Perspective and culture were broughtto campus on Nov. 12 with Harding African Students Association's (HASA) "Night in Africa." With 30 different members from eight different African countries, HASA was just in its first year at Harding, but "A Night in Africa" opened the door to greater student awareness, not just of HASA, but also of the diversity of African culture. According to senior Irene David, the "Night in Africa" entailed a show in the Heritage auditorium and a dinner in the cafeteria including food from Liberia, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon and Zambia.The show consisted of traditional dances, poetry, a skit, a story and two rounds of fashion featuring both male and female clothing. The event was an eye-opener to students who learned that Africa was not one big country. "Through 'A Night In Africa' the Harding African Student Association tried to paint at Harding another image of Africa," David said. "All presentations done at Hard1ng about Africa seem to be about starvation, diseases, low economies, just all the negative things there are on the continent. 'A Night In Africa' was to give Harding another image of Africa." For most international students it was not an easy transition to Harding from their respective countries. Senior Moses Rotich, 218 organizations vice president of HASA, was no exception. "I personally had a slow transition as I did not know anyone or any Africans on campus at that time," Rotich said. HASA was started as a way to help the new African students transition quickly into the Harding culture. "I think that it is easy to adapt to life at Harding because the help from HASA and the student body and staff are very helpful," Rotich said. HASA's cultural night was also partially to raise awareness for the group, as it was the first event HASA had held since its beginning.The members were very happy with the turnout, despite having other campus activities scheduled for the same day and time. "The response to the event was astonishing," David said. "African students from Hendrix and UALR were invited and graced the event in good numbers. The student body and professors of some of our members also came out. We sold out our tickets and ran out of food." Rotich hoped that the event would help the African students and other international students get involved more in campus activities. "Africans are not openly involved in campus activities," Rotich said. "There should be a culture day or something to recognize and involve the different cultures on campus." Ryan Orr/Kelsey Sherrod
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