[nabs] My Apologies

Sun Aug 21 13:17:45 EDT 2011

Hello All,

I didn’t feel targeted due to Sara’s email. There was some private emails that came to me off list that I am publicly responding to in case there was anyone else who felt that way. I never intended to offend anyone, and I wanted to apologize to everyone in case there was someone else who was offended that did not send me a private email.

Alicia

From: nabs-bounces at acb.org [mailto:nabs-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of Sara Conrad
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 12:00 PM
To: Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.
Cc: Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.
Subject: Re: [nabs] My Apologies

I never targeted anyone in my email. I think I made it very clear that this is something we all need to understand. I did not in any way point to a specific person. 

Sara 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 21, 2011, at 11:56 AM, "Christine Szostak" <szostak.1 at osu.edu> wrote:

Hi Ashley and All,

  I do not think it is necessarily your posts that Sarah was referring too. Your questions, at lease to me came across as intended. I think there may be a little name-mixing up on the list that may be occurring which may be why you feel targeted.

Many thanks,

Christine

M. Szostak
Doctoral Candidate
Language Perception Laboratory
Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
szostak.1 at osu.edu

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Starner, Alicia M. <mailto:astarner at charter.net>  

To: 'Discussion list for NABS, <mailto:nabs at acb.org>  National Alliance of Blind Students.' 

Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 12:41 PM

Subject: [nabs] My Apologies

Hello All,

I would like to apologize to anyone who may have been offended by the thread started by me titled “foreign Professors”. I believe there was a misunderstanding in the original intent of the thread, which was not to discriminate against my professor in any way for any reason. The inquiry was simply about what you have all done to overcome communication barriers due to a thick accent, a lisp, or other communication barrier that makes understanding difficult or impossible for you as a student. While oral and written communication skills is extremely important for anyone who is providing a service, I am not one that believes that one should be perfect with these skills. On the other hand, I do believe that if a service provider including but not limited to teachers, doctors, social workers, councelors, and psychologists have a thick accent, lisp, or other communication barrier that may impede their ability to be understood, they should work with those individuals to ensure they have the information they need. This thread was in no way a punch to his race, because I never mentioned his race on list, nor was it a blow to him as a person with ethnic differences. I am one that embraces diversity within our community and believes strongly that we all have something to contribute to the larger world as a whole regardless of our race, ethnicity, disability, or other diversity. In short, diversity is what makes life worth living and provides variety within our community. It is what makes our society challenging and worth living in. Again, I apologize to anyone who may have felt discriminated against or offended by my thread. I assure you, it was not intended to offend you at all! I am sad and disappointed that I didn’t make my written communication more concise to avoid people feeling as if I was racist or discriminatory against my professor and/or perhaps any of you. Please accept my sincere apology and hope we can continue to share our experiences and suggestions as students with visual impairments, as I have learned quite a bit from all of you and honestly respect all of our different opinions.

Best Regards,

Alicia

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