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The Daily Aztec
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Sept. 29 - Oct. 5, 2021 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com
APIDA Center opens in-person for first time ever, called ‘home away from home’
by Brittany CONTRIBUTOR
Cruz-Fejeran
Decades in the making, the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Center is finally open in person. The center officially opened during the COVID-19 pandemic last summer and hosted over 300 programs before physically welcoming students to the space. It still needs to be painted and its grand furniture probably will not arrive until next year, but Dr. Virginia LohHagan, director of the center said they are more than ready to serve students. “We have a space [APIDA students] can call their own,” Loh-Hagan said. “It’s our own little corner of this large SDSU campus and we are going to find many different ways to uplift and amplify the voices of the APIDA community.” The APIDA Center is open for all students Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. The center is building up to be the homebase for all APIDA-focused organizations as well as a safe space for students, Loh-Hagan said. Last week, they launched regular weekly programming called the “APIDA Center Support Spaces,” led by recently hired program coordinator, Kathleen Dang. Loh-Hagan said weekly workshops would not have been possible without Dang’s help. “It is really heartwarming to be here and be available to students,” Dang said. “I want the students to come here feeling secure.” Another program offered is the APIDA
Photo by Brittany Cruz-Ferejan
The APIDA Center has opened for the first time every on SDSU’s campus. The center was able to host over 300 programs through their virtual platform last school year.
Leadership, Identity, Scholarship, and Togetherness (A-LIST) university seminar offered only to first-year students, is meant to reclaim the model minority myth and foster success in more ways than straight A’s. The APIDA Center’s ability to host over 300 workshops was through the benefit of a virtual setting. It was hard not to see the students in person, LohHagan said, but the accessibility that Zoom events permitted was one of the things she was grateful for. Loh-Hagan said she did not have to worry about location, capacity or funding. Speakers were easier to
Photo by Ivan Guzman
Students gathered in protest to demand more emvironmentally sound action from the university. Students gave speeches requesting a proactive climate change approach from the SDSU.
Climate Strike:
continued from page 1 Thunberg gave a powerful speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The Green Love Sustainability Commission of SDSU submitted an Associated Students resolution calling for “SDSU’s Commitment to Climate Action, Justice, and Leadership” which can be read online. The resolution demands the university commit to full carbon neutrality by 2030, pursue environmentally responsible investing and establish a permanent Climate Action Committee in the University President’s office. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these demands had to take a
yearlong hiatus. “Covid makes organizing a lot harder,” said SDSU alumna and former Associated Students Sustainability Commissioner Courtney Ransom. Ransom was a lead organizer for the 2019 climate strike and made her way back to campus to participate in this year’s climate strike. “In 2019, we were trying to get the university to commit to doing certain things,” Ransom said. “Now, we are trying to get the university to act on the commitments that we got that year. It’s cool to see the progression happening.” Along the way, the strike gained momentum and participants joined the crowd as they paraded around campus. However, the group was also challenged with counterattacks from various students passing by. “Why are you even protesting? We
schedule as well because Zoom created access from different parts of the country. Because of this, some programs will still be offered physically and virtually. “We want these programs to be available to our Imperial Valley friends and community members [as well],” Loh-Hagan said. Leiana Lepule, a first year graduate student said the APIDA Center was her home away from home, even though she only lives 30 minutes away. “It’s the space I’m most comfortable with being a part of a huge institution that [SDSU] is,” Lepule said.
can’t even have cars here!” A student passing by yelled at the group. The march culminated in a stop on the steps right in front of Manchester Hall, which houses the office of President Adela de la Torre. Students chanted and encouraged the university to divest from fossil fuels, establish a permanent SDSU Climate Action Committee, and invest in more public transportation for students and staff. All of these demands are outlined clearly in the 2019 Associated Students resolution. However, the organizers of the strike are unsatisfied with the university’s progress towards these goals. “We’ve been trying to tell the administration to take action,” a protester who requested to remain anonymous said.“We’ve been telling them to rise up. But Adela [de la Torre] does not want to rise up! Use your leadership and rise up.” The general feeling from the participants of the strike was that their
Lepule said she created many friends through Zoom workshops provided by the APIDA Center. When she finally met one of them in person while walking out of the center, they both screamed in excitement. “At one point, these were the people we had the deepest connection with through quarantine because we would see them so often,” Lepule said. “It was really nice just to chat in person about that.” Lepule highlighted that this center is not just a place for students to gather. It is a place where people can recognize the individual groups of the broad term “APIDA.” “As big of a group the term encompasses, representation for each group is small,” Lepule said. Loh-Hagan said she shared the same sentiment. “Collectively, we use that description [APIDA] as a political strategy,” LohHagan said. “So it’s a way to build a pan-ethnic coalition, but we also want to recognise that it’s not a description or an umbrella term because our experiences are so different.” Lepule said she eventually wants the center to connect with other APIDA organizations outside of SDSU to create a bigger community support system. “It’s a building block for something so much bigger,” Lepule said. “Hopefully it will happen in our lifetime.” For the time being, Loh-Hagan said the life that happens at the APIDA Center gives her hope. “We are like a nest,” Loh-Hagan said. “Come here when you need us, when you need this space and when you need a community. Also go fly off and do your thing, but know that we are always here. Come back.”
demands were not adequately being heard. By protesting, they hoped to reemphasize the promises made by the university over two years ago. SDSU put out a statement quickly after the protest regarding the university’s progress on climate change and other environmental issues. “SDSU has a demonstrated commitment to sustainability locally and globally as evidenced by its strategic plan priorities and construction activities dedicated to sustainable practices,” the statement said. The statement went on to describe multiple actions taken by the university in regards to sustainability. SDSU’s Climate Action Plan status report can be accessed online. “The fight lives on,” said sustainability fourth year and media liaison for SDSU Climate Strike Tenaya Bearmar. “Go home, and get some rest. Be ready to continue the fight tomorrow and for the future.”
Photos by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
Students are shown passionately standing up for environmental policies and principles.
