As CSUN students return to campus for the fall semester, many will turn to clubs to find peers with similar interests or cultural backgrounds.
Hermanas Unidas de CSUN
Hermanas Unidas de CSUN has been a mainstay on campus for 20 years, reaching that mark at the beginning of this school year.
Founded in 2003, the club aims to create a safe space for first-generation Latina students and encourage both undergraduate and graduate students to join.
Currently led by co-chair Natalia Rodriguez, the club prides itself on making all students feel welcome on campus, offering help on everything from schoolwork to filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, and offering students a place where they can connect with people that understand the situations they are in.
Rodriguez is in her fourth year as a member of the club. During this time, she has seen the club go through a difficult time online, but saw the club flourish as they came back in person last year.
“I can really feel the community circle back again, it feels like it’s healing,” Rodriguez said. Rodriguez refers to board members as steering members. “You’ve got a group of 5-10 people joining us on Zoom, with most of us being steering members, to having 20-30 people coming into our campus meetings. I really feel connected to my people now.”
The community around the club is something that has kept people coming back, leading them to make meetings accommodating for commuters and include ASL interpreters.
“School is lonely, it is depressing sometimes,” said club member Katherine Sierras. “So having someone cheer you on, having this support group, it’s just so amazing for me.”
Hermanas Unidas de CSUN will be holding their meetings this semester at the Flintridge Room in the East Conference Center, located in the University Student Union. They can be found on Instagram @haudecsun.
But Hermanas Unidas de CSUN is not the only club holding space for their community,
Pilipino Youth Kollective
Pilipino Youth Kollective, one of the newer clubs, is entering their second year on campus. They aim to create change in the San Fernando Valley and raise awareness about Filipino issues.
Founding member Edel Evangelista recalls starting the club during a time when hate crimes against Filipinos were on the rise.
“At the time, there were a lot of Filipino hate crimes happening in the valley,” Evangelista stated. “We felt the need to create an organization that really helped out victims of that nature.”
The club educates members through a variety of ways, offering teaching in events, holding rallies, fundraising for victims of hate crimes, and creating infographics for their members.
Evangelista is the leader of the club’s education committee, overseeing how people educate themselves and planning what issues the club should focus on.
The club hopes to create a space for people with similar struggles and interests to meet and connect.
“The answer is really in educating ourselves and coming together to fight back against these things, through our campaigns, through our education and committees,” Evangelista stated. “It’s really all in this type of fight, emphasizing you’re not alone in this struggle.”
Pilipino Youth Kollective holds their meetings at the Glenn Omatsu House on campus, a place Evangelista thinks offers the club a great space to interact with all members of the community. The club can be found @pyk.818 on Instagram.
Hermanas Unidas de CSUN and Pilipino Youth Kollective will be present at Meet The Clubs, which is scheduled for Sep. 5-6 in the Sierra Quad.
