Volume iV issue I by The Collective Voice

university of california, san diego

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

spaces.ucsd.edu

Denise Manjarrez, Maureen Abugan / The Collective Voice

MISOGYNY PAGE 3

20 YEARS PAGE 4

PURPLE PRIDE PAGE 5

POLICE BRUTALITY PAGE 4

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

spaces.ucsd.edu

Falling Bung ri Shaina Patel staff writer

To “The Community”: And I don’t wanna wanna be you. But “the movement” makes me jealous, To all my South Asians at UCSD: I raise my fist, In unity, United with the white, the off-white, the black, the brown, A protest for budget cuts on Education A protest for us and our little ones, A protest against changing values. My bungri, Fall and chime, As they sink down my arm, A reminder… A distinction… That’s my activist wear. A reminder of my roots, I look around, WHERE ARE MY SOUTH ASIANS AT??! My Punjabis, my Tamils, my Bangladeshis, my Pakistanis, my Gujaratis. Are we so colonized that we have forgotten our history?

Are we so contently elite, That we don’t seek reality? Because what we see’s an illusion… Its an illusion that our bootstraps helped us up, Reality is immigration laws Who is let in and who is not, Through imaginary walls, And into imagined communities (of opportunity)

Are we so contently elite That we don’t seek reality? Reality is Capitalism, Who is marked desirable Where desire is profit, And who is consequently undesirable? Who do we serve to contrast?

Are we so contently elite, That we can’t turn our necks? Face a mirror and notice: WE ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR WE ARE COLONIZED PEOPLES Clearly our ignorance is proof of our colonized status, Capitalism has worked on us. We cannot think That we are a different shade of brown than: The Mexican farmers who pick our fruit and, The Black woman who drives my bus home and, The Filipina woman who washes the windows and, The Pakistani who gets stopped at security and, The Sikh who works at 7/11. Because if we think our brown is different than their brown, Then we are contently elite, We have forgotten our past, And we are lost in illusion.

Denise Manjarrez / The Collective Voice

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

university of california, san diego

Dreams and Divisions

telling For “our deepest fear,” As Coach Carter said: “Is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our dark that MOST frightens us. Your playing small DOES NOT serve the world. We are ALL meant to shine as children do. As we are liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others.”

Kevin Mann

contributing writer For the Movement For our passions For what drives us For our children and their children For our grandmothers and grandfathers For their journeys and our parents journeys For crossing oceans, crossing borders For stormy seas and rapid rivers For tight huddled spaces and shackled ankles For hooded terror and crosses burned on front porch lawns For the humiliation of segregation and suffering in silence For white flight to the burbs and the concentration of urban poverty For the ongoing apartheid of opportunity For the 3rd world diaspora And the unspoken genocide of native peoples

So let us liberate our minds, our bodies and our souls For we have a steak in the future of our city We need more schools, better teachers, and WAY less prisons! For we will NOT stand idle As $1 MILLION dollars from the CA Prison Guard Lobby Funds Don Perata & Meg Whitman’s TV, radio and billboard ads! WE DESERVE BETTER Our children deserve BETTER As the propaganda and LIES Of the Prison Guard Unions flood the air waves of our beloved state Let our own voices be our guide Let our hearts and our passions be our anchors Let our love for our California shine from the tips of the highest mountains

For California is the land of both Dreams AND Divisions Land of hills and flats, blacks and whites, yellows and browns Land of the gays and straights, trannies and dykes Land of HIV and AIDS, pimps and prostitution Land of womyn and their children, living in boxes beneath freeways Land of divided souls, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan and Athiest

For our communities have a stake in this state We have a stake in this election This moment is our moment Let us seize it and shine!

For new beginnings, new life For California as Land of Dreams The place we call home Where our children grow Where we breath clean air Drink pure water our life And are warmed by the sun our light The Oak Trees replanted, grounding us to our earth For California is the home of our beloved beaches And the land of breath-taking Sierra views Land of revived grand theaters and restored Queer Prides Land of gardens, food grown from our earth Land of bicycles, festive street fairs and trains Land of waterfront workers and green collar job makers Land of our arts and our artists Our poets and our painters still creating still writing still speaking still singing still dancing still dreaming still moving forward For California is still the Land of Divisions Land of gun shots and children dying Land of nothin’ but liquor stores and fast food Land of abandoned malls and deserted parks Land of empty storefronts and isolation Land of unemployment and no opportunity Land of the daily grind Land of The Flats Land of concentrated poverty and jaded reality Land of forgotten parks and trashed watersheds Land of empty army bases and empty lots Land of “I remember when ...” Land of our grandmother’s prayers and our grandfather’s dreaming Land of Hope reborn inside our hearts Land of Light uncovered by our story

For California IS the Land of Dreams And when we dream, let us dream together And when we rise, we will rise together For it is Truth that “We are caught,” as Dr. King professed, “In an inescapable network of mutuality, tied by a single garment of destiny.”

Another

Denise Manjarrez / The Collective Voice

University Is Possible

Josue Castellon contributing writer

ctober 7th: the National Day of Action for Education. This day marked the second action on the UCSD Campus this year where students, staff, workers, and faculty have come together to fight for public and accessible education. October 7th was the follow up action from March 4th that took place during the Winter Quarter. On this day, the community stood up against the fee increases, budget cuts, furloughs, and the privatization of public education and demanded for “Another University.” Actions took place all over California, the Nation, and Internationally. High Schools, Colleges, and Univer-

sities walked out of their classrooms on this day. This day grew out from a conference that took place earlier this year, similar to the one that took place in Berkeley last October that established March 4th. Communities from around California came together to discuss their concerns and to work together to fight against the privatization of public education. Many other on-campus publications wrote about this action in comparison to the UCSD action on March 4th where thousands of Students walked out of class to protest the fee increases. Although this protest was much smaller, we should not be looking at it in this way. Instead, we should be working together on fulfilling the demands that were created for this day.

So whether or not we agree, Whether or not we speak the same languages, Have the same skin color or love the same genders We are BOUND TO EACH OTHER For we breathe the same air We drink the same water Are warmed by the same Sun We can all plant the seeds to grow our beloved Oak Trees For those who struggled before us For the indigenous people who cultivated our earth for generations For the students who stood up and sparked the civil rights movement For the Black Panthers and the Brown Berets For the farm workers who united Filipinos and Chicanos across languages For forgotten journeys that paved the way For the movement makers and soul artists who stood unafraid For those who will struggle after us For California Land of our home For our state For our city For our streets For our schools For our parks For our children Please Vote! THIS November 2nd And get your friends and families to Vote! Become a poll watcher with us and help to ensure your block turns out on Election Day California needs you Your block needs you Together we will Taking Back Our State! Block by Block!

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

spaces.ucsd.edu

National Day of Action Against Police Brutality a statement by the Afrikan Black Coalition

October 22, 2010 Fred Hampton was 20 years old when he was murdered by the FBI forty-one years ago in 1969. As deputy chairman of the Chicago Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton was considered a threat by the federal government because he fought for the freedom of black and oppressed people. Fred Hampton facilitated food kitchens for children that were not his own; Fred Hampton ensured that these children received an education in a society where racism was socially acceptable. Fred Hampton provided free health care for black and oppressed people in a society that openly discriminated against them. Fred Hampton worked to provide basic rights to life for his people: food, clothing, and shelter. By providing his people with these basic rights to life Fred Hampton became the biggest threat to the American society; Fred Hampton challenged the very essence of this capitalist system. Fred Hampton was murdered in his home by police officers while he slept beside his pregnant wife. His wife was removed by federal officers and held in another room while her husband was shot to death.

twenty

Stephanie Nowinski

Fred Hampton was murdered because he was a revolutionary. He saw that anti-black racism was, and still is, allowed and condoned in this society. However, today, as we gather here in the memory of Oscar Grant and the countless other victims, we see that we do not have to be a leader of a movement to be murdered by police or subjected to their brutality. In this society—a society that pats itself on the back for electing a black man to the presidency, a society that prides itself on freedom, equality, and justice—it is simply enough to just be black to be murdered by the police. In this society, to be black means to be criminal. Oscar Grant, Amadou Diallo, and Sean Bell are just some of the examples of police brutality that we can site within recent years. The day before Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th president of the United States a funeral was held. As we celebrated progress and equality 1400 people were silenced as they mourned the death of Julian Alexander. Julian Alexander was 20 years old when he was murdered on October 28, 2008. He had been married for just a week and he and his 19-year old wife were expecting their first child. He

years

was shot to death in his own backyard in Anaheim CA, by police officers who claimed they had mistaken him for a burglar on his own property. Once the fatal shots were fired he was hand cuffed as he lay dying on his front lawn. And much like the story of Fred Hampton, Alexander’s wife was held in the house by the police and was not permitted to go outside and see what had happened. His funeral was held Monday November 3, 2008… and no one mentioned it. We were busy preparing for the “historical” election. But what does a black man in presidency mean when oppressed peoples can still be brutalized and killed? What do the principles of this society mean if black people are subject to gratuitous violence? What does “justice” mean in a society that is fundamentally and structurally unjust? In lieu of all these unanswered questions, we’ve gathered here today to demand “justice.” Let’s make one thing clear: The Afrikan Black Coalition believes that true justice CAN NEVER be delivered as long as the current societal structure exists. This has become increasingly clear by Officer Mehserle’s act of murder being deemed “Involuntary Manslaughter”

ethnic

studies

staff writer

t has been twenty years since the Department of Ethnic Studies was created at UCSD. For those who are unfamiliar, Ethnic Studies is the home of research and teaching that is focused on theoretical and political questions concerning race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality, to name a few. It promotes the “critical conceptualization of social categories” - as its website states - and thus a deeper understanding of the processes which lay at the root of such category formation. Students of the department do not study ethnicities as their primary research; they study the power relations, cultural value formation and ideologies of oppression which have been abound in the United States’ history since its colonial amassing and continue to this very day, particularly in more subtle, seemingly natural forms. What makes the department unique is that it not only studies these dynamics, but it does so on a particular path - one directed towards social justice. Ethnic Studies at UCSD created a chasm in the way I viewed life. It opened up a new perspective of seeing. I had solely been a student of Visual Arts, that is, until I took an ETHN course as part of my GE requirements. The material was engaging, bringing up aspects of U.S. racializations and their implications that I had not thought of prior. Soon after, I found myself minoring in the program. Courses continued to engage me and summoned a passion within myself to deconstruct life as I had hitherto seen it, to see the inequality of privileges

in motion. For some, especially those in this racially structured society who hold privilege yet do not perceive such, this deconstruction is extremely difficult and often altogether pushed aside. I saw this first-hand in a few lectures that had become heated, with some students taking offense and becoming angered, and one student who certainly shocked me by talking back to the professor. Evidently, the lesser

by a self-proclaimed “court of law.” The Afrikan Black Coalition is outraged by this verdict and continues to recognize Mehserle’s actions as murder. Furthermore, we believe that the verdict of Involuntary Manslaughter is unjust and borne out of a racist society that has criminalized blackness. This case is one of many that illustrate a larger practice by the police force to brutalize and murder black and brown people. We will not forget Sean Bell who was shot 50 times the day before his wedding by the police, we refuse to forget immigrant student Amadou Diallo who was shot 41 times by the police because he “fit the description” of a rapist, nor can we forget Julian Alexander who was fatally shot in Anaheim at age 20 in front of his pregnant wife because police officers thought he was a burglar on his own property. Regardless of the lengthy list of cases that we can site where black people have been blatantly murdered by police officers, the justice system continues to dismiss the gratuitous violence and murder to which black people are subject. The list of police brutality and murder is lengthy however each time they are dismissed as a see POLICE on page 4

ucsd

known perspectives presented in Ethnic Studies can be misinterpreted as an attack on privileged individuals or groups. I came to understand, though, that this was not and is not ever the case. I have learned that the critical gaze is upon the hegemonic system in place along with its processes of negative categorization – groupings that have been constructed and are thus fiction, yet have real, materialized effects. It is enlightening to unlearn previous learnings and to rethink my own positionality because, in the end, ignorance is not bliss. It is through understanding the oppression upon marginalized groups, that I found a liberating outlet in knowing I could work in an effort to fight back the oppression. The most powerful thing I have taken from my Ethnic Studies education so far is the enriching perspective in which the existence of multiple perspectives is acknowledged. After a few courses, I found myself turning my Ethnic Studies minor into a second major. I am proud to be a part of a welcoming community that is aligned with social justice. I am also excited to take part in the department’s celebration of its many years at the “Ethnic Studies 20th Anniversary Celebration” on November 5, 2010. All interested students are invited to the kick-off event that will begin at 9am and last the entire day at Eleanor Roosevelt College’s Great Hall. During this time, students can enjoy activities including panel discussions, Q&A sessions, a colloquium and a reception with dj’d music. More information can be found at ethnicstudies. ucsd.edu. To learn more about Ethnic Studies and to have a good time, join the celebration!

university of california, san diego

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

4 › POLICE from page 4

Adam Crayne contributing writer

t gets better? It’s all bullshit. It does not get better. The last time I was harassed for appearing to be homosexual was not in middle school, or high school for that matter - it was 3 weeks ago when I was in Hawai’i. We try to give young queer people hope but there is no hope. It’s a huge farce to act like adulthood will stop them from being ostracized, reduced to statistics, and defined by stereotypes by ignorant members of society. People seem to have forgotten that Mathew Shephard was beaten to death as a college student, that Eddie Gwen Araujo was killed well out of schooling, and that Harvey Milk was shot well into adulthood. It does not get better. Open your eyes. The campaign is yet another laced with positive intentions hindered by a convoluted perception of how and why, after years of conflict, little has improved. And where the hell are the queer people of color in these videos? Absent. They don’t exist in the campaign because they’re too cognizant

of how society dehumanizes them. These YouTube videos represent a staggering white majority because white people are the only ones with the privilege to “get better,” to escape bastions of conservatism and establish gay enclaves which cater specifically to their needs while simultaneously perpetuating people of color stereotypes. People of color understand that it’s a struggle that extends beyond linear definitions, because they’ve had to transgress such reductive perspectives their entire lives. The idea that toughing it out will make these brands of discrimination disappear seeps with ignorance to systems of oppression. It does not get better. Why are we spreading the lie that it will? We know deep down we hurt just as much as we did then, if not more. It will not get better so long as parents opt for laziness over berating their children for equating gayness with stupidity; it will not get better so long as select verses of the Bible are allowed to constantly and unquestionably be blown out of proportion; it will not get better so long as we tolerate the Mormon and Westboro Baptist Church; it will not get better so long

as white queers assume that sexuality lies on a plane wholly separate from ethnicity, race, class, and gender; it will not get better so long as teachers send kids into time-out corners rather than educating their children on where hate stems from and why it’s a bad thing; it will not get better so long as we trust in a system we know is insufficient and has failed us for years. This latter point is self-evident. It will only get better if we allow ourselves the capacity for institutional change; to understand that acknowledging cracks in the system does not equate to blunt anti-patriotism, and if anything, suggests a love for our country in that we can’t with a good conscience allow more queer youth to kill themselves; to understand that certain people were born into this world with more than others, and to deny the latter even the simplest charity can only perpetuate these gaps; to understand the gravity of this epidemic, this blatant disregard for human rights. Does America possess this capacity? With the rate at which this violence escalates, I just don’t know.

Pride Comes in Purple

its color scheme to purple in honor of Spirit Day, and even news giant staff writer CNN devoted multiple segments t least, it did on October 20th, to the cause. http://www.GLAAD. when you may have noticed that org/spiritday featured thousands of thousands of UCSD students decid- tweets and flickr photos from users ed to dress in purple clothing. These flaunting purple on Spirit Day. The people were only some of millions event also prompted Google and worldwide who wore purple to rec- even Secretary of State Hilary Clinognize the Gay and Lesbian Alliance ton to create motivational videos for Against Defamation’s (GLAAD’s) harassed youth. Google’s video, titled “It Gets BetSpirit Day (the color purple on the ter,” features LGBT Google employinternational gay pride flag represents ees who share their experiences in a “spirit”). homophobic world. One advises, “As The event, made known by popuyou get older, you are not going to lar networking sites like Facebook, be under the control of those bullies Twitter, and Tumblr, was established anymore, you’re going to be in conin order to commemorate the lives trol of your own life.” Another emof Tyler Clementi, Zach Harrington, ployee admits, “Things get better and Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aabetter. Things got better when I said berg, Raymond Chase, Billy Lucas, to myself, ‘okay, I admit it. I’m gay. Harrison Chase Brown, Caleb Nolt, That was a huge step. Things got betJeanine Blanchette, Chantal Dube, ter the first time I told a friend and and Cody J. Barker. These youths, somebody else other than me knew. all members of the LGBT commu- Things got better…” nity, took their own lives after being In her video “Tomorrow Will Be subjected to homophobic bullying by Better,” Clinton states, “I have a mestheir peers. sage for all the young people out Fortunately, in a world filled with there who are being bullied, or who communications and social media, feel alone and find it hard to imagnews travels fast. The online commu- ine a better future. First of all, hang nity responded with huge enthusiasm, in there, and ask for help. Your life inspiring at least 1.7 million Facebook is so important to your family, your users to take action. The popular friends, and to your country. And blogging website Tumblr changed there’s so much waiting for you, both

Darien Nguyen

personally and professionally.” Despite its good intentions, Wear Purple Day still prompted many to see red. Flame wars erupted on boards and forums all across the internet, vicarious displays of unrestrained homophobia. Even the Facebook page for the event was filled with comments like “gays should kill themselves” and “if you have a dick, don’t marry Rick.” It’s no small wonder that so many youths could cave to homophobic bullying. Others who refused to acknowledge the event were indignant at most. “Many people commit suicide and millions more die every day, why don’t we commemorate them as well?” remarks one forum poster. Even a few members of the LGBT community declined to participate in Wear Purple Day. One of them remarks that by supporting those whose lives were lost, we are singling them out and remembering them for only one thing: the fact that they are gay. The troubled teens who took their lives should instead be remembered for their personal achievements and qualities as human beings. As one Google employee remarks in “It Gets Better,” “don’t worry so much about the labels or the definition of who or what you are.” “There’s nowhere to go but up.”

case of “mistaken identity,” a “freak accident,” or (as in the case of Oscar Grant) “a tragic mistake.” Each of these excuses serves to justify and condone murder by the police. It is clear that the officer removed his gun from his holster and murdered Oscar Grant. The idea that Mehserle “mistook his gun for his taser” is merely a convenient excuse from the police force to justify murder while preserving the fallacy that they are here to “protect and serve.” Looking at the conduct of the police in the case of Oscar Grant and others, we can see that the police serve another purpose. The Afrikan Black Coalition is outraged that Mehserle was convicted with the charge of involuntary manslaughter after he was caught on tape shooting unarmed Oscar Grant in the back. We demand that Johannes Mehserle receive no less than the maximum sentence of fourteen years. Thus, four years for the involuntary manslaughter and ten years for the gun enhancement. Furthermore, we demand an immediate end to the policing of our communities; this policing only leads to further subordination, brutalization, and death. We consider taking the life of an innocent person a serious crime. And although we recognize this system is fundamentally and structurally flawed, in this moment there is only one thing that matters: Oscar Grant’s family and friends. They deserve some form of closure and solace from this unjust system. They deserve to know that we will not take this lying down. Oscar Grant and the countless victims of police brutality deserve justice! In this moment we recognize our responsibility to advocate for our people by fighting for the family and legacy of Oscar Grant, and the countless victims of police brutality. Black and oppressed people stand today in solidarity with the LA Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant and demand that Judge Robert Perry give Officer Johannes Mehserle NO LESS than the maximum sentence of 14 years. The black students in the University of California stand in solidarity under the banner of the Afrikan Black Coalition and send the unified message that we will no longer sit back and watch the genocide of our people! We are building on the legacy of Fred Hampton whose life was violently taken on him. We must fight in memory of Fred Hampton! We must fight in memory of Oscar Grant! Fred Hampton still speaks to us today through his words; and he says, “You can kill a revolutionary but you cannot kill the revolution.” We demand justice for Oscar Grant!

volume IV, issue 1,

OCTOBER FILIPINOAME RICANHISTO RYMONTHD OMESTICVIO LENCE AWAR ENESSBREAST CANCERAW ARENESSLESBI ANGAYBISEX UALTRANSGE NDERHISTOR YINFERTILITY SPINABIFIDA AWARENESS CYBERSECURI TYMONTH

Filipino American History Month: A 31-day period of the year remembered more by steep weather fluctuations, wildfires, Libra- or Scorpio-friends and trading Dum Dums for Kit Kats, than Larry Itliong, OFWs or women being the largest export of the Philippines. Than Domestic Violence Awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History – all of which have been assigned October as their respective times to be honored, remembered, learned. The erased, everyday experiences of Filipin@ Americans, of survivors of domestic violence and breast cancer, of lesbian gay bisexual transgender communities, and indefinitely more communities, are indeed valid, regardless of what any calendar says. We pay homage to Filipino American History Month in particular because those stories and voices have been and are erased, unheard, marginalized, historically underrepresented, not only in the global and national arenas, but in San Diego - in UCSD.

Anakbayan’s Filipino Youth Survey at Fil-Am Fest 2010 What are the problems in your community?

The “Pride” Festival:

Community Building Through A. RuthLez Being contributing writer

“A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community.” - Wikipedia

I know what you are thinking and that’s not the only pride festival I’m writing about. By “pride festival” I mean a celebration of one’s “reasonable or justifiable self-respect”, especially in relation to our identities intersecting ethnicity, culture, gender and sexuality. My first “pride” festival experience was FilAmFest back in 2006. Back then, I was just a high school youth who saw this festival as a place to enjoy the Pilipin@ eats, check out the latest “Pinoy pride” merchandise, and watch our friends dance or sing at the cultural stage. Back then, I didn’t see “the point” of having a pride festival because being Pilipin@ everyday in Paradise Hills was so natural to me; what is there to celebrate? But at the same time, I wasn’t completely conscious about what being a “queer Pilipina” meant nor did I understand the word “community.” The importance of the word “com-

munity” hit me when I became a nority in UCLA as one of the f queer brown bodies lost in a sea conformity. Experiencing racism, s ism, and homophobia all at once this campus made me feel sham the opposite of pride. That isolat pushed me to find others negotiat this internalized shame and I fou community in many of the progress identity-based student organizatio From that first step I then voluntee for many queer Asian Pacific Isla er community-based organizatio (CBOs) in Los Angeles. As a vol teer for these CBOs, I have been s tioned to many Pilpin@, Asian Pac Islander, and LGBTQ pride festiv within Southern California. After these years being away from my hom I realized why we must have pride our community. I now have a greater appreciat for the pride festival. For the lon and deprived student, the pride fest is the shining ray of hope away fr an exhausting campus environme For CBOs, they rely on these festiv for it attracts the biggest concent tion of their targeted underserv population. What better way to coll

Did You Know... With 12 major bases, San Diego County has the highest concentration of U.S. military services in the country. Located 5 miles down the road from campus is the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Base. This base is approximately 20 times larger than UCSD campus. In 1947, the United States Military Bases Agreement allowed 22 U.S. military bases to be built, developed, and kept in the Philippines. The agreement also allowed the U.S. Navy to recruit Philippine citizens and become naturalized American citizens. The term “boondocks” was introduced to English by American military serving in the Philippines. It derives from the Tagalog word bundok, or mountain, and referred to the confusion of guerrilla warfare. In interviews of battered women, 60% of Filipinas said they experienced violence by the age of 16. Filipinas have the highest rate of homicides amongst all battered API women. The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article in 1995 entitled, Filipino Girls Think Suicide at No. 1 Rate. According to the 2010 census, Filipinos are the largest Asian American group in the United States. San Diego is the only metropolitan area in the U.S. where Filipinos constitute the largest Asian American community. In 2006, Filipino Americans sent more than $8 billion (USD) to the Philippines, which is 57% of the total amount received. Regine Reyes, Maureen Abugan / The Collective Voice

The Rescission Act of 1946 stripped Fil veterans who served during World W of the benefits they were promised. O 66 countries allied with the U.S. during war, the Philippines is the only country has not received benefits.

Farm labor organizer Larry Itliong an group of Filipino farmworkers instigat the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, brin the creation of the United Farm Work Union.

According to the White House Initia on Asian Americans and Pacific Island Filipino-American youth have one of highest high school dropout rates and of the highest rates of teen suicide idea and attempts.

Starting in 1923, thousands of youn Filipinos arrived in California, as agricul laborers, fish canners, service workers, houseboys for rich white American fam

Indigenous tribes of the Philippines w put on exhibition in the 1904 St. Lou World Fair.

There was a special gun designed to ki pinos during the Philippine American W - the Colt .45 1902 “Philippines Mod At least 4,000 Americans and 1 millio Filipinos were killed in the war.

Through the Treaty of Paris, Spain sold Philippines to the U.S. after 300 years colonialization, and the Philippines bec the United States’ only foreign colon

The U.S. sends tens of millions of dolla military aid to the Philippines resulting record-high numbers of human rights v tions against civilians, including 1,118 ki and 1,983 illegal arrests.

, november 2010

h Celebration

mifew of sexon me, tion ting und sive ons. ered andons lunstacific vals r all me, e in

valuable data to justify their need for affordable and cultural sensitive services, bring awareness to “taboo” issues, and mobilize more people power than the pride festival? A pride festival is more than a celebration of who we are as individuals: this is the celebration of our growth as a community, a community that has always existed, has issues that need to be addressed, and is always changing. The pride festival is a space for us to be heard and appreciated. We deserve to be respected. We deserve to gather together even for this one day. Of course let’s not forget we also need to keep festival organizers accountable. I’m still waiting for a festival that welcomes queer Pilipin@s with open arms. I’m still waiting for a festival that isn’t so dependent on mainstream tion sponsorship, sponsorship that can renely inforce unhealthy addictions and imtival ages. I’m still hoping for a pride fesrom tival that holds true to its grassroots ent. vision tied to the local community’s vals best interests. The pride festival is nevtra- er perfect, but it is better than being ved invisible. lect

lipino War II Of the g the who

nd a ted nging kers

ative ders, the one ation

ng ltural , and milies.

were uis

ill FiliWar del”. on

d the s of came ny.

ars in g in violaillings

HIStory.

rights and equality. The end. Growing up I have been taught co-editor in chief that I am Filipino, then kids at comThe typical UCSD introduction: pany parties deduce that I am Asian, name, year, major. I almost feel em- others complicate it further by assertbarrassed when I tell people that I ing that I am Pacific Islander, yet in the absence of my story I gravitated am a history major. I’ve spent these three years read- toward Mexican-American history as ing about Bostonians, that wonderful the closest history I could really conThomas Jefferson, the token Martin nect to. Now I’m so confounded, I’ve Luther King, and skip over the Trail indefinitely put off trying figure out of Tear if we can (which is usually). if I am yellow, brown, tan, or caramel Admitting to my major is admit- macchiato. Growing up I was told, “Isn’t that ting that I’ve spent these three years being taught that I start and end on amazing that the state of Califor1898. It’s always the same: the Span- nia pays for your college degree for ish American War was fought to FREE!” Sure, it’s free because there liberate Cuba from the Spanish. Oh was nothing my father had to pay for and we were also in the Philippines. in his 20 years of military service. Familiar buzzwords: frontier theory, There was nothing my bayan had to economic benefits, don’t forget the pay for in order to harbor a quasiwhite man’s burden. Christianize the post-colonial military presence on ating lupa. savages. Someone laughs. The end. Occasionally I get a side-eye. Nice, The history of the civil rights movement is taught a certain way. sympathetic, but I cannot ever pos3rd grade: read Ruby Bridges and sibly be as “down” as them. Smug, I Have a Dream. 8th grade: Little knowledgably assuming that I do not Rock. 11th grade: Brown vs. Board understand their suffering, a people’s and good ol Warren Court. Five suffering. Because that history of my weeks ago I was taught that the civil people, of being colonized, uncolorights movement was when African nized, and recolonized for so long Americans and Chicanos (yes, only I can’t imagine a history where we two groups apparently) fought for have been anything other than a pos-

Regine Reyes

session, must not have happened and must not still be happening. Saying that I am a history major is saying that I have sat in classes where “oh we’re studying this and not that because this is just a survey course and we don’t have time for that, which is the kind of thing that gets taught in a course just dedicated to that.” Of course departments, especially ones that prides their selves on remembering mundane events and numbers, conveniently forget that at this university, in a city where the largest “Asian American” group is Filipino Americans, that we do not have a single Filipino/Filipino American history course. I am ashamed to be a history major most of all, because I’m so marginal, I’m invisible. Turning the pages of these books, learning about Ethnicity-here-towns, and researching the victims of Whatever-izations, I’m nowhere to be seen. I don’t know the story I am missing but I want, need, expect a re-education in it. I don’t know where I fit in this allbutmystory department but I think that if I persevere, I’ll stop being a faceless, brainless, souless receptor of everystory but myownstory.

Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism, Re-feudalization, and Marginalization Launch and Conference the domestic worker force, white male Canadians grow and carry a distorted Oedipus complex toward second-generation Filipina-Canadians. Patriarchy. “I know someone with a Filipina nanny!” is a commonplace pre-pickup line. I met Ninotchka Rosca. Ninotchka. Rosca. Hetero-patriarchy. There are now two generations of Canadian men that Ninotchka Rosca is the kind of transnational Filipina feminist award-win- have been raised by Filipina nannies. ning writer who I might confess: When I read your novel State of War, I Roma Amor, a trafficking survivor originally from Cavite, Philippines, rewanted to cry into my vomit. counted her experiences through domestic violence with her marriage in the I might’ve continued: It was- is so good. It’s visceral and unafraid, in detail, Philippines. We discovered that before she escaped from her scamming trafin image, in form. I should hope that all others who read it would want to fickers, Roma Amor’s paycheck after one month of work was $26. Her narcry into their vomit, too. Male bodies do not equate to patriarchy. To the ac- rative led up to her conclusion, “I don’t choose to be a victim. . . To fight, to cepted ability to call me a guy when I may identify differently, the accepted love.” As fiftyish of her fellow mga babae, her fellow women stood from their ability to speak over me when I am still talking, the accepted ability to raise seats in applause, Roma remained at the podium, smiling. your voice at me, to consider oneself entitled: to save me, to ogle me, to own Keynote speaker Professor Johanna Brenner from Portland State Univerme: to construct me inferior. Note: I am not. The novel is a trick candle, sity spoke of hetero-patriarchy and its shift from the public to the private constantly bringing abstract concepts, like patriarchy, close to twelve inches in sphere, from social structures and institutions to the home. We fell into a front of my face. Imagine! The strange surprise of discovering a thin golden discussion of the realization of community, and ultimately, of the need to thread from a black blouse. The novel is dense and complex, a nexus of more constantly address the possibility of elitism and hierarchy. intricate questions than a simple allegory of Philippine history. The only speaker to use the projector screen, Ninotchka expanded on a Transnationalism at its strongest. PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Circular Migration and the Re-FeudalizaI met Ninotchka on October 2, at the Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism, Re-feudalization, and Marginalization, or AF3IRM tion of Women’. She destabilizes the idea of a linear-type diaspora, and brings (formerly known as GABNet) Launch and Conference in the University of light to overseas Filipino workers’, to families’, to Filipinas’, to women’s deSouthern California. It was at this conference where fifty-or-so attendees en- privation of “the right to signification” – to make our own history. At the gaged in the strong words of several influential Filipinas and women from time of the conference, the number of worldwide migrants was 213,943,812 and rising. Painfully empowering, to say the least. across the nation and abroad. But- instead of me blurting out a winded conference recap and ramble of Dr. Anna Guevarra from the University of Illinois, Chicago focused on the systematic roots of Filipinas as overseas servants – “super maids”, “good my thoughts, it was a group of us, standing, laughing in the first floor hallway workers”, and in the words of Ninotchka, a “global homeless population” of the USC School of Social Work, hearing Ninotchka’s stories of schooling – in the global economy. She described a 2006 advertisement in the Manila a man at Manila Airport, telling him to wait in line and to stop rudely shovBulletin that features the President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Ar- ing ahead to claim his baggage. Ninotchka Rosca is the kind of activist who royo and Mary Joy Bunol, a Filipina worker, wearing superhero costumes and I would always laugh with and never at. Nope! And in that fluorescent lobby capes, hovering over a crowd of women. We questioned- what is at stake with filled with freckled tiles and passionate minds, with purple itinerary folders and draping flags claiming Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, San such far-reaching, ambiguous representations? Charlene Sayo, Executive Director of the Philippine Women Centre in Diego, Chicago, Irvine, Riverside, New York, with so many fighter-lovers, I British Columbia, brought up the impact of Filipino nannies. In Canada, think it was much better to laugh like this with her. where persons of Filipino ancestry with college degrees comprise 96% of

Maureen Abugan co-editor-in-chief

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

Sexism at UCSD and Misogyny

Melissa Olague and Melissa Perez GONZALEZ contrubuting writers

s self-identified womyn, we do not feel that UCSD is a safe space for us to be female-bodied. Due to regular occurrences of sexual harassment that female-bodied individuals are forced to endure, and several cases of sexual assault and rape on campus and in the San Diego area within the past few years, it is no wonder that femalebodied individuals feel unsafe. During the last few weeks, various images have been graffitied on different buildings throughout the UCSD campus. Spray-painted on the entrance to Peterson Hall were the words, “Confucius say: it is good to meet girl at park but better to park meat in girl” along with a racialized caricature. “Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch,” was painted on the side of Solis Hall, and “I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one,” was on the front of Center Hall. These statements demean wom-

en and are misogynistic. How are female-bodied students supposed to attend class and go about their lives on a campus where their safety is questionable and sexism is not only pervasive, but overtly manifested by graffiti all over campus? The fact that individuals thought it was acceptable to paint these messages on campus speaks to how sexism and misogyny are often overlooked as oppressive, demeaning women as “bitches” that are only objects to be used for sex or violence. It speaks to how these messages are so common in our society. Even if these statements are jokes, they reinforce sexism and misogyny as tolerable. To demean female-bodied people in this sense is to perpetuate sexism and oppression generally, and therefore these “jokes” are unacceptable. To end one oppression requires ending all oppressions, so the struggles to end sexism, racism, and homophobia are intrinsically linked. The fact that misogynistic messages were so easily accepted on

“

spaces.ucsd.edu

Even if these statements are jokes, they reinforce sexism and misogyny

as tolerable.

”

see MISOGYNY on page 8

Reflections of a Newborn Activist Elizabeth Garcia contributing writer

year ago, I never imagined how much my life would be changed by coming to UCSD. I knew that coming to a university would be a new chapter in my life, but I never imagined that it would soon become a new book and a new life-the life of a newborn activist. I was first introduced to UCSD through the SIAPS overnight program. I was aiming to go to UCLA and upon rejection, I decided that UCSD was the school for me. My first real experience at UCSD was at the OASIS Summer Bridge program which, as many alumni can tell you, introduced me to one-to-ones, gender-neutral language, systemic racism, hegemony, the model minority myth, intersectionalities of identity and the like. I had always known about these things, and had seen and experienced the effects of systemic racism throughout my time growing up, but I never had a name for it or an explanation. As cliche as it sounds, Summer Bridge was a life-changing and enlightening experience and I would not be writing this article without the influence of everyone involved at OA-

SIS and ATP. My first day of school at UCSD was spent protesting the 32% fee increases. I was never one to yell, although I liked to be vocal and stand my ground on issues. But on this day-- I let myself scream, and yell about the injustice of these fee increases. The year continued as I tried to find my niche amongst the SAAC community and as I tried to navigate and understand the events of the Compton Cookout that happened in winter quarter. I stood alongside my brothers and sisters of all races, universities, ages, ethnicities and religions, as we gathered on the Teach-Out Steps crying out to administrators and anyone who would listen that our pain was real, and it demanded real action. This was followed by the pinnacle of my year-the March 4th Day of Action which addressed one very important question: Whose University? Our University. The privatization of our University is something that resonated with me and many of my fellow students on campus. It also formed the cover of the book “Another University is Possible.” And as I see first-years leaf through the pages, I am proud to say that I was there. At the end of the year I ran as an All-Campus

Senator for Associated Students and fought off the skepticism of my abilities and knowledge alongside the Students First slate. Students First was a family of love and support that held true to its promises of accountability and transparency, diversity and sustainability-- still today. Although I did not win, the experience catapulted me into the world of politics, meetings with administrators, S.A.A.C. and A.S. As I was involved in campus wide events, I wanted to be present in my college as well. As an orientation leader for Muir this past summer, I sat my orientees down in front of the Chicano Legacy mural at Peterson and explained to them the events of winter quarter in a way that no administrator could or would ever be able to do. As I reflect on my past year and as I come into my own as an activist, leader, student, mentor and ally, I cannot help but be grateful for the strength, grace, and beauty of the people in the community on campus. I will continue to be an activist for justice and education. I will continue to be an advocate for diversity and change. And most importantly I will continue to be a conscious student and help others find their own inner activist.

university of california, san diego

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

Moving Beyond Decolonization

8 › MISOGYNY from page 7

campus is fundamentally connected something about myself I didn’t like. The beginning was the most emo- to the high levels of sexism, racism, Shaina Patel A fresh breath knowing I was going tionally unstable. Every time people and homophobia on our campus. staff writer home. Then a rush of fear and anxi- spoke to me in Hindi, I couldn’t re- Just because there is not as much e shouldn’t be fighting our- ety. I knew people were going to speak spond and I intensely internalized a national attention on these issues selves, because nothing is to me and expect me to be able to re- mix of self-pity, embarrassment and as last year, does not mean that this gained through self-violence and in spond in Hindi. I was already beating guilt for not knowing a language my university has changed very much fighting ourselves, we are not moving myself up about it. It was going to take family doesn’t even speak. in terms of increasing the safety for In my lifetime, I had heard so many beyond our colonized status. My fam- patience. negative things about India and safety students of color, female-identified ily is from India, and I studied abroad Inhale self-doubt, exhale purpose that I was scared to walk around freely. individuals, or LGBTQ individuals in India last year trying to “fix” someInhale fear, exhale conviction I was anxious when talking to rick- here at UCSD. thing I didn’t like about myself. I didn’t If you are committed to ending Inhale self-criticism, exhale self-confidence shaw drivers who tried to rip me off like growing up and having other Indiand nervous when men would stare. I oppression in all forms, we urge you an kids tell me I wasn’t Indian enough While other study abroad students found myself walking down the streets to take a stand against sexist, racbecause I had never been to India or didn’t speak Gujarati. My parents had marveled at how “different” India with my head down. I had never been ist, and homophobic actions and be never even lived in India themselves. was, I was struggling trying to find anywhere where 90% of people on in community with us. As students See, my grandparents grew up in In- same. We landed in Delhi’s 120 degree any given street were male. And In- at UCSD, we can only rely on ourdia, moved to East Africa to raise my summer heat that was literally rising dian women don’t look at men in their parents, then moved to England as off the streets. I marveled at the rick- eyes. If you’re bold enough to hold selves to create change and implerefugees and finally settled in the U.S. shaw drivers biking around passengers a stare they might get the wrong im- ment the progress we wish to see. after my parents’ marriage. My grand- while just walking down a street would pression. I wasn’t feeling like me and I The next time sexism, racism, or hoparents lived on four continents dur- make me pour in sweat around hus- struggled trying to make this place feel mophobia is manifested on our caming the course of their lifetimes and tling crowds, clouds of dust, mounds like home. pus, speak up, act out, and join us! I went to India wanting to get inI’ve lived in the same house for all of of trash, merciless honking cars and beggars on every street. I knew I was volved. Activism is part of my identity, mine. I studied abroad in India last year home, but it wasn’t feeling like home part of my learning process, and my › OCTOBER 7 from page 2 and I needed to go because there was yet. The UCSD Coalition for Educasee INDIA on page 9 tional Justice asked to meet with UCSD’s Administration to have a conversation/debate on the recent fee hikes and for the Universities stance. The library’s computers get stolen ev- PH, I actually went to Morse (crowd Still to this day, the Administration Regine Reyes ery long weekend. Those murals were cheers) class of 2008. I’m a history has not responded on this demand. co-editor in chief painted by taggers the police caught major. I actually didn’t know anyIs it because they “don’t really” have ednesday, October 20, 2010: but put into a program for school thing about college and I knew my time or is it because they are afraid I glance at the door, non-de- murals. The cooking class makes Ti- parents couldn’t help me so I went to express their stance? The debate script today. Everytime I see it I am ger Muffins, these sausage, cheese, on Google and did a lot of research at a protest and people shout at this toasty English muffin creations we and planning. The most exciting thing panel will consist of an undergraduclosed door. Today I open it and walk connive substitute teachers to order I’ve done is my work right now. I’m ate, a graduate student, a staff mema writing tutor and run a newspa- ber, a worker, and a faculty member through a lobby, the mood lighting for us. per at SPACES too. I’ve learned so along side UCSD Administration like Honestly, I was unsure if I was reand generic corporate design, feeling ally going to do this. I was under the much from my peers. I plan to go the Chancellor, VCSA Penny Rue, like a spy. I choose my baon from numerous impression that this would be an ac- to grad school at UCLA, Berkley, or and the Senior Vice Chancellor of choices, smilingsmirking. Who cares cess trip with my peers when I volun- SFSU. I want to be a history teacher, Academic Affairs to name a few. The about turkey, ham, chicken salad with teer. Instead it is the administration’s a teacher here at Morse, Ms. Bergan coalition is just waiting for the Uniapple (wtf ?) sandwiches? I already outreach event: presentation, panels, (crowd cheers), actually inspired me. I versities response. feel full from triumph. Think about and a time for “photo ops” delineated also want to do research on FilipinoAmerican history; the next book on Although this day has passed, we it: tonight I will go home with this in the itinerary. Knowing what it was Filipino-American history will have will continuously keep on fighting box and tell my immigrant parents like to be in those student’s position, I my name on it. for accessible education. Even after knew that they would leave this night that today, I walked into the ChancelTheir cheers affirm my work, the 32% increase we faced this past lor’s office and got a Chancellor-ba- would not be enough. I felt sorry for dreams, and struggles more than anynot being able to give all my knowlon. I nibble an Oreo, a pre-packaged year, the UC Regents are proposing edge, for not reassuring every single thing else. Each shout feels like the another 8% increase to take effect good tiding, mood high. pulse of this community, re-energizLunch is over. Anonymous ad- student that it was possible for them ing the over-worked me, confirming immediately. They are planning to ministrator and staffs pile into their too, that they are intelligent and wor- that I was and still am one of them. vote on whether to vote on this inUCSD logo-emblazoned partybus. thy despite what they see and hear. The presentation wraps up, the ad- crease during their November meetFrida and I set up the SPACES They depart. Tonight they are doing ministrators step down, and parents ing. If they do plan to vote on the table. Some students glance at the outreach at Morse High School. and students come to the edge of the Outreach has a certain connota- table inquisitively, others are more stage, I sit on the floor of the stage. increase, they will be voting during tion. It implies hierarchy, distance, an assertive. “Are you Gabriel’s sister?” We leisurely trade questions and an- their January meeting, which is set to in-and-out expedition. On the othe “Hey do you remember me?” “Were swers, connected together now with take place on the UCSD campus. (To hand, access implies a relationship of you a Bergan kid?” I feel so glad to be shared knowledge. All too soon it is get more information on this, you sharing resources and emotional con- among the community, even with my time to go home. can look on the UC Regents webreservations about this “outreach” efnection to those whom one assists. Reflecting on this night, I remem- site.) As a community, we have to My high school. Situated on Sky- fort. “Wrap it up,” I am told. ber Professor K. Wayne Yang’s words take a stance against the privatization They introduce the Chancellor at the SPACES Gala last spring. He line Drive in southeast San Diego, of our education. my aunt who has lived in the area and Her Achievements. This is use- said that we are different, that when So where do we go from here? We for decades, says Morse was built on ful information; surely this will break we do access and retention work, all have to stay updated and informed a dump. We are notorious for un- down the barriers these people, my we see our families, our brother and derperformance, but the very best people face: financial burdens, lack sisters and cousins and neighbors. with all the recent fee increases and teachers I’ve had are at this no-rank of social capital, no parental involve- Those reasonings seemed unremark- budget cuts. Even though this in“ghetto” school. The demographics ment, military recruiters, low expecta- able to me at the time. formation is sometimes not accestions, language hurdles, generational are wonderfully completely different This night made me more aware sible, we have to be aware of what from UCSD’s: 41% Filipino, 33% La- differences, cultural divides. The staff about other motivations for outreach our Administration is doing. When tino, 28% African American, 57% so- panel gives hurried presentations that efforts: quotas, rankings, and public the Regents meet, we have to all be cioeconomically disadvantaged, 18% will not hold the information the perceptions. It also made me more united and take a stance against the community needs. Each slide makes critical about how access work is conEnglish learners. The Morse I know is flawed, row- me sorrier, I am sorry to be back here ducted. Most of all it showed me that fee increase. For now, we have to dy, and ruggedly beautiful. Upon not as me, but as Regine Reyes UCSD these struggling students need reas- be aware of this fee increase and opening the car door at 7:10am, the student panelist the phoney. surance and compassion from a peer privatization of public education, and remember that El Pueblo Unido sounds of the ROTC raising the flag Now it’s time to talk: Hi I’m who has made it. and the Islanders’ ukeleles float in. Regine, I’m a third year. I’m from Hamas Cera Vencido!

An Evening with UCSD at Morse High School

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

spaces.ucsd.edu

› INDIA from page 8

site of regeneration. This time though, I wasn’t in my own community. The idea of getting involved with organizations in India and trying to make change before even getting the chance to learn what needs to be changed was a bit unsettling. Regardless, I thought “what better way to learn about what’s really happening in Delhi than to jump right in and get involved?” So I tried. First I went Manzil, an organization in South Delhi that tutors students in math, science, English, visual arts, dance, music etc., I showed a teacher there, who was also a former student, some ideas I had about a workshop that would help students take time away from their studying to ask bigger questions and figure out their passions and goals. She loved my ideas and enthusiasm, but she began quizzing me. “So if the kids ask you ----, then what will you do?” or “If the kids need help with ----, then how will you help?” Her questions had me cornered, I was so passionate to start helping but I didn’t know nearly enough about life in Delhi, the culture, or how these students were growing up to help them fully. Plus, if I really wanted to help I would have to do this workshop for much longer than 5 weeks. Then I tried again. I wanted to learn more about sex-trafficking in India so I went to another well-established organization. This time, I told the organization I could help write updates about their organization to post on their website, instead of working directly with people. I went for my first day and noticed prestige hung in certificates of achievement and recognition posted around their office. I left feeling uncomfortable with the organization that focused more on numbers and recognition than the actual people they were serving. It is impossible to walk down a street in Delhi without seeing beggars and really “extreme” poverty. My own privilege was always on my mind, even more than it is when I am in California. I took the year for learning. From here on, the year there became an investment. I ended up spending most of my time at Manzil. Instead of “teaching” though, I became friends with the students, and I was learning. Most of my friends had never been to college, some planned to, others didn’t. They would ask me questions like, “Are there even poor people in the US? But they have cars right?” and I would fumble for words that would satisfy their curiousy and represent the US accurately. They were confident that no other country had poverty like India, well maybe Africa too, they would add. I had to continuously internally fight the elitism of my own college education by taking extra time and patience to explain terms like globalization and racism that their lived experiences often understood better than my own. In the end, I learned more spending time with people who were not college educated than with the students in my Delhi university classes. Privileges were always crossing boundaries of normal discretion. I became really close with a few of them, even met their families and slept over at their homes. I wanted to learn about Delhi, and I was so lucky to have the privilege of sleeping on the floor at

their homes with their families while they were feeling privileged to have an American student sleeping in their home and even eating their food. I went with Manzil students for their “Free Music” performance in Nehru Slums where they ran through alleyways chanting and telling children, teens, and adults to gather in the park for a free music show. After one show I started chatting with a young girl who was excited to invite me to her home for chai. I was excited that she felt comfortable enough to invite me and I left knowing she was about to run and tell all her friends for the next week that an American girl drank chai in her home. In India, inter-dining between castes is taboo so whenever I ate in anyone’s home who was not as wealthy as me, they always brought out their best plates feeling honored, while I was feeling honored to get a glimpse of their lives. It was only because I looked Indian that people felt comfortable with me, they even told me that. Hanging out with the Manzil students was totally different from hanging out with Delhi University students in my classes. In fact, I wasn’t social at all on my campus. I found that when I was with the Manzil students, I had to speak Hindi in their homes, because their parents didn’t know English, I would touch their parents feet when I met them, I slept on the floor with sometimes 12 people in a one room home, I ate dinner with them on the floor, took bucket baths and used squat toilets. But the restless bug inside of me never stopped. With privilege always on my mind, I felt guilty for not doing anything. I was going to class and having fun hanging out with friends from Manzil, but it felt so self indulgent and I wasn’t used to it. I kept having to fight myself and remind myself that I knew I was making an educated decision. But these thought processes definitely took me in repeated downward spirals. It was harder yet when I would hear people praising other, mostly white, volunteers come from different countries to teach and do workshops in Manzil. Some came for a day, others for a week, others for months. I had to gain confidence in my decision to first learn what issues like sexism, racism, homophobia look like within this context or else my western eyes might arrogantly mistake a hijab for oppression, like many Westerners have. My trip to India had a decolonial agenda. I went home last year trying to return to my true or original self, only to realize that I already am my full self. If I do not have respect for my family’s past, then it is impossible to have respect for my present. I had to move beyond decolonization. I will not lose my culture, I will not forget where I am from, I will not be ashamed, and I refuse to feel weak. Instead I focus on the positive. One of the hardest parts of my trip was to assume passivity before becoming an activist in India. But from doing so, India taught me some of my most valuable lessons as an activist. In my life, more than I want to affect change, I myself, want to be changed. And I will measure my life, not by the amount of change I produce of the number of truths that I tell, but by the complexity and depth of my questioning.

A Poem For Mama Julieanne Aquino contributing writer

“Sana’y di magmaliw ang dati kong araw Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni Nanay Nais kong maulit ang awit ni Inang mahal Await ng pag-ibig Habang ako’y nasa duyan” She graced my presence with her yellow ribbons in the air Yellow, like the sun shining brightly as she Glides the comb and runs her fingers through my hair, as we sit on the doorstep of our home. Her scent embraces every curve of my innocence And her voice, Her voice captivates every skip of my beating heart Because yellow... As in her bright yellow Giordanno shirt with a blue collar was one of my first few memories of her. “Ma,” I say “Can you braid my hair in lil twisties today please?” She’d chuckle a bit and in response she’d say, “Of course, Anak,” With a smile that hid every heartache, Every heart break And every pain that she ever experienced. I didn’t know it then, But that moment... With the warm April breeze of the Philippine “spring”, A glass bottle of Coca Cola perspiring on the corner, And the tender and loving caress of my mother’s working hands, I was made into a cadence. A never ending song of blissful gratefulness That to this day Brings me tears because I was never aware of the sacrifice she had to go thru to even share that one lil bit of memory that forever holds a place in me. She doesn’t know it, like I didn’t know it then, But she, as my mother, Has brought me so much joy and pride Because just like the yellow ribbons she used to put on my hair, She is the yellow ribbon of my existence. The symbol of my happiness. The solace of my love. She is the best present I have and will ever receive. Yellow like our skin tone, She makes up who I am with everything she has shown. Her strength is refelected in the structure of my face The framework of my body, And the intensity of my emotions. Sometimes I wish I was a kid again, Just so I can be as close to her, if not more, again. Every embrace and every touch, Love, she brings so much. But now that I’ve grown older I’ve come to realize her worth She is the most valuable gift to this Earth. She continues to walk my world with wisdom As she sacrifices so I can keep my freedom Because she’s the closest to heaven I’ve ever encountered. The most powerful woman I’ve known, Filipina, She will forever be in my heart. Laging nandito, kahit kailan, kailanman, totoo at talaga. Mahal na mahal kita.

Clarissa Tong / The Collective Voice

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

Goodbyes Chris McCoy

contributing writer Goodbye, Goodbye, it’s been a good old time. So long, so long, no more will we survive. We’ve fallen prey to sniper, viper crime. Sucked in a wooly, swirling violent hive. I cringe at such a scary, crazy thought It is a cracked, subtle situation To think one man could be picked up and bought Yet this is what did form this very nation. Farewell, farewell, it’s been a long old ride Now Adios, I say in quirky ways. We’ve seen some strange old sights, a downhill slide Now let us listen to what Allah says. What lies within a frame such as goodbye? A parting shot from Catcher in the Rye.

Your Story Matters Victor Flores contributing writer

Each one of us has a different perspective, A different account, a different story that we are able to share. Our experience, our actions, our decisions, our environment, our family, our friends, our teachers, our schools, our neighborhoods, our cultures, our religions, our styles, our genders, our sexualities, our ideologies, our ups, our downs, our fun times, our sad times. Our stories, our dreams, and everything else that makes us, ushas shaped our lives and who we are today. I view that each of our accounts and lives is the beauty of life, because each one of us brings a unique story to the world. There is no other you, you are unique, and your experience and perspectives are and should be valid anywhere you go. Our accounts cannot be simplified or generalized for we are composed of crossing inter-sectional identities and experiences that are threaded every single moment of our lives. Although, this is just my perspective of life, I would like to share and would like to encourage you to think: What makes you, YOU? and what has brought you there? Your story and experiences matter, Never forget that.

http://spaces.ucsd.edu 10

Catalogue Stephanie Nowinski staff writer

Dialectical nuisances running in figure 8’s across my mind and onto my face climbing over my big almond-shaped eyes Almond because that’s what “American Girl” called them I’d scan the images the plastic the itty bitty babies and search Where’s my genetic makeup me within these synthetic pieces? Almond I guess & forget relating to the big girls the main girls the “Historical Characters” Not a hint of almond unless you count the 2 on the face of the best friend who barely gets a mention I’m not historical I guess I’d see with my almond-shaped eyes these categories that were thrust upon our bodies my body my bodies yes plural as a child of 3 6 5 days times 8 perusing the pages where we were catalogued are catalogued It is all too easy & the figure 8’s they won’t stop

Shaina Patel / The Collective Voice

university of california, san diego

Pictured is Florentino Na varet e, wh

CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF Regine Reyes Maureen Abugan

Dw i

STAFF WRITERS Darien Nguyen Stephanie Nowinski Shaina Patel

h in t

ppin hili eP

Bas ed

dri ver of Ma jor

er ow nh ise

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Elizabeth Garcia David Ritcherson Melissa Olague Melissa Perez Gonzalez A. RuthLez Being Kevin Mann Chris McCoy Victor Flores Julieanne Aquino Adam Crayne Josue Castellon

es du

Dra win g.

o wa s the

spaces.ucsd.edu

.E tD

ck Ri

o am c o

r a.

volume IV, issue 1, november 2010

h ot og r ap h

university of california, san diego

ring Wor ld War II.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Denise Manjarrez

Artists Clarissa Tong Shaina Patel

ten point platform

We want freedom

We want social unity and equality for all people on campus

We want to promote social awareness and combat social ignorance

We want to unite student activists and students with progressive values and common struggles

The Collective Voice is a student-run, studentinitiated publication of UCSD’s SPACES, the Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service. The mission of the Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service (SPACES) is to act as an empowering dynamic on campus where UCSD students collaborate to achieve greater educational equity. This encompasses equal access to higher education, undergraduate retention and graduation, and matriculation to graduate and professional schools. SPACES values the power of student-initiated action and organizing by providing an environment for student growth and development and thus is a foundation to create leadership and unity through community engagement. In line with SPACES’ mission of valuing “the power of student-initiated action,” “proving an environment for student growth and development,” and creating “unity through community engagement,” The Collective Voice is UCSD’s progressive newspaper that promotes social unity, justice and awareness across the many communities that exist on the UCSD campus. The Collective Voice will help create a sense

of safe space and community for students who may otherwise feel unwelcome at UCSD’s challenging campus climate thereby contributing to existing retention efforts of campus. This newspaper deeply values students’ voices by providing an outlet for open dialogue and discussion surrounding issues and developments affecting their communities. Additionally, The Collective Voice allows UCSD’s progressive community to outreach, collaborate and communicate to the greater San Diego communities outside of our campus. Most importantly, The Collective Voice, provides marginalized students and under-resourced students the empowering opportunity to protect the representation of their identities and beliefs, and report alternative news that is not otherwise covered by mainstream media. The Collective Voice, in partnership with SPACES, allows for the creation of “an empowering dynamic where UCSD students collaborate to achieve greater educational equity.” It is through this mission that the collective of diverse voices in one newspaper will actively demonstrate an empowering progressive community on the UCSD campus.

We want to educate others about ourstories and our true role in present-day society

We want educational equity and to empower under resourced communities

We want to fight the rhetoric propagated by oppressive forces on campus

We want our beliefs, practices, and ethics to be illustrated in a correct light

We want peace. The ability to coexist on campus without fear of prejudice or persecution

We want to be recognized as equal individuals despite and because of our ethnicity, religious affiliation, race, gender, or sexual orientation

cveditors@gmail.com