Story by Hannah Kampitan and Anthony Vaquera | Photo Courtesy of Fernando “Sushi” Lizzarraga and Cypress College
Cypress College’s Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Resource Center had its long-awaited ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. The event unfolded in multiple locations on campus for speeches, cultural performances, food, and the ribbon-cutting itself.
The event began at the Cypress College Theater lobby instead of the APIDA center located in the Humanities Building, room 123. According to Paul de Dios, vice president of student services on campus, he said that relocating to different parts on campus accommodates the number of guests and flow of the scheduled program.
“It’s an opportunity to celebrate a brand new center that we’ve had on campus […] we don’t have a lot of space [in the center] to host a lot of people at once, so the initial part of it is going to be in the theater lobby,” he said. “We’re then going to have food, move over to the pond area for entertainment, then the actual ribbon cutting will be in front of the APIDA Resource Center.”
At 4 p.m., five speakers shared a word on behalf of the opening: College President Scott Thayer, Chancellor Byron D. Clifft Breland, Vice Chancellor Cherry Li-Bugg, and Deputy Chancellor of California Community Colleges Rowena M. Tomaneng.
Jeannie Mitsch, a campus counselor, said that the commemoration of the center is important because of how heavily impacted their communities were during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A couple years ago during COVID, our communities were heavily impacted; there was a lot of Asian hate. It was very hard to connect with each other, even myself as an employee to say, ‘hey, I want to help’ […] a physical space makes it easier to connect students to students, staff to staff, and everybody […] not just to APIDA students, but to those who want to learn about APIDA. We all want to find a place that we call home away from home,” she said.
Following the speeches, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Desi performances took place at the Theater Plaza, pond, or FASS building. The event featured multiple performances: Dragon Phoenix, a traditional lion and dragon dance; Kutturan Camoru Foundation Performers, a tribute to Guam indigenous traditions; Nonosina, a Polynesian dance group representing Tahitian culture.
According to the APIDA center’s Instagram page, the food lineup included dishes from Garlic & Clives’s Vietnamese dishes, Uncle Tui’s Huli Huli Chicken’s Polynesian dishes, and Cake Korner’s South Asian desserts.
Fernando “Sushi” Lizzarraga, an art major, attended and took photos for the event.
“[This event] was definitely long overdue. I’m super excited, and I can’t wait! We put a lot of hard work and effort behind it […] I promise you there was a lot of planning even before winter break, so even since last year we’ve been super excited.”
The APIDA Resouce Center offers services to students, such as advising and counseling services, career development and employment services, leadership development, and supplemental instruction and tutoring.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony further recognized the impact and diversity of the APIDA Resource Center and its respective faculty and students. For more information about the APIDA Resource center, refer to their Instagram page: @apidacypresscollege and their website: https://www.cypresscollege.edu/asian-pacific-islander-desi-american-apida-resource-center/
