There are many clubs and student organizations on Florida A&M’s campus, including one club that recently made its debut and is looking to open up to the student body.
That club is called the Jamaica American Student Association [JAMSA]. It is a club that’s based on, surprise, Jamaican culture.
JAMSA was founded on Sept. 21. The founder of JAMSA is Keanu Hewitt.
Hewitt said he started the organization because he wanted to find more people of his culture to come together as one. He knew that he was not the only person on campus who is Jamaican.
“I was honestly feeling alone most of the time on campus,” Hewitt said. “There are so many people from different cultures on campus and I didn’t really see that many students represent the Jamaican culture and I wanted to be the first to start a Jamaican club.”
Despite JAMSA being a new organization, it has a list of plans for students on campus. JAMSA believes in community service and to better the next person. It will teach you the history of Jamaica and it also wants to work with other organizations to bring Black problems to the spotlight.
By collaborating with other organizations, it hopes that it can bring awareness to theirs.
JAMSA wants to build a learning platform where its members can express their culture. They want to teach students how to cook, dance, speak, and even understand where they come from.
JAMSA has events planned for this semester and the upcoming one. One will be based on how to make real Jamaican dishes and comparing it to American food.
DeAngelo Green, the president of JAMSA, was born and raised in Jamaica. He came to the United States to further his education.
“Being a part of JAMSA is an experience that I can’t forget,” Green said. “Even though we just started this organization the impact that it made on me is to learn how to be patient and just hearing others’ opinions.”
This past Wednesday JAMSA hosted a meeting to show students who and what they are. They played games, had free food, danced with one another, and they had a guest speaker come tell them more about the Jamaican culture.
JAMSA stands for unity and love because its members believe in one another. They are looking to bring good vibes and cultural education to “the hill.”
“We are an amazing organization to join,” Green said. “We love the energy and environment. We would love for all FAMU students to see how we live and where we come from.”