From the Class to the Community

Melissa Vinluan is Filipino American and a fourth-year Asian American studies major, Education minor at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). Originally from the Inland Empire, she now lives in Isla Vista and has served as both internal and external vice president of KP (Kapatirang Pilipino) at UCSB, as well as was an active member of Anakbayan Santa Barbara.

 

Can you tell me about the ethnic orgs you’ve been involved with on campus and how you got involved?

 

The demographics of the town I grew up in was vastly majority White and Hispanic, so growing up I didn’t see a lot of Filipino representation, let alone Asian representation. Coming to UCDB and joining a lot of orgs changed the trajectory of my life a lot. Some of the orgs I’ve been involved with since first year include Kapatirang Pilipino. I was also part of Anakbayan for my first two years. Those are the main two that I started off involvement with. And through those orgs is how I found my passion in student affairs and organizing. I was the external vice president and internal vice president for KP. As internal [VP], my responsibility was to manage the intern program, and construct and maintain relationships with other Asian orgs throughout campus. 

 

At the time, there wasn’t a lot of structure to it, but I worked alongside Josh (another KP chair) and we reached out to 18 other Asian American orgs on campus such as KASA, VSA, the API (Asian Pacific Islander) residence hall, and Asian frats and sororities. We established the first Asian Student Coalition.

 

What inspired you to become active in the Asian American student community at UCSB?

 

I first heard about KP when I was at the API fair with all the orgs. I ran into KP and they were like, ‘You should join’ and I was like ‘I don’t know.’ In high school they called me a FAFapino, FAF standing for fake AF. Because I didn’t speak Tagalog. I wasn’t from the Philippines. The two other Filipinos that were at my school were fluent and from the actual islands. So I didn’t know if I would fit in. Ultimately, I decided to attend a few events and that’s where I learned that there’s no monolithic Filipino identity. 

 

Through KP, I also ended up signing up for courses like Asian American 5. I didn’t know what I was studying in Asian American Studies. I was a Poli Sci major, so I just took it as a GE and ended up loving it…I decided to switch into the Asian American Studies major. Of course, learning about race and what it means to be Asian American is one thing in itself, but the way I really came to understand and find value in it was translating that knowledge into actual work and actual community relations. I started to get involved with the political committee in KP. And when I was a first-year I believe that’s when we went to LA and marched alongside hundreds of activists and community members throughout the state. For JFAV, which is Justice for Filipino American veterans, because the Rescission Act of 1946 took away the benefits that were promised to Filipino American veterans, and they still have not been granted those benefits and reparations. That was one of the most life changing events, because I had never seen so many passionate Filipinos before, and my grandfather was in the military, so it was very personal to me.

 

Also as internal vice president [of KP], I reached out to other orgs throughout the state from different universities such as CSUCI and CPSLO and UCI and I thought it was really cool to just see the greater community of Filipino Americans outside of UCSB. Seeing it holistically throughout the state and seeing how it’s different for each school but at the same time very much the same mission, the same people. It was very fulfilling as a reminder that a lot of the work we do, it’s not just individual. It’s a greater mission benefiting people beyond our years.

 

How do you think UCSB compares in terms of Asian American representation compared to these other schools?

 

When I came to UCSB, I didn’t expect there to be a big Filipino population, and I was obviously proved wrong when I joined and it was the biggest ethnic org on campus. I thought it was huge and then I would go to other schools or attend events or collaborate with them. Schools like UC Davis, their Filipino population is huge, it’s almost triple ours. And you can see how that alters the structure of their organization because it’s so big. They have so much more history. And they’ve achieved so much more. Not to say that KP hasn’t achieved a lot, they just have a richer and longer history. We definitely have ways we can grow and learn from them. But I think KP is unique in the fact that we are in a predominantly White institution and yet we still, you know, prevail as one of the biggest AAPI orgs on campus. Each org is different and you can tell that KP has its own culture, its own family traditions. It still makes the same impact, even if it’s not as big or doesn’t have as long a history. 

 

What do you think is the importance of orgs like KP at UCSB?

 

Orgs like KP or just ethnic orgs in general provide an environment, a foundation for people to meet other folks that they might not see represented throughout the greater UCSB population. I know people, or at least with Orientation, we tell people only 30% of the student population is White. But obviously it doesn’t feel that way when you’re just walking throughout campus or even just down DP. I feel like orgs like KP give you that stage to embrace your identity and kind of part away from the feeling that we are an “other” or that we don’t have a voice or needs and demands. I feel like by gathering together and having that sense of community we have that sense that we deserve space here and deserve to be heard.

 

How has being Filipino American impacted your experience at UCSB?

 

Being Filipino American inspired me to join KP, which in a lot of ways taught me what community means and what it means to be Asian American. I learned a lot of academic terms as an Asian American Studies major, but that doesn’t have any relevance to me until I see it play out in my actual life and in relationships in my community. I was able to see the importance of community building. There’s a lot of talk about community work, but you can’t really know your community unless you know your coworkers’ names and who they are and how they’re doing. It’s not just numbers and titles and achievements. It’s also just actually being a community member. And I think that’s what led me into student affairs and higher education. I really want to work with incoming students, especially as the pool of applicants increases. I feel like working through KP, working with my identity and figuring out what it meant to me, inspired me to go into student affairs and be that guide for incoming students as they figure that out as well.

 

What do you think about the diversity and Asian American representation at UCSB right now?

 

Honestly, I do think UCSB is a very diverse community if you look for the diversity. There is a high presence of various communities and identities…and as these orgs continue to grow, you can definitely see diversity at our school. You really do have to look out for it and reach out and participate in order to see it represented. There’s definitely times where I feel like the university doesn’t necessarily uplift voices as much as they say they do. A lot of the times it’s been very performative, but nonetheless, the students’ work speaks for itself.

 

From the very beginning, I was involved with different Asian organizations, so I personally think there’s great [Asian American] representation as long as you look for it. I didn’t have any of that when I was in my hometown, so I thought it was super cool that UCSB had it. Again, other universities have bigger resources and clubs but I think API representation has been strong here. As an Asian American Studies major too, surrounded by API folks, it’s hard not to feel that way.

 

Do you think UCSB is doing a good job of catering to its Asian American population? 

 

It depends on how you define UCSB. When I think of UCSB, I think of the students and the faculty that are working with students. A lot of the work that is done to support students [is by students], like forming FAHC (Filipinx Association for Health Careers) or the Asian Student Coalition. I don’t know how much the university as an institution caters to students’ needs. When it comes to specific needs and addressing them, it is on the students and faculty who do the majority of the work. 

 

What would you want to see at UCSB in the future in terms of diversity and Asian American representation?

 

It would be better if there was more Asian American representation in orgs like A.S. More resources. There’s already resources like the ARC and API community living, so definitely more investment into those resources and also an outlet for students to communicate with the university and faculty about their needs and concerns. A bigger platform for them to do so in the future.