LONG BEACH – College students gathered from all corners of Southern California for the 6th annual SCPASA Summit conference held at California State University at Long Beach (CSULB), on Saturday.
Presented by the Southern California Pilipino American Student Alliance (SCPASA) in collaboration with the Pilipino American Coalition (PAC) and One Nation at Cal State Long Beach, Summit 2013 was successful as expected.
More than 300 students from over 12 different schools came to participate in this marvelous event, filled with culture, education, identity, and quality entertainment.
The theme of Summit this year was “Redefined.” For me, this meant an exploration of self and identity, and it took some time for me to sort through. Nonetheless, I was excited to go to my second official Summit conference since starting college.
I left early that morning with my school’s Filipino club organization, Isang Bansa at Loyola Marymount University.
We headed down to Long Beach in the gorgeous sunny weather, not knowing what to expect, but energized to start the day.
After getting placed into our discussion groups and hearing more about the Summit’s theme, we headed off to our individual workshops, which were held in various classrooms around the huge CSULB campus.
My first workshop was called “Revolutionary Sheroes: Militant Sisterhood 101,” led by Gayle Palma and Rachel Escosia, who are representatives of national feminist women’s organization, AF3IRM LA — a female group dedicated to advocacy, grassroots education, and militant movement-building from the US.
I came into the workshop not knowing at all what to expect.
We first wrote about the “sheroes” (she-roes; or female heroes) in our lives, and went around the room sharing who we put down. Thinking about my Filipina shero got me wondering about the big role models in my life, and what they have done for me overall.
Needless to say, I was inspired. I wrote down notable qualities about my Lola Lina, along with my hopes to one day be as strong, faithful and perseverant as her.
The workshop itself was informative, as well as inspiring.
Our guest speakers talked about revolutionary Filipina sheroes, fighters, and artists, including Lorena Barros, Melchora Aquino, and well-known Bay Area rapper Rocky Rivera. These women somehow all found their own way to bring strength and hope to impoverished and voiceless women around the globe.
Finally, one of the Filipina sheroes, Grace Grande, told a very inspiring and heartbreaking story.
Grace’s story of overcoming hardships from the US legal system, the trials she endured because of her alleged Congressman abuser, and emigration from the Philippines was both moving and powerful.
She is currently working with different immigration law centers to remove her wrongful charges and have her voice finally heard.
“I am willing to share my story today so that I can give hope to those who were abused,” Grace bravely said. “Thank you for standing with me as I continue to fight for my freedom. I stand for all the women & children who don’t have a choice and need to be protected. ”
The Stand for Grace campaign, sponsored by AF3IRM, calls for all who believe in women’s rights to – quite literally – take a stand and do something for the oppressed and the voiceless, like Grace. (For more information about Stand for Grace, you can visit www.af3irm.org.)
At the end of the presentation, speaker Palma asked all of us an important question.
“How can we speak out and stand for justice? How do we give the voiceless a voice?” Palma asked.
It really got me thinking about advantage and responsibility. As privileged human beings, we may choose to be silent and ignorant, to pretend like nothing is happening. However, these are real issues faced by women every single day.
We must take a stand and speak out for those who cannot.
We must speak for the voiceless, and have their voices heard. With our privilege, comes full responsibility.
At the end of the workshop, I left feeling very encouraged and inspired, and thankful that I had attended.
