Celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Desi American culture

APIDA students celebrate their cultural pride

ABIGAIL CAVIZO / ASST. A&C EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

The month of May is often associated with floral imagery, spring, and nature. For the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community, May is the official month to recognize APIDA heritage. In 1976, president of the Organization of Chinese American Women Jeanie Jew, expressed concern to government officials that there was a lack of Asian Pacific national recognition. Asian Heritage week was established, but eventually, President Bush expanded the celebration to a month. May was chosen because of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in 1843.

Since then, the APIDA community has flourished into something that many Americans enjoy–especially in food and entertainment. They contributed so much to the history of American arts and culture and continue to do so, but not many know about their history. In the USD community, there are students who celebrate their APIDA heritage through small actions they participate in everyday.

Last Tuesday, the Torero Program Board (TPB) held an APIDA Heritage event during dead hours. The event consisted of food, dancing, and APIDA clubs.

First-year Satvika Nitya expressed how meaningful it is for USD to honor her culture. “I come from India, so I think my representation here is very important to me because I have never seen anyone like me involved in anything,” Nitya said. 

Similarly, USD first year Soniya Malla also celebrated her culture through dance at TPB’s APIDA Heritage event. 

“Getting to perform here in front of everyone means a lot to me,” Malla said. “I’m the only Nepali undergraduate student, so getting to share my culture with others is so great especially through events like these because people are usually really fascinated since they’ve never heard about it before.”

Another reason why celebrating underrepresented cultures is important is because people deserve to feel welcome. A part of embracing culture has to do with embracing oneself first. 

Sophomore Christopher Padlan explained that this semester was a turning point in opening up to his culture. 

“Up until recently, I never really got the chance to explore what my [APIDA] heritage means, but the Filipino Ugnayan Student Organization has given me the opportunity through all the events I’ve been going to,” Padlan expressed. “I just recently gained a new sense of pride in identifying as APIDA, specifically Filipino. There are a lot of people who don’t identify as my culture and that’s super cool too–to see everyone celebrating together.”

Likewise, Nitya believes that the only way for APIDA students (and other students of color) to feel welcome is for the white majority to make the first step.

“You don’t have to belong to a culture to appreciate it,” Nitya said. “Yes, there’s social media, but you don’t really get first-hand experience unless you interact with someone from that culture. Being able to reach out will give you such a different worldview because there’s so much more than just you and the [American] culture.”

While May honors APIDA heritage, celebrations of different cultures aren’t meant to be isolated to one month. Instead, the month represents what the entire year can be about. USD’s APIDA students will continue to educate others about their heritage through fun events with food, songs, and dance. 

In return, other USD members should also reach out their hands to immerse themselves in cultural experiences and activities on their own time, especially in a city like San Diego.