Dear Incoming Student,

On behalf of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition (APSC), welcome to Penn! We can't wait for you to join us on campus this fall and, as your one-stop resource for getting involved, we're excited to tell you about what we have to offer!

APSC is an alliance of 19 cultural and social organizations with an executive board charged with representing the interests of the APA community. I know Penn is full of acronyms, but this one is important: APA stands for Asian Pacific American, an identity that includes people with ethnic backgrounds from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and native Hawaiians. Accordingly, some issues that APSC has addressed include affirmative action in admissions, mental health resources, ethnic studies programs, and the model minority stereotype.

I’m guessing that by now you might be thinking: “Great. I’m being invited to only have Asian friends in college.” That’s fine, because that’s exactly what I thought my freshman year, too. I avoided things like APSC at all costs out of fear that I wouldn’t meet other people on campus, but over my three years at Penn, I’ve realized three critical things:

  • The APA community is incredibly large and diverse. Nearly 25% of Penn undergrads – 2,500 people! – identify as Asian, so getting involved means meeting new people and trying new things every day. As an Indian American from Iowa, I never thought I would become a member of the Penn Taiwanese Society, fall in love with Korean pop, or go on Sunday morning dim sum runs.
  • Everyone at Penn spans several communities. For example, while APSC’s executive board members are very involved in the APA community, we’re also on student government, in Greek life, class TA’s, web designers, and dance troupe members. Additionally, people shift interests dramatically in college, so you may as well experiment as a freshman!
  • The APA community can be an important resource, but it is what you make of it. You can find people to discuss things like interracial marriage and media stereotypes, participate in leadership development and mentorship programs to explore how your background can be a source of strength, or visit PAACH to find out where to find the best dim sum, samosas, or Korean BBQ in Philly.

As APSC, it’s our privilege to help freshmen discover these things so you can make an informed decision about the extent of your involvement in Penn’s APA community. At the very least, just realize that you have nothing to lose – through APSC and our constituent groups you’ll meet a ton of people and gain access to incredible resources that will surely prove useful during your college career. My advice is that you take your first semester to explore: try different groups and attend different meetings from all over campus and then take the time to decide which activities you could see yourself really committing to. College—and especially freshman year—is the perfect time to try something new.

To find out more, please join us at APSC’s first GBM, which will include a freshman meet & greet, on Wednesday, September 14, at 8 PM in the ARCH’s Fireside Lounge (36th and Locust). For more updates check us out at join our Facebook group. You can also find links to our constituent organizations’ websites if they interest you.

If you have any questions at all, whether it’s related to APSC or not, please feel free to reach out to any of us on board. We look forward to hearing from you! See you in the fall!

Sincerely,

Nicky Singh

Chair, Asian Pacific Student Coalition