School’s API club focuses on sharing culture & fun
By SHANIA PINEDA
The Tower
On the first day of October marks the first day of celebrating Filipino American Month in the United States. After World War I, Filipinos have made their way to America with many landing in modern day Morro Bay.
Today, there are many Filipinos around the country, and high schools around the states have been actively representing them.
Among the many clubs, is one called the Asian Pacific Islander Club at Manteca High. It has started to get back in session after coronavirus made a disrupt back in 2020. Last year marked more representation among Manteca High School, as they continue proudly this year and upcoming. There are currently 30 active members running through the school.
API Club represents the Asian minorities on campus. Among the student body, 0.6% are of Pacific Islander heritage, or 96 students in total out of the 1,828. Of that demographic, 76 of those students are Filipinos, and the other 20 are Pacific Islanders.
“We started this club a while back before COVID started,” senior Eras Tuddao, the vice president of the running API club said. “But after COVID we just recently got into it last year.”
Kristine Timario, Asian Pacific Islanders Club activities coordinator, and Eras Tuddao, the API club’s vice president, pose for a photo on Oct. 31, 2023. (Autumn Wagoner)
Kristine Timario, the activities coordinator in the API club says that: “We're just as involved as one of the big cultural clubs here at school. Especially with representation, we're just really big on representing the club and our cultures so we can spread it and everyone can be aware.”
The API club is warm and welcoming to anyone, including other minorities or other cultures. They’re here to make a friendly environment here on campus.
Their activities and daily life highlight this, organizing multiple get-togethers of entertainment and enjoyment. The API club, along with many other clubs and schools in Northern California, got together and organized an event called the HSP, or High School Picnic. This event bonds them all together in the University of Pacific to have a fun, lighthearted and lively picnic or potluck accompanied by competitive games that they have practice for. There is also competition between dance and spirit within the environment, which is all for people’s entertainment. Anyone was able to join during this.
With their big picnic now coming to a close, the API club is still in activity as they are planning to do a karaoke night on an unconfirmed date as their plans are in the first stages.
This also aims to be something lighthearted between the members of the API club, accompanied with anyone else who wants to come in and swing by. The club shows their home-like environment, as they explain their enthusiasm and optimism.
“We’re trying to plan a karaoke night just so we can club bond and so that we can just get the whole Asian community and anybody as well is just welcome to come by,” Timario said.
The API club obtains help from other schools as well. They actively collab with the nearby schools: Sierra High and East Union, to plan events within themselves and to, again, create more bonding between the members.