PEACE Club

PEACE stands for Pilipinos for Education Arts Culture and Empowerment and is located in the City College of San Francisco. This club is a big part of my life, I spent almost four years in this community. I was fortunate enough to witness this community grow from eight members in 2007 to currently over 30 members. The first few years as a regular member then my last year as a core member. Core members range from being a secretary to the president. As a core member I became an events coordinator then the next semester as the vice-president. I would have ran for the presidential position this semester but instead i chose to apply with Year Up instead. In this club we organize cultural events in CCSF, Educational tours such as the I-Hotel in San Francisco. We also hold fundraising barbeque's for our club every two months. All discussed in our meeting which happen every Friday and the more exclusive Core meetings which happen every Monday where there is more detailed organizing. This club has been a big part of my life and although i don't create as much of an impact as before, you can ask any of the current members and they will say Rouben Judilla is still part of the PEACE community.

Step 1: Module 1

Module 1 of Year Up was surprisingly simple. It was a lot of work and a lot of accomplishment done during this module. I was worried about my code switching; I asked myself if I could handle my language for seven straight hours. When in a social environment it’s a norm to speak out in informal ways. But towards the end of the module I was praised for my professionalism and I have to agree, it was tough to restrain myself.

Another thing that I felt that surprised me was my focus and the will to turn in assignments. I always saw myself as lazy and easily distracted, but somehow when I walk through those doors I leave that part of myself outside. But I still feel there is a shadow of me that I just can’t shake off. That would be my inability to be proactive when I am outside of Year Up. When it hits 3:30 and I’m out those doors there is always something in the way, most of the time I’m the one who puts that obstacle in place. But it’s only been a couple months and I’m sure if I have already changed this much then one day I will shake that part of me off.

Different Shapes

I am who I am because of the neighborhood I live in. I live in Daly City where it is predominately Filipino, however I don't follow what some see as the stereotypes for most Filipinos. I like to see myself as an individual or an outsider and it was a process I had to work on since graduating high school. By that time of graduating I wasn't happy with the results of my reputation. I didn't feel like I was myself during my time there. Just in the hallways of my high school you could see what the culture of my neighborhood was and still is about: During passing period the loud basses of the latest bay area rap song echoing in the hallway, during lunch teens would collect in a large group with each having a chance at a freestyle battle, and after school you would catch another group of teens but this time putting together some hip-hop dance choreography. Our little city is highly influenced by hip-hop and that wasn't me I tried being part of that community but couldn't rap, i couldn't dance, although I did try playing music from my bag pack in the hallway but I felt awkward so it was short lived. I've completely turned a 180 from trying to be that kind of person. Just observing everyone around me it felt I developed this mentality where I thought "everyone looks the same, I want to be different." Although I say I feel like a total individual I find myself embracing another part of my neighborhood I never truly looked at until recently, and that is the Filipino culture side of it. I find all sorts of events; celebrating all things Filipino just a few blocks away from my house. This is something I can get behind and I have learned so much of my culture and made new friends because of it.So is a person shaped by his neighborhood? Yes, if you stay there long enough sooner or later you will become part of something.



From Rags to Ruse: Poverty Business

"Its not only that the poor are paying more; the poor are paying a lot more"

A quote from our article called Poverty Business. Our opportunity divide works in a backwards direction with the rich staying above the pyramid while the rest of are the foundation, keeping them grounded with our hard work. Taking out loans is a dangerous thing for those of us who need it, and you can see it in the neighborhoods.The poor need money so lets put it next to the liquor stores, the laundry mats, and the Goodwill's. These places aren't just put anywhere but strategically placed in our own backyards. But why is it in the poor neighborhoods and not the rich, because we need to make our payments on time and if we cant payback the loan then we've only dug a deeper hole for ourselves and our rates will only go up for this. This is what these business' want, all they care about is money and they'll take as much of it as they can from whoever they can. Its not so much that we are tricked but that we become the desperate and willing. This is not something we are taught or warned about in school. By the time do know about it, its usually when we are learning the hard way.

"Why bother grabbing for the few dollars in a broke man's pocket? Now there's a reason."