North Carolina State University - Agromeck Yearbook (Raleigh, NC)

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He ran for student body president at the urging of friends and waged a campaign that helped him gain widespread support from the student body last spring. The main thing I tried to get across to the students was that the student body president should be someone who looks out for student interests, he said. Also, I think my leadership style is not reactionary; it involves action. Every all group I spoke with, I told that if I was faced with an issue where I was in direct conflict with the administration, instead of challenging them through the paper or having sit-ins and stuff like that, I ' d rather work through the city system and administrators and try to effect some positive change. a Everette has shown that he bases his opinions on the me interest of a variety of State ' s diverse population as well as the from ideas from the administration and faculty. The visitation policy, a controversial rule that was enforced in the spring semester is one case in point. hat If there ' s appropriate desire on students ' part to see ger something changed or added, I think it ' s my position to work for it, Everette said. We took a Pack Poll earlier in in the fall semester. There was an ad hoc committee of reviewing the policy, and we had an open hearing where the students came and expressed their ideas (concerning the of policy). Everette said he would like to see some of State ' s theoretical problems improved before stepping down this spring. I ' d like to see more mutual understanding on this campus, he said. I don ' t just mean between blacks and whites; I mean between a student who ' s in a fraternity or sorority and one who ' s not and between engineering and liberal arts students. I wish, too, that there was some way that we could help students become more actively involved in their education, he continued. I feel that too many people come here with the idea that education is about making a living. I tend to look at it like education is more about making a life. How we go about changing that, I don ' t ally know, but we ' re coming out with some ideas for programs second semester. The most difficult adjustment Everette has had to make, om he said, was learning to handle the pressures of the job and school, but it ' s not as hard as it could be because I ' ve got really supportive people around me. With little time to enjoy some of the simpler things of in life, how did Everette cope? For one, he might be found ted coping at the North Carolina Museum of Art, where he goes to admire the works and relax alone. in The time I spend with myself is like medicine because it of helps me collect my thoughts and re-orient myself, so that arts when I step back into this job or whatever situation I ' m involved in, I ' ve got that sense of direction and some order are in my life again, he said. just Another way he maintains order in his life is by being extremely organized. If I didn ' t, I ' d really be in trouble, he said. I have to write everything I need to do down. One thing I do is what Benjamin Franklin did. I ' ve got sheets of paper that have all the hours of the day, and I just allot my time beside each item. It ' s helpful. He ' s developed an incredible tolerance for stress, said Beth Heiney, executive assistant to the attorney general. He ' s always considerate, no matter what situation he ' s in. Sometimes I get frustrated because I can ' t accomplish everything I try within a certain time frame, but I ' m trying to improve that by looking at things realistically, Everette said. Several of his companions and peers seem to find it difficult to pinpoint a weakness of Everette ' s. Jeff Ross, student attorney general and his other roommate, suggested perhaps not a weakness, but a characteristic he thinks sometimes becomes a disadvantage. He ' s just too nice - all the time. He just tries to be so nice to other people, and it gives him more work than usual. Sometimes, it seems like some people want to take advantage of him. Everette was not decided upon his immediate plans after graduation, but he had narrowed his options to the Peace Corps and law school. That basket is filled with Peace Corps applications, said Everette, pointing to a stack of papers on his desk on the fourth floor of the Student Center. I ' m interested in a program called ' Community Development, ' where you go into an area of another country with no structured society as far as having hospitals or health-care facilities, structure housing or farming. You assess what the community needs and instead of going in and building it yourself, you work with these people to provide them with things. The impending question: will he ever run for a political office? Never, he said succinctly and with a resolved look. I think there are too many other ways you can help people. You can accomplish goals that ' ll help communities other than running for a political office. I would much rather spend my time on a county development board as a citizen or working w ith social services. Everette plans to someday enter the legal profession, but I don ' t see myself as being the top dog or wanting to be the top dog. If I get any glory, instead of it coming from a title or position, I ' d rather have my name associated with a landmark legal case that helps people that are physically or mentally handicapped or helps a minority or helps protect citizens ' rights. Everette ' s ultimate goal later in life is to write a book about his experiences. He has already dreamed up a title: Noble Intentions. I think it would be a study of things that I had done in my life like the Peace Corps, or where I have all these good intentions and maybe what some of the successes and failures were along the way, what I learned from them and how I grew as a person. Features 23

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Jay comes in and takes his place, elbow-to-elbow with those board members. His intellectual presence is felt. They listen and respect what he is saying. — Chancellor Bruce Poulton Poulton. r I ' ve watched him handle himself at several Board of Trustees meetings, Poulton said. He comes in and takes his place elbow-to-elbow with those board members. His intellectual presence is felt. They listen and they respect what he is saying. Since taking office the previous spring, Everette appeared to uphold his campaign promises. His campaign slogan was simple but pointed - to serve the interests of all students. Everette ' s work in increasing the number of minority senators illustrates his desire to alter these varying interests. Even before I was campaigning, I went out as a representative of Student Government and spoke to some international groups and black organizations about the importance of getting involved and running for office and how to go about it, Everette said. We still have a ways to go, but I ' m proud to say that this year in Student Government we have a larger representation than ever before. Everette, a senior from Wilmington, has participated in student government for eight years. He got his first taste of politics when he ran for student council president in the eighth grade. He entered the race at the encouragement of his sister, Jackie, who had held the office four years before. Everette won that election and carried the trust he earned from his classmates to Hoggard High the next year. He was elected president of his class each of his four years and served as president of the North Carolina Association of Student Councils as a senior. The fact that I could continuously win, that the students didn ' t get tired of me or think that I violated their trust makes me feel good. he said. Still, Everette did not label himself a leader. I don ' t think I was a leader as much as I was everyone ' s friend, he said. I didn ' t have trouble getting along with anyone, whether they were a different race or came from a different financial bracket. Because of that, I think I really gained everyone ' s respect. Everette said he first learned the meaning of respect in the fourth grade when a classmate, a black girl, died from an illness. I can remember going to her funeral because I was a friend of hers, he said. I think that helped me gain respect for other people. People would put their trust in me, and I didn ' t want to let them down. So then I started gaining a sense of responsibility to other people. Everette, whose father, Jack, graduated from State in 1963, chose his dad ' s alma mater after visiting most of North Carolina ' s major universities in search of a liberal arts degree. I liked the liberal arts programs here because they are smaller than other schools, and I think their quality is just as good, said Everette, who graduated in May in political science. 22 Features

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Roger Winstead 24 Features