Pinoy Pride Takes Hold of Cam High

Dante Bernhardt, Video Editor|October 10, 2018

Photo by: Dante Bernhardt The Cam High Filipinx Club board members pose for a picture at lunch including Editor in Chief, Marcella Barneclo, and staff writers, Jonah Arellano and Enrico Magtoto.

Cam High’s Filipinx Club is a newly-formed club that seeks to celebrate Filipino culture and unite minority groups that may feel alienated or oppressed.

The club name stems from the word “Filipinx,” which is a gender neutral way to refer to Filipino people who generally go by Filipino for men or Filipina for women.

The club was originally three separate groups before merging into one at the instruction of Ms. Lori Pristera, ASB advisor. The board consists of 12 members due to the merge. Sergio Mercado, senior and one of three club presidents, said, “Filipinos tend to have a strong cultural pride, [so this] club has been a long time coming.”

During meetings, board members plan to teach students about the primary language of the Philippines, Tagalog. Filipino culture and traditions will also be discussed at meetings. Stephen Craver, senior, joined Filipinx Club because he wanted to learn more about the Filipino culture. “As a half-white person struggling to live up my Filipino culture, I kinda wanted to get more involved…I just want to get more in tune with my Filipino culture as a white guy.”

Filipinx plans to aid citizens in the Philippines by donating money and resources to those who suffer from difficult monsoon seasons and typhoons. The board is working to host community events and fundraisers with other Filipinx clubs in the Oxnard Union High School District.

Events, such as banquets, bonding days, “Friends-giving”, and Friendship Games, involve the participation of multiple Filipinx clubs throughout the district. Six other high schools have a Filipinx club, and Cam High is the newest addition.

“I personally feel like [Filipinx is] important because we have never had anything like this before and it’s a good community for Filipino students to come together and learn more about our culture,” said junior and publicist of the club, Kaylie Pritchard.

The club remains open to all and board members encourages students to join regardless of race. The Filipinx club can be found on Instagram (@achsfilipinx) and has meetings in L-5 every other Friday.