Students celebrate Africa’s diversity

The African Students Association wanted to change peoples’ perceptions of Africa through fashion shows and traditional African dances Saturday. \nThe student group celebrated its annual African Culture Night in the Indiana Memorial Union’s University Club. \nThe night began with a prayer from Pastor Johnson Tata.\nEdwardo Rhodes, associate vice president for Academic Support and Diversity, gave a brief speech about the event.\nRhodes said the event highlights one of the reasons why IU is such a diverse campus. \nThe first fashion show highlighted the different clothing people wear in various African countries. \nThe clothes were loose and light and included different patterns and colors. \nSophomore and host Michael Sampson-Akpuru said the clothes were light because of the hot weather in Africa. \nThe fashion show was followed up by a performance from the Gumboot Dance Group. \nGraduate student Terence La Nier told the crowd the gumboot dance originated in the gold mines of Africa where workers were forced to work under horrible working conditions. \nThe workers eventually formed their own symbols and songs that helped them communicate with each other, La Nier said. \nOne of these symbols eventually turned into the gumboot dance, La Nier said. \nThe performance involved the dancers making beats with their boots that had bottle caps attached to them for extra noise. \nAfter about two performances the dance group involved the audience and taught them the basics to the gumboot dance. \nBloomington resident and IU alumna Loni Dishong said she came to the event because she thought it would be a great experience for her children and herself.\n“(It’s) wonderful to see an event that unites people,” Dishong said. \nAfter the gumboot dance, another fashion show featured modern African clothing.\nThe night also helped people get a better understanding of Africa through poems, songs, dances and a time in the show where people from different African countries got a chance to come out and represent their country. \nSenior Miriam Musco, president of Theta Nu Xi multicultural sorority, said it was easy for her sorority to sing a song in Ghanaian because one of the members is from Ghana and taught the rest of the members the song. \nSophomore and African Students Association President Emaelaf Alemu said his favorite part of the night was the “I-REP Scene,” where students told everyone about the country they were from. \n“Most people view Africa as two things – drought and hunger,” Alemu said. “(We tried) to show there’s a diamond under the dust.”\nEric Love, director of the Office of Diversity Education, said he was surprised by how many African countries IU students represent. \nDinner was served after African Students Association members danced to traditional African music. \nThe traditional African dinner included salad, rice, chicken and corn bread. While people ate, the Afro-Hoosier Band performed. \nAfter dinner, Alusine Jalloh, associate professor of history and founding director of The Africa Program at the University of Texas at Arlington, motivated students through a speech. \nJalloh told students they should come together because they are the future of Africa. \n“The greatest hope Africa has (is) young and dynamic leadership,” Jalloh said. \nOverall, Sampson-Akpuru said he wanted people to come out with a better understanding of the African culture.\n“It’s through events like this that people can talk about their culture without verbalizing it,” Sampson-Akpuru said.