The Ball State University chapter of the NAACP had two things to celebrate Thursday night.
Food, entertainment and informative booths marked the initiation of Ball State's chapter into the Youth and College division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The event, held in the David Letterman Communication Media Building lobby, also celebrated the national organization's centennial.
More than 50 people attended the event, but many group members hope to gain some of that support in the coming months.
"As the semester progresses, I hope to see more and more students as well as faculty joining our organization," Jerel Lesueur, vice president of the campus group, said. "We want to help address problems and concerns as well as help educate students here at [Ball State], but we need the support of every individual to help make this organization a success."
This year marks the re-instatement of the group on campus. It gained official recognition as an organization this semester after spending the majority of last semester searching for a minimum of 25 people, the number of members required to be considered part of the national organization.
Group members said the Ball State chapter is forming a strong foundation.
"We have a great group of people who represent what the university stands for and we are doing well to get the momentum going," correspondence secretary Cara Collins said referring to the student administration of the group. "The group is a good move on part of the university and the student body. I think that it is great for the NAACP to finally be established here at BSU."
Erica Wright, the group's director of public relations, said Ball State once had a group that never got enough support to get off the ground.
"With this being the centennial, what makes it great is that we are bringing the group back to campus," Wright said.
The executive board members are not the only ones excited about the re-instatement of the NAACP at Ball State.
"This is part of history in the making and I am a part of it," advertising major Christina Whitt said.
Whitt is one of 213 people who support the Ball State chapter online as a member of its Facebook roup.
Members of the organization said they are eager to get the branch started.
"I am happy we are finally getting established, the executive board has been working hard to be in compliance with both our national organization and the Ball State administration," President Candice Jackson said.
Charles Payne, assistant provost for diversity, said the NAACP has a very respectable reputation because of how they made progress.
"The NAACP tended to go to court. They were much more substantial because everything they did was legally done," Payne said. "It was the NAACP that brought down legal segregation. The NAACP helped the advancement of colored people, but they also helped the advancement of other people as well."
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