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By Shawn Kuk Lost in the Shuffle: Pacific Islanders in Pursuit of Higher Education There I was, staring at the numbers on the cover of the latest issue of "CrossCurrents, News Magazine of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center." I scrolled down the list of percentages of the 1997 incoming class at UCLA: African American, 6%; Hispanic, 16%; Chinese, 16%; and Korean, 4%. But then there it was -- a hyphen in place of a percentage for the Pacific Islander category! Further down the list, I saw another hyphen for the category "other." What does this mean? Roughly 40% of the UCLA student body fits the "Asian Pacific Islander" label. Yet, only .02% make-up the "Pacific Islander" portion of the category! I was told by an officer at the Korean Students Association (KSA) that their club had signed-up about 400 members this quarter. In comparison, a senior member at the Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) told me that their rank-and-file had more than doubled from seven last year to fifteen this year. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, 13,751 Pacific Islanders (25 years of age and over) hold Bachelors degrees, while 3,578 hold Masters degrees. Pretty good, right? Wrong! Considering the 230,000 with Bachelors degrees, and an additional 40,000 with Ph.D.s in the Chinese community, Pacific Islanders are not well represented in higher education. The reason, though, was still not clear. I dug deeper. From Sefa Aina -- a Samoan, but more conveniently my APALDP (Asian Pacific American Leadership Development Project) instructor at UCLA -- I found out that during the 1950s and 1960s, the first wave of Samoans settled into ocean-side, military communities in port cities like San Diego, San Francisco, Long Beach, and Honolulu. For U.S. nationals like Samoans, Guamanians, and Hawaiians, enlisting in the Navy ensured jobs and a place to stay once they arrived in America. Sefa added, "being in the military or being a minister is like being a lawyer or a doctor in our culture." But Sefa wanted to become a lawyer for real. Pacific Islander communities are mostly centered in low-income inner-city areas like Compton, Carson, and Long Beach. Although their median household income, at around $30,000, is a little over the official poverty rate, Pacific Islander per capita income is $5,000 per person with an average of six people per household working. The typical Samoan household contains between eight to ten people. In this regard, Pacific Islanders face socioeconomic situations similar to inner-city Latino and African American communities. They experience low-income housing, unemployment, violence, and the general socioeconomic disparity of people of color in the inner-city. In Los Angeles County, Pacific Islanders make up less than 5% of the API (Asian Pacific Islander) population, yet account for about 25% of API arrests. As immigrants, Pacific Islanders come from a subsistence culture that is very much family and community oriented. Raised in environments where group learning and communal cooperation were the norm, they face difficulties adjusting to the American standard where achievement is based on individual performance. In the Pacific Islands, youth exist in a social hierarchy dominated by adult males who exercise strict authority. Here in the U.S., their socialization leads many P.I. students to react submissively in the classroom. However, eventually the lack of cultural sensitivity by their teachers and administrators leads many P.I. students to feel misunderstood and unacknowledged. They become disengaged, sometimes dropping out of school. Things were beginning to make sense. I pressed on. With one of the largest concentrations of P.I. students in the district, Hawthorne High School is an exception to this "lack of sensitivity." The P.I. students at Hawthorne are outperforming P.I. students from other city schools. Their student attrition rates are the lowest, they have the highest CTBS scores, and the highest grade point averages. To its credit, the administration at Hawthorne decided to include Tongan advisors. These advisors are an invaluable resource addressing the cultural and emotional needs of P.I. students. Tony Ahhing, a UCLA grad and a senior advisor for PISA, commented that with the presence of P.I.s in school administration, "they (P.I. students) are getting at school whatever culture they're lacking at home or in the hood." Tony is actively involved with community outreach programs through PISA. PISA organizers visit high schools, church congregations, and family networks in their outreach efforts. Tony emphasized, "it starts with outreach. It's important that we as college students take part in this because they're not so far removed from the situation. It's a mental game. It's about changing students' mindsets." Tony felt that everyone had to be involved -- that "even parents need to be educated." Through PISA's outreach programs, Tony hopes to convey the message that "there is another way. There is a better way than 'take it or leave it.'" PISA will be busy organizing the two Pacific Islander high school conferences on UCLA's campus this year. The foci for the first convention, to be held in April, will be historical background and regaining cultural identity for P.I. youth. (Contact Sefa Aina at UCLA's Asian American Studies Center to get involved.) There are other organizations based in P.I. communities throughout the Southern California region. The E Mau Ana Ka Olelo Hawaii ("The Hawaiian Language Endures") is based in Orange County and encourages and supports "the preservation of olelo [language] by offering a scholarship for education and leadership." I also contacted Ms. Pat Luce at the Office of Samoan Affairs (OSA) and inquired about educational services they may provide for the Samoan community. OSA offers counseling services for both students and parents. They also aid students in locating scholarship money and in filling-out financial aid applications. After-school tutorial programs are also available. OSA also works in collaboration with other agencies, such as the Pilipino organization like SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans), or representatives from local school districts, to aid in cultural and sensitivity training regarding Samoan peoples. Although these programs exist, much more needs to be made available to the community. Ms. Luce stated, "these resources are very much needed but we need more than what's out there." Rev. Leona Thompson is the director of educational services at OSA and can be contacted at (310-396-0166). Like members of the Southeast Asian community, Pacific Islanders must defend against a double-edged sword. P.I.s are forced to deal with issues relevant to immigrant peoples of color as well as the socioeconomic disempowerment encountered by inner-city dwellers. The fact that P.I. representation at UCLA cannot even constitute a single digit, is ridiculous. No people should be measured by a hyphen. The lack of Pacific Islander representation in higher education is another first-hand example of how misleading the "model minority" myth can be. It is also a vivid depiction of just how diverse and wide-ranging the "Asian Pacific Islander" category is. With so many groups included under this "umbrella," our limited resources do not comprehensibly address the specific needs of the entire population. In our collective struggle to even the playing field, the fundamental need for higher education seems to have gone ignored for some communities. The Pacific Islander youth have suffered as a result. (Shawn Kuk is a sophomore majoring in Asian American Studies.)