The Asian Pacific Islander Club (APIC) is one of Berkeley High School’s oldest cultural clubs. The club has seen many changes throughout its 50 year history at BHS, though its core mission of providing a safe space for members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has remained the same.
The club holds weekly meetings, plans fun and engaging activities, and hosts special events such as AAPI graduation. Club meetings are usually packed, with 40-plus people in the classroom. Running the club takes lots of effort and can be very challenging, so there are about ten students in leadership positions.
BHS senior and APIC Co-President Jocelyn Mae Sandiego, who has been in the club since her freshman year, and first got involved during the COVID-19 pandemic, said, “There were a lot of Asian hate crimes going on at the time … (so) I was very driven to speak out … and educate (people),”
Even after four years as a part of APIC, Sandiego still sees areas that the club could improve on. As a Filipino American, she feels the club is often more East Asian centered and has tried to improve this by inviting the Southeast Asian Club in previous years, as well as trying to talk about other Asian cultures during club meetings. “I feel like there’s a lack of representation in our club that I’m hoping to improve on in the following years,” Sandiego said. In the future, she wants all parts of the Asian diaspora to be equally heard.
For freshman club member Truly Hwang-Woodard, APIC has been a welcoming space since day one. At the start of the school year she joined mostly for community, but she now sees APIC also as a place of emotional support. “We are all able to bond over our cultures and shared experiences,” Hwang-Woodard said, describing APIC as a “safety net,” where students can have a safe place to relax, be themselves, and learn.
This year, the club has gone through a big transition. Last year, longtime staff sponsor and Universal Ninth Grade Ethnic Studies teacher Dana Moran retired, and in her place, film photography teacher Sam Matsumoto was welcomed to the club. “Growing up where there weren’t a lot of opportunities to connect with other Asian American students, I wanted to help give that to (BHS) students,” Matsumoto said. Arrival to the club has been a learning curve, as they are taking on new responsibilities.
Moreover, APIC used to work at University of California, Berkeley, sports games to fundraise for the club, but that is no longer possible, which forces club leaders to come up with new ideas. “We’ve been brainstorming ways on how to better fundraise for our club as well as being able to fund for our AAPI graduation that we hold every year,” Sandiego said. APIC has been able to get a few grants from the school that have helped fill some gaps.
Despite these bumps in the road, Matsumoto praises the students for what they have done. “Leadership really has it together … they pretty much do mostly everything,” Matsumoto said.
Looking ahead, Sandiego wants next year’s leadership to continue making progress in the form of stronger ties with other affinity groups planning an AAPI assembly. Last year, APIC helped plan an assembly where students from different Asian backgrounds performed traditional dances. “This year we were supposed to have (an assembly), but unfortunately, we could not figure out a date with the administration,” Sandiego said, adding that she hopes it will be possible next year. Sandiego also wants future leaders to push for inclusivity in APIC and encourage pride within the Asian community.