Students should use their education to benefit social causes when they graduate and must exercise their right to vote, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White told Northwestern students Thursday night in a speech at Annenberg Hall.

White spoke along with Bennett Johnson, the president of the Evanston chapter of NAACP, to a group of about 20 students.

White, who was elected three years ago, said he currently is working on changing a variety of programs in Illinois whose goal it is to make the state a better place in which to live.

So far his work has included developing punishments for unsafe drivers and encouraging organ donations. He said that after donating blood and organs, a person has done everything possible.

“When you are alive and well, you should give blood,” White said. “When you are no longer here, you should give organs.”

White said that his experience growing up in the South during the civil rights movement taught him the importance of voters’ rights.

“I was in the South at a time when blacks were systematically denied access to the ballot box,” said White, who attended Alabama State College.

He said that he encourages everyone to vote, to become proactive and to strive to make a difference.

“I hope that when you get done (with school) … you will go back into your community and make it a better place to live,” he said. “Someone gave you the resources to get here and now it’s up to you to make a difference.”

White went on to describe some of his political obstacles. White said he was told at a Democratic Party meeting that he created a problem for the party by running for secretary of state because they didn’t think he would win and that he was taking votes away from other candidates.

“I said, ‘I came to this seeking a reason why I shouldn’t run, but you have given me every reason that I should run,'” he said.

White said his nomination for office “means that there is a lot more in all of us than we give ourselves credit for.”

The NAACP’s Johnson spoke mostly about current problems in the country, including the terrorist problems facing the United States.

“We have the white-boy foreign policy that says we are the only ones that know what is right,” Johnson said.

He said that there is a difficult transition between groups of people in U.S. society, one that is now prominent because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He emphasized that social problems such as racism and sexism still exist.

“We have to know that America is not all beautiful … it has blemishes,” Johnson said.

He said there are ways to overcome these obstacles.

“We should never stop advocating for justice, equality and freedom in America,” Johnson said.

He also encouraged students to vote, telling a story about a friend of his who was elected the first black student body president at UCLA by a single vote.

“One vote does count,” Johnson told students. “One vote actually does count.”

Heather Foster, a member of Delta Sigma Theta and one of the event’s organizers, said the event was part of a week of programming organized by her sorority along with Kappa Alpha Psi.

“We wanted to have a forum to voice political action,” said Foster, an Education junior.

She said they were looking to bring up topics that are overlooked. She said that she felt these issues needed to be discussed on NU’s campus and that the evening’s speakers were a way of addressing them.

White told the students that he is a strong believer in volunteerism and giving back. He instructed them to “set a good example.”

“Don’t expect automatic success,” White said. “Roll up you sleeves and get involved. Be proactive.”