North Carolina Central University News November 9, 2011 NCCU Launches Political Engagement Group for HBCU Students Statewide Looking to build on its success from the 2008 presidential election, the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change at North Carolina Central University is creating a statewide network of students dedicated to voter empowerment in the 2012 election and beyond. The Student Engagement and Empowerment Network (SEEN), made up of students from 10 historically black colleges and universities in North Carolina, will hold its inaugural conference Nov. 10 - 12 at NCCU. The mission is to allow students to share ideas, communication and training on how to mobilize young voters. Community organizing will center on the individual campuses, but it will also spread to adjacent communities with a special focus on black and Latino youth who are not in college. Dr. Jarvis Hall, director for the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change, said the goal is to create voter empowerment that lasts a lifetime. "The group we are targeting, 18- to 24-year-olds, are just entering the electorate, so there is a lot of work to be done in terms of registration, education and awareness," Hall said. "We want them to be continuously engaged in the democratic process. We want their interest in politics to extend down to state and local elections." In the 2008 election, the institute registered 300 new voters and helped boost voter turnout to 90 percent in the precinct that includes NCCU. An awareness march on campus during the first day of early voting drew more than 2,000 participants. Brett Stargell, a senior majoring in political science and history, and a founding member of SEEN, said network members will learn from models that work, develop questionnaires and voter guides, organize voter registration drives and campaigns, and more. SEEN will offer incentives for schools that register the most voters. Network members are NCCU, Shaw University, Bennett College, Livingstone College, St. Augustine's State College, North Carolina A&T State University, Winston-Salem State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University and Elizabeth City State University. The conference kicks off Thursday, Nov. 10, with a motivational speech to students from the Rev. William Barber, president of the state chapter of the NAACP. The speech will be open to the public. Other sessions will explore topics including the impact of race on voting, voter registration and technology, and student activism. A panel discussion Friday, Nov. 11, on hip-hop and politics also will be open to the public. Panelists include Maya Rockeymoore, scholar, media commentator and CEO of Global Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based policy firm that works to create and advance social change strategies for the world; and Pierce Freelon, an adjunct professor at NCCU and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, emcee, activist and founder of Blackademics.org. The Student Engagement and Empowerment Network is funded through a $75,000 grant from the Open Society Institute, a philanthropic organization dedicating to building democracies where governments are accountable to the citizens. Visit www.nccu.edu/icesc/ for a full conference schedule. The events open to the public are: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Miller-Morgan Auditorium Opening address, "Students Make the Difference: The 2012 Election and Beyond," by the Rev. William Barber, president of the state chapter of the NAACP. Barber will discuss the stakes for 2012 and the power that young people will have in shaping American politics for years to come. 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the Criminal Justice building. Panel discussion, Hip-Hop and Politics. Panelists will discuss the significance of the hip-hop genre in mobilizing youth toward political activism. To learn more about the network, or to join, contact Hall at 919-530-7256 or jhall@nccu.edu. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children.