AAPIA holds their general meetings at 6 p.m. on Thursdays in the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the SLC.
Courtesy of AAPIA.
By Alisha Durosier
Two years after its establishment, the Asian American Pacific Islander Association (AAPIA) at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg continues to be a representation of Asian culture on campus.
Created to cultivate a space for Asian and Pacific Islander students, among the AAPIA’s goals for it’s third year is to diversify and develop a consistent general body.
“We’ve just been really trying to get people involved more,” AAPIA President Francine Acosta said.
“Here, even being a small campus, it was nice with the OMA office, to establish that student board to offer that safe space for these students,” Acosta said. “And it was nice for me to find that safe space and be a part of it…I’m sure that many other students have this experience that they feel underrepresented due to not having those events or those clubs [and] organizations that represent their background here.”
With USF St. Petersburg’s smaller campus size, the club is able to nurture a community where students can get involved and share their experiences without feeling overwhelmed, a feeling that campuses with a high student population may induce.
Courtesy of AAPIA.
“When people come to a college campus, it’s usually far from home. So, I think it’s important that they have a space where they can feel like their traditions and customs are not weird,” AAPIA Treasurer Christian Arballo said. “They’re kind of the norm actually. And I think that’s really good for them in terms of fitting in and feeling more comfortable in a new environment with a bunch of new people. That’s important.”
The club’s executive board desires to celebrate, share and educate students on the slew of cultures that exist under the AAPI umbrella.
“We do it by talking about Asian focused topics like talking about diversity within Asian cultures because it’s such a big concept and also like spreading awareness and allowing space for people who identify as Asian and people who even don’t, who are just interested,” AAPIA Marketing Coordinator, Jemel Leal said.
“Since our organization kind of covers all Asian culture, or we try to at least, we try to bring in, not just the big holidays like Lunar New Year’s or the Cherry Blossom festival that happens in spring. But we want to focus on other heritage months,” Acosta said.
The club celebrated this year’s Filipino Heritage month on Oct. 19 with a karaoke night, catered by the Philippine-based restaurant, Jollibee.
“I think our club seeks to kind of make light of an underrepresented population within the school. Like there aren’t really too many Asian focused events on campus right now,” said AAPIA Events Coordinator, Karin Woodbury.
The AAPIA also aims to increase the involvement of pacific islanders.
“My homeland is Hawaii. That’s where my grandparents immigrated. So, I’m sort of familiar with Polynesian culture. But I can’t tell you everything, someone who’s actually coming from that life could. And I think that’s a really underrepresented part of not only the campus but even in our club which has that in the name, I think that would be a long-term goal,” Arballo said.
AAPIA holds general body meetings starting at 6 p.m. on Thursdays in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. To keep up to date on events or opportunities to get involved visit @aapia_usfsp on Instagram.
