Jomari Geronimo (Right) speaks with an event attendee during the intermission for the League of Filipino Students 25th Anniversary inside Jack Adams Hall on Oct. 25. 2022. (Miguel Franceso Carrion / Golden Gate Xpress) (Miguel Francesco Carrion)
Jomari Geronimo (Right) speaks with an event attendee during the intermission for the League of Filipino Students 25th Anniversary inside Jack Adams Hall on Oct. 25. 2022. (Miguel Franceso Carrion / Golden Gate Xpress)
The battle cry against the Martial Law regime was coined in the 1970s and translates to “Fight! Do not be afraid.”
25 years ago, the Philippines’ League of Filipino Students formed their first overseas chapter at SF State. Founded on the ideals of democracy and liberation for Filipinos in their homeland and overseas, the group aims to make their voices heard by mobilizing and organizing in the Bay Area.
Alumni, speakers and students gathered in Jack Adams Hall Tuesday to reflect on LFS’ rich history and achievements over the years to celebrate their anniversary.
At the event, alumni and members of various Filipinx groups on campus such as PACE, Chi Rho Omicron, and Alpha Kappa Omicron Sorority discussed their recent work and achievements.
The program also fundraised for the victims of Super Typhoon Noru and SF State LFS alumni Brandon Lee, who was left paralyzed after being attacked by the Philippines’ Armed Forces as he worked as a paralegal in the country.
A photo of the merchandise being sold by the League of Filipino Students during the event for the organization’s fundraising efforts on Oct. 25, 2022. (Miguel Francesco Carrion / Golden Gate Xpress) (Miguel Francesco Carrion)
LFS’ main priority is acknowledging their role as Filipinx youth and students in the U.S. who fight for their brothers and sisters in their homeland.
“Our role is to deepen the understanding of the concrete conditions between Filipinos here and in the homeland through study and also renewing our Filipino culture and history, coming to a proper understanding of how to remedy our current condition and most importantly to take action,” Murphy said. “Currently we’re in a time where the need to act is now.”
Though one of their mottos, “The people united will never be defeated,” LFS focuses on marginalized groups in the Philippines such as Lumad or indigenous people, farm laborers and workers. The student organization that aims to disrupt the status quo.
SF State LFS and Pilipinx American Collegiate Endeavor alumni Pat Racela, celebrated finding a sense of community as a Filipino student who worked and commuted from Pittsburg.
“I’ve always been interested in trying to find a Filipino community, with me being second-generation but also really wanting to be connected to my family and their story and everything they talked about in the Philippines,” Racela said.
Racela said his time in these organizations set him up for adulthood and life after college.
“It all connects to all the stuff that I’m doing right now,” Racela said. “…I really understand the struggle of everyday working Filipino people.”
Jennelyn Quinto, a second year history coordinator for PACE and Kappa Psi Epsilon sorority, came out to support the alliance between Filipinx organizations on campus. She believes the celebration is an opportunity to take space and talk about Filipinx organizations’ common ground and history.
“To me being a Pinay really means standing on the bones of my ancestors and carrying all of this resilience and struggle, really being one for the people and serving the community, the homeland and my family,” Quinto said.
Alexis Alexander (she/her) is the Diversity Editor for Golden Gate Xpress. She is a senior at SF State, majoring in journalism with a minor in race and resistance studies. She lives in San Francisco but grew up in Monrovia, California. Alexis enjoys writing about social and cultural issues. When she has a moment to herself she enjoys live music, matcha with oat milk and long walks in the city. After graduation she hopes to write or edit for a cultural news source or magazine like Rolling Stone.
Miguel Francesco Carrion (he/him) is a fifth-year photojournalism major and Asian American studies minor. While he claims to be a country-singing, Bronco riding cowboy in another universe, he is currently serving as the visuals editor for the Golden Gate Xpress. Outside of school, he works as a freelance photographer and videographer, and his work has appeared in BBC North America, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Positively Filipino Magazine and The Filipino Channel. When not working, you can find him at The Pub or in the back of his friends’ cars belting Zach Bryan lyrics out of tune.
