We finally started to put together our class of 14 remarkable individuals. After spamming their DMs with congratulatory messages, it was time for them to be initiated through the traditional APASA Santa Monica orientation.
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As I stood by the doors to TCC forum, I realized just then what all the past summer was amounting to. This was the scene of CraftComp Social, APASA’s very first event of the 2022-2023 school year, taking place on August 26. It was also my first event as Programming Director, and I can’t pretend I wasn’t nervous.
CraftComp Social was born out of a desire to not just welcome students back to campus after a difficult two years, but to also share some of the beautiful diversity of the APIDA community. That’s why I settled on arts and crafts as the theme of the night—what better way to educate others and showcase our collective heritage through art that has existed for centuries?
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We live in a divisive world where many communities experience relentless violence and oppression. We face racist, discriminatory taunts at our identity, sometimes disguised as microaggressions and jokes and, at worst, translated into violence.
Now, we claim #TheRighttoHeal.
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Back after a couple of years of COVID-19, Taste of LA came back better than ever to act as a capstone for the amazing year APASA has had. Normally an annual event, this event aims to showcase the many ethnic enclaves that LA has through eating the food of the culture and walking through the neighborhoods. This year, our group of 30 students took a trip to LA’s Historic Filipinotown where we saw the neighborhood’s most famous monuments, drank some boba, and ate Filipino food from HiFi Kitchen.
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Night Market finally made a comeback in Spring 2022 🎉 WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO! There were so many aspects of Night Market to take into account—coordinating with member organizations for booths, finding performers for our lineup, reaching out to a wide variety of APIDA food vendors, designing how we wanted McCarthy Quad to look…. But the 2022 APASA Night Market was a testament to the vibrancy of the APIDA communities at USC and how one night can bring us all together 🤩. We hope the night was filled with laughter and impeccable vibes!
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Anticipation filled the room as our APASA assembly scurried around the TCC ballroom setting up check-in tables, food tables, and settling in our artistic guests and performers. . . With CAE set to open its doors at 6:45, lines began to crowd the outside space of the TCC basement prior, amusing our check-in workers . . . A lively atmosphere of students could be seen scaling the tables arranged on the rim of the ballroom. And soon, darkness engulfed the room and our emcees, Sophia Lu and Yusuf Rahman, trailed along the stage, opening the event with warm smiles.
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APASA’s annual Speakers Event welcomed Tim Chantarangsu, a beloved internet icon from many of our childhoods, to Bovard Auditorium this year. As young Asian Americans, we were elated at the opportunity to meet and listen to someone who was a familiar face for representation in the media growing up.
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Pin Your Pride. Playing off of APAHF’s annual theme this year, “Proud To Be”, the 2022 APASA interns put together an interactive, community-based project prompting students and faculty alike to showcase their APIDA pride. From March 22nd through the 24th, pods of interns stood on Trousdale asking Trojans their themed question of the day. Lighthearted and introspective, each question begged for insight into individuals’ cultural identities.
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That might’ve been why TCC Forum was filled with such a lively atmosphere as soon as the doors opened; after a difficult start to the semester, everyone seemed eager to meet and talk to new faces . . . We were fortunate enough to have 14 professionals from several different companies, including Google, Jubilee, and Meta come to speak with students and share their experiences navigating the post-college world and their relationship with their APIDA identity.
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As an Asian American, and as somebody of South Asian descent in particular, I belong to a group of people with some of the biggest and most diverse Muslim populations in the world. But what exactly is this holy month, and how can we use this moment to come together and celebrate our collective heritage?
To help me answer these questions, I spoke with Asna Tabassum, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering and a member of the Muslim Student Union (MSU) here at USC.
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Amidst this confusion, I came across the phrase “Model Minority Myth,” and that’s when everything started to click. A narrative that has existed for years, it touts the inherent success that Asian Americans experience in this country. . . And yet, the trope misses key aspects of the Asian American experience. It turns our community into a monolith, lumping a continent of over 40 countries into one group.
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Hello! Welcome back to APASA’s Community Roadmap, an initiative where we spotlight an organization that serves the APIDA community and hear more about their mission and how we can get involved. This month, we are taking a stop at the South Asian Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing culturally and linguistically specific services and advocating for the South Asian community in Southern California.
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