The dinner was laid across several tables. The smell of African cuisine permeated the air as students lined up to taste traditional foods from several nations. Chicken, lamb, beef and vegetarian dishes. Injera, an Ethiopian bread, and Sambusa, a pastry filled with beef, cabbages or lentils. Students representing more than seven nations dressed in the clothing of their homelands and mingled with the crowd that surged through the doors just for the opportunity to taste, hear and see African culture, if only for a few hours.
That’s how African Students Association Director Haben Woldu remembered last year’s inaugural African Culture Night, put on by her group.
Woldu said she hopes the group’s second-annual African Culture Night, to be held Sunday at 5:30 p.m., will be just as successful. The event is free for University students and $3 for non-students. Tickets are available through the EMU Ticket Office.
The event, labeled “Africa Is Calling,” not only gives University students the chance to enjoy a meal, but it also allows students from Africa to teach others about the Africa they may not see on television, Woldu said.
“We want them to be entertained and be educated by Africans,” Woldu said. “To get education from the source, not from TV.”

The group will host the meal to give the audience the opportunity to taste foods they may not otherwise have the chance to eat. Attendees will also be treated to a fashion show featuring authentic dress from 10 African nations.
“The clothes are very colorful and vibrant,” Woldu said. She said students from Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia and other countries will represent their own nations in dress.
Also planned are a skit, songs from Africa, an awards presentation, a raffle with prizes from Swahili Imports and traditional dance by an African dance troupe from Portland.
ASA member Leonidas Watson said although he isn’t African by birth, his involvement in the ASA has been a rewarding experience. He was one of the dancers during last year’s event.
“It erased a lot of stereotypes for me,” Watson said.
Woldu said members have each contributed more than 100 hours to prepare for the event.
“It takes two months because there isn’t a lot of us,” she said.
Woldu said the group received $600 from student incidental fees but the total costs for the event run about $6,000. She said fundraising efforts by ASA’s members have helped fill the $5,400 gap. Additionally, they recruited 20 to 25 volunteers who will help with shopping and decorations.
ASA member Alem Beyene said last year the group planned for 300 attendees but nearly 600 arrived.
“We had to turn people away,” she said. She added that precautions have been taken this year to prepare for a large turnout. By requiring attendees to buy tickets at the ticket office, the ASA can monitor the number of people coming to the event.
Beyene and Woldu said the event should help address any misconceptions people have about the culture.
“Most people, they think Africa is one country,” Beyene said. “They think we speak the same language.”
“There is no language called African,” Woldu said. “We want to break some of the stereotypes about Africa.”
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