Fil-Am college students set West Coast summit on common concerns

LOS ANGELES—Filipino American college youths from California and Nevada are gearing up for an annual summit to tackle common issues on Feb. 8 at the University of California in Riverside.

The Southern California Pilipino American Student Alliance (SCPASA) is hosting the conference, which brings together hundreds of college students around the West Coast for workshops on the various concerns of young Filipino-Americans.

Jeffrey Surban, SCPASA public relations director said this year’s summit theme is “Tomorrow in Retrospect.” “We hope to encourage and inspire attendees to create a better future of them by reconnecting with history.”

Surban explained, “It is about looking at the future through a different lens and that lens is the past. We sometimes get so caught up in our lives that we do things without acknowledging or being aware of our history, roots, culture, heritage, and past. By recognizing these topics, people can strive to change and make a better tomorrow for not only themselves, but for the community surrounding them.”

Other summit workshops include “Sharing Stories, Creating History,” breaking social norms in “Call Me Colored,” “Filipino Leadership, a Crisis in Simulation” and gender fluidity in “Breaking Binaries.”

Surban, a junior at Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television, said that attendees will tackle questions such as: “If you could change your tomorrow, if you could improve it, what would you do?”

Keynote speaker is Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, associate professor at the Asian American Studies (AAS) Department of San Francisco State University. She is also Program Coordinator for the AAS Master of Arts Program.

Cubales’ researches have focused on Pinayism; ethnic studies pedagogy; community responsive pedagogy; culturally responsive teaching and evaluation, among others. She also teaches Asian American Women Studies.