EBONY Women has tentatively selected 12 gentlemen of NIU to take part in its 2006 calendar.

This is the first year EBONY Women members have taken on this sort of project and are excited about it.

“We just want to showcase the distinguished gentlemen of NIU,” EBONY Women President, Patrice Dantzler said. “There’s much more for the women, so we want to do something to recognize the men.”

The men tentatively selected include: Will Freres, a sophomore physical therapy major; Thomas Lewis, a freshman undecided major; Brandon “Ace” McCollum, a sophomore physical therapy major; I.L. Brownlow, a junior computer science major; Oliver Vazquez, a business graduate student; Joe Williams, a sophomore accountancy major; Kyle McGhee, a sophomore business major; Terry Williams, a junior pre-sociology major; Ibukunoluwa “Buku” Fasoranti, a junior computer science major; Joseph Betancourt, a senior sociology major; Garrett Wolfe, a junior communication major and Andrew Becerra, a senior public administration major.

“I was surprised [when I was chosen]. It seems like a great experience and I am excited to participate,” Joe Williams said.

The idea for the calendar came from Alice Webb, the organization’s sergeant-in-arms.

“I was watching a show called ‘A Different World’ and they made a calendar like this and so I thought that we could do something like that with NIU men,” Webb said.

Webb also will take photos for the calendar, capturing the men in their natural environments throughout campus, which could include a football setting for NIU tailback Wolfe. Shooting will begin in two weeks; planners hope the calendar will be available for purchase before NIU breaks for Christmas, Dantzler said.

Calendars are tentatively priced between $8 and $12, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Purchasing will take place through EBONY Women members, as well as through tables set up in Cole and DuSable halls.

In addition to participating in the calendar, many of the men also will participate in a “Night with EBONY” date auction at 8 p.m. today in the Altgeld Hall Ballroom.