On Nov. 2, the Asian-Pacific American Coalition (APAC) RSO hosted a “Boodle Fight,” to celebrate the end of October, named Filipino-American Heritage Month.
Also known as a Filipino Kamayan Feast, the Boodle Fight was a potluck of traditional Filipino dishes eaten by hand over a bed of banana leaves. For APAC, everyone was invited to bring dishes from their respective cultures.
Students primarily brought traditional Filipino foods such as chicken adobo, bistec, pork menudo, Filipino barbecue skewers, Filipino spaghetti, mango float and ginataang mais. Social Chair Megan Barrameda said the barbecue skewers were the most popular dish that evening.
“From my experience, not many people know about Filipino culture,” Barrameda said. “Celebrating Filipino-American History Month provides people the opportunity to learn more about Filipino culture and break stereotypes, as well as recognize Filipino-American contributions to America.”
Throughout the month of October, APAC hosted a series of events. These included “Make Your Own Halo-Halo” – a popular Filipino dessert, an educational discussion and series of presentations on Filipino culture and Karaoke Night.
While May is Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) month, APAC wanted to celebrate the culture of their members during the school year.
“This was our pilot month to see if a list of events from an RSO would get people interested in broadening their knowledge about Diversity and Inclusion,” APAC President Monica Salonga said. “It’s important to celebrate Filipino culture because just like any culture, it’s nice to know people’s backgrounds and understand why that becomes an important part of their identity.”
APAC’s executive board encouraged students from all backgrounds to engage with Filipino culture and broaden their discussion about various Asian cultures.
“Showing up and being there for the Filipino-Americans in your life is the biggest thing that allies can do,” Barrameda said. “At IWU, this can look like attending a n APAC event related to Filipino culture or an event that your Filipino-American friends are involved with.”
”Taking the time to listen to their stories and experiences is an important part of supporting the Filipino-Americans around you,” Barrameda said. “From there, we can advocate for further recognition and inclusion of Filipino Americans in our society.”
APAC will be holding their annual Friendsgiving on Nov. 22 at 6pm, location TBD. Anyone is welcome to join, APAC can be contacted through their Instagram account @apac_iwu.