NIU now has its own chapter of the NAACP.

In an effort to improve race relations at NIU, a chapter of the National Association for the Advacement of Colored People was officially activated April 4, said co-founder John Quilico.

The organization wants “to take pressure off the Black Student Union,” Quilico said. The BSU has had to handle racial problems in the past, he said.

The NAACP is one of the oldest legal organizations dealing with civil rights issues, Quilico said.

He said the NAACP is better suited to handle racial problems because of its reputation. “We wanted racial incidents and tensions to be handled in a legal, more professional manner,” Quilico said.

President and co-founder James Anderson said “The people who want to join are the ones who make up the chapter.” He said the NAACP is an interracial organization.

For a chapter to be formed, Anderson said 25 paying members had to join to prove there was an interest at NIU.

The chapter has about 65 members, he said. Membership fees are $3 for anyone under 21 years old or $10 for anyone 21 and older, he said.

“We try to encourage everybody to join.” said Roland Perez, an NAACP member.

Anderson said the NAACP is “on a lot of college campuses.”

Quilico said the chapter supports a mandatory cultural pluralism class proposed by the Student Association.

Objectives for college campus chapters are civil rights action, community education, citizen training and leadership development, he said.

He said the chapter had not yet decided on specific programs to meet the objectives. “Hopefully, if we can get a large enough membership we can branch out to those areas,” Quilico said.

The chapter is in the process of getting temporary SA recognition and is planning a membership drive next semester, he said.

“The hard part is getting everything organized,” Quilico said.