AFSA closes week with banquet and performance
The African Student Association hosts its annual African Banquet, bringing African Week to a close, Friday at 7 p.m. in the TSC Ballroom.
Ami Meite, an officer for the African Student Association, said the banquet will include dinner, poetry readings and dance performances.
“The banquet gives a chance to the international African students to show their culture and gives a chance to the campus and community to relate to African students and gives them a chance to experience African culture,” Meite said.
The event is open to the public. Tickets are $10 for students with ID, $15 for non-students and $5 for children. All proceeds from the banquet will go to UNICEF for financial aid in Somalia, which recently suffered a famine.
“We gave the chance to all of our members to select a country which they thought would benefit most. We discussed every country and decided that a fundraiser for Somalia would be appropriate,” Meite said. “At the time of our decision, there was a severe famine. We thought that this was a severe situation that needed immediate attention.”
Matthew McGee, social chair for AFSA, said even though the famine is over, the country still needs help.
“The famine is technically over now, but we’re sending money there for relief and support for people to buy the things they need, such as food, toiletries, shelter, health support and houses,” he said.
As part of the fundraising effort, AFSA members made 3-inch African huts that will be sold at the banquet for $1 each.
“They are exactly like the huts you would see in African villages, except they are just small,” Meite said. “We are using them as centerpieces for the tables in the ballroom.”
The banquet will include a variety of performances and a fashion show.
Meite said there will be dances from the Ivory Coast, Zambia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cameroon and the Congo. Somalian poetry will be read, because Somalia is known as “the land of the poets.”
There will be a play and the West African dance class on campus will also perform, she said.
Meite said the fashion show showcases clothes from all over Africa.
“This is to show the similarities and the differences between countries in the African continent,” she said.
Anthony “TJ” Pratt, a junior studying music education, said he has performed at the banquet in the past and it’s a good event to attend.
“It is one of those experiences that you just have to be at to understand and explain,” he said. “It’s not like an Aggie athletic event that we have several times during the semester.”
Jordan Hunt, a junior studying liberal arts, said he’s planning to attend the event.
“I love the diversity of events we have here, and I hope to see that diversity grow,” Hunt said. “The diversity of events — some that might only appeal to small groups of people — provide enrichment for our campus. It’s important to me to see new ideas, so I try to attend as many events as I can.”
McGee said this is a great event to attend, and everyone is welcome and should bring others with them.
“One person can make a difference,” McGee said. “It’s a lot more fun, a lot more festive and meaningful if we come together as a community to make a difference. That way it shows that we’re standing for something.”
– juliann13stock@aggiemail.usu.edu