Pilipino Bruins

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ilipino Bruins have played an essential role in cultivating a vibrant and diverse UCLA community since the University's earliest days. Students, staff and faculty have championed, educated and celebrated the Pilipino experience to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

(Note: Pilipino and Filipino are used interchangeably in this article and mean the same thing. Philippine locals use Pilipino because there is no phonetic equivalent to the letter "F" in the Philippine Islands’ indigenous languages.) 

Trailblazers

In 1898, America claimed the Philippines as a colony following the Spanish American War. Pilipinos became American nationals who could migrate freely, but were excluded from citizenship. Students who excelled academically were encouraged to become pensionados and study at U.S. universities with the understanding they would return to the Philippines to teach or work in government. In UCLA’s 1927 yearbook, you can find their photos as members of the Filipino Students Association.

Pilipino Americans face unique challenges. The community has developed its own ways of supporting younger generations and ensuring their success. At UCLA, this support takes the form of mentorship, advocacy and sharing the importance of family, food and music. 

One early UCLA student, Helen Agcaoili Summers Brown ʼ37, M.A. ’38, was born in Manila and moved with her family to Pasadena. Brown had a 30-year career as a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher and counselor, where she advocated for cultural diversity awareness. With no resources available, she began documenting and preserving Pilipino American stories, building a library of books, pamphlets, newsletters and newspaper clippings. Affectionately called “Auntie Helen," when she retired, she brought her library to the community. The Pilipino American Reading Room and Library (PARRAL) opened in 1985 as the first library in the United States to focus on the Pilipino American experience.  

In the early 1900s, many Pilipinos left their homeland in search of better economic opportunities and settled in California’s Central Valley and the Pacific Northwest where they worked in agriculture and faced widespread racism. Flora Arca Mata ʼ40 was an early Bruin who broke barriers as Stockton’s first Asian American full-time teacher. She attended UCLA with the financial help of an older sister who worked as a farmworker. Unable to find a teaching job in California, she and her husband moved to the Philippines. Mata recalled in an interview, “Why is it that America would educate the minority and not give them an opportunity to use this education?” Returning to Stockton after WWII, she was hired as a substitute and then a full-time teacher. Her experience and tenacity paved the way for future generations.

During the turbulent Sixties, a student movement emerged at UCLA as activists envisioned an education that would reflect their cultures and experiences. Off campus, the 1965 Delano Grape Strike revolutionized the farm labor movement in America. At great personal risk, the strike started with 800 Pilipino farmworkers affiliated with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. They were joined by Cesar Chavez and the National Farmworkers Association who called for a grape boycott and what began as a labor dispute became a five-year struggle for civil rights. It wasn’t until 2013 that Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 123, requiring the State curriculum to include the contributions of Pilipino Americans to the labor movement. 

A generation later, John Delloro ’94, M.A. ’96, taught popular UCLA courses on Asian American and Pacific Islander labor organizing and leadership. A well-known student leader and activist at UCLA, he worked to save Tagalog language classes and was part of the campaign for Pilipino American studies that led to the establishment of the current Pilipino studies minor. He made a profound impact as a co-founder of the Pilipino Workers Center in Los Angeles and became one of the youngest presidents of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO. 

Often you may find family connections among UCLA Pilipino students. Melissa Jamero ʼ11, M.A. ʼ15, is the granddaughter of Herb Jamero and grandniece of Peter Jamero. She is Senior Fund Manager at UCLA Rolfe/Campbell Humanities Group. Peter Jamero, M.S.W. ’57, and Herb Jamero, M.S.W. ʼ58, were trailblazers in higher education, earning master's of social work degrees from the Luskin School of Public Affairs. Peter was raised on a Filipino farmworker camp operated by his parents. He wrote “Growing Up Brown: Memoirs of a Filipino American” and “Vanishing Filipino Americans: The Bridge Generation.”

Meg Thornton received the 2012 UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Royal Morales Community Achievement Award. She is the student and community engagement coordinator for the Asian American Studies Center. She says, “Folks like Uncle Pete were instrumental in building a social services network of Asian Americans to do advocacy work at the local state and the national level. They educated the policymakers and organized for more funding.”

Student Advocacy

Student activists transformed higher education, demanding courses that would reflect the experiences of underrecognized communities. Inspired by the student strike at San Francisco State in 1968 that won the first College of Ethnic Studies in the U.S., UCLA students advocated for the establishment of the Asian American Studies Center in 1969, along with the Bunche Center, Chicano Studies Research Center and American Indian Studies Center. The Asian American Studies Center is one of the longest-running research centers of its kind in the country.

In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, the Center is recording oral histories with some of its 50 community founders. The Collective Memories Project will serve as a major resource and historical document. Jesse Quinsaat, J.D. ʼ76, was a student activist who compiled the groundbreaking “Letters in Exile; An Introductory Reader on the History of Pilipinos in America,” the result of a need among UCLA Pilipino students to investigate their little-known history. 

This era also saw the founding of UCLA’s Mother Organizations in response to the underrepresentation of students from historically marginalized communities. Samahang Pilipino was founded in 1972 to focus on the needs of Pilipino students. Florante Peter Ibanez, M.L.I.S., M.A. ʼ06, helped establish the group while working at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Ibanez is a member of the “Bridge generation” that followed the early immigrants, called Manongs. Samahang Pilipino’s song “One Family” celebrates the bonds between generations.

Samahang Pilipino began advocating for more Pilipino representation at UCLA. Casimiro U. Tolentino ʼ72, J.D. ʼ75, was a law school student and one of Samahang’s founding members. In his efforts to learn more about Pilipino history, he created and taught a class called “The Pilipino American Experience in California.”

Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night (SPCN) has shared the cultural experiences of Pilipino and Pilipino Americans since 1978. Using dance and dramatic role play, the event has also been an opportunity to address the importance of Pilipino representation on campus. In a landmark accomplishment that paved the way for others, SPCN was the first student-run cultural night to perform at UCLA's Royce Hall. 

Students formed the Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Project (PREP) in 1979 to address barriers to higher education. UCLA students use their own experiences and insight to better equip young people for college success. 

Breaking Barriers in Athletics

Raymond Townsend ʼ78 overcame stereotypes to become the first Pilipino American in the NBA. Part of legendary Coach John Wooden's 1975 UCLA national championship basketball team, he was a first-round pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 1978 NBA draft, where he helped establish the NBA’s Pilipino Heritage Night, which continues to be celebrated today.

Decades later, Kyla Ross ʼ21 served as an undergraduate assistant coach for UCLA gymnastics. Ross made history as the first female gymnast ever to win an Olympic, World and NCAA Championship and the only gymnast in UCLA history to win all four individual NCAA event titles. A member of the 2012 "Fierce Five" Olympic team, she has received 22 perfect 10s. 

Today’s Pilipino students are using their success to make a difference and continuing the tradition of lifting up the next generation. Devon Mallory ʼ21 broke barriers for underrepresented dancers as the first male member of the UCLA Dance Team. A first-generation Pilipino Black American, Mallory is now teaching others as the coordinator and lead instructor for the Las Vegas Raiderettes.

Educating the Youth

An engaging and illuminating account of Pilipino American history was shared in the popular "Pilipino American Experience" course by community scholar and activist Royal Morales from 1983 to 1996. Affectionately known as "Uncle Roy," he turned his classes into events as he brought history to life through stories, music and popular weekend field trips.

Morales addressed problems among Pilipino youth and co-founded Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA). UCLA Pilipino alumni pay tribute to his legacy with the annual Royal Morales Community Achievement Award, presented to those who contribute to improving the UCLA Pilipino community.

Around this time in 1985, Helen Brown was opening her library and establishing the Pamana Foundation, a nonprofit designed to support the library and its activities. Among the incorporators were Brown, Tania Azores, M.A., Ph.D. ’87, the first at UCLA to teach the Tagalog language in 1992, and Brad Bagasao ʼ73 and Dr. Herminia Meñez Coben, who taught Pilipino Folklore and Society.

Tagalog classes were scheduled to be discontinued in the late 1990s until students stepped in to advocate for their importance. UCLA now offers both lower and upper division classes and a minor in Asian languages. The efforts of students, staff and faculty have been vital to many milestones, including the 2009 addition of the Pilipino studies concentration. 

Outreach, Retention and Support

In 1988, in a setback for the UCLA Pilipino community, the University determined that Pilipinos had achieved “parity,” with the rate of incoming freshmen matching the public high school graduation rate. This decision to exclude Pilipinos from affirmative action had a lasting impact and resulted in a 31 percent drop in enrollment.

Dismayed by the University’s decision, UCLA’s Pilipino community responded by creating their own outreach and retention programs. Samahang Pilipino Education and Retention (SPEAR) emphasized the need for “bayanihan,” students supporting other students. In 2000, as enrollment among Pilipino students continued to decrease, Samahang Pilipino Advancing Community Empowerment (SPACE) was established to promote access to higher education through peer tutoring, internships, conferences and field trips. In 2009, the Pilipino Council of Mabuhay Collective at UCLA brought the many organizations together.

To strengthen the bonds formed in college, UCLA’s Pilipino alumni, led by Corky Pasquil ’91, formed the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association (PAA). Pilipino alumni have built a community of Bruins to encourage academic and professional development and support students through mentorship, scholarship and networking.

To invest in Pilipino students, the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association awards the Lovell Sevilla Scholarship to a current Bruin who is working to improve the lives of others. PAA established more than a $200,000 scholarship endowment fund for deserving UCLA students. The scholarship honors Lovell Sevilla ʼ89, a counselor at the UCLA Honors program for over two decades and UCLA PAA Scholarship Director from 1995 to 2000, where she grew the program from one $500 scholarship a year to 10 or more scholarships totaling over $10,000 annually. 

PAA also hosts career panels, networking mixers, mentoring opportunities and social events to make an investment in professional development and personal growth. Through engaging with students, staff, faculty and alumni, they are building connections to create lasting change.

A.R. Mateo '07 is a UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Board member, currently serving as their scholarship director. As a student, he participated in Spring Sing, UCLA Madrigals, UCLA Chorale and the Graduate Mentor Program. Last year, A.R. helped organize the first ever UCLA Basketball Pilipino Heritage Night. He says, “There's a sense of family and generations within the community. When you have representation it means a lot.” A portion of every ticket sold went to the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association for scholarship support.

His brother, Derek Mateo ʼ96, M.A. ʼ99, is a double Bruin and was among the first to graduate with an Asian American studies major. He co-founded the LCC Theatre Company with Randall Park ʼ97 and David Lee in 1995; more than 20 years later, it is the largest Asian American college theater group in the country. Derek, an active member of PAA, says, “We are one of the largest non-white communities in California, and we are an at-risk community. We are trying to support our students so that they can succeed.”

Pilipinos in Politics

Although there are more than four million Filipino Americans in the United States and 1.6 million in California, they have been underrepresented in politics, both local and national. Mark Pulido ʼ95 was the first Pilipino American to be elected student body president. With a bachelor's degree in history and Asian American studies, the former president of Samahang Pilipino went on to be elected the first Pilipino American mayor of Cerritos, California, in 2014.

In 2004, Ben Cayetano '68 became governor of Hawaii, the first Pilipino American to hold that title in any U.S. state. As lieutenant governor and then governor, Cayetano improved Hawaii’s educational system, including establishing a first-of-its-kind after-school program for elementary school latchkey children, based on his own childhood experience.

Jenny Punsalan Delwood ʼ06 once served as UCLA’s student body president and led a successful effort to incorporate holistic review into UCLA admissions policies. She currently serves as the deputy chief of staff for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, where she oversees constituent services, strategy, budget and more. 

The Stories Continue

The Department of Asian American Studies at UCLA was founded in 2004 and has become a national leader in promoting the study of the diverse experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. The department is the largest of its kind in the country with more than 100 majors and minors, and offers over 70 Asian American studies courses.

The Asian American Studies Center is creating an open-access, comprehensive record of the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience. The AAPI Multimedia Textbook recently received a $10 million grant from the California Legislature. UCLA historian, Jean-Paul R. Contreras deGuzman, M.A. ʼ07, Ph.D. ʼ14, is among those working on the project. A past recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, he founded the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition to preserve the history of World War II incarceration of Japanese immigrants.

Building on a century of Pilipino experience and advocacy at UCLA, the Asian American Studies department launched the Pilipino studies minor in 2020. Lucy Mae San Pablo Burns, associate professor of Asian American studies, has been advocating for its creation and is holding informational sessions on the new program. Burns told UCLA, “We have yet to imagine the community that the minor will bring together. I’m excited to see how students are going to transform the minor and what they are going to do in it.”

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While this is the first Connect article on the contributions of Pilipino Bruins, it will not be the last. Share your thoughts or recommendations of other Pilipino Bruins or organizations making a difference to connectfeedback@alumni.ucla.edu.

For more information on the Pilipino Alumni Association or to support their scholarship efforts, visit https://alumni.ucla.edu/pilipino-alumni-association.

Special thanks to A.R. Mateo, Derek Mateo, Justine Ramos ‘20 and Meg Thornton for their time in sharing their knowledge with us for this article.

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