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Jerome Degbe created African Club in hopes to bring awareness of all the different cultures and traditions of Africa to students at the university.

“I want to bring to light the beauty of Africa, it is not what you see on television,” the freshman mechanical engineering major said. “People associate what they see on television as a representation of the entire continent, but there are some countries that do better than others just like certain states in America.”

Despite popular belief, Africa is not a country. Africa is a diverse continent made up of more than 50 countries. It is the most diverse continent in the world and is the second largest continent covering 30 million square kilometers.

To show how diverse the continent of Africa is, African Club will host an African culture day April 4 to celebrate the beauty and diversity of Africa.

Students will experience all the unique culture and tradition Africa offers. The event will include food, music, traditional clothing, dances and art.

Joel Tshite said he hopes the event shows the positivity of Africa and crushes the stereotypes.

There is a part of Africa for everyone, if you were to travel to Africa you will find people that look like you, talk like you, and have the same interest and beliefs as you. Africa is a melting pot of diversity.

The continent has been shown on television, books and magazines as a place of hopelessness and suffering. It has gained such a negative perception such as Africa not having technology, or Africans living in a mud huts without electricity and water. However, countries in Africa are just as up to date as the rest of the country.

“I am not mad when people say things that are not true about Africa because I understand that they simply do not know.” The electrical engineering major said. “People have grown up learning that Africa was undeveloped and poor, and that is all they know, but that is why we created this club to teach what they don’t know.”

There are stories that are not told about the continent, and African Club is excited to inform people of the unknown.

“I encourage people to study abroad in Africa because you will come back changed and informed,” Kountiala Some, a graduate student studying second language acquisition said.

African Club not only hopes to inform students about different regions, but they also want students to know that this club is free for all and is a good way to meet international students that are from different countries and backgrounds.

“We are happy to be promoting Africa the way it should be,” Jean Marie Uwimana said.

African Club will plant a seed in students and try and get them interested in doing their own research about the different countries.

“We will show the other side of things, and that is all we can do,” the mathematics computer science and economics major said.