LBC kicks off Black Love Week

By The Maneater Staff

Published April 15, 2008

More than 20 students gathered in the Great Room of the Reynolds Alumni Center on Sunday for the LBC Senator Appreciation Luncheon, a two-hour event that marked the start of Black Love Week.

After an hour of food and conversation, outgoing Legion of Black Collegians Activities Chairwoman Jerusha Wells addressed the senators and introduced outgoing President Josh Copeland.

Copeland thanked the LBC executive board and senators for their dedication throughout the year.

“We had some problems to fix from previous years, but I think we really improved LBC’s reputation on campus and built up the organization a lot,” Copeland said. “I’ve seen growth in all the individuals on the exec board, and I think next year we’ll have a lot of success with our new board as well.”

Outgoing Vice President Porscha Kirkwood also addressed the senators and talked about the “late nights, early mornings, sweat and tears” that everyone put into LBC work throughout the year.

Kirkwood thanked students and advisers for their work throughout the year and pledged her support for the new executive board. Kirkwood said if they needed anything, she would be there to lend a helping hand to the new board.

Awards for the 2007-2008 school year and the results of the executive board elections were also announced.

Alicia Newburn, Blake Harris, Tiffani Bender, Kevin Duncan and Lauren Grant received awards for freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and senator of the year, and Omega Psi Phi fraternity received a new award for umbrella organization of the year.

Outgoing Political Chairman Anthony Martin will serve as LBC president next year, while Wells will serve as vice president. Kevin Anderson will fill the seat of political chairman, Erin Vincent will serve as activities chairwoman, Sable Taddesse will hold the position of communications chairwoman and Kiara Bryant will serve as secretary.

Martin said his desire to serve as president came from his experiences within LBC and his realization that the organization affects not just minorities but the entire MU campus.

“Our umbrella organizations are all black student groups, but LBC also works closely with MSA and Four Front,” Martin said. “We also want to strengthen ties with RHA and work more closely with them.”

Martin said he gained a thorough understanding of how to run meetings, organize events and get people energized about a cause through serving as political action chairman this year.

“I think the political action chair position is one of the best to come out of before serving as president,” Martin said. “It deals closely with government and political issues, which encompass a lot of what LBC is about.”

Martin organized events such as the Jena Six forum and worked with another student to begin the Missing Minority campaign at MU to fight an initiative to ban affirmative action in Missouri.

Martin said many of his plans for next year involve internal reorganization of LBC.

“Anthony and I discussed revising the LBC constitution to help it better fit the actual structure of the organization,” Wells said. “We also want to provide more detailed descriptions of positions in the organization so people know what to do before they’re signed in.”

In addition, Martin said he wants to work closely with MSA President Jim Kelley.

“We’re two separate governments, but we have a lot of the same causes,” Martin said. “There are a lot of ways that we can work together.”