Club Spotlight: Asian and Pacific American Student Union

Warning: Graphic Violence and Possible Trigger

The Asian and Pacific American Student Union acts as a safe place for Asian and Pacific American students to learn more about their culture and history. They host all sorts of events from workshops to festivals. The APASU welcomes all APA students and students of other identities to share and discuss APA topics of a wide range.

I met with the APASU co-leaders, Ilana Nguyen and Maddy Manning-Bi, to talk about what the club is and its importance to the Pixel Community. “Not only is it a safe space for this specific community, I think the idea of having this space for Asian Americans is welcoming and inviting because it’s giving you a space to say ‘I exist and I am proud to have this heritage or identity,’ and this is a space where you can express that identity.” said co-leader Maddy Manning-Bi. The APASU welcomes all students of all backgrounds to join and learn more about Asian Pacific culture and heritage. Their first meeting, September 24, is a window to discussing and studying Asian and Pacific American culture. “Ilana and I have been best friends for quite some time and our Asian heritage and identity are very important to us. We have always wanted to express it in a way that could possibly help others and provide that safe space that we didn’t have when we were younger where two young women of color were talking about these issues in our society,” said Maddy Manning- Bi. The APASU is hoping to add to this idea that it’s okay to take control of your identity and that it's okay to say, ‘This is me and I am here.’

We talked about why the club was formed and why the club needed to become a part of the pixel community. “The idea for the framework of the club was based on this group that our sponsor created last year that was specifically for BIPOC students only; it was more of a private space that only held 2-5 people at a time. It was once a week where students could talk about what experiences they have had, racism, or even sexism for female BIPOC students. I believe that’s where the idea originally started because it was such an inviting, safe space that became the highlight of my week. I was able to express my thoughts, emotions, or experiences that would have been understood by the people around me,” said Maddy Manning-Bi. “All the ideas started to come together when it was the height of anti-Asian Hate due to the pandemic and the Atlanta shootings where the shooter murdered eight Asian women,” spoke Ilana Nguyen. Once the pandemic occurred, a lot of Asian hate and xenophobia arose because COVID-19 originated from China. This led to nearly 3,800 Asian hate crimes over the past year, 66% percent of hate crime incidents have been verbal abuse and 20% have been shunning/avoidance. One of which was a shooting where a white male shot eight people, six who were women with Asian heritage. [CSUSB, see link below)] “I reached out to Maddy and said ‘Hey! I want to do something about this. Do you want to host an event with me over spring break?’ The title of the event was ‘Stop Asian Hate: Learn the History of Asian Hate and Xenophobia in America’. We had a great turnout and had a very open discussion. After some research, we realized that there wasn’t a place to continue these discussions so we decided to form the APASU to create that space to discuss current Asian Hate issues and identity.” said co-leader Ilana Nguyen. “The event was so well received that Ilana said ‘Let’s turn this into something else because it feels like there is room here for a lot of people who are interested in what we have to say on this topic. We could create this schoolwide platform for this very purpose’.” spoke Maddy Manning-Bi.

The APASU will host a wide range of events over the coming years. “We hope to host similar schoolwide events and collaborations with other clubs to help make that safe space for APA students and allies to feel comfortable talking about current issues and personal stories,” said Ilana Nguyen.

APASU wants to form a long-term, tight-knit, safe space for APA students to talk about their experiences. “We really want the APASU to feel like a welcome space for APA students to talk or learn about APA history, share experiences, or even an ally who would want to learn about APA culture.” said Maddy Manning-Bi “Hopefully, this group will continue to exist as a space where you can have a voice and not be judged based on your identity or heritage for many years to come and that if you look at the club canvas page in 10 years, that APASU is still on that page,” said Illana Nguyen. Check out the APASU for a space to talk, learn, and create APA culture and heritage!