The isolation of the 22 Tappan building has made the divide between the freshman and upperclassmen even greater than before, but the Asian Pacific American Club (APAC) is bridging the distance. Students of APAC gathered in 22 Tappan’s conference room on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with a new goal for this year to increase freshman participation by going directly to them. The event was mainly advertised towards freshmen, but anyone in APAC was welcome to attend.
The freshman mixer brought all four grades together under their shared Asian identity with the aim of increasing freshman participation and ensuring that APAC’s legacy will live on. It served to help freshmen understand the community that awaits them when they join APAC.
The overlapping sounds of different Asian languages accompanied by the rhythmic tunes of Asian pop music filled the room and left no space for awkward silence. Attendees enjoyed laughter-filled conversations and munched on Asian snacks like Japanese rice crackers, Chinese moon cakes and South Asian almond cakes. Traditional Chinese games like Mahjong got heated as players passionately exclaimed aloud when they lost or won the game.
Freshman Jeremy Wang said he was shocked to see how big the Asian community at the high school is.
“APAC is the biggest club, and I feel like it is a safe space where I can be with people who share my identity,” Jeremy Wang said.
APAC co-president and senior Justina Wang said APAC has built a large community and she plans to grow it even more. She said the community has provided a safe haven for students and thinks it’s important for freshmen to have these connections with upper classmen.
“It’s like a whole new world. I know that when I was a freshman, it was really hard to get used to the size difference and I can imagine how overwhelming it is,” Justina Wang said. “If freshmen can have a club or group of people that they feel comfortable with, it makes the school [transition] process less difficult.”
