[nabs-l] Joining local chapters

[Kaiti Shelton]

Thanks all for your comments.  I've hung back since my initial post to
see what would come from this thread, and it has been well-worth it.

I do recognize that the chapter president has tried to be as
accommodating as he can for the current chapter members, and
especially as I would be the new person coming in I can't expect them
to shift meetings around to suit my individual schedule, but I do
think the current time could be problematic.  The president keeps
saying, "You should join because we want more students like you in the
chapter," but if that is the case most of the people he'd be looking
at are pretty busy with extracurriculars on the weekends.

I remember last December durring my finals week I got a call around
9:00 in the morning from one of the chapter board members asking if I
would be attending the spaghetti dinner I mentioned before.  I told
her it coincided with an exam I had that night starting at 5:00 (it
was a night class).  She said, "But we have a board position up for
grabs," like she was trying to entice me to coming in even though I
had a *final exam* in a class that I couldn't miss.  That's the kind
of thing that happens; they want me to drop everything for the
chapter, and while the chapter is important I am not prepared or
willing to do that.  The same happens when I tell the president that I
can't attend October's meeting, or the January meetings, because I
will be home in Cincinnati with my family.  I'm not going to go home
and have my family drive me back to Dayton for the meeting because we
wouldn't be able to go back home again, and I'd like to take my
midterm breaks like every other student does.  That situation is a bit
different because in theory I could stay at my house on campus for the
rest of break, but I'd be giving up at least 2 days that I could spend
with family when I don't go home much over the semester to begin with.
This is precisely why I can't attend October's meeting this year; it
falls on the Saturday that is durring our fall break.

There are a ton of blind students who attend the other university in
the area, but I don't know who they are.  I've tried reaching out to
disability services staff to circulate information on the student
division and have been unsuccessful in reaching anyone from the
school.  I know a grand total of 3 other blind people in their
twenties in the area; 2 are already in contact with the chapter
president, and the other is affiliated with ACB.  Furthermore on the
other college issue, the chapter president has said before that he
wanted to collaborate with me to put on some information session at
the other college to see if the blind students would come out to hear
about the chapter, the student division, and have free pizza or
something.  I started by trying to contact people who could help set
that up at the school, but I haven't heard anything more from him on
it.  It makes telling whether or not he wants students in the chapter
very confusing.

I know personally week nights would work better for me, or Saturdays
earlier in the day.  I'm also able to do almost anything on Sundays,
though that could be problematic with people who want to go to church.
I'd much rather get up early and go to a 9:00 AM chapter meeting
because A it's free in my schedule, and B it's earlier in the day so I
can still get things done like grocery runs and things of that nature.
There really isn't a good way to pole what would work better for
students as a collective, though.



I'm very interested in the deeper issue Arielle singled out in her
message, because that really is the route of the problem.  Perhaps it
has to do a little bit with the tone of the ways I have been asked to
come to chapter meetings and how I feel there is a disregard for
student life going on (someone else mentioned that disconnect between
the older and younger generations as well), but I feel from the
chapter that I am being pressured to choose between student life,
which is limitted at this point, and joining the NFB.  In frustration
I've said no to the chapter to this point because with the student
division in Ohio and affiliate projects I feel like I'm getting the
best of both worlds.  I don't feel like using a board position to try
to entice a student to the meetings when they are upfront about having
to take a final exam is very good, nor is the backlash I have been
getting when I say, "This happens on the same weekend as fall break, "
or "My fraternity is initiating new members today and attendance is
mandatory by all chapter members/I'm a part of the ritual."  Or, "It's
Christmas break and I'm not in Dayton right now."

The one thing that does puzzle me is along the lines of what Darian
was saying.  It is possible that the chapter president has gotten
excuses from students before, but if you hear the same "excuses" over
and over again I would think that, especially if they come from
different people including those who already support the Federation,
they might be legitimate conflicts with chapter meetings that I would
examine further to allow for the younger generation to better attend.
If he were to ask more questions to get a better answer he might not
be so disconnected.  Right now it just seems like he's only concerned
for the chapter, not the potential members who would be joining.
That's not the NFB I know at all.  Without members we do not have
chapters, so it is important to show that we care about each other as
people in different life situations in order to foster a sense of
community within the chapter organizations.

I might mention this to my state president, but at this point it's not
my top priority.  Now that I have a better sense of how to handle it I
don't feel a rush to do so.  I can't attend at least the October and
the December meetings anyway, so this semester is pretty much a wash
to begin with.

On 9/18/15, Joe via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Kaiti,
>
> I experienced something similar. Now as a working professional, my time is
> very limited, but I wanted to get back into the Federation on a limited
> basis, at least to start. I was hoping to write grants or do marketing for
> my affiliate. Unfortunately the president's larger priority was me
> organizing a chapter in my local area, and flattered though I was to be
> considered for the task, I knew I did not have the time to commit to get
> the
> job done right. Could I gather a group of prospective members? Yes. Could I
> whip them into a self-sustained group that would last beyond the first two
> or three meetings? Not likely. Like others have pointed out, finding the
> perfect meeting time for a chapter meeting is a difficult task, but a good
> leader at any level of the organization would maximize the assistance
> anyone
> could contribute, whether it be in person or remotely, once a week or once
> a
> month. I'm going to sound like my own former state affiliate president
> here,
> but another option worth considering is organizing a student group on
> campus
> that would give you the flexibility to set a time that is both convenient
> and a location that is accessible for you guys. Alternatively, perhaps
> there
> is a chapter at-large in your affiliate that would allow you to remain
> connected and involved in some capacity. Either way, I think it commendable
> of you to be concerned enough to want to know how to stay active in the
> organization. My final thought is that you could be at a season in your
> life
> where NABS is sufficient given your current schedule. It would be great if
> everyone could sacrifice time and energy for the NFB, but then, we'd be
> sacrificing the opportunities of accomplishment we're advocating for. If
> pressed to choose between attending a meeting or being a productive
> contributor to my community at-large, I'd choose the second. That seems a
> bit blunt, but that's part of the ongoing disconnect between the older
> generation and the younger membership.
>
> Joe
>
> --
> Musings of a Work in Progress:
> www.JoeOrozco.com/
>
> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
> via nabs-l
> Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 3:41 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton
> Subject: [nabs-l] Joining local chapters
>
> Hi all,
>
> I realize this thread may very well spark some debate, but I'm prepared for
> that.  For the past two years I've had a dilemma and I'm trying to explain
> it to a chapter president in my affiliate.  I live in one city and attend
> school in another, so there off the bat is no way I'd be able to attend
> either chapter's meetings on a monthly basis as I would like to do.
> Chapter
> presidents in both cities at different times have told me I should join and
> even consider running for a board position, which I will not do because of
> my inability to faithfully attend the meetings.  One of the two chapters
> gets this a little better than the other now, and has pretty much given me
> a
> "come when you can, we'd love to have you when we can get you here,"
> reception.
> The other chapter is near where I go to school, but the chapter president
> doesn't seem to get the student thing.  I try to go to things when I can,
> but I partially dread it because every time I attend some social function
> the floodgates for this conversation are opened again.  I'm told again that
> I am needed in the chapter, that I can really make a difference, and if I
> join more students will join and the chapter is not by any means comprised
> of young people.
>
> This has been happening for two years at least, and I feel a little
> confused
> and pressured to join.  I know he is doing his job as a chapter president,
> especially because he knows I'm active and dedicated to the student
> division, the affiliate, and other projects in the NFB, but being in that
> older crowd I don't think he understands what it is like for students
> anymore.  In my sophomore year I had difficulty attending chapter meetings
> for a few reasons.  One was that they are on the first Saturday or the
> month, which conflicts with nearly every break from school I have including
> the two midterm breaks and the Christmas break.  The Christmas spaghetti
> dinner is also something the chapter tries to get me to come to, but it is
> always scheduled durring my finals week.  When I worked on Saturdays at a
> part time job my sophomore year they wanted me to take off work to attend
> chapter meetings.  At the time that was my grocery money, so giving work
> wasn't something I was willing to do; I wanted to pick up extra hours, not
> throw them away.  I also have been in a professional music fraternity since
> the spring semester of my Freshman year, and a lot of our major events
> (recruitment events, initiations and pledging ceremonies, etc) happen on
> Saturdays.  With the chapter meetings scheduled from 1:00-3:00 PM, not to
> mention the location is subject to change from place to place so students
> can't plan for consistency, I have had difficulty in getting there.
>
> I've emailed the chapter president a few times about how there is a
> double-standard here.  He wants new blood in the chapter, but when I tell
> him it is very difficult to add in chapter meetings when the time isn't
> very
> accessible to me he thumbs his nose and tells me I should cancel work or do
> what it takes to come to chapter meetings because it would benefit the
> chapter.  I try to explain to him that while I do understand personal
> sacrifices can and should be made to an extent, students do not have as
> much
> flexibility as working people to move classes around in the week, and there
> are only so many hours in the weekend.  Not to mention extracurriculars are
> a good thing for blind students to be involved in because it shows peers
> that we can be engaged and active in the same ways as they are.  It also
> creates networking opportunities and even job prospects after graduation as
> long as the extracurriculars are not merely social in nature, which mine
> are
> not.  I want to join the local chapter nearby, but I also want to
> experience
> life as a student too in the year or so I have left of undergrad.
>
> I don't think this makes me a lazy Federationist as I have found ways to be
> active in divisions and in the affiliate outside of chapters, and I would
> venture to guess that 1:00-3:00 PM on a Saturday probably isn't great for
> most students since it's right in the middle of the day.  I did not send
> the
> email I drafted, but I feel like if the chapter needs and wants students to
> join as badly as they say they do, they need to make the meeting time more
> accessible to that group of people.  Right now I know it is not for me, and
> I think that is also the case for other highly-involved and motivated
> students who the president would like to see join the chapter.
>
> Thoughts?  I personally don't think I'm fully in the wrong here, but I am
> open to anything at this point. I really would join the local chapter if it
> were held at times that I could consistently attend.
> Right now I'm able to make it to a scattered couple of social events
> outside
> of the regular meeting times, but that's about it.  I've prooven to be
> involved in the affiliate on committees and in other projects including
> BELL, but right now I feel like joining either of these chapters isn't a
> possibility for me and I'm not appreciating the push-back for my reasons
> why.  It's not that I'm making excuses or because I don't want to go; I
> think work conflicts and required fraternity events which I will only be
> able to have for a year longer tops are acceptable reasons to be absent,
> not
> to mention that when I'm home traveling an hour to the meeting and then
> another hour back home
> 2 hours later is a bit much to ask.  I suppose my logic is that I am
> already
> a Federationist and I can join a chapter when the time is right for me to
> do
> so, and by that I mean when I can actively contribute in a stable and
> dedicated way.  That will most likely come when I have a 40 hour work week
> like the rest of the current chapter if they don't take their desire for
> student members and what is accessible to them into consideration.
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary, The
> National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division 2015-2016
>
> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"