[Nyagdu] hotel room policy

Marion & Martin swampfox1833 at verizon.net
Fri Nov 6 03:06:58 UTC 2009


Tracy,
    I can hear that you are frustrated with our policy and I completely 
understand how you can feel the way you do! It is truly unfortunate that we 
have had irresponsible guide dog users who have created this situation for 
us. I want to assure you that this policy is not an arbitrary rule that was 
made in order to harrass guide dog users or treat them in a custodial 
manner. Rather, it is the result of having a way to deal with those who do 
not act responsibly.
    Within nearly every organization, there are policies to govern the 
conduct of those within the organization. At work, we have policies 
concerning such things as how we should dress, answer the telephone, address 
our colleagues, how often and how long our breaks can be, and other 
behaviors. These policies are created and written out in order to give clear 
directives about the expectations of each person as they relate to others 
and to the work environment. Laws are a sort of policy that tells the 
citizenry what sort of behavior is expected and what the penalties are for 
violating public norms.
    Though I do not smoke, I know that smokers objected to the laws and 
policies prohibiting indoor smoking. In response to protecting the rights of 
those who do not smoke, most companies do not even allow their employees to 
smoke near the entrance to their buildings so that those who do not smoke 
are not exposed to the smell! Some companies even have a policy of not 
hiring people who have smoked in the past year!
    I have presented some real incidents in which I was supported by the 
presence of this policy and the penalties for violating it. If it were not 
for this policy, I would have had no recourse to take control over the 
situation. I will also tell you that on each occasion in which I was called 
on to resolve an issue of a disruptive dog left unattended in a room, the 
dog's owner told me that their dog does not bark when left unattended. Well, 
when I stood outside the door at 3:00 am, the dog was definitely barking! 
Another person asserted that the dog only barked when she was coming back; 
not the whole time she was gone! Well, the guests around her room were quite 
frustrated at the three hours she spent coming back to her room!
    I know you feel upset about the policy; however, consider what sort of 
feelings are created toward all of us as guide dog users when our fellow 
Federationists are kept awake or have to listen to a whining dog for several 
hours.
    In an effort to maintain order and protect the interests of all 
concerned, we needed to institute a policy. If you have a better idea of how 
we can protect others from the irresponsibility of a few, I would love to 
hear them. For now, this is the best we can do!

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "New York Association of Guide Dog Users" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 3:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Nyagdu] hotel room policy


>I can't say how much I hate this.  And, since it's come from on high,
> there seems no real chance to change it.
>
> It bugs me in two ways.  It's easy for me to find people who think that
> because I have a dog, I will be a problem of some kind.  I would hope to
> find a different attitude in the NFB, but I do not.  In fact, I find the
> dog users division saying, Yes, we are a problem because we have dogs.  At
> least some of us are.
> It's very dishartening.
>
> Second, the whole argument seems so close to the ownership deal to me.
> Some people are irresponsible, so we must treat all people as though they
> are irresponsible.  After all, we're only concerned with what's best for
> the dogs (and for the organization).  Some GDB graduates used to tell me
> to sit down and shut up about that, too.
>
> I give up.
> Once again I am asking myself how much time and energy I can give to an
> organization that does not respect me. But that's my problem, and no one
> else's.
> Tracy
>
>> I'm sure by now most of you have read Mario Gwizdala's message concerning
>> NFB policies are binding on all levesl from National to local.  I asked
>> for clarification of this and since the policy is binding since it is a
>> National policy, our affiliate and division are bound by the same policy.
>> So, we will need to abide by that policy in our division.
>>
>> Marion gave me the example of Nyagdu having some event like a seminar and
>> it would be a weekend thing where people would be sleeping at the 
>> facility
>> or hotel or whatever, the national policy would be followed during that
>> seminar as well.
>>
>> Margo and Arrow
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