[NABS-L] board position 4

Sat Jul 18 22:54:07 UTC 2020

Nick and all,

I appreciate the open dialogue on this issue. I do, however, think that the back-and-forth is not helpful, and instead harmful to our members. I say this because our membership voted on Wednesday night in support of the decision made to allow me, as the current president at that moment, to appoint the final seat. Full disclosure, there was not any opposition to this decision at all. If there was, I promise it would have been addressed. Nothing was rushed and nothing was pushed under the rug. The motion to close discussion and proceed as I outlined was moved, seconded, and voted on by our membership prior to adjournment.

Nick - The link you posted to our national student division constitution is out of date as we voted in 2017 to allow for officers to be elected on the even year and board members to be elected during the odd years. This is not reflected on the online version, though is reflected below. There have been technical difficulties with our web site for quite some time as the late Rachel Olivero was a big asset to our national student division site, so bear with us as we merge into the updated NFB server and site in the coming months. To that end, you will find the most updated constitution below, the one voted on during our 2017 annual business meeting. This has different information around when leaders are elected. The board begins collectively once all positions are made final. This is interpretation, so I will choose not to argue with those who disagree. I also offered the idea around the final appointment and this was moved by all present and choosing to vote.

I do want to note that the Constitution will not have a line item that reads that the president can do a specific action. Our organization instead puts a tremendous amount of trust in our presidents across the board. That means, executive decisions are made often in order to move our organization forward. We are living in unprecedented times right now. Six months ago, no one could have imagined voting virtually for NABS. Generally speaking, voting for NABS brings about a ton of emotions and perspectives in and of itself. Again, our membership voted on the decision that I would make the final appointment. There was not any disagreement during our annual regular business meeting. I appreciate the ideas for holding special meetings or opening a Google form. I also appreciate the thoughts that are shared around how you are feeling with the decision that was made. Since our members voted on said decision and since we are now nearing the end of our convention, this is how we plan to proceed for the benefit of the National Association of Blind Students.

It is unfortunate that not all decisions can be favored by all, though I really did think this one was until concerns were surfaced yesterday and today.

Please find our Constitution below:

ARTICLE I. NAME             

The name of this organization is the National Association of Blind Students.                                                                    

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE             

The purpose of the National Association of Blind Students is to function as a mechanism through which blind students and interested sighted persons can come together in local, state and national meetings to plan and carry out our programs to improve educational  and equality of life for the blind; to provide a means of collective action for blind students; to promote the educational, vocational, economic, cultural, and social advancement of the blind; to strengthen and enhance educational programs for the blind; to take such other action as will improve the overall condition and standard of living of the blind; and to participate as an integral part of the National Federation of the Blind in its various activities.  

Article III. Membership

Section 1. -- Members

At least a majority of the active members of this organization must be blind. Any student, or anyone interested in the pursuit of studies may become an active member of this association, provided that such person meets the eligibility requirements for membership in the National Federation of the Blind.

Section 2. -- expulsion 

Any person who has been expelled by the National Federation of the Blind shall automatically cease to be a member of this Association. Any member of this organization may be expelled for misconduct, or for activity unbecoming to a member of this organization by a two-thirds vote of the active members present and voting at a regular or special meeting of this association, or by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors of this organization subject to ratification by the general membership.

Section 3. -- reinstatement of membership

A person may be reinstated to membership in this organization by a two-thirds vote of the active members present and voting at a regular or special meeting of this Association, or by a two-thirds vote of its board of directors, provided that such person meets the eligibility requirements for membership or for reinstatement to membership in the National Federation of the Blind.

ARTICLE IV. Officers and Their Duties

There shall be elected at the annual meeting of this organization: in each even numbered year, a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, a Treasurer, and a Secretary, and in each odd numbered year four (4) board members, designated as Board Member one, board member two, Board Member three, and board member four. The terms of these officers and board members shall begin at the close of the meeting at which they are elected and qualified. The President and Vice Presidents of this organization must be blind. Officers and board members shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of this Association present and voting. All officers and board members must be in school for one year following their election. There shall be no proxy votes.

If no nominee receives a majority vote on the first ballot, the name of the person receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the list of nominees and a second ballot shall be taken. This procedure shall continue until one of the nominees receives a majority vote. These officers and board members constitute the board of directors for this Association. The officers and board members are authorized to conduct such business as is necessary for the normal operation of this Association between the annual regular meetings of the Association. The duties of each officer and board member shall be those ordinarily associated with the office. 

ARTICLE V. Meetings.

This Association will meet twice a year in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind and the Washington Seminar of the National Federation of the Blind. � Special meetings may be called by the President of the Association, or by most of the board of directors to transact business or otherwise to further the purposes of this Association.

ARTICLE VI. Committees

The President may appoint such committees as they or the members of the Association deem necessary.

ARTICLE VII. Dues

The dues of this Association shall be $5.00 per year payable in advance.

ARTICLE VIII. Disbursement of Funds

The funds of this organization shall be deposited in a bank to be selected by the Treasurer with the approval of the President. All financial obligations of this organization shall be discharged by check issued on order of the President and signed by the Treasurer or the President.

ARTICLE IX. Affiliation

The National Association of Blind Students is a division of the National Federation of the Blind. The Association shall furnish to the President of the National Federation of the Blind, a copy of this constitution and any amendments that may be adopted in the future, and the names and addresses of the members and elected officers. This organization will comply with the provisions of the constitution of the National Federation of the Blind. In the event of the reorganization of this Association, the assets of this organization belong to the reorganized Association, and the former Association shall dissolve and cease to exist.

ARTICLE X. Dissolution

In the event of dissolution of this Association, or for whatever reason it ceases to be a division of the National Federation of the Blind, its assets shall be distributed to the National Federation of the Blind to be held in trust for a reorganized division of the National Federation of the Blind.

If no division is organized for a one-year period from the date this Association ceases to be a division of the National Federation of the Blind, the assets become the property of the National Federation of the Blind. 

ARTICLE XI. Amendments

This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the active members present and voting, provided the amendment has been submitted to the President in writing, at least one day in advance of the regular meeting.

Love,

Kathryn Webster

President, National Association of Blind Students

From: Nico Petrillo <mrnicopetrillo at gmail.com> 
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2020 6:36 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nabs.president at gmail.com; Justin Young <jty727 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] board position 4

As a state student division president I also agree having state student division presidents vote is not the way to go. Imposing a deadline like this is creating the issues at hand. Simply call a special meeting to vote on board member for when it is convenient to the new board. I want to reiterate I’m not questioning anyone’s ethics or intentions just that we abide by our constitution. Below is the link to the constitution that is public on a Our student division website.

http://nabslink.org/about/constitution

Nick Petrillo

He/him/his

Virginia Association of Blind Students| President 

703-346-9981

On Jul 18, 2020, at 6:27 PM, Justin Young via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

Hi All,

Thank you Kathryn for your detailed response outlining the rationale
behind the decisions made for the annual NABS business meeting & our
elections.  I support the decision made and the reasons presented.

I have heard a few times now the idea of having Student Division State
Presidents as delegates, but until there is a students division in all
52 affiliates, this would never be a fair method or respectful to all
NABS members because their voices might be lost using that kind of
system.

Thanks & I look forward to hearing the result of the Outgoing/Incoming
Board & Nominating committee for which student will fill this vacancy.

Justin Young
President, New York Association of Blind Students

On 7/18/20, Kathryn Webster, National Student President via NABS-L
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

Hi everyone,

First and foremost, thank you so much for surfacing your concerns on a

public platform. I applaud you for exercising your voice in this format. I

want to clearly explain voting protocol so there is full transparency. I

also want to highlight that these concerns should have been brought up on

Wednesday night, as we felt comfortable and confident in the decision made

upon adjournment. If that was not the case, I wish we could have openly

talked about it regardless of the time. I hope you understand that I am a

fair leader, one in which values each of your ideas, contributions, and

opinions. To that end, I only want full transparency, fairness, and honesty.

I do not say this to be defensive, I only mention it because I tried to make

it as clear as possible that I am open to alternative ideas, not only the

executive decision I made. The entire board would have stayed on Zoom ready

to go name by name down our registration list if that is the direction that

made the most sense. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is a tough situation

to be in, given the circumstances.

Each year, we initially rely on voice vote to conduct elections. This

proceeds to a standing vote if the voice vote does not suffice in making a

clear decision. Any member elected must receive a majority vote of the

active members present and voting. If there are more than two members

seeking a given position, then we proceed in the following way. We would

take a voice vote, dropping the candidate who received the least amount of

votes. We would then conduct another voice vote, dropping the individual who

received the least amount of votes that time around. This continues until

there are two candidates remaining. Again, a majority of votes must be

received in order to be fairly and constitutionally elected.

This year is different due to the virtual environment. A Google form would

have to be distributed at least four times to the hundreds of members to

ensure it is done fairly. On the other hand, the final seat is a 1-year

position this time around, as it was vacated by a board member who was

elected to an officer position. To be completely honest, as president, I

could have appointed all three vacated board positions from a constitutional

perspective. I did not feel comfortable doing that as the voice of the

membership is critical in our movement.

While we all have extremely passionate emotions around what completes a

great NABS Board, I promise that my heart is in the right place in making

this decision. Diversity matters. Experience matters. Balance matters. I am

working with the outgoing and incoming NABS Board to make the wisest and

most appropriate decision for the future of NABS. I also am working with our

trusted Nominating Committee to be intentional, aware, and proactive. This

means, everyone's opinion matters. However, this also means that a

discussion on the NABS list or on Facebook does not compare, even slightly,

to allowing for an open forum during our annual business meeting. Leaning on

student state delegates who were present excludes all states that were not

on at 11:30pm. Not to mention not all states have delegates to represent

you. Taking a vote via Google form is not logistically feasible given the

protocol that is needed to follow voting procedures. As president, I have

the right to proceed in this way, as long as I am being ethical and

intentional. All members who ran for Board Member 3 or Board Member 4 are

prioritized for consideration, without a doubt.

I am saddened that members are not feeling that I am proceeding as you would

prefer. I also hope that you can trust that my opinion is not the only one

that is being taken into account. As we are seeing at General Session right

now, sometimes the virtual space forces us to make decisions that were not

initially planned. Our NABS board put in a ton of thought and intention as

we discussed the mitigation strategies for elections this year. Not to

mention, many divisions opted to not hold elections this year; and instead

continue with the current board until next year. We did not agree with that

approach, and thus problem solved ways to be most fair.

I appreciate you reading and truly hope that you feel empowered to call me

to discuss if you continue to have concerns. I value you; I appreciate you;

and, at the end of the day, we need you.

Love,

Kathryn Webster

President, National Association of Blind Students

203-273-8463

Nabs.president at gmail.com <mailto:Nabs.president at gmail.com> 

-----Original Message-----

From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Victor Marques via

NABS-L

Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2020 5:16 PM

To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org> >

Cc: Victor Marques <therealvictormarques at gmail.com <mailto:therealvictormarques at gmail.com> >

Subject: Re: [NABS-L] board position 4

I too was dissatisfied with the choice to simply appoint board member 4.

Those who expressed an interest at the meeting, and the individual who was

not successful for board position 3, should be put into a 5 way Google Form

vote. It would be easy to cross-reference membership and tally votes. Should

the be a tie for positions 1 and 2, that could be decided by a second vote.

That’s the democratic way I would have handled this, Google Forms is

perfectly capable as a tool to manage this election.

I’m glad I am not the only one who felt this way.  I felt this was pushed

through without voting on the rules of engagement or without adequate

discussion.

Victor Marques

NABS Member

On Jul 18, 2020, at 5:06 PM, Keri Svendsen via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nabs-l at nfbnet.org> >

wrote:

I think this is reasonable.

On 7/18/2020 4:40 PM, Zachary GriegoDreicer via NABS-L wrote:

Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying convention. I've had a number of

people talking on facebook and to me directly that we don't approve of

the handling of the voting of board position 4. There has been

significant discussion of this topic and I think that the discussion

should  be opened to all NABS members. I think it only fair that everyone

who ran for other board positions, and were not elected, should be

allowed to run again for said position. Further, any dues paying member

should be able to vote for the student they believe the best to serve in

this role. I propose that a second google form be created for this

purpose. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the general convention would

run perhaps by raising hands in zoom or something similar to fill all

positions....I think we will find out soon enough if my thought process

is correct. Thus, in fairness to all involved, I would like to suggest

that position 4 be elected by google forms or other fair form of voting.

I would love everyone's input. Thanks all for your consideration.

Sent from my BrailleNote touch

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