No One Asked Us

By Daniel Mariano

A mere two weeks after my eighteenth birthday, I had begun the collegiate chapter of my life. I walked past the school sign that greeted students, faculty, and visitors by the campus entrance feeling incredibly optimistic. As the first in my generation going to college in my immediate family, it was something that I took great pride in. It was an exciting time in my life, full of endless possibilities and me taking that first true leap into adulthood. As a young, idealistic college freshman, I looked forward to making the best out of my once in a lifetime opportunity.

However, as the days turned into months and the months turned into years, I became increasingly jaded during my college experience. Throughout my five years attending San Francisco State University, I met many students that took different paths when it came to pursuing their educational goals. This included leaving SFSU in order to continue studying at the community college level, actually splitting class loads between two schools, transferring schools out of state or even abroad, or simply changing their major. This is the kind of hardship that the modern day college student currently faces.

For five years, I have witnessed and experienced firsthand the inability to register for classes both for my major and to simply fulfill my general education requirements so that I could graduate. I have also seen the progressive tuition increase at SFSU, something that has consistently happened since years before I even started college.

My mother, who unlike the rest of my family, understood the challenges of pursuing an education in the California State University level, once encouraged me to attend school at my local community college after high school in order to get my GEs out of the way for less money. However, I was so determined (to the point of being stubborn) to attend SFSU after refusing to listen to her. I was a stubborn snob back then and did not realize the similarities between the curriculum and opportunities that both the community college and state university systems provided. I thought of myself less of a person if I had attended community college and was convinced that I could obtain my bachelor’s degree in four years.

How naive I was.

Back in 2010, I was blissfully ignorant of the budget cuts that ominously loomed in the CSU/UC systems. The student acceptance cap in the systems is very real and has a profound effect on thousands of hopeful applicants every single year. This cap puts a limit on how many students schools can accept yearly regardless of good academic standing or successful transfer of units.

Dealing with tuition only amplifies the issues that students face. Many students, myself included, pull out federal unsubsidized loans. Without these loans, many students would be unable to afford college tuition. But even with loans, there are still students that must work part or full time in order to fully subsidize their educations including the cost of books, tuition itself, and other university fees. This is a struggle for many students not made any better with news of SFSU President Leslie Wong’s plan to cut $3 million in academics in the coming 2015-2016 school year.

Students are also left worrying about their futures even after they graduate. The economy is not at its peak these days and finding secure, long term employment is not always guaranteed for people in their field of study. With a blatant lack of classes for students as well as ever increasing tuition fees and literally no record of where the money goes, students are left to continue wonder when they will graduate if at all.

This past month saw SFSU’s League of Filipino Students (LFS-SFSU) launching their social media campaign titled “Education is a Human Right”. LFS General Assembly members were tasked with posting various web graphics through their social media outlets and were encouraged to share how student debt has affected their lives and to speak out against it. Though the social media campaign spanned from March 1-4, the general movement against rising college costs and barriers preventing people from partaking in quality higher education continues. It is high time that President Wong and SFSU administration are reminded exactly who it is that truly runs the university – the students, faculty, and staff. It is we who operate this community and it is time to once again bring back to life the radical spirits of this university.

Education Is a Human Right

By Jordan Ilagan

This past month, LFS-SFSU launched their “Education is a Human Right” social media campaign. Members were asked to share a variety of web graphics starting on March 1st and culminating on March 4, the National Day of Action to Defend Education. LFS also hosted an educational discussion that allowed for a space for students to share their stories about student debt and the various problems that arise from it.

Student debt is an issue that cannot be measured with just dollars and cents. The overwhelming amount that students can owe can cause huge amounts of stress, anxiety, and depression. Unlike other forms of debt, which can be erased by declaring bankruptcy, student debt stays with the debtor until it is paid. In cases where the debtor passes away, the debt is then passed on to either the next-of-kin or other immediate family members, which passes the same stress and anxiety to other people. With ever-increasing student fees combined with an inadequate amount of classes, graduation becomes stalled and debt piles up even higher. The flawed system keeps students in a cycle of owing money at a much faster rate than it can be paid off. Unless the entire system of education is reformed, student debt will continue to be a pressing issue in the years to come.

The social media campaign was the beginning of a multiple year campaign, coordinated alongside Anakbayan-USA, who are also mobilizing across the nation around student debt, an issue that affects 38.8 million Americans amounting to a total of $1.2 trillion. The campaign will continue in the coming year, anyone interested in being a part of the campaign are free to contact LFS-SFSU via LFSSFSU@gmail.com or Vice Chair Vonica On via vonicahh@gmail.com.

SPEAK OUT: SF State Students Enact Their Agency

By Daniel Mariano

(Photo credit: Associated Students Inc.)

An element that has found itself in Asian American Studies since the 1980’s is the concept known as “agency”. In AAS, it refers to taking action and making our own history. Over the years, Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have come to be depicted as people that are fully capable of making choices, asserting control over their own lives, and helping change the world they live in. And while agency is a concept that is studied in upper division AAS courses, it is not something that is limited to Asian Americans. Agency is something that comes from within the community as well as from any of us. We can enact our agency to be agents of change.

On Wednesday February 25th, SF State students, those both affiliated with on-campus student organizations and unaffiliated, took to Malcolm X Plaza in order to enact their agency by addressing their grievances to the student population. These included the increasing privatization of education with a proposed $3 million cut to academics in the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year by SF State President Leslie Wong, the opening of a Panda Express on campus despite there being a Panda Express in Stonestown a ten minute walk away, gentrification, and police brutality. It was a day filled with heartfelt speeches and spoken word pieces by various students in order to address the perceived injustices in our communities.

PACE Head Coordinator Patrick Racela and LFS Secretary General Jordan Ilagan speak out against the administration of Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (Photo Credit: Associated Students Inc.)

The sentiments of the students rang out loud and clear this day. The students are tired of the social and economic injustices that plague society today. It is imperative that students are inspired and empowered to take charge of their education and their circumstances. Today, we face a student debt crisis that only gets worse with each passing year and with each passing budget cut. Students continue to pull out loans that they will in all likelihood never be able to pay back within their lifetimes due to recurring interest rates and higher education continues to be privatized. Meanwhile, university administrative employees will continue to laugh all the way to the bank. People will lose jobs as a result of Panda Express opening on campus as SF State to slowly stray from its roots of historically supporting and working with small businesses and towards being a corporate sellout.

(Banner credit: Karl Catalon)

People of color and ethnic minorities continue to fear for their safety due to the color of their skin or because of the way they dress. And yet, what people can’t seem to wrap their heads around is the fact that life in the United States even in 2015 is still inherently different for both white people and people of color. Racism is still a concept that is very much alive and deeply ingrained in our society. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, if people are tired of hearing about racism, imagine how exhausting it is to live through it on a day in, day out basis.

Members of Mula Sa Ugat in solidarity for social justice. (Photo credit: Associated Students Inc.)

These are only a few of the many issues that we must speak out against. It is imperative that we recognize that historically, many great changes in society were able to take place only through solidarity and taking action. We are in the midst of another great era of great social change in this country. In order to move forward, we must enact our agency and organize workers, leaders, women, and youth and do just that because I know that things can still change for the better. We may continue to struggle for better for many more years, perhaps even decades but we will never stop. The road ahead might be long and perhaps even shrouded in the unknown and we may not live to see its end but we will continue to go down it because we are compelled by justice and a desire for a better future to do so. And in the face of everyone that tell us to turn back, we will keep moving forward.

That is how we will enact our agency.

Pilipino culture expressed through art

By Karl Catalon

(The picture shown above is one of the Filipino folk dances from last year’s PCN, Pagapir, from the Moro suite)

PCN, also known as Pilipino Cultural Night, is one of the programs provided by PACE. In just a few months, friends and family are able to watch the beautiful  Filipino/a culture that PCN cast members are trying to portray through acting, singing, and dancing. SFSU is home to the longest running PCN in the nation, and since this is my first PCN since I came to SFSU, I am very excited about how PCN will turn out this year.

PCN is a great program that gives students an opportunity to learn about the Filipino/a histories and cultures without the need of a paper and pencil. Through creative ways of expressing culture, PCN provides a safe space for students to experience a variety cultures influenced by many countries throughout the world but with their own Filipino twist. As a native-born Filipino citizen, I have faded away from my Filipino culture after I’ve moved to California; however, after finding PACE and PCN at SFSU, I was given an opportunity to finally go back to my own roots, finding my own identity and culture, while also enjoying the dances that PCN has to offer. It’s been only a week of rehearsals and I’m already super excited about how it will turn out, because we have amazing talented students and supervisors who will make this an amazing and fun experience, while also learning about a variety of cultures.