wants to be involved in
>> the Federation and when someone might not want involvement or a particular
>> level of involvement.
>> It is possible that in the mind of the chapter president 1 o'clock in the
>> afternoon ought not to be an inaccessible time for most people because in
>> their mind it isn't too early in the morning to ask people to wait, too late
>> to interfere with peoples social plans, but not over the week after peoples
>> work schedule.
>> 
>> It is also possible that the majority of the chapter likes this date and
>> will just rather keep it.
>> 
>> Moving on from that standpoint,  I think that anytime that you can make a
>> chapter meeting is better then not making a chapter meeting at all because
>> of the opportunity to connect in person with like-minded blind folks.
>> If you have a good connection with someone in the chapter or someone in the
>> affiliate that knows this chapter president well enough, maybe it might be
>> useful to have a conversation with the three of you together.   I think that
>> once they come to understand your situation, it would make for a healthier
>> environment where both of you knows that each of your concerns is being
>> understood.
>> I very much appreciate what you are sharing and truly hope that something
>> positive comes this situation. Organizing chapter meetings at times that
>> would work for everyone is not easy to do and making the time to get  out to
>> the meeting when you have a busy schedule as a student isn't easy either.
>> 
>> Sometimes it's moving the meeting, sometimes it's organizing another meeting
>> at a different time, sometimes it's organizing or joining an at-large
>> chapter.
>> Whatever the case, the most important thing is to get good people to become
>> involved in local chapters so that we can support, encourage, challenge each
>> other and to raise the expectations of the blind in our local communities
>> where the need is greatest.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Sep 18, 2015, at 1:40 AM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi all,
>>> 
>>> I realize this thread may very well spark some debate, but I'm
>>> prepared for that.  For the past two years I've had a dilemma and I'm
>>> trying to explain it to a chapter president in my affiliate.  I live
>>> in one city and attend school in another, so there off the bat is no
>>> way I'd be able to attend either chapter's meetings on a monthly basis
>>> as I would like to do.  Chapter presidents in both cities at different
>>> times have told me I should join and even consider running for a board
>>> position, which I will not do because of my inability to faithfully
>>> attend the meetings.  One of the two chapters gets this a little
>>> better than the other now, and has pretty much given me a "come when
>>> you can, we'd love to have you when we can get you here," reception.
>>> The other chapter is near where I go to school, but the chapter
>>> president doesn't seem to get the student thing.  I try to go to
>>> things when I can, but I partially dread it because every time I
>>> attend some social function the floodgates for this conversation are
>>> opened again.  I'm told again that I am needed in the chapter, that I
>>> can really make a difference, and if I join more students will join
>>> and the chapter is not by any means comprised of young people.
>>> 
>>> This has been happening for two years at least, and I feel a little
>>> confused and pressured to join.  I know he is doing his job as a
>>> chapter president, especially because he knows I'm active and
>>> dedicated to the student division, the affiliate, and other projects
>>> in the NFB, but being in that older crowd I don't think he understands
>>> what it is like for students anymore.  In my sophomore year I had
>>> difficulty attending chapter meetings for a few reasons.  One was that
>>> they are on the first Saturday or the month, which conflicts with
>>> nearly every break from school I have including the two midterm breaks
>>> and the Christmas break.  The Christmas spaghetti dinner is also
>>> something the chapter tries to get me to come to, but it is always
>>> scheduled durring my finals week.  When I worked on Saturdays at a
>>> part time job my sophomore year they wanted me to take off work to
>>> attend chapter meetings.  At the time that was my grocery money, so
>>> giving work wasn't something I was willing to do; I wanted to pick up
>>> extra hours, not throw them away.  I also have been in a professional
>>> music fraternity since the spring semester of my Freshman year, and a
>>> lot of our major events (recruitment events, initiations and pledging
>>> ceremonies, etc) happen on Saturdays.  With the chapter meetings
>>> scheduled from 1:00-3:00 PM, not to mention the location is subject to
>>> change from place to place so students can't plan for consistency, I
>>> have had difficulty in getting there.
>>> 
>>> I've emailed the chapter president a few times about how there is a
>>> double-standard here.  He wants new blood in the chapter, but when I
>>> tell him it is very difficult to add in chapter meetings when the time
>>> isn't very accessible to me he thumbs his nose and tells me I should
>>> cancel work or do what it takes to come to chapter meetings because it
>>> would benefit the chapter.  I try to explain to him that while I do
>>> understand personal sacrifices can and should be made to an extent,
>>> students do not have as much flexibility as working people to move
>>> classes around in the week, and there are only so many hours in the
>>> weekend.  Not to mention extracurriculars are a good thing for blind
>>> students to be involved in because it shows peers that we can be
>>> engaged and active in the same ways as they are.  It also creates
>>> networking opportunities and even job prospects after graduation as
>>> long as the extracurriculars are not merely social in nature, which
>>> mine are not.  I want to join the local chapter nearby, but I also
>>> want to experience life as a student too in the year or so I have left
>>> of undergrad.
>>> 
>>> I don't think this makes me a lazy Federationist as I have found ways
>>> to be active in divisions and in the affiliate outside of chapters,
>>> and I would venture to guess that 1:00-3:00 PM on a Saturday probably
>>> isn't great for most students since it's right in the middle of the
>>> day.  I did not send the email I drafted, but I feel like if the
>>> chapter needs and wants students to join as badly as they say they do,
>>> they need to make the meeting time more accessible to that group of
>>> people.  Right now I know it is not for me, and I think that is also
>>> the case for other highly-involved and motivated students who the
>>> president would like to see join the chapter.
>>> 
>>> Thoughts?  I personally don't think I'm fully in the wrong here, but I
>>> am open to anything at this point. I really would join the local
>>> chapter if it were held at times that I could consistently attend.
>>> Right now I'm able to make it to a scattered couple of social events
>>> outside of the regular meeting times, but that's about it.  I've
>>> prooven to be involved in the affiliate on committees and in other
>>> projects including BELL, but right now I feel like joining either of
>>> these chapters isn't a possibility for me and I'm not appreciating the
>>> push-back for my reasons why.  It's not that I'm making excuses or
>>> because I don't want to go; I think work conflicts and required
>>> fraternity events which I will only be able to have for a year longer
>>> tops are acceptable reasons to be absent, not to mention that when I'm
>>> home traveling an hour to the meeting and then another hour back home
>>> 2 hours later is a bit much to ask.  I suppose my logic is that I am
>>> already a Federationist and I can join a chapter when the time is
>>> right for me to do so, and by that I mean when I can actively
>>> contribute in a stable and dedicated way.  That will most likely come
>>> when I have a 40 hour work week like the rest of the current chapter
>>> if they don't take their desire for student members and what is
>>> accessible to them into consideration.
>>> --
>>> Kaiti Shelton
>>> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
>>> Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
>>> Division 2015-2016
>>> 
>>> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>>> 
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