'A Dream Come True'

Greater diversity was among the gowns and the glitter at this year's African Student Association Ball.

The Ball, entitled "A Dream Come True," was especially different from past years in that the students in attendance were the most diverse group the event has ever had.

"It was a nice, diverse mixture of people" said Jeffrey Oguamanam, a senior communication major who's attended two ASA balls during his time at Maryland.

"This year you saw traditional African students, African-American students, Caribbean students… there was just a good mix of different people."

This year, ASA board executives, such as junior communication health major Zulikhat Segunmaru, said they specifically tried to welcome other races, and advertising to all groups of people was "One of their goals."

"Everybody and anybody are welcome," said Segunmaru. "We wanted to make an environment where people can come together [and] just celebrate African culture."

This year's diverse crowd also led to a record high in attendees, with tickets for the dance selling out days before expected, and those in attendance totaling well over 400, according to Segunmaru.

Among the other changes at the recent social were the pageant procedures for students hoping to be crowned Mr. and Mrs. African Student Association, which students said was "a big improvement" from last year. This year, the Board raised the requirements of all pageant applicants by including a question and answer component, requiring all candidates to actively participate in ASA committee meetings, and basing performance scores off a point system.

Sophomores Aziz Sani and Natsnet Haileab snagged the title of Mr. and Mrs. ASA.