With the rise in racial pride, a new ethnic club has been created by counselor Mani Deneke this year called Habesha Club. The club has been on the table since last spring, but it was finally approved as an official club in September.  

The purpose of the club is not only to encourage fellow Ethiopians and Eritreans to embrace their culture, but also to enlighten others outside of their culture. They hold forums, invite guest speakers and discuss the history of both Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as current events revolving around the two countries.

“It’s basically about the Habesha culture and working as a team and being good role models for others,” president Ruth Mamo said. “The club was created to teach and spread the Habesha culture and also have an alumni program so we, as a group, don’t grow apart after graduation.”

The alumni program is also a recruitment tool for the club, getting those who graduated to encourage more people to join. It is expected to start with this year’s graduating class and all classes after.

For now Habesha Club meets once a month, but that is expected to change depending on the number of members they acquire. There are no requirements to join the club and there isn’t an application that must be submitted.

Their upcoming meeting will be the club’s first meeting. It will go over the outline for what will be taking place throughout the year.

“Since it’s only the first meeting, it will be pretty brief,” secretary Gelila Reta said. “We plan to go over t-shirt designs, present an outline of the course of the year and get e-mails for those who missed the interest meeting back in October.”

With an all senior board, the club is encouraging underclassmen to get involved and commit to the club in order for there to be a strong leadership base for the years to come.

The club’s attendance policy is fairly similar to other clubs. Attendance is mandatory at all meetings, but if one has a valid excuse for not being able to attend, they must let someone on the board or Ms. Deneke know at least 24 hours in advance.

“The meetings are not very frequent, so attendance is crucial for the success of the club,” Reta said.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the club at [email protected].