On Oct. 18 at the Community Commons Gallery, African Students United (ASU) held their third event of the year — African-themed “Middle Ground” by Jubilee, a digital media company dedicated to understanding human connection through provoking topics and conversations.
“We kind of wanted to be serious a bit because we’ve had a lot of game nights. We wanted people to learn or take away something,” Manna Amare, ASU Secretary and second-year majoring in biology, said.
Brtiney Nakyeyune, a second-year business major and co-event coordinator added, “There’s not a space on campus to have these conversations. We wanted to be that space where it was more focused on our unique culture and perspectives.”
There were four different corners to choose from: agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree and disagree. Statements varied from, “I feel that African students are well-represented and understood on our campus,” to “Can men and women just be friends?”
Photo credit: Theodora Boateng
Each question started a deep conversation of other points of view and each person was able to understand and take away from other responses, which isn’t something usually seen in Jubilee’s content or even in larger online conversations. ASU set up a space where everyone got the chance to fully explain their view and felt safe to add on to or argue about a point.
Abdi Haji, a visiting student from Arapahoe Community College, said his favorite prompt was, “I feel that African students are well-represented and understood on our campus.”
“I feel like that one was my favorite just because the college where I come from, they don’t have ASU. Just coming here is really cool,” he said.
After the discussions, members indulged in karaoke with songs from varying artists such as Nicki Minaj and Burna Boy.
Photo credit: Theodora Boateng
As for ASU’s next event, they have a development webinar and their annual Afrochella planned. They also mentioned that they’re getting ready to drop merchandise to represent their club.
Check out ASU’s Instagram and Crimson Connect pages for information on upcoming events.
