[NABS-L] board position 4

[Naim Abu-ElHawa]

Hi Elizabeth and all. I hope everybody enjoyed this evening‘s Banquet
Address by President Riccobono. Here is my humble slice of advice; I hope
this gives folks inspiration. I will admit, I am using the iPhone‘s
dictation software, so please do not mind slight grammatical, punctuation,
or syntax, (aesthetic), errors.. Below, please find my thoughts. And please
notice, I am currently inactive as a member of The National Association of
Blind Students.
It is essential to uphold the democratic principles we stand by as an
organization; therefore, it is imperative that the voices of dues paying
members are clearly heard and provided the proper platform to be voiced. In
the nature of that spirit,  dues paying members should feel fully entitled
to exercise their rights of democracy. If there is a sizable, substantial
portion of the membership (the active membership) who feel that their
voices may have been suppressed in any way, shape, or form, they must feel,
in a respectful and productive context, that they are given the chance to
organize, strategize, virtually mobilize, and articulate their concerns in
full. I think it is necessary that the leadership take up this concern and
allow the concerned (And properly organized) part of the membership a
proper platform to express A legitimate, organized list of their concerns
surrounding this election. The membership should organize behind a
strategic leader to advocate their point of View collectively and avoid any
personal, or otherwise unproductive criticisms, while articulating and
voicing their legitimate (and potentially deeply rooted) concerns. I will
not be taking up this initiative in any way, as I am currently holding an
inactive status and I am a non-dues paying member (technically rendering me
inactive, or a non-member.) Many thanks and much respect.
Sincerely,
Naim Muawia Abu-El Hawa

On Sat, Jul 18, 2020 at 11:04 PM Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L <
nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> I commend Kathryn for her leadership as the President of the National
> Association of Blind Students. However, there was definitely a better way
> to conduct the elections for the fourth board position.
>
> There was opposition to Kathryn appointing someone to this position.
> However, it was strongly shot down by Kathryn who appeared to be tired,
> inpatient, and authoritative. I felt as though the way this opposition was
> shot down was wrong as every member has the right to voice their opinion. I
> imagine between the sheer shock of the authoritative decision for Kathryn
> to appoint someone to this board position along with the strong opposition
> to the one person who tried to argue against this decision made it rather
> difficult for anyone else to oppose Kathryn as this decision was being made.
>
> The elections for the National Association of Blind Students is often
> controversial. Therefore, it would have been wise to give extra
> consideration for holding these elections in a virtual environment. But it
> sounded as though the procedures for conducting elections were created by
> Kathryn alone. If this organization is truly a democratic organization,
> then no single person should be making any major decisions that involves
> the membership without giving all members a chance to voice their opinion
> on the matter.
>
> There could have been other options considered for this board position
> that would have been less controversial. I remember there was a motion made
> and approved during the 2011 elections to drop all but the top two people
> running for the final board position after the first round of voting. I
> remember this taking place because I was in the running for this board
> position. I remember this being done because there were a lot of people
> running for this board position and it was starting to get very late. While
> some may argue this decision violated the election procedure outlined in
> the constitution, it appeared to be a reasonable compromise given the
> circumstances.
>
> Additionally, there is only one year left for this board position.
> Therefore, leaving it vacant until next year or until a less controversial
> means of voting could be agreed upon and conducted could have been
> considered. However, there were no alternatives discussed or considered.
> Either you agreed with the option Kathryn was proposing, or you were in
> opposition of what Kathryn was proposing, and there did not appear to be
> any alternatives that met the approval of the President.
>
> The code of conduct states that the organization is to provide an open and
> welcoming place for everyone. But this is not what I saw take place during
> the elections for the forth board position. Instead, it appeared as though
> there was an authoritative
>  Leader enforcing their own will onto the membership of the organization.
> I did not voice my opinion during the meeting as I felt it would not have
> mattered and would not have changed the decision that was being made. I am
> neither a dues paying member or leader within this organization.
>
> It is possible the way the elections for the fourth board position was
> handled may have long term consequences for the organization. This meeting
> was being conducted online for anyone to see. And it may have served as an
> example for those who believe the National Federation of the Blind is not
> the democratic organization that it claims to be. I was surprised that none
> of the national leaders provided any direction or oversight regarding the
> election for this board position. No one person should be above the
> organization.
>
> Warm regards,,
> Elizabeth
>
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