Gustavus Adolphus College is full of diversity and often hosts cultural events sponsored by different student organizations. An upcoming cultural event on campus is Africa Night hosted by the Pan­Afrikan Student Organization (PASO) on Friday, March 11.

PASO promotes the cultures of the continent of Africa and its Diasporas. The annual Africa Night celebration has been going on for more than ten years and will include a wide variety of events such as skits, dancing, and a fashion show. It will also feature a mixture of food from West and East Africa.

Gabe Grosshuesch and Michelle Agyen are the co­chairs for Africa Night.

Agyen, a Sophomore Economics major hoping to declare a major in French, considers this celebration of African culture to be a tradition of PASO.

“My favorite part was learning the dances,” Agyen said. “And the food, of course. The food is always awesome.”

Grosshuesch, a Junior majoring in Environmental Studies with minors in Peace Studies and African Studies, helped select speakers for the event and choreographed the opening dance.

“It gives us the opportunity to take as much culture as we can and showcase it in a creative and fun way for all audiences to enjoy,” Grosshuesch said. “My favorite part is dancing. I love dancing so it’s a huge for me to be able to showcase my experience and share that with people.”

Marieme Gueye, a Sophomore majoring in Economics with minors in Geography and Statistics, is one of the co­presidents of PASO.

She did a lot of work with marketing and advertising for Africa Week as well as the fashion show. She also choreographed a dance.

“Audience members can gain an experience of cultural acceptance,”Grosshuesch said. “Theyll learn about a culture they may not be familiar with.”

PASO has changed things up a bit this year by implementing “Africa Week” with themes for every day of the week. Some of the events this week were folktales, a documentary screening, and a workshop on Islam in Africa.

On Friday night there will be two dance acts performed during Africa night from West and North Africa.

Africa Night is free and open to the general public. It is the biggest event that PASO does and is one of the largest and most recognized events on campus.

The organization makes sure that the event teaches audience members a lot of things they may not have known about Africa before. Common misconceptions and stereotypes are set right.

“It’s our signature event and we put so much pride into it,” Grosshuesch said. “We love it and we love it when people turn out for it.”

“We hope to see a lot of people at the event and that they enjoy it,” Gueye said.

Africa Night will be on March 11 at 6p.m. in Alumni Hall.