The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News

First black USC student body president Jotaka Eaddy is pictured at an Essence magazine photo shoot. (Special to The Daily Gamecock)

Former students like Jotaka Eaddy and Harry Walker began a new era for more black leaders to follow in their footsteps at USC.

Jotaka Eaddy, the first female black student body president, said her experience becoming the first black female student body president was amazing during the time the university was celebrating 200 years of its existence.

"I was inaugurated in March of 2000," Eaddy said. "I was actually president during the bicentennial year of the University of South Carolina. It was really an honor being student body president during that time when the university was reflecting on it's past."

Eaddy said when she first ran she received 39.8 percent of the vote from students and on her second run she received 75 percent.

"I ran because I wanted to give back to the university," Eaddy said. "I wanted to open the door for several other leaders particularly black leaders to be elected."

Eaddy said she faced some criticisms while running but remained determined to accomplishing her goals.

"I thought long and hard about my presidency," Eaddy said. "People told me that I would not make it, running against three other people. I told them that I would."

She said being a black woman and president she represented the unheard voice of the black community. She said she had the most organized campaign with 60 people on her staff.

"One of the former editor-in-chiefs for The Daily Gamecock, Sarah Ladenheim, was my campaign manager," Eaddy said. "I had someone running focus groups and schedules. It was an amazing campaign with a lot of long nights."

Eaddy said the university has changed in her recent trip back to the state to do work with the primaries. She said she has noticed more leaders that are students of color, such as a black women running for president and two black men running for student body treasurer.

"It is really increasing and I'm happy to see that," Eaddy said. "You are now seeing a growing number of African American students taking on leadership positions."

Eaddy said she is still a Gamecock at heart and while she attended Carolina she was a political science major, a member of Freshman Council, vice president of AAAS and member of the gospel choir on campus.

She said there were a lot of student leaders on campus at that time.

"We all keep in touch," Eaddy said. "We all work in different fields in the United States paving the way for other leaders in our prospective fields."

She said her professors helped her to be the professional she is today. She said they taught her to look at the university through a lens and this directly helped her progress as student body president.

Eaddy is the field manager for U.S. Action in Washington D.C. She said U.S. Action is a federal program that works toward raising minimum wage and promoting change in policies.

Harry Walker, the university's first black male president could not be reached.

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