NSBE - Winter 2011/2012 - (Page 6)

From the NationalChair Engagement Matters By Calvin Phelps NSBE National Chair A s a student in engineering, it is easy to lose sight of happenings not directly related to academics. But narrowing one’s focus does not change the broader reality. The world in which we live is complicated and interconnected, and actions in faraway places have serious consequences for us as an organization and as individual students. State battles over budgets and deficits lead to cuts in student loan programs; the Great Recession continues to push schools to raise tuition fees; new regulations are making it more difficult for low-income families to get credit, even from credit card companies, the lenders of last resort. Decisions made thousands of miles away — in halls of power from Washington, D.C., to “Students can change the nation, and we have proved it throughout history.” China — have tangible and quantifiable effects on our lives. The interconnectivity we now enjoy — in large part because of the work of engineers — means we now must be more aware than ever of the changes in policies and politics that shape so much of what we encounter in our everyday lives. Tuition increases at state universities are determined by state legislatures that approve budgets each year, and many of those political bodies are looking to slash spending, even in vital areas such as education. Increases in costs for college can make our members’ lives more difficult, forcing them to take on additional loans or jobs, and further restricting opportunities for lowincome students to get a higher education. The ugly fight over raising the national debt ceiling this summer resulted in a deal that scrapped a student loan program for graduate school. Those types of decisions all have implications for black engineers and for our organization and its Mission. 6• nsbe magazine • Winter 2011/12 Though those decisions may be made in distant places, they land close to home. We as citizens of this nation have the ability to elect and direct our leaders, and that means we have the capacity to shape our nation’s laws and policies. Legislators who fought to cut education spending and balance budgets at the cost of tuition increases were put into office not just by those who voted but by the many millions more who did not care to vote. State and midterm elections have just as much if not more impact on our individual lives as presidential ones, and yet only 27.5 percent of blacks aged 18 to 30 voted in the 2010 elections. So many times I hear young black people lament about how hard things are, how it always seems like the system is working against them. In the same breath, they often tell me how they didn’t vote, how they didn’t organize or campaign for the things they believed in, how it doesn’t matter what they do. It does matter what we do, and when we mobilize as young people we can accomplish tremendous things. Students can change the nation, and we have proved it throughout history. We proved it during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. We proved it in 2008. We proved it with the creation of the National Society of Black Engineers. So be engaged, and be aware. It’s past time for us to prove it once again. ■ www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - Winter 2011/2012

NSBE - Winter 2011/2012
Contents
Engagement Matters
Worth a Thousand Words
Living Abroad
Mizanu Kebede of L ife Technologies
Marques Griffin of Chevron Corporation
Chapter News
What’s New?
Membership News
Soaring in Finance, Grounded in Math
The Programs Zone
International News
NSBE Calendar
NSBE Golden Torch Award Winers
The Professional’s Perspective
Opportunities in Emerging Africa
Improving Energy Efficiency in Signal Processing
Council Selects NSBE to Help Improve the FE Exam
The NSBE Aerospace Systems Conference
Boost Your Knowledge! Join a SIG
AE Members on the Move
Advertisers Index

NSBE - Winter 2011/2012