THE INK THE INK
THE INK
2025: In Review I
THE INK
Editors-in-Chief
Tanitoluwa Olamiji Adebayo
Nyameye ‘Kiki’ Akumia
Writers
Nkrumah Fouvle, Salma Osman,
Reuben Kwadwo Asare Badu, Eureka
Cooper-Aggrey, Ameera Issifu,
Kimberly Taj Mashanga
Graphic Design
Eyram-Makafui Kofi Awoye, Fredda
Agyarkoah Nyarko
Editor
Awo Amoakoah DanquahBoateng
Photography
Ronelle Cudjoe, Akwasi Adubofuor
Kwakyi
Social Media
Eyram Fenu, Lois Vanessa Adams, Ama
Adubea Adu Wilson, Maureen Ewurama
Agyeiwaa Frimpong, Hamza Neil Fiati Gaveh, Ademilade
Adebanjo , Oluwademilade Subair
NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
An extra semester at Ashesi is a strange place to be: bittersweet, humbling, and oddly grounding. You think you’re wrapping up, only to find yourself still here, watching the campus you know move in uncanny but familiar ways.
But co-masterminding this issue with Tani has reminded me why The Ink keeps beating, even through delays and the chaos that is student life. There’s something uniquely interesting about the way we all experience this place. The discourse, it’s like a magnetic force… it keeps people tuned in. It keeps The Ink alive.
So while this edition should have come out a while ago, I’m genuinely happy to finally share it with you. I hope you receive it with open arms and open minds, and let it take you through a little time capsule of the year.
Enjoy the journey.
Editor-in-Chief Kiki
NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
Firstly, I’d like to apologise that this is later than our usual release time. A lot later. Ashesi, as you probably know, is notoriously busy. Second, I’d like to say thanks. I am writing this as the team and I are putting the issue together and I am quite downcast thinking about how this is one of my final issues as Editor in Chief. Running The Ink has been a part of my identity for most of my time as an Ashesi student. It has been an interesting window into the Ashesi student body, allowing me to connect and feel some sense of belonging to this community. I am certainly going to miss it when the time comes to step down. Anyway, I hope you do enjoy this. Once again, thanks!
Editor-in-Chief
January January
Catching up with
ESTHER
By Tani, Kiki & Salma
Photography by Ronelle Cudjoe
TANI: Tell us about yourself
ESTHER: Hi, my name is Esther, I live with my parents. No, my mom actually. (My dad passed away recently.) With three other female siblings. I schooled at Saint Dominic Senior High. In the Eastern Region and now I'm here
KIKI: I found you from the famous/infamous video, “Don't call me a university student, call me an Ashesian”...
ESTHER: Jesus!
KIKI: [laughs] I'd like to know your experience with TikTok I just want to know what your experience has been with TikTok When did you start? How has it changed when you came in?
ESTHER: Okay, earlier last year, I had a TikTok account I was just watching people's TikToks, liking them and all of that I never ever wanted to post a video on TikTok. I felt like it was not my thing. Everybody is on there. There was a fear that if I get on there, maybe I'll not get the views I want, the likes, the engagement, all of that It was my best friend who kind of pushed me to post the first video I think I got like 100 likes over night, I was like 100 likes is not bad. It's not 20 or 18. So then I started posting. It was just for the fun of it. Until I came to school [Ashesi].
My roommate forced me to do a transition video on my matriculation day. I did it in the morning around 8am. Before matriculation was over, I had hit like 10k views or something. And then I was like okay well maybe this is where I have to start
KIKI: The algorithm was in your favor. Have people come up to you and be like, “Oh, you're the girl from the TikTok”?
ESTHER: A lot And I'm like, no, I'm not expecting that I'm so shy [laughs]
KIKI: Are you enjoying it?
ESTHER: A little but then Ashesi is becoming hard
KIKI: That's actually a good segue to my next question. It's been a month now of being an Ashesi student. How is that going?
TANI: Do you remember your first day?
ESTHER: Yeah I remember I came with my mom and my brother. When we got here, I was thinking I would carry my luggage and everything myself. Then a man came up from somewhere. [laughs] He just grabbed my stuff and helped me to my room. It was very welcoming My roommate and I just sort of clicked
The next day, I started feeling homesick. Because, I think that's actually my first time being so far away from home.
KIKI: Didn’t you do boarding school in the Eastern Region?
TANI: Yeah, Ashesi is just here.
ESTHER: It's not just here. [laughs] I just felt like I was still away in a very new environment with different kinds of people So we did orientation, which was so long. A whole week. And then sometimes you are sleepy. And sometimes you are bored.
About matriculation, why are we not given the whole robe that everybody elsewhere wears to do matriculation? They just say, “wear something African” and they give you a calabash to take home.
KIKI: I never even took my calabash.
TANI: I took mine. I had to even convince them to let me keep it at the airport when I was going back to Nigeria.
KIKI & ESTHER: What?
TANI: Yeah, the calabash was in my bag. Maybe they thought I was going to cast spells, I don’t know.
ESTHER: How did you feel drinking from the calabash? Did you drink from the calabash?
TANI: I did. And it was very bitter.
ESTHER: How was it bitter? So you didn't drink?
TANI: I did drink When they gave us the calabash, I thought you could eat cereal from it. So that's what I was thinking about. But the wood. It's bitter.
ESTHER: Mine was fine.
KIKI: You are one of the lucky ones Did you go for Akwaaba night? How was that? Did you have expectations?
ESTHER: It was good. I just went. A lot of people came A lady just forced my friend and I to go in there, into the crowd, and engage
What I told myself was that I knew the school was going to be hard So, I would not miss anything that is for everyone and promises to be fun. Else I might lose myself trying to learn and learn and learn.
KIKI: Do you think of yourself as a very academic person? Some people come and realise it's hard. And they don't think, “I'm going to learn and learn and learn”. They're like, “Oh, I'm not going to make it; let me just party until I'm on probation”.
ESTHER: I called my mum three days ago and told her I want to be a carpenter I think it's starting to get overwhelming I'm just a little above average Learning doesn't come to me so easily. It was really hard the first week. I was all over the place. But then the third and the fourth week, I got into the flow. It's still getting harder though.
TANI: Have you interacted with the seniors? Do you have any stand out interactions?
ESTHER: One of my roommates, a third year, actually gives really good advice and is good at motivating.
“You can do it We didn't run We didn't die We will be fine You will be fine ” One time she said just to push through FDE, which I found really funny.
KIKI: How is FDE?
ESTHER: Jewel Thompson
TANI: Is she your lecturer?
ESTHER: I love her. I love a lot about her. But sometimes… [laughs]. “Today, we are doing a Kahoot. Also, you are doing a test The same day, if you are chosen on a wheel, you have to stand up and share what you learnt.” It can be a lot.
KIKI: That sounds like fun… if you read.
TANI: That sounds like psychological torture
KIKI: Yeah I just mean the process It's like Squid Game How do you feel about your year group?
ESTHER: If I didn't come with this year group, I don't really know which other year group I would choose. Maybe the ones incoming would be amazing. [ei, is she throwing shade?]
Those that I have really come across are very nice and helpful. Some of them have been willing to stay back for some time after class to teach me some things I don’t understand. And I barely knew them. And some have already started doing relationships And it's very cute I feel like they will bring fun into the school because of their vibe.
KIKI: So I am guessing you don't have a valentine. [please this was recorded in February, we didn’t just randomly ask about valentines]
ESTHER: Do I have to be asked? When I don't have a boyfriend.
TANI: You don’t even need to be single to say yes to someone wanting to be your valentine
SALMA [randomly joining in]: That's very liberal of you.
ESTHER: Honestly, I don't even know what's like, crushing on someone
KIKI: I can definitely relate. People describe it and I’m like this sounds ghetto, I can't lie.
ESTHER: Yeah, I heard you want to really get to know them You want them to see you It's all very confusing to me as well.
KIKI: Well, you look very nice today. What inspires your sense of style? Do you think it's important for you to dress well everyday?
ESTHER: I didn't even really know I had a knack for fashion until senior high school 2, I think. The thing with me is, I'm always cutting. My mom will buy me a dress. And I'll cut it and use it for something else. And she'll be so mad “I bought you something new And then you cut it!” I'm cutting my siblings’ dresses, I'm cutting dresses that are not mine. So even when I left home, they were at least happy they wouldn’t have to worry about that.
About inspiration, hmm Most people have Pinterest I pick stuff from everywhere I think it's really important for me to look a particular way almost everyday because that is where my confidence comes from. I think I can easily go unnoticed, so everyone that has noticed me, it’s usually because of something I was wearing
It also affects my mood a lot. Maybe when you see me one time and I'm not in something you feel like I'm supposed to be wearing, I'm not in that mood for that day.
KIKI: So do you sometimes intentionally underdress when you don't want a lot of interaction? I do that a lot.
ESTHER: I do that too. And then also when I feel like the day isn’t going to go how I want it to go. I just wear anything.
The thing with me is Sometimes I don't even know that I look this way. I have a friend who braids my hair. And she was braiding my hair, the day before I came to school. She said when I go to school, I will be noticed. And I'm going to Ashesi, I should expect to be noticed And then I come, a guy befriends me He told me that, when we came the first week, he noticed that my outfit stood out and that he probably wouldn’t have noticed me otherwise. It felt very ironic or poetic, I don’t know. It’s been a good confidence booster.
TANI: I think that’s a fantastic place to end Back at the beginning.
KIKI: Yeah, I guess if people want to know more they’ll have to follow you on TikTok or something [laughs]
The Hill Speaks
WhatwereAfrica’sbest mindsthinkinginJanuary
“The 7 pounds I gained, y’all should forgive me. It really wasn’t my fault ”
“Chale I'm looking forward to seeing these '27 boys that you are telling us to stay away from ����”
“Guys please bath well and use deodorant!! some of you nearly killed me during orientation �� ����”
“You can’t tell me Monday I’ll be sitting in class like this vacation never happened��”
“The referee of today's basketball game...eat those balls to urself�� ��u could at least give the girls a chance to show what they have ”
“walking to the gym is a whole ass workout �� so far away for what ei ”
“Chale Ashesi is cold oh kwerh�� ��”
“Now that the semester is longer I hope to see people engaged in sports and clubs. Last semester was depressing ��”
“If you’re doing CE just stop. Go to CS”
“Massaaaa, bring the c27 boys, we are ready ”
“Don't be pressured to be spiritual or religious if that isn't for you. Find your own path. Explore. Do what you want. ”
“Absolutely loved Akwaaba night! I enjoyed every bit of it, kudos to the new ASC”
“Can someone please tell the school to slow down with the emails? Emails are for formal communications. Why are you using it to promote businesses or some AFA league? Can we have a separate group or something for that? Clubs can do that We are missing out on the important stuff”
“I MISS MY MANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN ��������”
“Guard your heart cos we are coming - A C'27 boy”
“First day? I’m still in Detty December o ����”
“Ashesi Basketball Association, where is the inclusivity? Girls have been asking to play, but you’ve never wanted to include us. Why did we have to fight just to be heard? We tried to form our own club, but it’s like our interests were never taken seriously. ”
“One of the best Akwaba Night since I came to Ashesi.
Welcome class of 2028”
February February
By Divine
I dunno
Note from the editor: Deep stuff
By Lluna
not the kind that breaks, burns, or disappears with the wind.
You were the kind of thing I hid from the world not for shame, But because I could not bear to share you. You were the thing I held close, to feel your warmth in the silence between my ribs, to chase adventure in the dreaming in your eyes, to listen to your words and feel alive.
They say loving someone you’ve never met is impossible a practice in delusion. But they didn’t read your letter. From the moment your words reached me, I waited. Several moons passed, and still, I did not tire. My love grew roots. Before we ever met, I had already fallen for the curves of your handwriting, The rhythm of your sentences, the quiet storm of your mind. You were not a fantasy. You were real, just not in the way the world would understand.
By Lluna Hmm… eemm...
I’m not in love I’m just obsessed with you,
Like a magnet pulled, I stick like glue. I don’t know why, but you drive me insane, Like a bird that’s fallen, dizzy with pain.
It’s not that hard to see babe, it’s easy, Just open your eyes, I’m right here, a bit cozy.
Dangling between reality and sweet delusion,
There’s no choice just you in both conclusions.
But no… I chose to stay hidden, Behind letters, heartfelt, well-written. Stolen stares, a glance too bold, Hugs from afar, too scared to hold.
Ooh, I wish you only knew The day this feeling first felt new. My thoughts invaded, yet I stayed cool, It spread like fire and I played the fool.
By Yenma Abambire Bawa
“Can you be gentle?”
“I love you,” he says, kissing my forehead like punctuation ending the sentence before it gets too honest. I bite his shoulder, sharp but soft. Not to hurt, just to remind us we can still feel.
What do you think I’m talking about?
You’re scared to answer
Because it’s that word the one that makes people squirm and pastors sweat, the one you were told never to say.
Shh, Nana Don’t say it out loud It might stain your image, make you “one of those girls,” the ones with thoughts too bold to be holy.
But I want to say it. To own it
“Is it bad to like it?”
The room goes still. Women glance like my words are a mirror. Men tense up, flexing invisible power. As if my curiosity is a threat
Why is it only okay if it happens to me, not because of me?
Why does my voice make them nervous?
I’m not talking about anything wild just feeling. Desire. Pleasure. Want. The things I was taught to bury like sin
I’m tired of pretending that “pure” means “silent,” that my body is something I live beside, not in. Maybe I like it.
Maybe I want it soft. Or rough. Or messy. Maybe I want to talk about it without being branded.
Because liking it doesn’t make me bad. “Does it make me bad?”
Someone whispers, “It makes you a slut.”
Not even brave enough to own the insult just saying what everyone else is thinking.
And the chorus starts:
If you like it, you must love every hand, every comment, every touch.
Because once you admit pleasure, they think it’s permission. You can’t win.
Stay quiet, you’re a prude. Speak up, you’re a problem.
And they still bring up body count like worth is measured in numbers.
As if virginity is a trophy, as if not doing something makes you holier.
It’s the same obsession control dressed as morality. Still counting, labeling, ranking like women are cars with mileage.
Not having sex doesn’t make you better. Having it doesn’t make you worse.
Choice is what matters.
Agency is what’s sacred.
But still, in cities where everyone knows everyone, your name travels faster than truth.
One rumor and you’re ruined. Once labeled, forever labeled.
They don’t ask about your heart, just who’s seen you, who’s touched you, how many times.
It’s not preference anymore it’s gossip, a race to see who stays “pure” long enough to shame the rest.
You try not to care, but sometimes it creeps in, that whisper: what are they saying about me now?
You remind yourself it’s not your problem but still, it stings.
Then you remember: you don’t need their approval to exist. You don’t need their validation to be whole. You already figured out what they fear most you’re free.
Because they’ll judge you either way. You’ll still live.
They’ll keep collecting opinions, and you’ll keep collecting your life. And honestly? They’ll never know the difference.
“She'sfinallysingle thisValentine'sday!!! Icanmakemymove, imcomingforyou fineshyt”
What were Africa’s best minds thinking in February?
“To the boy from Christian High, I have a crush on you!”
“to my friends, I love you more than you’ll ever know”
“If ASC week isn’t nice this year we’ll revolt ”
“Some people need to get better with their so-called ‘hints’. That’s all I’ll say”
“He didn’t make his move before valentines, so I bought a cake for myself on the Val’s day in the name of self love and this nigga came to eat the cake with me�� very shameless human being! My mumu self couldn’t utter a word…hmm”
“My crush is the absolute sweetest. He's so effortlessly affectionate and he doesn't even realise�� gosh when I'm having a bad day it's almost as if he senses it and he just appears and makes it so much better. And the way he reserves his smiles for me GOSH!!
GUYS I think I'm in love��"
“Some FIs mark as if we owe them money��”
“LEAVE THAT BOY!! HE WILL HURT YOU! ”
“Shouldn't give up on my feelings without trying, huh? I have tried and I am giving up. Chale all the best in your future endeavors!”
“Don’t ask! Just show up on Valentine’s Day with a box of Chocolate and like 1000 Cedis!! We girls love that! ❤”
“I have to re think my course ����”
HKR SPOTLIGHT:
By Kiki & Tani |
Cudjoe
Photography by Ronelle
Kiki: Tell us about that?
Who
are you? [laughs]
: I go by the stage name HKR Emmanuel. I'm an artist, ian, creative director. I like to do everything creative, more or
What does the HKR stand for?
: Harmony Kills Rage. So like Harmony Kills Anger. How did you come up with that?
: Music was like my escape from a lot of things that were ening around me, especially in JSS (Junior Secondary School) out going into too much detail, a lot of things were collapsing d me and I was very angry. But then listening to music was I found myself. And that's how I found out that I also wanted ke music myself. So I just attached that to my name, the mony Kills Rage
So when did you start making music? In JSS?
: I started in class 5 actually. I was rapping. I used to like to There was a talent show, and I performed for the first time here and everybody liked it I used to compare myself to e like Jaden Smith, Willow I’d be like, “Nah, I'm better these people. Their dad just has more money to push them tuff.” [laughs] I stopped at some point, because… school. But when I came to Ashesi, I decided to give it one more try.
So how would you describe your music? Like in terms of , just how would you describe it?
: I'd say I like telling stories. Every song, it's a real life ience in a way, but I tweak it a little so that you don't know. I also produce myself. I started producing my first summer at Ashesi.
HKR: I came with the mindset of skipping class to go to studios and stuff. But then I came here and they told me that chale, if I miss… [y’all know the rest lol] So then I had to connect with the creatives over here. And there were a few producers. One of them was Beaticide I was speaking to him to produce for me. He asked me, “Have you ever tried producing yourself?” So I did and I loved it. That's how I made my first track, producing myself.
Tani: How did you end up at Ashesi?
HKR: A bet.
Kiki: A bet?
HKR: Yeah, a bet. Somebody dared me. Not apply per se. Some guy was talking about dbee* schools and we saw some pictures of Ashesi I was like, “Oh, I really like how the school looks, I'm going to go there ” And the person was like, “Oh, they dare me. I won't even get in.” So I was like, oh, let's put money on it. And here I am. To this day, he still hasn’t given me my money, though. [laughs]
Kiki: Do you do BA? [sorry for assuming y’all]
HKR: No, I'm a computer science student.
Tani: Why computer science, then?
HKR: I used to fidget a lot with computers I watched those hackers’ movies. I wanted to do that type of stuff. I had an interest in it. I also found that's a way to go into music, kind of. When I realized that the apps and software that we are using are built by computer engineers, computer scientists That would be a field I would like to work in Audio engineering or computer music technology. … And also, it was also a way to get my parents to leave me alone.
Kiki: Do you see yourself using your degree for your music?
HKR: Yeah, definitely. I genuinely want to. Even though I want to be an artist, I still have a back-up plan. I genuinely want to start developing plugins, VST plugins. The softwares people use for the music. If I can't be in the limelight, let me help others
Tani: You don't have to be one thing anyway. I found it interesting that you said you ' re more introverted. I wouldn't have thought of that. Because as an artist, you need to have a stage presence. I find it hard to reconcile you performing with the image of you being shy
HKR: I think what I do is, I tend to make everything go blank when I'm performing. Because I am very shy. With the music, everybody told me that I can't be like that but then I met people who were like that in person. I’m still finding what exactly works for me, and I still think I'm learning how to be a performer It's not that shocking, I can't lie.
Tani: Wait, so do you remember when you perform? Or you just go there, you do what you have to do, and then afterwards
HKR: Do I remember when I'm performing? Oh, yeah. At the very beginning, I'm nervous. But then at some point, I start easing into it. I have the set already so I just perform, perform, perform and I genuinely don't stay after I perform I just vanish
Tani: Do you ever have to relearn your songs? Especially if it's a song you haven't performed in a while.
HKR: No. Because I'm a big fan of myself.
Kiki: Narcissistic [laughs]
HKR: I listen to my own music, trying to understand what I can make better. I haven’t forgotten my lyrics on stage yet. My catalogue is not that big.
Kiki: What do you think are some of your biggest challenges being a creative in Ashesi? Especially being so far from Accra.
HKR: That's one of the challenges, being so far from Accra! I've missed so many opportunities because of just the location Sometimes I'm like, I have to bear some transport costs by myself for things that I shouldn't. Another thing is maybe connecting with people. In Ashesi, yes, we have a span of creatives but I've only connected with people virtually. They gave me their number, I talked to them, but they have never really met me in person I’m talking about people in Accra, by the way. They know who I am, but they have never really seen the face.
Another challenge is constant pressure from people. It’s funny, people don't see the growth They don’t see the work process They just see the results So people are like, “Oh no, your video should be like this, it should be like that.” I don't have a label backing me. It's just me and my friends trying to improve ourselves. So even if there's a change, they don't realize it. They just look at bigger artists then see you and expect you to look that way But I just don't let it get to my head
I'm just happy I have a team of people who genuinely believe in what I'm doing and keep supporting me.
Tani: How did this team come about?
HKR: MEC, Music Entertainment Club.
Kiki: That's a very good segue to my next question. [laughs]
HKR: [laughs too] I don't know if you know about Keli. [I did] He's one of the people who really helped me make this thing possible, especially with the Jan.9th.1985, the recent song. We used CaRINE [that course is a blessing, HKR is putting you on free game] to help push the thing His project, he mainly focused it on me, which brought a little bit more funding for the song to get to where it has gotten to. It has opened so many doors for me. Sometimes he pays for the beats, especially when we buy them. Sometimes we don't make all the beats Sometimes I chip in over here I edit his DJing videos for him for free You scratch my back, I scratch your back. I would say Beaticide too helps. And R.S. too has produced for me, but it wasn't my song. It was his song, but we have not released it yet. [insider info! true journalism happening at The INK]
Kiki: Do you think the music club is just for musicians and producers?
HKR: No. I think we have expanded past that for creative directors, film, so on and so forth. Because our opportunities have gone past just music now TV presenters are talking to us Musicians, music executives are looking for people who want to work in the music scene too. They're looking for us. So it's more or less like now anything entertainment, our hands are in there.
Tani: What do you think will be an interesting challenge transitioning from STEM to do music full time?
HKR: Hmmmm, one thing is, with the music scene, it’s more like enthusiasm wins. You have to be friends with everybody And then they'll give you a chance And that's just because you ' re friends with them, not because you ' re good.
They'll tell you, oh yeah, I'll help you out. Just because you ' re a cool guy to hang out with. Building that help network will take the longest But if you ' re genuinely good, it’ll come to you and they’ll come to you
Also connecting with these executives. And they're all low-key. You wouldn't even know they're executives. They'll be with you at the house parties, chilling. You’d think they're just a random artist. But they're genuinely an executive looking for the next big thing. I think that's how it is in the most creative industries, to be honest.
Kiki: That's why I was intrigued by the introverted question Because I feel like extrovertedness gets you far
HKR: But then wit gets you further. That's the thing people ignore. You have to be smart, that’s how you avoid bad deals. No shade to the extroverts and this is just my opinion not fact I’m putting that out there But, most of them that I know end up in bad deals They don’t go through contracts. It's like, “They're my friend. They wouldn't hurt me.” That type of thing. And the only reason why they selected you is because you ' re extroverted. You have to make people realise that you understand what you ' re doing You're educated They'll take you much more seriously and they'll give you that respect. I think that's better than just being friends with all of them.
Tani: I think this is a good place to wrap up.
HKR: Thank you so much for having me
Kiki: Nice to talk to you. Good luck with everything. Thank you.
N B 1 A D 1 D 1 A 1 Y S I I
OPENING NIGHT
A S C W E E K ‘ 2 5
PopCultureDay
ROOTS HORIZON TO
Roots To Horizon
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
I’ve had enough. Really, I have.
DISCLAIMER: Look, I know how Ashesi (or the INK for that matter) works. They say, "Submit things incognito," "Speak your mind," "We value all opinions." But we also know how this goes. Some voices get amplified, and others? Well, they get filed away under "interesting but irrelevant." So, let’s not pretend this is any different. But, since this is about ASC Week, and since Frida got to unleash her demons, allow me to do the same. Except my demons? They whine way harder when they feel attacked.
you dey madddd craze on the hill what isCLASS??? ONE MOVE!!! Kosua
craze on the hill what isCLASS???
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
For the past few days, I’ve listened to self-proclaimed “rebels” talk about how they “broke free” during ASC Week, how they courageously ditched their usual routines, put on short skirts, and partied like there was no tomorrow. Good for them, truly. I mean that. But then they go a step further they start sneering at the rest of us, the ones who didn’t partake in the spectacle. Apparently, standing on the sidelines, watching, choosing not to dance, or, God forbid, caring about our reputations is some kind of moral failure. Apparently, we are the ones who “lack courage.”
Let’s get something straight: choosing to party is just that a choice. Choosing not to party? Also a choice. And it’s an equally valid one.
Y'all seem to think that the ultimate act of bravery is to shed every inhibition, discard any semblance of caution, and embrace a kind of reckless abandon. She calls it “being carefree in an uptight space.” I call it performative liberation. If you really believe in people’s freedom, then why is my decision to stand back and observe so unacceptable? Why does my refusal to dance invite critique? Who made partying the ultimate litmus test of confidence and character?
THE DINOSAUR??
craze on the hill what isCLASS???
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
I care about my reputation. So what? Last time I checked, a reputation is one of the few things in life that, once shattered, isn’t easily repaired. It’s easy to pretend that we live in a world where actions have no consequences, but that’s just not reality. And don’t come at me with the whole “nobody really cares what you do” nonsense. People do care. They watch. They remember. And frankly, not all of us want to be known for “that one time we went wild during ASC Week.”
Now, let’s talk about “People are like coconuts” she says. Not onions with layers, but hard shells with soft insides, waiting to be discovered. Oh, really? And whose job is it to crack them open?
Why is it my responsibility to invest my time and effort into “discovering” someone who has deliberately made themselves an impenetrable fortress? The whole point of meaningful human interaction is that it happens organically. If I have to break through a stubborn shell to get to someone’s “real self,” maybe they don’t want to be known in the first place. And that’s fine.
ONE MOVE!!! Kosua nemekoooo
THE DINOSAUR??
The idea that we should all be peeling away at each other, forcing interactions, and pushing our limits for the sake of “experience” is tiring at best and invasive at worst. Some people are content with where they are. Some people don’t need a short skirt and a party to feel alive. And some people brace yourself actually enjoy their so-called “uptight” existence. Why? Because discipline, selfrestraint, and a sense of personal dignity are not weaknesses. They are strengths.
you dey madddd
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
Last year ' s ASC week Black Saturday Market – Where Was the Discount? Let’s start here. "Black Saturday Market" now, tell me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the whole point of a black Saturday like this to have lower prices? Discounts? Deals? Something to make me feel like, "Ah, I got a steal today!" But nope. Prices were as high as ever. Maybe I was just too naive, thinking that student-organized meant studentaffordable. Or maybe, just maybe, I missed the memo that the "Ashesi students are rich" stereotype isn’t just a joke. Either way, my wallet left the event unscathed because it refused to participate in the robbery.
Opening Party: Ghanaian? International? Or Just…?? Ah, the grand opening party. The big kick-off. The night where we all come together… except, hold on did we? Don’t get me wrong, Kidi is great. Ghanaian music is great. But you do realize that about 50% of Ashesi’s student body is not Ghanaian, right? So why did the party feel like it was tailored for only half the population? If ASC Week is for everyone, maybe just maybe the music, the vibe, the planning should reflect that. But hey, I guess "inclusivity" was just an aesthetic choice on the ASC poster.
THE DINOSAUR??
you dey madddd craze on the hill what isCLASS???
Culture Day – The One Day We’re Allowed to Be Foreigners Ah yes, Culture Day. That single, magical day where you get to be openly, unapologetically foreign. Everyone claps. Everyone cheers. Everyone "celebrates diversity." And then? Back to normal. You go back to adjusting, blending, adapting because every other day, that’s just expected.
ONE MOVE!!! Kosua nemekoooo
craze on the hill what isCLASS???
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
ONE MOVE!!! Kosua nemekoooo THE DINOSAUR?? And don’t even get me started on "Crazy Day."
Listen, if you want to go wild and wear a sachet, empty plastic bottles, or whatever creation you come up with, go for it. I won’t judge. But you know what I will judge? The hypocrisy of the same people who went full cartoon character mode now turning around and side-eyeing me because I didn’t. I had an FDE presentation that day. A whole, serious, academic presentation. I wasn’t about to walk into class looking like a rejected avant-garde art piece. And yet, somehow, that made me the problem?
Lecturers and Their Questionable Timing Now, let’s talk about something really offensive: the sheer audacity of lecturers to use ASC Week as a personal revenge arc. More than fourteen weeks in a semester, but somehow, somehow, this is the week they choose to unload every quiz, every assignment, every paper they ever dreamed of but never got around to giving. Why? Did they all hold a secret meeting? Was there a memo? "Ah yes, ASC Week is here. Time to make sure no one actually enjoys it." And yet, somehow, I was still expected to participate? To dance? To party? To "be present" and "engage"?
you dey madddd
craze on the hill what isCLASS???
Confessions
Of an “uptight” student at ASC week
By Jenny (Anonymous)
The Rest? I Don’t Even Remember. And that’s not a metaphor. I genuinely don’t remember the rest of the activities. That’s how underwhelming they were. I’m sure something happened. I’m sure people had fun. But if your event lineup is so forgettable that I can’t recall a single highlight, then maybe just maybe it wasn’t all that great to begin with.
But This Year’s ASC Week? Maybe, Just Maybe… I have to admit this year’s ASC Week is different. Better. Dare I say… enjoyable? Maybe I was too quick to dismiss it. Maybe, just maybe, Frida and her party squad had a point.
So, if you see me on the dance floor this time, don’t be surprised. I might just be joining the club. But if it turns out to be just as forgettable as last year? Well… you already know what my next critique will look like. See you there or not. Cheers.
Pen name: Jenny
THE DINOSAUR??
Note: We still do not know who Jenny is. She/He/They lurks among us. In the line at hallmark, in the hallways. Beware!
ONE MOVE!!! Kosua nemekoooo
you dey madddd
CRAAZY DAYYY
Crazy
By Fridah Cheboi
craze on the hill what isCLASS???
THE DINOSAUR??
Day
20 years ago, men and women, but perhaps more accurately boys and women, went to a beautiful school. This school was the best in the country. And it promised many things from wealth, health and wisdom. It glittered in every possible way, and many spoke of the sweetness of the fruits it produced. So many went after it. Upon arrival, the most, was asked of them. And so these people, boys and women, put their best feet forward and worked their asses off. They did this for days on end. From Monday to Monday. Until one day, they’re brains could not take it anymore. And so they tore their clothes into rags. Pulled the hair off their scalps. Rubbed their skin with dirt. And put all sorts of things on their heads. From trash to bins, grass and underwear. These people had gone mad. And my, how they screamed. Running Helter skelter. Singing. Crying and laughing. All at the same time. They could not take it anymore. They could have gone to the extent of scratching out each other’s eyes. Good thing, the only thing bigger than their pent up frustrations was their love for themselves.
And so this day was ever remembered as part of the ASC week. A week that would be celebrated every year.
April-September April-September
Y O U T H I N K
O U H A V E L E F T S C H O O L T I L L I T S T I M E F O R
PRESENTATIONS
By Fouvle Nkrumah
Nonetheless a treatment plan was made, medication was bestowed and I had finally an explanation for disastrous and dire blowups
I wanted to think it wasn’t so bad having this mental impairment, I will get better or I will find a rather expensive solution- alas that is what I did for my eyes (the most expensive thing at any point in my life has always been my glasses). Yet here lies the difference between the two- glasses and sight-seeing problems can be explained widely, mental impairments can not
This is a strange distance even when you try and explain it to others, be it professionals or friends, the professionals try and probe till they may come to a sentiment that they say in fewer words of what they think you might be going through. They could be wrong, they will let you know, the friends part is more complicated because truly you know they are trying their best but not everyone can compartmentalize and emotions are valid and messy and words can be contradicted with tone and contrasted with body language.
Friends are messy because there is no space that can be made artificially They want to help me, I wish they could help me but I have grown too used to being isolated and defences being pointed both inward and outward But friends were at the beginning of my plan, a plan that changes often and made me wonder if I was being gaslighted into acting normal.
I was diagnosed at the end of my second year about a month and a half-ish before final exams and projects began. Getting the diagnosis was a mix of thinking you know so now it's been confirmed so you are not making it and because of the diagnosis a deep underbelly of shame. Mental illness comes with a sense of taboo- its singularity for each individual makes it hard to explain, no one can or will be able to understand it like you- however for me it became more doubly frustrating because i couldn't even embed a path to help me begin understanding.
I suppose that is the main point, there is a very expensive bounty on my head from my parents because of Ashesi Maybe this for me was never really to get better but just manage enough to become a bit more than average student.
In the middle of my first semester of third year, both the clinical psychiatrist and the therapist I was seeing here at Ashesi suggested I go on accommodations. That is not a sign of getting better. The suggestion came after days that consisted of no movement, severe anxiety and a dull mindedness that covers my memory till this day I wanted to say no when they suggested but say no to what, i was missing class without due process and the provost office were looking for official reasons to record the absences as excused
I was given a safety net. Sometimes, when i make it to class after weeks, sometimes a day when the medication is particularly more impactful; i wonder if the accommodations are an excuse line for me, but then a trigger occurs and i get worse and disappear for two whole weeks then i remember why i haven't failed all of my courses on absences alone.
The process of getting my accommodation particularly due to my mental impairment brought me to the point of being allowed to be sick. People get accommodations for different reasons; physical disabilities, learning disabilities, cognitive disabilities, mental disabilities etc. the reason being that i was allowed on accommodations is i made myself go to the therapist and try not to undersell the constant noise that i have tricked myself as normal and try to be open to what they suggest, if i hadn’t i would have been forced to at a point in time, because an open wound festers till the point of infection always. Yet I went and did the standard due process so I got the standard due benefits and results, my treatment plan composed of an hour of seeing a therapist weekly, a clinical review with a psychiatrist at the end of the month, and in my case access to the required medications and accommodations.
The accommodations are helpful, the way to get the accommodations at times makes me wonder if i should just go back to the before. Many things have changed since coming to Ashesi. The year I spent completely on campus damaged me more in ways I can describe, to be honest it damaged everyone. But here I am wondering if today is the day I make it to class when an email comes from the provost office asking about why I haven't been able to make it to class for this week. I give them the same answer knowing the same question will be brought back next week
But accommodations can only extend so far with lecturers, with group work. The sense of not doing more than the barest minimum now in my group project work makes me anxious, the dread of having to interact with people after barely seeing people for an extended period of time. The mountain of work that is always there to greet me when I have to account for my bearing after a week or two is never structured and is looped with constant tomorrows that I will never be guaranteed to face. The fact that I can't really say more to the question of you are still in school. The truthful answer will make both of us sad and end up with me being questioned if I am still taking my medication
I wonder if I truly want to still be around. But if I am to remove myself, there is a guarantee I will get worse since I will be losing access to the resources that are making me barely normal. For now, I am stuck between the barely student and shameful desires to overcompensate to make it known that I am not making it up
I WISH I WAS A
Writer
By Arielle
Your words flow so freely from your thoughts to your pen, your lips, your screen
Carefully thought out, picked out, allowed to leave Mine simply refuse
My words are all I have, yet even they, inadequate
I wish I wrote like you
Gushing rivers of stanzas, hopping from verse to verse with ease
At each cliff I hesitate, each jump after a giant pause
Even then, I gall into the murky waters of regular
Typical, unremarkable, normal - a 3-yearold could write this
“YOU’RE AN ARTIST ANYWAYS”, they chant in unison
I’m no artist
I’m a lie, a fraud, a sheep in wolf’s clothing
I want to ooze words from my skin
Have them flow without wringing them out my towel of desperation
I want to WRITE
I want to be set apart, be extraordinary
But normalcy surrounds me, has me in chains
Grabs me by the hair and refuses to let go
I wish I was an artist
I take, and take, and take…when will I make?
When will I make something deserving of awe?
I wish I was a writer
Alas, I’m just me
ALL OVER
AGAIN
By Eureka
It started with a laugh, not her boyfriend’s, not hers, but hers. The girl across the room.
That laugh sliced through the candlelit room and clattered against something buried in her chest, something she didn’t have a name for yet.
She turned her head, with a hint of nonchalance, just checking the vibe of the room. But when her eyes landed, everything else went quiet.
Vida had never seen a face so beautiful. She shifted in her seat, adjusting her clothes. Suddenly the room had gotten ten degrees hotter.
“It’s hot in here, isn’t it?” she asked Kwadwo.
“Hmm, it feels just fine,” he said with a shrug.
Vida was transfixed. She noticed the girl’s brows, how they knitted when she spoke. Her nails were a striking red. The arch of her breast curved like an almost perfect letter C.
Vida tried not to stare; she really did. But her effort was futile.
Then the girl lifted her glass, throat bobbing delicately with each gulp of water.
Vida felt she would give almost anything to become the liquid in that glass. The girl drank in that same laid-back, lazy way Abike used to.
ALL OVER
AGAIN
By Eureka
What else does she do like Abike? Vida wondered.
“Do you remember my friend Abike?” she asked, her voice too calm.
“Yeah,” Kwadwo said. “You guys were very close in secondary school.”
“Close,” she muttered.
If only he knew.
“Why did you guys grow apart?”
“You know, life happens. People grow. They draw apart.”
A lie. How could she tell him those were stories she had stopped telling, memories she had forced into silence?
She went back to watching the girl. The careful way she masticated her food. The soft rise and fall of her chest. The way her body seemed to breathe in sync with Vida’s racing thoughts.
“Vida,” Kwadwo said, his voice pulling her back. “Are you okay? You’ve barely touched your food. You keep staring at something… behind me.”
“I’m fine,” she whispered. But she was far from it.
Her heart beat against her ribs like a warning. Her palms were damp. Her head floated, light and foggy. It was Abike all over again.
“Kwadwo… Let’s go home.”
SHE THINKS
SHE’S BOTH
By Arielle 2.0
The holy soul just drifted apart,
Indecisive…
Uncontrollable…
She probably can’t stand firm. At one time she feels she needs love,
On a second thought, She wants to stay untouched.
She was a bud from scratch, But on transition, She diverted her ways.
So indecisive…
Gets used and rages at herself, Follows the mass like ragga All her afflictions are forgiven, But her inner soul prays for mercy. She thinks she’s both, She acts uncultured, But hates brick-bat.
A lone soul,
A disappointed creature, Drowned to the depth of depression, Anxiety, and pull from peers. But once, I tell you, Sit this soul down, Tame her, And drive the mania away.
THE HILL
SPEAKS
What were Africa’s brightest minds thinking from April - September?
“Can the 28s please be sent back home. They're too too noisyyyy!!”
“To the class of 2026…
Capstone’s coming for y’all! Is it easy? Nope. Is it doable? Very much.
Even though you can do a lotttt, I’d advise you to go for a simplistic capstone that you can easily manage. And start earlyyy ��… don’t do it in the last 5 days like me. You might lose your life ����”
“These 28 lovers allover campus, give us a break aaarrrrrrhhhhh!
Gosh be private atleast.”
“When Ashesi Air connects but doesn't actually work��”
“boyfriends are overrated like this boy is stressing me ���� like please leave me alone”
“Why are grown university adults so pressed about a rainbow flag. If you don’t like it it’s not for you just close your eyes. When the month is over they’ll change it back so all these childish reactions are so unnecessary ”
“Do a series on the graduating class. Highlight people who've done good stuff, good capstones and stuff. Doesn't always have to be tea and gossip. Some of us in 27 and 28 never got to really engage the seniors”
“How Ashesi boys "fine ones" only make friends with the rich popular girls. They don't even consider those on scholarships. It looks like the rich makes friends with the rich and the scholarships makes friends with the scholarship.”
“That money isn't everything. Darling it is, and moreeeeeee!!! leave me to love money wai”
BACK
By K.
11:58 PM. Submission sent. Barely.
Laptop screen still burning, eyes doing the same, weary.
My whole body a canvas for stress, you could even sketch it.
The "A" I was chasing almost made my soul exit.
Depression? Nah, that's just the label they slapped
On a body that's been running for six days, no nap.
These gatekeeper professors, acting like they own the light. Friends shouting distraction, talking noise through the night. They saw the struggle. Heard the sighs, seen the weight. They think I'm broken. Think I'm calling it fate.
But the failure ain't the grade, look it's the lack of sleep I took. I spent a week grinding, eyes glued to the book, While the system kept pushing, pushing, pushing my limit.
Told myself, "Man, you got five minutes. Just limit The self-pity."
And that's when I stopped. Sat back. Looked up. Say less. My vessel’s drained, but my spirit’s still full up.
'Cause the source is deeper than the syllabus they preach. My ambition ain't small enough for a grade to reach.
My mission is GOAT status, not just to pass the course.
And you can't be the greatest if you burn out your source.
This ain't a plea. This is a quiet, cold bet. They thought I was done? They haven't seen me yet. So I ain't quitting. I'm just calling a timeout.
I gotta replenish the focus that ran out.
I didn't lose the game, I just paused the machine
Cuz' a wise man told me the most strategic move is to get clean. Rest this chassis, reboot the brain, let the morning light hit.
Then I gather all the courage, and I absolutely... run it back.
TO SEE THE STARS
SHINE
By Anonymous
I showed you my true colors
Unfiltered, raw
Where I was white, you made shades
Soft gray at first, then darker
Smudging the edges, blurring the lines
Until I was nothing but black
A version of myself I could no longer recognize
Betrayal is the knife you don't see coming
The cold steel pressed against my back
By the hand I once held without fear
Pain is expected
Cuts, bruises, wounds
But nothing prepares you for the moment you turn
And find the blade in the hands of someone you trusted
I once believed all dreams came true
Until I woke up in one I couldn't escape
No one warns you that nightmares are dreams too
TO SEE THE STARS
SHINE
If you asked me to choose between myself and another
I'd say choose the other
But if you asked on a deeper level I’d say
Love was never meant to be weighed on a scale
Not bartered
Not begged for
Not split in two
If I was an option I was never the answer
And maybe the real choice was never yours to make
But mine
To stop waiting for love to be certain
Maybe the night was never what I wanted
I fought against the setting sun, afraid of the dark
But some things aren't meant to last forever
And maybe light was never the only way to see I had to lose the sun
To see the stars shine
Stories in Songs
By Tani
Song: m.A.A.d City - Kendrick Lamar
“Every time I’m in the street I hear ‘Yawk! Yawk! Yawk! Yawk!”
I have just walked up a slight incline from CMD road to Magodo Phase 2, the estate I used to live in. Beads of sweat draw lines across my neck. My sky blue shirt is navy in patches I have my wired earphones in It is a sea of people, like a broken ant farm. Some heading into the estate. Some heading home. “Ojota! Ojota!” “Ketu Ketu!” Bike and bus riders competing with their horns for audience, yelling the destinations they’re driving to.
A routine during my gap year was to take a walk every week day from 4pm to about 6pm.
“Fresh outta school cause I was a high school grad Sleeping in the living room in my momma’s pad”
I spent most of my time at home with my parents and my younger brother I love them and all, but I needed a break. I needed a break from the pressure. From their eyes. It felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I took a gap year because I had been through the college application cycle and I wasn’t successful. I desperately wanted to go to a school in the US, hence I thought I’d try again.
“My Pops said I needed a job ”
My parents did their best to be supportive, but I could see their worries, wrapped with good intentions of course. “Are you sure you don’t want to consider this school?”
“There is this place you can go to take X exam and then start from 2nd year at Y school”
It’s not that I wanted to be stubborn. I didn’t mind studying in Nigeria, but all options for that involved taking the university entrance exam - JAMB. I had taken it once, but your results are only valid for a year, so I couldn’t use my previous score to get into a school now.
It was a thing of pride I guess I had heard many a cautionary tale about the individual who had to take JAMB multiple times to get into a school. I did not want to be the next installment of that.
Then there was pressure from me. Heavier than my parents’. I wasn’t quite a child prodigy, but I was a brilliant kid. As in I taught myself calculus when I was 13 because I was bored. I started coding when I was 12. I was tutoring my seniors while in middle school. I got almost straight As. I only failed courses that I wanted to - I’m ashamed right now to say that Yoruba was one of them I went to ALA and my first year was successful My second year was the complete opposite. A failure with a stench so strong no respectable school wanted to invest an admission slot in me. I did not think my life would end up like this. So I walked in the evening sun, pounding my angst and worries into the pavement.
“I live inside the belly of the rough”
A CLEAN LIFE OR A HOLLOW ONE?
Kwadwo
Last semester, I attended a warehouse rave with a group of people I never thought I’d even speak to during my stay at Ashesi. Notorious hard partyers with enough energy for 20 people at a party. And there I was, hunch-backed G P A crusader, packed with them in the backseat of the car as we sped down the highway, warming up for the party.
Riding on the back of my single extroverted friend, I’d managed to score a spot in this unlikely company As they all vibed amongst themselves, I was locked away in my mind, trying to find reasons to justify being out at midnight on a Saturday, with company my parents would crucify me for even thinking to hang out with.
Throughout the entire rave, I felt like I was cosplaying as someone I could never be. I had spent way too long trying to put together an outfit that showed them I was one of them That I belonged there I’d put on my baggiest trousers and my best tshirt, but still ended up looking like I was on my way to a Wednesday morning lecture.
I didn’t drink or smoke. Not out of preference, but just because I was too scared to do so. A declined bottle here, an awkward dance move there and soon,
it felt like everyone I saw glance at me was saying the same thing: “What are you doing here?” And they were right What at all was I doing there?
My new friends for the night joked about music, relationships, and past parties I was eager to join, but I just stood there nodding along and overthinking every word I might say. This wasn’t a conversation about a thermodynamics project or a Thevenin simplification I could simply use my academic street cred to enter. All I could do was stand outside the group with my declined social card of entry into their clique. What I thought was going to be a night of new experiences had turned into a struggle to belong.
All through high school, I was told that university would be the best years of my life. I believed sacrificing my social life to get into a good university would pay off. That once settled in college, I would finally be able to make all the memories I missed out on and go wild a little, even But no one warned me that the version of myself I felt I was supposed to be in high school would follow me right onto campus.
Like clockwork, every call home ends with the line, ‘Kwadwo, remember why you’re there.’
And I always do. Whenever I think of trying something new, letting loose, or just living differently, it hangs over my head like the ceiling of a room I can’t stand up straight in. My upbringing, my faith and just the fear of disappointing people who sacrificed so much to get me here, all add to this silent pressure to keep playing the part of the ‘good boy.’
But sometimes I wonder: ‘Is it really worth all I’m missing?’
Yes, the grades and the CGPA are good, but what happens when it feels like you’re watching life through a window instead of actually living it? When you’re two years into university and the most interesting story you can tell is of a quiz you stayed up all night for and dozed through, but still miraculously passed? Others are on their 20 of many firsts, and I still don’t have any because I’m trying to live up to an identity others have defined for me. th
To this day, I envy my raver friends. How are they so unapologetic and unbothered? They say what they think, and they dress how they feel Meanwhile, I’m afraid to let loose because I’m caught up in an identity I feel scared to remould. I’m trapped in the version of me I was told to be…so afraid that stepping out of line, even if just for a second, would bring my life into ruin. And all that does is make me feel like an outsider at places I want to belong.
A CLEAN LIFE OR A HOLLOW ONE?
Kwadwo
If I could start over, I’d tell myself to explore. Of course, not to be stupid and reckless and act like consequences don’t exist, but to ease up and try out new stuff. That’s why you’re alive in the first place There’s no point staying stuck in one version of yourself and allowing culture, conditioning, and religion to tell you that there’s only one way to live. Take risks and experience what life has to offer One day, you’ll be able to look at that certificate and know you didn’t just pass through university but lived through it.
