The Penn Philippine Association celebrated Filipino American History Month throughout October (Photo courtesy of Erika Acosta).
Students celebrated Filipino American History Month in October throughout Penn's campus.
To celebrate the month, the Penn Philippine Association hosted Halo-Halloween on Oct. 31, where attendees had Filipino dessert and competed in a trivial style activity centered around Filipino heritage.
PPA partnered with the Pennsylvania chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society to host Halo-Halloween.
College junior Myka Salvacion said that she hoped that Halo-Halloween taught students about the history of Filipinos in America.
Instead of being a grab-and-go event, members of PPA wanted the event to encompass Filipino historical achievements and honor their ancestors' actions to assimilate into American culture, Salvacion said.
“It’s a really nice way to celebrate what being Filipino American means to us through reconnecting back with our culture,” Salvacion said.
PPA also hosted a general body meeting with a local church in Philadelphia at the beginning of the month. PPA also worked with other Filipino organizations at universities in southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania to get together and celebrate Filipino American History Month.
“We seek to connect with each other, even beyond our own schools,” Salvacion said.
The Filipino Youth Ministry at Penn Newman Center held mass on the first Saturday of October.
After Saturday's mass on Oct. 7, Filipino-identified students gathered together and enjoyed a variety of Filipino food for dinner. After dinner, the Newman fellowship cohort celebrated through karaoke.
According to Acosta, karaoke is an activity “super ingrained in Filipino culture.”
In 2009, the U.S. Congress designated October as Filipino American History Month.
According to College senior Erika Acosta, October was designated Filipino American History Month because it was when the first Filipinos arrived in the United States.
Filipino American History Month was celebrated throughout Philadelphia, not just at Penn. The Filipino Chamber of Commerce at Cherry Street hosted an event called “Taste of the Philippines,” which featured traditional Filipino food.
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