Rumor on campus said it’d been around 40 years since the last homecoming dance at Allen Community College. No one really knew when, exactly. Just that it’d fallen by the wayside, a distant memory of alumni past.
Allen’s International Student Association club, newly formed last semester and full of spirit, thought it was a hiatus worth ending.
That was about two weeks ago, so students had to move quickly. An expedition to storage facilities uncovered an old disco ball, supposedly the same one former Allen chemistry professor Bob Barclay, known to many as “Boogie Bob,” used for the last homecoming dance.
Maintenance crews chipped in with lights and sound equipment, and the 20-plus International Student Association members decorated the college’s cafeteria so well that on Saturday night, students entering through the cafeteria doors that evening and stepped into a pulsing nightclub.
The all-important playlist — critical to any dance’s success — highlighted Allen’s diversity. Around 130 international students attend Allen Community College, and the playlist reflected such a global campus.
Just by listening, you traveled the continents, jumping from Caribbean drums to Ghanaian beats, sweet cumbian rhythms following music from Brazil, the United Kingdom, and of course, Beyoncé.
International Student Association president Eric Darkwah, a freshman from Ghana, was honorary DJ for the night. He said it took the group about 10 minutes to come up with the playlist. (Chat GPT helped.)
But the club’s founding, and its role on campus, is more contemplative. “We needed an organization to help give international students on campus a voice,” said Darkwah. “A lot of times, students have complaints but no way to make those known.”
Darkwah said it’s been tough to adjust to life in Iola, but friendships formed in the club have been key. He was sitting next to Amo Mofokeng, a sophomore from South Africa.
A few hours earlier, Mofokeng had just been elected Allen’s homecoming king. One would imagine the transition of one of Allen’s most popular students had been easier.
“Honestly, my freshman year was tough,” said Mofokeng, who is on campus with a soccer scholarship. “It takes a year before you get comfortable.” The young man, all smiles with the crown perched on his head, now felt like he belonged at Allen. He was “truly honored” his peers had voted for him.
THE International Student Association’s staff sponsor is Austin Hendrix, an Allen alumnus who several years ago was pastor at Iola’s Community Church of the Nazarene and is now the college’s bookstore manager.
During final preparations for the dance, Hendrix circulated easily among the club’s members, laughing and making jokes as the frantic last touches came together. Later that evening, Hendrix joined students in the fun, dancing along to the “Cha Cha Slide.” He knew practically every student’s name.
Samuel Glasgow, a freshman from Trinidad and Tobago, spoke highly of the new club as he hung strands of balloons around the cafeteria. “I love how diverse it is, how everyone comes together. Even though there are sometimes language barriers, we tend to cooperate, and we all learn from each other. American students, too.”
His soccer teammate, Aavil Lawlite, a freshman from Grenada, agreed. “This club gives us the chance to express ourselves and our cultures.”
Their coach, Temesgn Tezera, was setting up food and drinks. Tezera recently returned to Allen, a former soccer player turned assistant men’s coach after graduating from Talladega College in Alabama.
