KAPWA Loyola’s Filipino Student Organization
Being one of Loyola’s biggest ethnic organizations, Kapwa, the Filipino Student Organization, lives up to its name of inclusivity and family. Coming from a large, close knit Spanish Filipino family, I knew that I wanted to be part of a college group that promoted community service, social justice, and appreciation of the Filipino culture. I believe Kapwa filled all these boxes in with their many committees.
Kapwa Advocates: This sector focuses on social justice issues and explores various aspects of identity and the stresses the importance of acceptance and appreciation of our differences. Additionally, we explore the complexity of being a Filipino, as it often means being a person of various ethnicities and racial backgrounds.
Kapwa Academics: Striking a balance between a college work load while also maintaining a healthy social life, is difficult. This is why Kapwa has student led study halls to help you with study halls to help you. These are students who may have similar classes as you and are willing to give tips and tricks to help you succeed.
Kapwa Community Service: This group stresses the importance of giving back to the community, a practice that is very common for many Filipino families. Here, charity events and fundraisers are held to better help and reach out to the Rogers Park neighborhood and the greater Chicago area.
Kapwa Cultural/Kapwa Modern: There are two dance groups within Kapwa, the cultural and modern dance groups. In Kapwa cultural, we explore different traditional dances of the Philippines that reflect the Spanish, Chinese, Malaysian, and Islamic influence that dance has in our country. Each year, this group performs a showcase in the fall at Night in Manila (NIM) and in the spring, Battle of the Bamboo. Here, Loyola competes with other colleges/universities from around Illinois in a set of cultural dance suites complete with traditional music on local instruments and colorful, ornate costumes. In Kapwa modern, we try out different upbeat and current music styles that include Hip-Hop, K-Pop, etc. Regardless, both groups promote the importance of dance and music in the Filipino culture.
Kapwa AKB: Kapwa’s AKB program is a mentor program that focuses on the Filipino idea of helping your family out. AKB stands for the Tagalog words: Ate (older sister), Kuya (older brother), and Bunso (youngest sibling). Here, freshmen students get paired up with a family of an Ate and Kuya (an upperclassman), to help be there guide and mentor as they go through their first year of college. Together, they attend Kapwa events and hang out both on or off campus and get to know each other better.
Throughout the year, many events are scheduled to promote the Filipino culture/identity and educate about Filipino history. For example, during the time of Halloween, we plan an event called “Halo-Halloween”, named after the famous Filipino dessert. Likewise, we have a Karaoke night where we sing together all the songs you can think of! It does not matter if you are identify as Filipino or not, you are always welcome to be a member of Kapwa! Mabuhay! (Welcome!)
