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.
Read MoreBack 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.
Read MoreNight 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!
Read MoreAnticipation 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.
Read MoreAPASA’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.
Read MorePin 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.
Read MoreThat 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.
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MoreAmidst 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.
Read MoreHello! 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.
Read MoreWe love to paint Asian America with this brush of affluence and comfort. . . It turned out, there’s a far different reality that many Asian Americans face today. While my Pakistani and Indian classmates lived in quiet towns of new money, there were people like my family, who often relied on food stamps or lived in cramped apartments to survive since coming to America . . . How is it that we ended up with such stark divides?
Read MoreHi there! Welcome back to APASA’s Community Roadmap, an initiative where we highlight an APIDA organization in the greater Los Angeles area. This month we partnered with Kaya Press to spotlight author Truong Tran and his newest book, book of the other.
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