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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2004)
University's first a* - Wete0m9sew^ca^ Lauren Wimer Photographer Ethnic studies major Inyeza Oni performs at the first-ever African Night, held Friday evening in the EMU Ballroom. r r A standing-room-only crowd celebrated African culture at Friday’s event By Jonah Schrogin Freelance Reporter A packed EMU Ballroom audience clapped, yelled, cheered and danced in support of the first ever Africa Night on Friday evening. The dinner and show, hosted by the African Stu dent Association, was entitled "Soul of the Moth erland." Portland restaurant Horn of Africa catered a tra ditional African dinner of luuku, or garlic-lemon chicken; biddeena, or Ethiopian bread; and muta bag, or African doughnut. The performance opened with a fashion show. Two or three people at a time walked in tune with rhythmic music and colorful lights down the mid dle of the Ballroom, wearing costumes from the country they represented. The 14 performance pieces included a symbolic West African dance, poetry from Africa, flute play ing, belly dancing, and a French rap called "I Got 5 On It" by Da Luniz. "French rap is way cooler than American rap," freshman Dakota Witt said. Senior Robert Miller said he liked the I Iabesha dance even when there were technical difficulties. "The music went off, and the students on stage started improvising to the claps from the audi ence," Miller said. Performers and audience members danced to gether on stage and celebrated the evening with a unity dance. "We exceeded expectations (about the audi ence)," program coordinator I laben Woldu said. Nearly 100 people had to stand around the perimeter of the room because it was so full. Woldu said ASA had to fundraise and find groups to help pay the $5,000 cost of the show. Sophomore and performer Deborah Ochieng said the goal of Africa Night was to raise awareness about African culture. "Africa night is a night whereby different na tions from Africa come together to demonstrate and present in a nutshell what the African culture is all about," Ochieng said. "To show the African culture and keep the culture rolling." Jonah Schrogin is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. FUNDING continued from page 1A public sectors provides valuable ex perience for anyone interested in serving their community. She said while it is not difficult to find peo ple willing to work in the often low paying field, a lot of turnover exists because of financial and stress-relat ed reasons. "There are lots of people who want to do this sort of work," she said, adding that some people working for the public, including herself, choose to work in the pri vate sector until they become finan cially stable and then later return to community work. She said one of the most reward ing aspects of working in the field is observing the people who receive help. "I think that seeing the people they serve makes an impression on them for life," she said. Along with the 11IV Alliance, the Lane County Community and Eco nomic Development Program, the Rural Development Initiative and the Oregon I Iomeless and Runaway Youth Coalition all receive support from students funded through the grant, according to the release. Byrd said she hopes to stay in the public sector once she completes her degree and plans to work with immi grants and refugees, helping them to find affordable housing and benefit from economic development. After meeting her husband, who is an im migrant, while working for the Peace Corps in Romania four years ago, Byrd said she wants to focus on the international community. "I have this eye on the interna tional world," she said. Contact the higher education/ student life/student affairs reporter atchelseaduncan@dailyemerald.com. News * "Best Dinner "One of. 101 Cool T» 199S * * Best pinrtejjmj Take Visiters.; V^H 1st Place. “Best -it Soup/ 3rd Place Eugene -east/' Best of Teen, £eg/sfer k ‘Best Breakfast/ 2nl Place, \ e. ‘Best Soup/' 2rl I \ V IAA /» Place; The best eats in town Sports Illustrated on Campus 2588 Willamette St. 541-687-8201 * 1340 Alder Street 541-687-0355 April 1-30 20% OFF ALL POETRY BOOKS for the month of April No further discounts. NATIONAL POETRY MONTH APRIL 2004 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BOOKSTORE Please RECYCLE this paper. It's spring again! This means we need to clear out our odds and ends to make way for our fabulous new collections. ODDBAL LS ARE NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING! LACOSTE r paperdenim&cloth SALE April 1 9 - May 1 30% to 70% off £ B O U X www.boux.com cind ITlOrc! All sales are final No returns or exhanges • Sale merchandise sold as is 2827 Oak St.»Eugene«Southtowne Shoppes»10:30-5:30 Mon.-Fri./11 -4 Sat.*541.485.4891
