Caribbean Culture in Frostburg

This week, The Bottom Line had the opportunity to talk to Khamadi Kelly, the President of the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) to discuss their organization, what they’ve accomplished, and what they hope to accomplish in the future. The CSA currently has 24 members, all hoping to provide Frostburg State University with an enriching look into the Caribbean culture. 

Khamadi began his presidency at the start of this semester. He says he joined the CSA during the Spring 2018 semester, “I found out about the association through a friend I met my freshman year. He recommended I join because of my Caribbean background.” 

When asked about the reason behind the founding of the CSA, Khamadi said: “…the reason the club was started was because a few students believed that it was important to spread and teach Caribbean culture among the Frostburg State University community.” 

The CSA has achieved this goal over the years by hosting a Caribbean celebration called J’ouvert, which is a street party also known as carnival, that celebrates the liberation of slaves in the Caribbean. According to Khamadi, students from all over Frostburg have been attending this event, “Celebrating our biggest event, like J’ouvert, our dance team performances and our smaller events/collabs are ways we benefit the Frostburg community because within each aspect and practice we bring to campus, there’s always a Caribbean theme and or link to the Caribbean with the mission to educate our audience with Caribbean culture.”

The CSA has much to look forward to this semester. They are hosting their fourth celebration of J’ouvert, which according to Khamadi will take place in late April, and Caribbean Bowling Night, which is the group’s collaborative event with the Bowling Club. For anyone who’d like to stay updated on what CSA has going on, they can be found @CSA_Frostburg on Twitter and @csa_frostburg on Instagram.