ASA puts on Africa Week and kicks it off with a movie night

UMD’s African Student Association has been celebrating their Africa Week for five years now.This year, they decided to spice things up and start the week off with a movie night. 

Stepanie Olebara, president of ASA and a senior behavioral and community health major, said the movie night was an event that a majority of the general body members requested since the beginning of the semester. 

Olebara said that when it came to picking the movie that would be featured, the organization put up a post on Instagram and Twitter asking their general body members, what Nollywood-themed movie did they want to see?

Pamela Aluvale, public relations of media and sophomore behavioral and community health major, said the top three picks were “Beyonce: The President’s Daughter”, “Queen of Katwe” and “Black Panther.”

The executive board members then put up a poll with those top three choices and allowed their general body members to pick the final winner. 

The winner was “Beyonce: The President’s Daughter.” 

Mr. ASA and senior computer science major, Elijah Achu, said that they started the week off with a movie night because the theme of their last event, Fall Ball, which is a pageant where they crown the new Mr. and Mrs. ASA, is Nollywood themed. Therefore, according to Achu, the movie night sets the tone and “is a build up to the Fall Ball.” 

Olebara agreed saying that starting the week off with a movie night was also a great way for African students on campus to have a safe space where they can “destress, relax and meet new people.” 

“...In a PWI [predominantly white institute], sometimes it feels like there’s only a tiny bit of us and there’s not many people that can relate to us in classes and just walking around we don’t see many people that look like us, so Africa Week is that week that we can all come together and celebrate our heritage and our culture,” Olebara said.

ASA wants to use this week to raise awareness for the true beauty of Africa and that starts with showcasing its people and its culture, despite what is depicted on TV, said Olebara. However, that doesn’t just start and end with the movie night. 

The organization is also putting on Holiday Cards for Refugees, Kwanzaa Celebration, AfroTrap, a Bake Sale, a Benefit Concert hosted by the African Students Progressive Action Committee and lastly Fall Ball. 

These events will also showcase more of what the African community on UMD’s campus has to offer, and Olebara said it was a great way to collaborate with more African and Black student organizations on campus. 

She said that their community service event on Tuesday, Holiday Cards for Refugees, will be co-sponsored with two other student organizations:  ASPACand Sisterhood of Unity and Love.

Kwanzaa celebration on Wednesday, which is a African dinner event, will be hosted by the Nyumburu Cultural Center. 

The lip sync battle event, Afro Trap, will be executed with the Theta Theta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and All Eyez on UMD. 

The ASPAC Benefit Concert on Friday will be put by ASPAC and ASA will be there to support Lastly, they will be hosting their very own Fall Ball which will be on Sunday.  

Olebara said that with all of the events that they are putting on, it is really just a week where “Africans can be African and just let go.”

Overall, Aluvale said that they hope this week shows Africans on campus that ASA can “be that community that people can call a second home.”