At a short ceremony in Ashesi’s Cornfield and Archer Courtyard, the Ashesi Student Council (ASC) officially welcomed the Class of 2018 to the University community. Against a rich cultural backdrop of traditional Ghanaian drum music and singing, executives of the student council handed calabashes to all members of the freshman class, served them water and congratulated them for being accepted into the Ashesi community.
In Ghana and other parts of Africa, visitors to a home were often served with a calabash of water as a show of hospitality; the ceremony, which is the first of its kind at Ashesi, was also a call for the university community to celebrate the rich traditions of Africa.
“This year, we had wanted to really kickstart a new freshman tradition at Ashesi,” said ASC President Richard Odame ’15. “As a pan-African institution, we wanted to choose a ceremony that would symbolise how proud we are of Ashesi’s respect for culture. The ‘calabash event‘, we believe, fits this perfectly.”
The Class of 2018 is the most culturally diverse class at Ashesi yet, with some 28% of the class being non-Ghanaian.
“It was really unique,” said Mary Awusi ‘18. “We were a bit startled when we first saw the calabashes, but it was a beautiful event. I am not aware of any other university that does this for freshman, and it was really heartwarming to be welcomed this way.”