[Nebraska-students] NABS September Bulletin and Student Slate Fall 2009!

Wed Sep 9 04:02:39 UTC 2009

national Association of Blind Students
>From the Desk of the President
September 8, 2009

In This Bulletin:
1.  The Student Slate is Back!
2. Tis the Season of State Conventions
3.  Save the Date
4.  Want to Help Us Out?
5.  Announcements

1.  The Student Slate is Back!
For over ten years the National Association of Blind Students has
published a newsletter, the Student Slate, highlighting the goings-on
in NABS as well as the array of things that blind students are doing
every day. I’m pleased to attach the fall 2009 issue of the Student
Slate to this bulletin for your enjoyment. The new editors of the
Student Slate have promised to begin releasing our newsletter every
three months. Enjoy and pass it on to anyone you know who wants to
know  what blind  students have been doing lately!

2. Tis the Season:
Fall is upon us, and along with the beginning of a new school year,
fall is also the time when many NFB state conventions are happening
across the country.  At these conventions, NFB members throughout the
state gather to share information, develop positions and goals
regarding important blindness issues in the state, and also enjoy
great fellowship in the process.  Many of these state conventions also
feature seminars, socials or other fun networking opportunities for
students.

If you want to find out when your state is having its next convention,
you can go to
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/state_conventions.asp?SnID=1342788108
and search for your state in the list. Click on your state’s link to
get contact information for the state affiliate president, if you
don’t already have it.

Is your state doing something special for students at your convention?
If so, we'd like to announce it in the next bulletin.  Send details to
Nabs.president at gmail.com
Finally, we now have an online form through which to request a NABS
board representative to come to your event.  If you'd like to request
a NABS rep at your convention or other student event, go to
www.nabslink.org
and click the "Request a NABS rep" link from the main page.

3.  Save the Date:
The National Association of Blind Students will be having its next
meeting and student seminar on Sunday, January 31, at the Holiday Inn
Capitol Hotel in Washington, D.C.  We will be meeting just prior to
the National Federation of the Blind's annual Washington Seminar, at
which we meet with our national senators and representatives to
discuss important legislative issues affecting blind Americans.  Stay
tuned for details about the NABS meeting and legislative seminar in
future bulletins.  Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions for us about
what you'd like to see discussed at our meeting or the kinds of
activities you'd like us to do as a student division, drop me an email
and let me know.

4.  Want to Help Us Out?
The National Association of Blind Students has several ongoing
committees that work on maintaining and developing specific aspects of
the organization.  All of our committees welcome new participants.
You don't have to be a current student to serve on a committee; all
that is required is willingness to work and to contribute your ideas.
Please contact the following individuals if you are interested in
joining their committee:
Website: Meghan Whalen
mewhalen at wisc.edu

Listserv: Jedi Moerke
blindjedi at clearwire.net
Membership: Darian Smith
ds94124 at aol.com
Student Slate: Sean Whalen
smwhalenpsp at gmail.com
Fund-Raising: Isaiah Wilcox
Iwilcox2011 at gmail.com
5.  Announcements:
Montana Student Division Campout:
Jim Reed, president of the Montana Association of Blind Students,
reports on a recent MABS campout. The Montana Association of Blind
Students was recently organized and, despite its small membership, was
able to put together a fun and inspiring event that combined
recreation with the development of strong blindness philosophy:
We had nine people attend. Noteworthy attendees include Dan Burke –
state affiliate president, Cindy Letcher – state affiliate board
member, and Jedi Moerke – President, Washington Association of Blind
Students/NABS representative.

We took care of some business matters including amending our
constitution to allow for a smaller board, electing a Vice President,
and planning a fundraiser (selling Louis Braille coins at our state
convention). Additionally we offered and awarded a few scholarships
for students attending the MAB state convention.
Also, we all agreed that the long-term goal for the Student Division
should be to establish and maintain a mentoring program.  Last, due to
the fact that I will be leaving Montana to attend LCB training center,
and the fact that I will no longer be a student, I announced my
resignation as MABS President, effective January 31st, 2010. Our newly
elected VP will become the new president.

We also had some good discussions. Dan Burke and Jedi Moerke led
several discussions related to blindness, NFB blindness philosophy,
the role/purpose of the NFB, state affiliates, and student divisions.
Additionally, there was some discussion of training centers; we had
LCB and CCB graduates present, and they represented their schools
well.

Most importantly, we had a lot of fun and new friendships were made.
In addition to perfecting old skills such as hanging out around a
campfire or falling in the river, many people got to learn and use new
skills such as setting up tents, operating propane stoves, and
starting, maintaining, and cooking over a campfire. Additionally,
familiar blindness skills such as cane travel and cooking got to be
practiced in a new environment. And, in a discovery that will benefit
blind people everywhere, Jedi discovered a non-visual method for
differentiating between cans of Pepsi products and Budweiser cans (the
line surrounding the pull tab and mouth on the Budweiser can is a
“figure 8” shape, whereas the line on the Pepsi can  is more of an
oval shape).

FYI, there was no cost for anyone attending the campout. Using grant
money from the NFB’s Imagination Fund, the Student Division spent $750
on food, supplies, tent rental, campsite reservations, bus tickets,
gas, and a driver.

Many people expressed an interest in making a Student Division campout
an annual event.

Southeast Regional Seminar Update:
On August 14-16, 2009, the Georgia Association of Blind Students
hosted a seminar for students in the Southeast in Macon, GA. There
were about twenty-five students in attendance including
representatives from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The seminar
featured a series of breakout sessions addressing topics of common
interest to blind students such as technology, career development and
blindness philosophy. Students also learned about fashion and had the
chance to practice their newfound skills at a banquet and dance at the
end of the seminar. Congratulations to the Southeast region for
hosting such an educational seminar.

Delaware Student Division Fund-Raiser:
The Delaware student division is selling entertainment books until
Dec. 10, 2009. Coupons in the books are valid until November 2010. To
order your entertainment book go to
http://www.fundraising.entertainment.com/esale2.cfm?CI=953897&SI=678037&LI=1
Additionally, Katherine Newman reports the following from Delaware:
Next month Oct. 23-24 2009. Delaware is having our state convention in
Dover and would like to invite our neighboring states: NJ, Pa,
Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The Student Division Convention will
be Friday night with partying afterwards. If anyone would like to
attend please contact Catherine Newman via phone or email off line and
I will give you more updates as they come out. Do need to reserve
rooms by October 26. There will also be an auction on Saturday with
neat items so if you are planning to come bring money.

Hope to see you all at the Delaware convention and I hope you all had
a GREAT summer.

Sincerely Yours,
Catherine Newman

 302 384 6879

NABS_DelawareDivision at yahoo.com
Virginia Youth Blowout:
The National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, in association with
the Virginia Student Division, is pleased to announce the second
Virginia Youth Blowout, to be held at the National Center in Baltimore
October 23-25. We are expecting 40 high schoolers from around the
state to attend and learn about techniques for succeeding as a blind
student, advancing their leadership skills, and building their
confidence. About a dozen blind adult and college student mentors will
lead the activities and supervise the students. Mark Riccobono will
lead his very popular activity from two years ago with the students,
where he taught them how a blind person can safely use a chainsaw to
cut through a piece of wood. We're also hoping to have a hybrid car
demonstration, and teach the students how to safely travel in a world
with increasing numbers of quiet cars. Plus, the students will learn
how to safely break boards with their bare hands! For more details or
to receive an application, please contact John Bailey at  703-994-2040
   or
john_bailey17 at hotmail.com
Talking Calculator Resources:
Kayleigh Joiner, a high school student from Texas who participated in
the 2009 Youth Slam, provides some useful information about accessible
scientific and graphing calculators:
Hello NABS listers,
My name is Kayleigh and I am a high school senior in Texas. I have had
a little bit of experience with a calculator called the Orion TI-83.
Here is a link that compares this calculator along with several other
talking scientific calculators so that you can see which one will work
best for you. The one that I am referring to is in the second table.
http://www.tsbvi.edu/math/talk-sci-calc.htm

That calculator will only speak the scientific part of it. In order to
deal with the graphing part of math you can download a product called
the Accessible Graphing Calculator (AGC). This is a piece of software
that you use on a computer. You can download it for a 30 day trial and
if you like it you can then purchase a license for it. Here is that
link:
http://www.tsbvi.edu/math/talk-sci-calc.htm

This information is from a teacher that is certified in teaching math
and blind/visually impaired students.

If you have any other questions about other school subjects feel free
to email me off list at:
kayleigh281 at yahoo.com
I hope that this information helps.

Sincerely,
Kayleigh

-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org
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