Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People encourage the student body during its annual NAACP Week.

During the week, members of the organization host fun and informal events. The festivities this week are ways for the organization to give back to the Nicholls community, and to inform others about society. Due to rainy weather on Monday, flooding postponed day one of the week’s event.

Members hosted a “Being Black in America” forum Tuesday night in the Leadership Suites of the Bollinger Memorial Student Union. The forum gave insight to views of African American students on campus compared to other students. The representation and support of minorities here at Nicholls was brought up at the forum. Students who attended the forum were able to exchange personal viewpoints coming from various backgrounds.

The event included a panel of members, both undergrad and alumni from Nicholls, with one guest panelist from the University of New Orleans.

One topic students took time on was the debate of student life for minorities on Predominantly White Institutions, or schools of higher learning in which Caucasians account for at least 50 percent of enrollment.

Several students in attendance felt that it is added pressure on blacks and other minorities to excel on campuses where they sometimes feel they cannot relate. Students related to feeling like they have to prove themselves because of their ethnicity, rather than solely because of their ability. The discussion boiled over into the comparison of PWI to HBCU. HBCUs are post secondary schools that were established and accredited before 1964 and whose foundation was, and is still is, the education of African- Americans.

“Before coming to Nicholls, I was told that I shouldn’t come here because it wasn’t the right school for me,” Will Hughes, Nicholls graduate said, “but I didn’t choose this school or any schools that accepted me because of what kind of people I’d encounter there, nor because I didn’t want to attend university that was predominately black or white. I chose which school I thought best fit me and my education.”

Other events that took place during the week were release therapy/open mic night, held Wednesday at Jazzman’s Cafe. The event was a chance for all students to come present and listen to different ways of expression. Whether through poetry or music, students expressed themselves freely about social and personal inspirations.

Tomorrow, the organization will conclude NAACP Week. The last event for the week will be held in the student union at 6 p.m. as the group puts on it’s edition of the popular MTV show “Wild ‘N Out”. The original show is a comedy and improv series created by Nick Cannon. Likewise to the show, groups of students will be put into two teams and will battle in a series of improvisational comedy games. The teams score one point per victory during each round, plus one point per favorable punchline during the Wild Style battle.