In the heart of NEIU, Northeastern Programming Board (NPB) has been working diligently to engage and entertain the campus community between classes. Their mission is to organize events that not only entertain but also bring the student body and the local community together.
Some recent events they have produced include an outdoor screening of “Elemental”, an ‘I Love Monday’ series and the Friday the 13th All-Nighter event, along with outside events, such as Six Flags’ Fright Fest, in Gurnee, Illinois and the The Right to Grieve in Community – A Stateville Community Ofrenda hosted in the National Museum of Mexican Art, in Pilsen.
Alfredo Aguilar III, NPB President and Event Coordinator, has emphasized NPB’s commitment to prioritizing students’ voices. As a student-run organization, NPB creates events for the NEIU community. Aguilar, a returning member from the previous academic year, built a team of event producers for student-run events on campus.
“We actually gave the students that decision,” Aguilar said in an interview with the Independent. A poll was conducted on their Instagram page about potential films to watch. The candidates for the screening included “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a scary movie and “Elemental.” “Elemental” won the poll for the only outdoor screening of the semester. “So realistically, we probably had over 100 people, which was my goal, but having 90 students sign in is incredible,” said Aguilar, regarding the strong community turnout at the event.
The process for setting up an event on campus revolves around communicating, doing outreach and surveying a variety of vendors and contractors to get the job done. “We reached out to Record-A-Hit for the [outdoor] projector,” stated Aguilar, “we also have Swank, that’s where we get the rights for the movie.” While interacting with the vendors and contractors, NPB receives price quotes and processes payments, and then the film screening for the event can commence.
NPB shares information about their upcoming events on Instagram and NEIU’s emailed targeted announcements. In regards to improving future events from what may have been lacking during past events, Aguilar said, “student engagement is important here at NEIU and getting the feedback from them is important.”
Aguilar’s responsibilities as an event coordinator include creating promotional material, routinely checking NPB’s Instagram for feedback, creating and distributing fliers around campus and collaborating with various student organizations and campus departments. Aguilar also manages financial responsibilities, such as budgeting for items like sodas, chips, candy, popcorn and tacos. Sometimes the food gets donated for events, as was the case in the Aug. 31, 2023 film screening of “Elemental”, where tacos were donated by an outside vendor, providing an additional veggie option for students. During the event, students informed Aguilar about the demand for more snacks and refreshments, which were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, students were understanding, and they patiently waited 15 to 20 minutes before requesting additional servings.
NPB currently consists of a team of student event producers. For events, Aguilar receives support and advice from a combination of Student Leadership Development (SLD) and volunteers. Students who are interested in volunteering, coordinating events or would like to express their gratitude can reach out to NPB via email at [email protected] or through their social media account, @neiunpb.
