[Nyabs] Minutes for September 9th Conference Call

[Alexander Castillo]

Hi all, I'm glad to see that the student seminar will be happening
soon, and that the division has new active members making great
contributions.

On the issue of CUNY and their textbooks, I want to make clear that
there should not be a policy which denies you from scanning your own
books at the office of students with disabilities.

If such a thing is occurring, it should be quickly addressed with the
director of your college's disability office. And by quickly
addressed, I mean it should stop immediately. The equipment is there
for your use.

It is also not a bad idea to put pressure on the person who is
responsible for the aquisition of these texts at your college. If they
are pressured, they will have to call the publisher and pressure them
for your accessible version of the textbook. Thepositive aspect of
this is that they are dealing with an individual at the publishing
company and not a machine.

I've mentioned before that attending the CCSD meetings should be a
priority, and making sure that they understand that blind students
have a voice in the CUNY system should not be understated.

This might have changed, but there was someone always in attendance at
these meetings from the Mayor's office for people with disabilities.
If CUNY won't listen, then perhaps speaking to this person directly
may have better results.

Also, I’m not sure what national is doing in terms of addressing the
publishing companies with regard to equal access, but it is something
worth looking into as a division. You can always contact NABS and see
if perhaps by our next convention, this issue can take priority. I
certainly think that we have had to struggle with this issue for too
long, and we are at a point in time in which technology has made it
possible for us to have equal access to learning materials.

Thanks for reading, and anything that we can accomplish to lift even
the smallest obstacle is worth the struggle.

Alex


On 9/10/12, Walei Sabry <walei.sabry at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey everyone,
> As usual, I've pasted the minutes from last night's conference call below.
> I've added some things such as the address of Baker Street as well as a link
> to it on  menu pages.
> Enjoy,
> Walei
>
> Minutes for September 9th, 2012:
> Board members present: Chancey, Amanda, Nihal, Kate and Walei
> General members present: Alex and Valeria
>
> Adoption of May minutes:
> Motion to approve May minutes was made by Chancey and seconded by Nihal
> Motion passes.
> Board member reports:
> Secretary/treasurer Walei: Updated budget to reflect latest contribution to
> Membership dues. Our new budget is $574.72.
> Executive member Chancey:
> BMCC: Blind gentleman has a human note taker for English class. He has a
> laptop for taking his own notes but there are things that are written on the
> board. His note taker gives him the notes in long hand, and when he asked
> for short hand notes, the office for students with disabilities denied it.
> He has advocated for himself and took this issue to the dean of students.
> Chancey suggests to share with us if anyone hears about this happening
> anywhere else.
> Old business:
> Student Seminar: October 6th at the Andrew Heiskell Library from 10 to 5
> Submit outlines by September 15th.
> RSVP date is October 1st:
> Food: Nihal got some estimates. 15 large pizzas with tomatoes are $180.
> She’s following sales in different stores to get the best deal for drinks.
> She estimates it will be $25. Total estimate is $220.
> Alex suggested that we have someone to talk about the NFB training centers
> that are available. He knows a couple of people from New Jersey. If not,
> Chancey and Valeria can share their experiences.
> Have face to face meeting on Sunday the 30th at 1 PM. The Venue is Baker
> Street on 63rd and 1st.
> The address is 1152 1st Avenue.
> Here’s a link for it on Menu Pages:
> http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/baker-street/
> Hunter text books:
> After a long discussion, Alex suggested that there isn’t much we can do
> about this issue because it’s the publisher’s policies that are getting in
> the way. As a student all one can do is scan their book and share it on Book
> Share. Since this is a much bigger issue, he suggested that we bring it up
> as a resolution in the next National NFB convention.
> New business:
> Nihal: CUNY has a new website called CUNY First. She is having a lot of
> problems accessing such features as registering for classes and paying her
> tuition.
> Motion to adjourn:
> Motion was made by Kate and Amanda
> Motion passes.
> Next meeting is Sunday October 14th at 6 PM
>