You may have seen members from the club selling food at events like dances and sports games. The items they typically sell are called musubis. They are cradles of seaweed and rice, similar to sushi, that can be filled with different proteins. The club has also sold them at the “secret roller disco” event here for two years, and most recently sold them at the Girls Basketball Senior Night against Franklin on Feb. 28.
Pasifika Society (MPS) is working hard at fundraising to expand their program and provide club members with more opportunities to meet others in the Pacific Islander (PI) community.
“We’re raising money for field trips, attire for the multicultural assembly—like cultural outfits they would wear for performances—and just to have money for the club moving forward,” Jack Tangel, one of the four MPS advisers, said.
Also on Feb. 28, the club attended a Pacific Islander Day at Portland State University (PSU), which hosted PI students from all over the region.
Right now, the club is selling the musubis with Spam (a ham-like processed meat) as the protein, but they may make other versions in the future.
“We were planning on putting in, like, eggs and crab, but we don’t know much right now because we’re kind of on a budget,” club secretary and junior Laylani Solomon said.
There are other foods that the club may be selling, like Pani Popo, a Samoan sweet coconut roll.
“We’re trying to work on adding new things, other cultural foods,” club vice president Jeroan Sevas said.
The club has many more plans in the near future. Right before spring break, there is an open gym event being planned by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), the group that Tangel and a fellow club adviser work for. This event will be a way to get Pacific Islander students from around Portland to know each other.
“There’s gonna be volleyball and basketball,” Tangel said, “but then there’s also an agenda [with] icebreakers [and] playing games. Food will be provided, and then there will be a raffle.”
Similar events have been held by the Tigard and Tualatin school districts, according to Tangel.
Starting on Mar. 4, people from PSU are coming to lead college readiness workshops for Pacific Islander students. This is partly due to a two million dollar grant that PSU received in 2023 to expand their services for Asian and Pacific Islander students, including high school outreach. There will be three total sessions, with the next two being dedicated to CommonApp and FAFSA, on Mar. 11 and Mar. 18, respectively.
With two meetings a week, the club has lots of time to plan events and work on projects. Right now, the club is working on a climate activism presentation and planning an in-school Pacific climate change event with activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. This is part of a guest panel along with other climate advocates on Apr. 1 (date subject to change). One of her poems is part of the Modern World History curriculum here.
“We’re working on having a meeting with her and other climate warriors, to come to our school and have meetings so we can create, I guess you could say a presentation, to spread awareness of climate change out in the Pacific islands to share with the school community,” Sevas said.
As for how the club is impacting our school community, Tangel shared that part of the reason why he is leading the club is to give the PI community here—a “super-minority” as he called it—the recognition they deserve. There are also more Pacific Islander staff in the school this year, which gives the students more support systems and trusted adults at school.
”Now we have a few from IRCO, and then there’s a teacher who works here a couple days a week that they can rely on some adult support,” Tangel said. “So we’re continuing to get that support, getting students on track so they can succeed in whatever way that looks like for them.”
Sevas adds that she believes the club contributes to school spirit.
“This is my opinion, but…I think we bring good vibes to the school, especially multicultural assemblies,” she said on how the club positively impacts the school.
For the future, the biggest goal is outreach to grow the club within the school and growing students’ confidence in their cultural identity.
“In the future, I see the communication going well, our circle getting bigger,” Solomon said, “and I really hope that once I graduate, I hope the other students here really express themselves and not hide in their shells.”
The MPS club meets Tuesdays after school in room 185 and occasionally at lunch the same day in room 145. Next time you’re at a community event, look out for the Pasifika Society and their delicious musubis!
