NAACP Reaches out to other organizations through Image Awards
by Julia Barry
The Northwestern State University chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had many plans at the beginning of the semester such as: Take a Side Tuesdays, Finish the Lyrics, Little Dresses for Africa, The Image Awards, a clothing drive, a NAACP Week, a Chunk your Change(collecting donations from students stopped at the intersection in front of the Student Union), a canned food drive, packing bag lunches for M.R. Weaver Elementary and many others. However, as the semester progressed, the organization decided to focus on decreasing the number of activities so that they could focus on establishing the chapter, Secretary Timberlee Mallet said.
The organization is still planning a Chunk your Change, a can drive, Little Dresses for Africa and packing lunches for M.R. Weaver Elementary. The NAACP is focusing on establishing themselves as an organization this semester by supporting other organizations, Mallet said.
Patrick Thomas, the second vice president, is in charge of three committees in NAACP, service, fundraising and social. The social committee is in charge of planning events that interact with NSU students. The fundraising committee is in charge of raising money for the organization to use. The service committee is involved in events that serve the Natchitoches community and serving people outside of the Natchitoches community.
The main focus of all three committees this semester has been The Image Awards. The Image Awards honor the students and organizations at NSU. The Image Awards are being planned by all three committees and will be held on April 10 at 7 p.m. All students are allowed to attend the event. NAACP members can attend the event for free. Students who are nominated for an award can attend for a decreased fee of $3, and other students will be charged $5. Students who bring two canned goods or a clothing item can pay a reduced fee of $3, according to Mallet.
Students can vote for the people they believe deserve the awards through an online poll on surveymonkey.com. Anyone can vote and each person can vote as many times as he or she chooses. The deadline to submit votes is April 8 at midnight. The awards are : Ms. Poetic Justice, Mr. Poetic Justice, Best Campus Disc Jockey, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Male Artist, Best Photographer, Most Athletic Male, Most Athletic Female, Best Registered Student Organization, Best Community Service Organization, Best Interfraternity Council Fraternity, Best Collegiate Panhellenic Council Sorority, Best National Pan-hellenic Council Organization and The Viewers’ Choice Award.
“Everything we have been doing has been leading up to the Image Awards,” Thomas said of the committees. Each committee has contributed to the awards in different ways. Social committee, which is headed by Joshua Mitchell and Bryson Babineaux, is in charge of planning The Image Awards along with other activities for students. The fundraising committee is in charge of admissions to the event. The fundraising committee is headed by Courtney Edwards and Ivory Breeland. Service committee has been focusing on Unite to Fight for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Relay for Life and creating lunch bags for students at M.R. Weaver Elementary. The service committee is headed by Randi Sheppard and Taeja Mitchell.
The committee heads were elected on March 4, Thomas said. The priority of the NAACP this semester is to, “Establish ourselves as a new club by mingling and keeping a pulse on other organizations,” secretary Temberlee Mallet said. The club has added a portion to the meetings in which other organizations can make announcements at the end of their meeting, Mallet said.
The main focus of the club right now is to network with other organizations and establish themselves as a chapter. The club has approximately 40-50 paying members and the organization wants to continue to grow so that, “organizations are more comfortable partnering with us,” Mallet said. She believes that, “We (NAACP) hope to regroup over the summer so that we can hit the ground running in the fall.”
The NAACP chapter at NSU is returning in the fall with two new executive board members. In the meeting March 26, President Chantasia Grasty announced that two of the council members, second vice president Patrick Thomas and secretary Temberlee Mallet, would not return as executive board members in the fall. Thomas will be graduating in May and Mallet will still be a member of the NAACP, however she will not be on the executive board. Mallet is stepping down so that she can focus on school and reevaluate her choice in major.
For more information follow NAACP on Twitter.
The organization is still planning a Chunk your Change, a can drive, Little Dresses for Africa and packing lunches for M.R. Weaver Elementary. The NAACP is focusing on establishing themselves as an organization this semester by supporting other organizations, Mallet said.
Patrick Thomas, the second vice president, is in charge of three committees in NAACP, service, fundraising and social. The social committee is in charge of planning events that interact with NSU students. The fundraising committee is in charge of raising money for the organization to use. The service committee is involved in events that serve the Natchitoches community and serving people outside of the Natchitoches community.
The main focus of all three committees this semester has been The Image Awards. The Image Awards honor the students and organizations at NSU. The Image Awards are being planned by all three committees and will be held on April 10 at 7 p.m. All students are allowed to attend the event. NAACP members can attend the event for free. Students who are nominated for an award can attend for a decreased fee of $3, and other students will be charged $5. Students who bring two canned goods or a clothing item can pay a reduced fee of $3, according to Mallet.
Students can vote for the people they believe deserve the awards through an online poll on surveymonkey.com. Anyone can vote and each person can vote as many times as he or she chooses. The deadline to submit votes is April 8 at midnight. The awards are : Ms. Poetic Justice, Mr. Poetic Justice, Best Campus Disc Jockey, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Male Artist, Best Photographer, Most Athletic Male, Most Athletic Female, Best Registered Student Organization, Best Community Service Organization, Best Interfraternity Council Fraternity, Best Collegiate Panhellenic Council Sorority, Best National Pan-hellenic Council Organization and The Viewers’ Choice Award.
“Everything we have been doing has been leading up to the Image Awards,” Thomas said of the committees. Each committee has contributed to the awards in different ways. Social committee, which is headed by Joshua Mitchell and Bryson Babineaux, is in charge of planning The Image Awards along with other activities for students. The fundraising committee is in charge of admissions to the event. The fundraising committee is headed by Courtney Edwards and Ivory Breeland. Service committee has been focusing on Unite to Fight for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Relay for Life and creating lunch bags for students at M.R. Weaver Elementary. The service committee is headed by Randi Sheppard and Taeja Mitchell.
The committee heads were elected on March 4, Thomas said. The priority of the NAACP this semester is to, “Establish ourselves as a new club by mingling and keeping a pulse on other organizations,” secretary Temberlee Mallet said. The club has added a portion to the meetings in which other organizations can make announcements at the end of their meeting, Mallet said.
The main focus of the club right now is to network with other organizations and establish themselves as a chapter. The club has approximately 40-50 paying members and the organization wants to continue to grow so that, “organizations are more comfortable partnering with us,” Mallet said. She believes that, “We (NAACP) hope to regroup over the summer so that we can hit the ground running in the fall.”
The NAACP chapter at NSU is returning in the fall with two new executive board members. In the meeting March 26, President Chantasia Grasty announced that two of the council members, second vice president Patrick Thomas and secretary Temberlee Mallet, would not return as executive board members in the fall. Thomas will be graduating in May and Mallet will still be a member of the NAACP, however she will not be on the executive board. Mallet is stepping down so that she can focus on school and reevaluate her choice in major.
For more information follow NAACP on Twitter.