The kick-off to Fullerton College Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi-American (APIDA) Heritage Month events opened Monday, May 1, with colorful booths decorated for the various APIDA nations: Cambodia, China, Pacific Islander, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, India, Philippines.

Visitors were given a ticket in the style of an airline boarding pass and got a stamp from each booth, the stubs of which were placed into a barrel for a drawing. Each booth featured decorations, clothing, candy and treats of their nation.

The Japanese booth featured origami folding. People were taught how to fold printed paper into cranes. The Indian booth offered treats such as jalebi, which are sweet, syrupy dough, fried crisp, in decorative shapes.

“This is a Cambodian warrior from the ancient kingdom,” said Gilberto Valencia, describing the artwork of the Cambodian booth. “I was a refugee of Cambodia. I came here when I was two, during the Cambodian civil war era,” he said.

Valencia is a Coordinator of the Cadena Cultural Center, which is sponsoring much of the APIDA Heritage Month. “We are trying to amplify the voices of APIDA and this is a great way,” he said.

The Pacific Islander booth featured dancing of Hawaii and Tahiti. After demonstrating three dances, they invited people up on stage to learn. Among this group were Associated Students President Chloe Serrano, Fullerton College President Cynthia Olivo and photography student Ray Mohammed.

President Olivo had opened the event with a heartfelt welcome: “There’s nothing more important to me as your college president than our students feeling a strong sense of belonging. I want our students to be able to feel just like they are part of a family when they are here at Fullerton College, and I don’t want our students to feel as though they have to act one way when they’re at home and when they’re here they have to act a completely different way that doesn’t feel authentic to themselves. Because I feel that students will thrive once they feel they can be and celebrate where they come from, and what better place to do that than at our college.”

The next event, on Wednesday, May 3 was the “Fill Up Your Boba Cup” meet and greet. Students were invited to sit at small tables, getting to know others while enjoying Asian snacks and Boba teas.

Each table had facilitators who asked students to complete forms that asked if they felt safe and included at Fullerton College.

Then there was a “People Bingo” game, in which spaces had questions such as “I translate for my family,” “I can say hello in five languages,” “I am the first in my family to attend college.”

If they fit the description in the bingo areas, their name would be written in the space. Once a row was completed, it could be turned in for a raffle ticket. The prizes included gift cards for Hot Topic and wearable gifts.

“This is the first time in almost four years that we’d had an event like this. The last time we had an API forum was in October 2019,” said Dr. Rosie Kar, professor of Ethnic Studies.

“We wanted to create a space where students could network, to meet each other, and to eat snacks… We are also using this as a way of getting information from students; we want to know as faculty, staff, and Students Support Services how we can better serve,” said Kar.

The event concluded with a resource fair, where students could consult with counselors, and be introduced to the various places on campus to meet their needs.