[NABS-L] board position 4

Sun Jul 19 05:15:12 UTC 2020

Hi Elizabeth. I do think that your analysis is so right. It did feel like the now former president was overbearing, and i do remember when the young student tried expressing her opinio, Kathryn did make it seem like she just wanted to do it all herself because she had the right knowledge to do so. I kow she said in a post and email that she consulted with the board, the new president and others, but that doesn’t change the circumstance. Nobody in the organization got to witness y of those talks, so by any means, we have to assume that there were no such communications unless there are records to prove it. Also, trying to use the virtual situation as an excuse is unacceptable. If the national organization was able to figure votng out during live general sessions, then i do not see why Kathryn and the rest of the board couldn’t do that themselves. You are right that by shutting down the one concern that was raised, most of us felt like she would do the same thing to us. I am so tired of NABS being controversial for the wrong reasons. The shenanigans that leadership pulls off every time are being watched. People go back and they relay that information back to the people back home who couldn’t go to such an expensive convention in person. This was done in such a horrible way. Also, saying that the constitution changed should have been brought up to the members. Saying that oh, the web master is no longer with us and that’s why we couldn’t get the new and updated constitution online, it’s just an excuse as the now forer president said herself that it was changed three years ago without our knowledge, so they had ample time to update it. It was just a power grab. This makes no sense in any fashion. It makes me want to leave the division that has meant so much to me, where i’ve gotten to make so many new friends and expand my family. But with leadership failing to bring a just and Democratic way to vote over and over again, it is horrendous that it keeps happening and doesn’t instill trust in the leadership and nor do they deserve it. I am happy to see what the new board under Trisha Kulkarni will do to expand the students division, although under the same style of leadership as in recent years, and what it will do in advocating for blind students. I have zero confidence in the students division and i am hopeful that the new leadership can change that.
One last thing, we didn’t get our vote and i think that all students should remember this for next time, as the person who lost the third board election was never contacted for the job. Lets remember this. Lastly, i think that there are too many students who are too loyalist and don’t use their own voice to express their own opinion and fail to criticize where it is needed. Those that just go with whatever leader is in charge and what they want to do do not look at things objective and look at things from another viewpoint. 

Sent from my iPad

> On Jul 18, 2020, at 9:19 PM, Nico Petrillo via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Regardless of thoughts on this issue It’s important to support the incoming Nabs board. As someone who spoke up today on the list serve I am satisfied in the knowledge that all the elected positions are excellent people. They all want the best for Nabs and have the qualifications to support our great organization. I think many have said today sentiment that we should learn from this, and I agree. However it’s time for all of us to build a bridge and get over it. No more than ever the new board will need our support in the coming year. Issues plaguing our community such as voting rights, and college accommodations. Well it is important to speak out when you feel something is wrong I know many thought the time for that was the business meeting but I think we can all agree that if you didn’t say anything in the email today Then The time has truly passed. If nothing else Kathryn responded to our concerns, and explained her reasoning. It’s up to us to make sure this doesn’t happen again if we truly don’t like it. But now is the time for all of us to be giving our full support to the new bored, and put in another great year in the national Federation of the blind as advocates, mentors, leaders, teachers, and so much more.
> 
> Respectfully, 
> 
> Nick Petrillo
> He/him/his
> Virginia Association of Blind Students| President 
> 703-346-9981
> 
> 
> 
>> On 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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