Elliot Steeves – Staff Writer

Gustavus Adolphus College’s Pan-African Student Organization is holding its annual Africa Night on March 24th, taking place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall. All Roads Lead To Home served as the centerpiece theme for this year’s edition.

The theme was based on the idea of home being anywhere an individual considers it to be. For Senior Jenesis Tompkins, Co-President of the organization, this encompassed anything from Gustavus; to a new zip code or to anywhere there might be a community.

The event is a celebration of African and Black cultures that will include student performances of poems, songs, and dances. There will also be a diverse array of food prepared by students.

Africa Night is the major showcase event of PASO and, more broadly, a promotion and celebration of Black joy. Tompkins was extremely eager about the number of student performers that will be at the event.

“Some, even before J-term started, have been working hard. I am so glad that students are adamant about bringing this event back every year,” Tompkins said. Tompkins also talked about how the food and performances contribute to an overall understanding of the diversity present in the African Diaspora that the group promotes.

Commenting further on the celebration of Black and African cultures present, Tompkins discussed how the event served to defocus the perils of being black in much of the world.

“[The goal is to host] events that are fun, and are about liberation,” Tompkins said.

For PASO, this event is of the utmost importance to put on every year. The organization discusses what they are doing for the year’s edition of Africa Night before any other event in their meetings. “This is right next to the Super Bowl…It’s the highest priority for the entire organization,” Tompkins said.

Part of the enthusiasm surrounding the event is the fashion show that students involved with PASO put on. For this, the students curate an entire array of their own clothing for performance, often with their own diasporic background in mind. Tompkins talked about how this component of the night was extremely popular with the student body in the past, “We know that the Gustavus community loves this event as much as we do, and wants to rehearse. Even the faculty has contributed to the anticipation for the event every year,” Tompkins duly noted.

“[They] ask us when Africa Night is all the time, and it’s super exciting”, Tompkins said.

According to the official Instagram of PASO, the event is the conclusion of a week of events celebrating Africa Week. Senior Zach Gbor, Co-President of the organization, talked about what occurred with all of the events leading up to the night.

On the evening of March 20 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., there was an introductory session where new students participated in a series of games. They ranged from guessing the title of a song to racing to see who could be the first student to pick up a cup. The mood was extremely positive throughout, showing a lot of the joy that Tompkins mentioned as a positive of the group and its endeavors.

There was a pair of laid-back events on the nights of the 21st and 22nd of March. The 21st saw the Paint and Sip event, which Gbor confirmed was exactly how it sounded; students painted and sipped on mocktails with the group. On the 22nd, there was a Lip-Sync battle, something that Gbor and the rest of PASO had talked about doing for years since the Campus Activities Board put on the last edition.

The evening of the 22nd saw a Kahoot session from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Center for Inclusive Excellence. This particular event was an educational opportunity concerning the Black Diaspora, history, and culture, as written by Gbor himself.

“It definitely is [educational], even for members of PASO who may not know about Jamaica or Ghana, or anywhere in particular, as well as for other black students. And Kahoot is fun, you get to compete for prizes,” Gbor said.

PASO’s genesis lies in Gustavus in the 1970s, when many students from racially segregated areas formally created the Center for Inclusive Excellence, as it is now known.

The organization’s stated mission, according to their official website, is to promote cultures of the African homeland and diaspora to the broader student body of Gustavus. Interested students can follow the @pasogustavus Instagram page for updates on the group’s activities.