[NABS-L] board position 4

Sun Jul 19 04:51:18 UTC 2020

There are great points raised here. I will certainly be a graduate student
in about a year myself. I think we should definitely be receptive to the
points raised here. Thank you for your input. Many thanks and much respect.
Sincerely,
Naim Muawia Abu-El Hawa

On Sun, Jul 19, 2020 at 12:15 AM Keri Svendsen via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> I will put in my two cents here.
>
> I first will say I was not there for elections, because I was bored out
> of my mind, and after an hour I left. I however see many are unhappy,
> and with that I think leadership should have handled this much much better.
>
> With this said, I also ask leadership to also consider things for the
> future that also draw grad students in. I found all the student events
> very tailored to the younger late teens early 20s crowd, and not a good
> space for those of us in our late 20s and older, in more advanced studies.
>
> Also keep in mind when streaming music and recordings over zoom to be
> careful of the volume, some of it was so overwelming that it was hurting
> my ears. It was so much louder than the general session streams and so
> on. If I struggled with it I'm sure deaf-blind students did too.
>
>
> thanks,
>
> On 7/18/2020 11:51 PM, Naim Abu-ElHawa via NABS-L wrote:
> > 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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> >>
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> --
> Keri Svendsen
>
>
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