by Celeste Morales

Student org. Kamalayan Alliance advocates creating a diverse community at CSUSM.

The organization’s main focus is awareness and community, aiming to represent the Asian

American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community of California State University San Marcos and to

provide a diverse environment for CSUSM students.

CSUSM student Andrea Aduna, student affairs coordinator, and Huy To, the mediator between

Kamalayan Alliance on campus and the other AAPI communities, are among some of the faces

behind the organization.

Kamalayan Alliance was developed because racial slurs began circulating about the AAPI

community. The organization came together to fight against this maltreatment against students

and out of their fight, blossomed a family of purpose and values.

The organization started in 2005 with five founding fathers who wanted to continue to have

a place for people to come together and have a voice. Kamalayan Alliance tries to represent

the community as much as possible, while making it fun and exciting for people to join, come

together and have a good time.

Some of Kamalyan Alliance’s goals are to continue to get students to join the community, but to

also build collaboration through other organizations in order to join forces and share resources,

thus creating a school that is more diverse.

Aside from community, Kamalayan Alliance is also concerned with student life, especially for

first year students.

They help first years to come forward by offering a mentoring program called Kapatid, where

each Ate gets a Kuya. In the mentorship, a student is matched up with a big brother or big sister

in order to ease the transition into student life. This mentor acts as someone you can create a

family with. Your family is called a KA family where you will eventually form traditions.

There are several upcoming events that the organization is excited about announcing. One

particular event is the Friendship Gathering at Cal State Fullerton in honor of Philippine culture

month. Over 40 organizations all over the Southwest will be there this semester.

Another scheduled event will be held in the spring in celebration of the organization’s 10 year

anniversary.

One thing the Kamalayan Alliance wanted students to understand is that the school is fruitful and

that students should be proud of it. It is especially important for students to become active in the

CSUSM community. Kamalayan Alliance also encourages anyone to join, even if they’re not

part of the AAPI community.

Kamalayan Alliance meets twice a month during U-hour on Thursdays in the ballroom; their

next meeting will be held on Oct. 4. If any students are interested in joining, contact Kamalayan

Alliance at [email protected] for more information.