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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear ASU President,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear Executive Committee,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dr. Adeyanju, honorable ASU Advisor,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear Faculty members,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear ASU members,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear Pioneers of the Union,</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear I.S.U Officials,
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Because the Constitution of our Union stipulates in its article 1 that both African students and Africanists are herein [within the constitution] referred to as “members”,
<br>
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">irrespective of race, ethnic, or national origin, I shall make no distinction.
<br>
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So dear members, I bow to extend my respect to all of you in your rainbow diversity that makes our Union a metonymy for a world of plurality.
<br>
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If Mandela, as a unifier, proclaims that South Africa is a “Rainbow Nation”, I am tempted to also claim ASU a Rainbow Union.
<span> </span><span> </span></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is conscious of this reality that I am running for Presidency to bring this rainbow family together along democratic and constitutional principles.
<br>
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">E Pluribus Unum or Unity through Diversity shall remain my creed in order to sew into effective practice the patchwork quilt of a borderless ASU that,
<br>
</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">through transcendence, can expand its horizon. It is with this belief in our ability to transcend partisanship, race, ethnicity, and ethno-nationalism
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</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">for the much nobler good of ASU that I hope to win your suffrage (votes).
<span> </span><span> <br>
</span></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dear ASU members, it is with profound gratitude, honor, and great humility, that I here accept your nomination for the presidency of the African Student Union.
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</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><br>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Congratulations to all the nominees as we all undertake to bring change to ASU affairs while contributing to the development of Ohio University and the Athens community,
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</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">as our constitutional wisdom summons us all.
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Most devotedly,
<div class="yj6qo ajU">
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<span class="HOEnZb adL"><font color="#888888"><br>
-- <br>
Ousmane Diop <br>
President of HASA (Hamline University African Student Association) 2009-2010<br>
General Secretary 2008-2009<br>
President of Universite Gaston Berger de St-Louis English Club 2004-2006 <br>
<br>
M.A African Studies/Politics and Development<br>
Ohio University<br>
71 West Washington <br>
Street Apartment #1<br>
<a href="mailto:od315407@ohio.edu" target="_blank">od315407@ohio.edu</a></font></span></div>
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