Tagalog Not Required, but an Interest in the Philippines Won’t Hurt

By Lavielle Hibbert

They are the second-largest group of Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants in the United States, the islands they or their ancestors came from comprise the third largest Catholic nation in the world, and the U.S. fought a four-year war with the nation soon after it declared its independence from Spain. But the Philippines, and the people from that nation of 7,000 islands, Filipinos, often seem overlooked compared to larger or more economically bustling countries like China, Japan and Korea.
But if you’re interested in knowing more, you can take a “1-Day Crash Course on Philippine History,” tomorrow as Filipinos for Health, Empowerment and Leadership (FHEAL) will conduct the interactive educational discussion from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in VIL 130 (that’s the Classroom Village just west of the gym),

According to Janelle Viray, who notified the campus via email Nov. 13 about the event, the all-day session is designed to expose people to the “history of the Philippines and the Filipino people’s movement for national democracy and socialism in the Philippines.”

Participants will learn about contemporary problems in Philippine society, the “long-hidden, rich history of resistance of the people, and how we as overseas Filipinos and people concerned with human rights in the Philippines can help solve them,” Viray wrote.