Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Campus

When the Northwestern chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers met to choose its executive board last year, the elections lasted only 30 minutes and no candidate spoke for more than 30 seconds.

This time around, about 35 students gathered for just under three hours in the Technological Institute's Lecture Room 4 for what McCormick sophomore Yemi Adetiba said marked the group's first serious election since the group won the small chapter of the year award in 2003.

"Since 2003, there was such a drop off," said McCormick senior Okechukwu Chika, the society's former president. "We hadn't seen anyone try to change it, uplift students or ignite the fire."

This year, candidates dressed professionally, prepared speeches and handed out information packets promoting their positions. Before winners were elected at the end of the evening, the candidates participated in a question-and-answer session and the general members held a discussion to talk about the positives and negatives of each candidate.

"We made such a large turnaround," Adetiba said. "That's really gotten the momentum going for us. All of the people that are running for positions are really excited."

In previous years not more than a handful of general members - those not running for positions - attended, she said.

"In the past, board members kind of just walked onto the exec boards," Adetiba said. "This is the first serious election."

The group's membership more than doubled since last year, and this was the first in five years that members attended both regional and national conferences, Chika said.

"NSBE is coming back in full force," he said. "We are fortunate this year and have the chance to fully engage students."

Ideas presented by the candidates included a restructuring of the committees, a freshmen roundtable, stronger alumni relations, closer connection with regional and national executive boards and more upperclassmen outreach.

"With the amount of black engineers there are in McCormick, it's kind of necessary just to bring everyone together," said Jasmine Morris, a McCormick freshman. "NSBE is just as much a family as it is an organization."

The four main positions elected included McCormick sophomore Uchenna Moka as president, McCormick sophomore Jonathan Bragg as vice president, McCormick junior Erica Golden as treasurer and McCormick freshman Valerie Grasso as secretary. Seven other committee chairs were elected as well.

"I'm so happy to see all of us here for the first time in a long time," Moka said. "We have the potential to go above and beyond all chapters."

Chika said he believes next year's society will be one of the strongest in recent years.

"It's a minority; a small core of students," he said. "It provides students with the opportunity to feel a part of a community, to let them know that they're not the only ones with struggles."



a-lau@northwestern.edu

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