President of Black Students United Diamond Morehead talks about Africana Culture Night.
Black Students United were even more united when they presented “Africana Culture Night: An Evening of Black Elegance” on Friday, Feb. 17.
Educational Opportunity Program counselor Davion Baker hosted the event in the Satellite Student Union where students dressed to impress and danced the night away in celebration of black excellence on Fresno State’s campus.
Students were encouraged to take photos at the photobooth set up at the back of the SSU and to eat food provided.
Black Students United handed out awards to students for their work in helping the community, including awards for the most supportive student in the organization and students making a difference in the African-American community.
“I think my favorite part was probably the giving the awards out,” said Alexis Aljandali, a second-year business major. “I like that they recognized people for their achievements.”
In between the awards, students danced to music, creating a welcoming environment. Certain songs were crowd-pleasers and brought everyone onto the dance floor to line dance to many songs.
There were many performances throughout the night. One was by members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations, also known as the “Divine Nine.”
The members of the historically black fraternities and sororities performed step routines for the audience while friends and other fraternity and sorority members cheered them on.
“My favorite part of the night would be seeing [the] NPCH getting all together and uniting as one,” said Ashlyn Davis, a second-year theatre arts major. “I think it’s a beautiful thing that everybody actually came out.”
The night culminated with a best-dressed contest. There were separate contests for men and women, each set up the same way. One by one, the audience cheered for each person who entered the contest, and the person with the loudest cheers won.
Frankie Juarez, third-year liberal studies major, was the winner of the men’s contest. He said he appreciated the purpose of the event.
“I think that this is something great that [we] can get involved on our campus and get people to come together,” Juarez said. “This is something our community needs.”