[NABS-L] NABS Constitution Concern

[Cricket X. Bidleman]

Hi Aaron and all,

This is an interesting question, because even if the constitution said
that a officer or board member has to be enrolled for 50% of their
term, the only way to ensure that would be by their current
enrollment. They could easily say that they plan to be enrolled for
the latter half of their term, and not follow through on that. Or
something like Covid could happen in the second half of their term, or
a personal and/or medical emergency, that could then prevent them from
being a student for 50% of their term. It's difficult to hold someone
accountable for something like this, and in the case of a personal or
medical emergency, are we supposed to remove someone from leadership?

As far as I'm aware, recent officers and board members have been
constitutional. When Kathryn was elected for her second term, she was
not a student, but expressed an intent to be enrolled at a school or
training center. She was not, as far as I'm aware, and maybe that was
partly due to Covid. I'm not sure. Justin has also not been a student,
but I think he's enrolling this fall.

That being said, I encourage you to write and propose the amendment if
you don't think current leadership will do so. I understand both sides
of the issue, and will refrain from expressing my opinion. If you
propose this amendment, just think about how we as members can hold
our leaders accountable.

Best,
Cricket

-- 
Cricket X. Bidleman, B.A (she/her/hers)
M.A Candidate | Stanford Journalism Class of 2022
Accessibility Consultant | Stanford University Computer Science
President | California Association of Blind Students (CABS)
Rebele Intern | First amendment Coalition (FAC)



On 7/2/21, Aaron Espinoza via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> No. All an officer has to say is I am
> "interested in the pursuit of studies"
> to be considered a student.
> Hopefully you guys can address this.
> The constitution does say
> "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."
>
> On Thu, Jul 1, 2021 at 7:06 PM Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Aaron,
>>
>> Thank you for your message. We will have to look into this. Does the
>> constitution say something about a certain percentage of the term student
>> needs to intend to be a student, such as half of the term?
>>
>> We can check.
>>
>> Aloha,
>>
>> Justin
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury
>>
>> Mobile: 808.797.8606
>> Email: 808salisbury at gmail.com
>>
>> ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury
>>
>> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jul 1, 2021, at 9:39 PM, Aaron Espinoza <blind247365 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hello NABS,
>>
>> Can someone double check the NABS constitution to check if I am
>> interpreting it wrong or right.
>>
>> Lets say a NABS officer in 2022 wants to run for the same or different
>> position   in their senior year in college that makes them eligible to
>> run for a position again because they have been in school for a year and
>> wins their reelection but have no plans to go to school they can occupy
>> that position for two years by just saying  I am
>>
>> “interested in the pursuit of studies”
>>
>> you're  either a student or you’re not.
>>
>> This loop whole should be corrected before it gets taken advantage of.
>>
>> I think there should be exceptions on what counts as being in school and a
>> student but it should be explicit in the constitution.
>>
>> https://nabslink.org/our-constitution
>>
>>
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