For centuries, Western Society has been plastering fictitious narratives regarding African countries, causing individuals to be ignorant about their distinct cultures, languages, and the wealth those nations possess. With College Park sponsoring numerous cultural-based clubs, the growing diversity within the campus establishes opportunities for African students to debunk those misconceptions.

To spread more information regarding African countries and their various cultures, College Park established the African Student Association, a student-led organization where students from African countries come together to share meaningful discussions with one another.

“The reason we created ASA was to provide an environment where anybody can learn about African cultures and to form meaningful discussions, goals, and projects that will spread knowledge of African cultures,” said senior and Community and African Outreach Coordinator David Udoh.

Announced earlier in October, the club has been gaining traction throughout social media, with numerous students who aren’t from those nations interested in joining the club. Non-exclusive, Udoh asserts that all students are welcomed.

” The most crucial aspect of our club is to spread knowledge of African cultures to all, so people who are not African are welcome and invited to attend,” Udoh said.

For many students who are uninformed, they perceive African cultures as similar, lacking any diversity pertaining to ethnicity, language, or religion. However, Africa is home to over 3,000 ethnic groups speaking more than 2,100 different languages.

“I think one of the largest misconceptions about Africa is that the cultures within the continent and even within individual countries are similar,” Udoh said.”However, Africa is home to about a third of the world’s languages despite holding only about 16% of the world’s population. This is just one example of how diverse the countries of Africa are, and how much unknown there is about their cultures by most people.”

For ASA president, Ara Odelowo, the African Student Association is a step forward in bringing greater cultural diversity and awareness to College Park. She is confident that the club will help students acquire a more accurate understanding of the continent’s background and diversity.

“Every culture deserves to be represented, respected, and to educate others about their cultural perspective,” Odelowo said.

Last Friday, ASA kicked off their first meeting after school in the 1300 LGI room. Students were given the opportunity to more thoroughly get to know their officers as well as the future plans for the club.

” In our first meeting, we introduced officers, had fish pie and puff puff for snacks, talked about where everybody was from, and had a Q&A session,” Udoh said. “We also discussed the club’s goals and our future plans, one of which includes participation in the school’s culture fest.”

The organization meets every first Friday of the month after school. For more information, follow their social media page @collegeparkasa.