The APASS Pacific Islander-focused initiative - PULE: Promoting Unity, Liberation, and Education – launched in the spring of 2010. PULE (pronounced PU-LAY) means "leader" in a number of Oceanic languages. PULE events and programs are open to ALL.

Program goals include:

1. Building PULE to serve as a safe space for PI community development at USC.
2. Encouraging PI and non-PI students to engage in cross-cultural discussion and service projects that will impact the Southern California PI community.
3. In the long-term, building a pipeline project to increase recruitment and admission of Pacific Islander youth to USC.

Since the fall of 2010, the APASS PULE project has programmed the following events, which have been attended by students and community members of all backgrounds:

• We Are Leaders: Pacific Islander Success Panel & Networking Workshop
• Pacific Islander Ethnic Art Museum & Lunch Visit
• Screening of Boy, written & directed by Taika Waititi (co-sponsored with School of Cinematic Arts)
• Development or Degradation?: Militarization In the Pacific Islands (a panel discussion co-sponsored with the School of Social Work)

100% of the respondents at the We Are Leaders event and 100% of the respondents at the Militarization event responded Agree or Strongly Agree to the question: "Tonight's PULE program provides knowledge I can use to advocate for the Pacific Islander community." Following the We Are Leaders event, 100% of respondents Agreed or Strongly Agreed that "Tonight's PULE program helps me to better understand the diverse experiences in the Pacific Islander community."


The program has been received extremely well by students and community members, and has also received coverage in the Daily Trojan and through the Student Affairs Spotlight and the USC News.

http://dailytrojan.com/2010/11/10/apass-launches-initiative/

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/whats_happening/happened/2010_2011/spring_2011/pule.html

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/whats_happening/happened/2011_2012/fall_2011/pule_campus_visit.html

PULE won the 2011 Outstanding Program Award from the USC Division of Student Affairs. Our program was recognized for fulfilling a need, closing a gap, and building a positive space for community engagement and dialogue.

Get involved with APASS PULE! Check us out on Facebook, email us at apass@usc.edu, and come to the PULE events throughout the year! Got ideas? We want to hear them!

Since 2005, the APASS South Asian project, DESI (Defining and Exploring South Asian Issues), has been fostering dialogue around South Asian/South Asian American issues. Program coordinators host discussion panels, film screenings, conferences, and more. DESI Project events are open to ALL!


DESI Project events include:

• The hit "FOBs versus ABCDs" panel discussion series. South Asian and South Asian American panelists (students, faculty, staff, and community leaders) debate and discuss hot topics. Past panels have focused on:
• Sex and sexuality
• Gender roles
• The exploitation of slum culture for entertainment (“Slum-sploitation?”)
• Skin color issues (“Fair and Lovely vs. Dark and Ugly?”)
• Religion and law (“From Secular to Sacred”)
• Stereotypes
• Awareness events, such as:
• The Health of South Asians Conference
• Flooded Lands, Dried Up Coverage: Pakistan’s Catastrophe

And much more!
Get involved with APASS DESI Projects! Check us out on Facebook, email us at apass@usc.edu, and come to the DESI events throughout the year! Got ideas? We want to hear them!