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PSU Coalition for Asian PacificAmerican Studies

Welcome! Thank you for joining PSU CAPAS!

The purpose of the monthly new sletter is to inform the

members of PSU CAPAS of the many w ays to get

involved w ith the movement to build a stronger APA

community at Portland State University. In this f irst

new sletter w e w ill inform you of our meetings, events,

the history of how w e got started, more about us and

our goals for this year.

Thank you again for joining and w e look forw ard to

w orking w ith you!

Sincerely,

Luann Algoso

Publicity Coordinator, PSU CAPAS

Upcoming Events

General Meeting:

Wednesday, Jan.

23, 5:30, at La

Casa Latina

Celebrating API

Women:

Wednesday,

March 6

5:30-7:30pm,

Location TBA

History of PSU CAPAS

The idea f or CAPAS was the result of a conv ersation between Kev in Thomas and Ry anJumamil while Kev in was interv iewing Ry an during a campus div ersity assessment f or theIndigenous Nations Studies department. Ry an was at the time a Graduate AssistantCounselor f or DMSS API students. Both lamented the lack of API related courses andserv ices f or API students and decided to organize a club with an emphasis on academics andwith a main goal of adv ocating f or an API academic department. Af ter submitting by law and budget proposals, PSU-CAPAS was of f icially recognized by SALPduring the spring quarter of 2012. [CAPAS was originally recognized as the Center f or AsianPacif ic American Studies but the administration then instructed us to change the “C” to Clubbecause Center would conf use people into thinking we were an academic organization. Duringan early CAPAS meeting Luann Algoso suggested the “C” become Coalition, and that stuck.] CAPAS held its f irst of f icial ev ent during the f all quarter of 2012 and has been increasinglyexpanding its adv ocacy regarding API related issues.

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Executive Board for PSU CAPAS

Kenneth Crebillo, Co-Director

Just your average day to day guy. Lovesmovies, reading, Hip-Hop, and comicbooks. Is going to Portland StateUniversity to become a High SchoolSocial Studies Teacher. He is interestedin history, culture, and issues that affectpeople who are oppressed. Loves beinginvolved with the community, and islearning how to be a better organizer.Affi l iated with Portland Committee forHuman Rights in the Philippines(PCHRP), PSU Kaibigan (Fil ipinoAmerican Student Association) andCoalition for Asian Pacific AmericanStudies (CAPAS). A top of these he is sti l ltrying to get his l ife together. "Peoplearen't perfect, we just have to do the bestwe can."

Kevin Tugruwfaimaw, Co-Director

"We shouldn't be defined by the smallness ofour islands but by the greatness of our ocean.We are the sea, we are the ocean."-‘Epeli Hau’ofa

I am a rising senior at Portland StateUniversity, majoring in Businessleadership and Management. My interestfor joining CAPAS is to gain knowledgeand experiences in participating toachieve the framework of embracing thehopes and aspirations of the AAPIstudents at PSU. My hopes and dreams forCAPAS is to have a reassurance that therewill be a continuation of leadership tomobilize and advocate for deservingAsian American and Pacific Islanderstudents to access, complete, and succeedafter post-secondary education.

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Lilian Ongelungel,Recruitment & Outreach

Lilian Ongelungel is a post-baccalaureatestudent at Portland State. Beforegraduating from the University ofPortland, she was involved with thePacific Islander Student All iance (PISA)as an Executive Officer and helped tocoordinate various local events for thePacific Islander community in Oregon.

Kevin Thomas, Education &Research

Kevin is a transplant from thePhiladelphia and a returning student. Hehas recently completed a degree inWomen’s Studies and Indigenous NationsStudies. He is currently working onindependent courses while looking intograd school. Kevin has two young childrenin the Portland Public School system andhas been working to make our communityan even better place to l ive.

Virginia Luka, Event Coordinator

After graduating in June 2012 fromSouthern Oregon University with a B.S. inElementary Education and a B.S. inAnthropology, Virginia Luka moved toPortland to earn a masters degree inPSU's Leadership for SustainabilityEducation program. She is Palauan-American and lived on Guam for 25years. Virginia goals include teaching,mentoring and creating opportunities forsocial sustainability for Pacific Islanders.

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Luann Algoso, Publicity Coordinator

Luann is alway s missing the constant warmthand sunshine of Southern Calif ornia. Shetransf erred to PSU in winter of 2010 andearned her B.A. degree in Women's Studies.She is now currently in the M.A. Conf lictResolution program at PSU. Her researchinterests include U.S. imperialism, the ef f ectsof colonization in the Philippines, Filipinas inthe U.S. and diaspora, and peace mov ements.Her dream is to one day teach women'sstudies and API studies courses.

Latest Updates

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CAPAS hosted their very f irst event last term w ith the f ilm screening of the movie, "TheFall of the I-Hotel". We had a great turn out and insightful conversations around thebuilding of an Asian Pacif ic American studies program at PSU. Thank you to all of youthat spent the evening w ith us! It is because of the PSU student body that motivates usto continue the w ork that w e do.

News from meeting withSchool of Gender, Race & NationOn January 7, 2013, Professor Marie Lo (PSU English department) gave a presentationto the School of Gender, Race and Nation Initiative, on the need for an APA studiesdepartment and further integration of APA content into existing courses. Tw o of ourmembers, Kevin Thomas and Lillian Ongelungel w ere in attendance that morning torepresent not only CAPAS but as w ell as the PSU student body that have expressedinterest in an APA curriculum.

SGRNI acknow ledges a current lack of APA content in the courses they are developingfor the Spring quarter. The courses they are currently putting together are pilot gradand undergrad courses that w ill help determine how the new school w ill be designed.Fortunately they acknow ledge more APA content is needed and are open tosuggestions through a faculty member w hen SGRNI meets to discuss course design.

SGRNI w as impressed and excited w ith the amount and quality of w ork CAPAS hasdone. SGRNI members in attendance have offered their departmental help but needed toconfer w ith someone from Chicano Latino Studies (no member from ChLA w as presentat the meeting) before they can off icially sign off SGRNI as a supporter.

Petition for an API CounselorThough we are full-steam ahead with the proposal for an APA studies curriculum through the School of Gender, Race and Nation, we are also simultaneously advocating for an API Coordinator. Student support services at Portland State currently does not have a position that supports the API community.

Portland State University (PSU) has the highest student enrollment in the state of Oregon, which is a Pacific-rim state. According to the draft of the PSU Diversity Action Plan (DAP) dated February 12, 2012, Asian Pacific Islanders (API) represent 8.5% of the recorded 28,522 students (more than 2,400 students), yet there is no counselor for the API students.

Services provided by DMSS are critical to help many students successfully

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negotiate the rigors of academic life. The challenges created by not having a counselor for API students unfairly increases the likelihood that they will not graduate. Temporary counselors guarantee a lack of institutional knowledge in the position and seriously hampers the objective to “create an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and diverse” as stated in the DAP. A counselor familiar with issues unique to the API community could provide guidance, ease stress, and increase retention.

Please help us in our mission to create more student support services for the API student community by signing our petition for the hiring of an API Counselor. Sign here.

Interested in getting involved with us?Subscribe to our listserv to receive updates on our events and meetingscapas@lists.pdx.edu

Be sure to 'Like' our page on Facebook and follow us on Tw itter @CAPAS_PSU

You can also email us directly at capas@pdx.edu

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