Pacific Islander Club provides community, culture
Posted Apr. 16, 2024
Sports Editor
The Pacific Islander (PI) club has recently been established at DDHS, advised by Pacific Islander Program facilitator Asia Punch and assisted by attendance coordinator Frankie Collins.
Talk of establishing a PI club from islander students had been brewing up for a while until this year. “It has always been a desired from the students to have their own space to spend time together and celebrate their culture,” said Punch.
Another goal for Punch is for teachers and students to collaborate with each other to feel less “alone” at school.
“It’s really easy for staff to work alone,” said Punch, “and the same goes with students, so it's important to me for teachers to talk to me about my student concerns, and my students to tell me their concerns. Students and staff both feel like they’re alone when really they aren’t.”
The Pacific islander club celebrates the culture and heritage of the indigenous people of the Pacific Islands. Punch’s family is from Guam, representing the Chammora people, but the club represents many different islands and cultures, including from Chuuk, Yap, Tonga, Chammora, Samoa and many more belonging to the federated state of Micronesia. This gives the club a vast amount of cultures the students can share amongst each other and connect with one another.
“ It’s nice to feel close to people because there's a lot of similarities between our culture” said Punch
The club activities consist of volleyball, culture sharing (ie food, dances, attires, etc), a place for connection, and planning out trips and events. They went on three field trips: two to Pacific University, one to an Asian American Youth leader conference. The first one was in December for a college tour, the second one recently on Friday the 12th of April, where they were re-invited for the university annual yearly Luau which is a traditional Hawaiian feast with food and dancing. On the same day of the Luau, half the club attended the Asian American Youth leadership conference, to develop a sense of community while also attending college fairs, and “mapping out oneselves” according to the AAYLC booklet.
As of now they’re planning out a food distribution event on April 30th with an organization named Pacific Climate Warrior, an international organization for Pacific islander, that focuses mainly on combating climate change, for the Portland area specifically they focus on food sovereignty and food justices.
Also planned out another family night on may 3rd, the previous one was in December. In which students can invite family members so they meet one another, meet Punch and their community partners to really build a community, not just in Douglas but as a whole.
PI is also getting ready for DDHS Unite week coming in May, preparing dance performances, international bites food festival, and organizing checkpoints for the color runs.
They often meet after school every day Monday through Friday, on Tuesdays and Thursdays are regular group meetings, while Monday and Wednesday they have their homework group/homework assistance. The club meets from 3 to 4:30pm in room 139.
“Our doors are always open, anyone can join, not just Pacific Islander, we’re always excited for newcomers,” said Punch.