[nabs-l] . Re: Justin Salisbury for NABS Presiden

[Sean Whalen]

Good Friday afternoon NABS,

I wanted to briefly jump in on this thread to offer a few important
points and clarifications.

First, the policy to exclude individuals who are campaigning for Board
positions from speaking on the NABS agenda at convention is not a
"private agreement" among the NABS Board. It was a decision that
has been discussed, considered and voted on several times dating back
to Arielle Silverman's stint as NABS President. I very much understand
why Justin and others have concerns about this policy. There is
certainly an element of unfairness to it. But it is important to
acknowledge that there are also legitimate arguments in favor of the
policy. The strongest of which being that placing somebody on the
agenda who wishes to run for a position benefits that individual
enormously in his or her bid. A speech on the agenda familiarizes
everybody in the room with the candidate and leaves the candidate
fresh in the mind of all meeting participants. Clearly permitting one
candidate this opportunity while denying it to others is not fair. And
if everybody who were running for a position was entitled to a spot on
the agenda, we would have little time left for anything else. I am not
saying that I either oppose or support the policy; I didn't vote last
time we considered it. But it is something that was and has been
openly discussed among the NABS Board and voted on. Some on the Board
voted against the policy last time we discussed it, each of whom had a
full opportunity to voice opinions and each of whom possesses one of
the equally-weighted nine votes that the Board uses to make decisions
between national meetings. There is certainly space for disagreement,
but there is no "whistle" to be blown. The process by which the
decision was made was legitimate.

Second, nothing in this policy in any way conflicts with the
Constitutions of the National Federation of the Blind or the National
Association of Blind Students. If anybody is aware of any such
conflict, I would be very grateful if it could be brought to my
attention, in which case we will certainly change course immediately.

Please, anybody with questions or concerns about this, feel free to
contact me to discuss them.

Many thanks,

Sean Whalen
President, National Association of Blind Students
(608) 332-4147
nabs.president at gmail.com