The Boston College chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was named the first-ever Intercultural Organization of the Year last Wednesday at the AHANA Leadership Summit. The summit was hosted by the AHANA Caucus.
"The basis of the Intercultural Organization of the Year Award was to spark more productivity within the intercultural groups and to bring them together with this small incentive to co-sponsor events with a little friendly competition," said Burnell Holland, director of the AHANA Caucus and A&S '05.
"We wanted to promote co-sponsorship," said Shauyi Tai, A&S '05. "We want to create a united front and boost attendance at all groups' events by working together. We choose the winner based on the quantity and quality of the events they put on."
The BC chapter of the NAACP has held ethnic studies panels, co-sponsored speakers, ran a clothing drive, and held a voter registration drive in Dorchester and Mattapan. "They have done an outstanding job this year," said Holland. The members were presented with a plaque with their group name on it.
Justin McClean, NAACP member and CSOM '05, was honored as the most outstanding AHANA Caucus representative.
Another goal of the evening was to bring together the executive boards from all of the intercultural groups in order for them to get to know each other and build a foundation to work from next fall. The executive boards from each of BC's cultural groups were invited to the event. Both the outgoing and incoming executive boards were encouraged to attend to hear the panel of speakers tell of their leadership experiences within the intercultural groups of BC.
"The goal of the panelists was to give advice to the incoming executive boards about how to make the most of their experience and the outgoing boards about where to put their experience in context," said Tai.
Panelists included alumni Roystone Martinez, BC '02, and Zebulon Miletsky, BC '96, as well as current students Edward Ford, LaToia Taylor, and Gabe Verdaguer, all A&S '03.
"It was an outstanding night. It was a perfect way to come together and celebrate the accomplishments of this year and seek out a new vision for next year," said Holland.
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