About

The Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE) seeks to advance and support the holistic (academic, cultural, personal) needs of San Jose State University students through student empowerment and campus advocacy rooted in Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, communities, and experiences.

CAPISE cultivates inclusive spaces, meaningful programs, and leadership opportunities that support students from recruitment through graduation. Through these experiences, CAPISE empowers students to embrace their identities, strengthen their academic, leadership, and self-advocacy skills, and contribute to the well-being and advancement of their communities on campus and beyond.

Where are Asia and the Pacific Islands?

CAPISE is rooted the cultures, histories, and experiences of a broad community of peoples from many cultures across large regions of the world.

Generally, Asia and the Pacific Islands are referred to by the following sociopolitical regional groupings and modern-day country names:

Regions of Asia

  • Central Asia
    • Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan  
  • East Asia
    • China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan
  • South Asia
    • Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan
  • Southeast Asia
    • Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam
  • West Asia
    • Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen

Regions of Pacific Islands (Pasifika or Oceania)

  • Melanesia
    • Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Torres Strait Islands, Vanuatu, West Papua and Makulu Islands
  • Micronesia
    • Guam, The Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau 
  • Polynesia
    • American Sāmoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Rotuma, Sāmoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna

 

History of CAPISE

We began serving students during the Fall 2022 semester, but officially opened on November 7th, 2022.

Our name, Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment, was made public in July 2022 after a semester-long process where the SJSU community submitted suggestions for the name of the center and then voted on the top choices.

CAPISE logo in colors of blue, red, and golden yellow shaped like a hibiscus flower.

Our graphic was designed in Summer 2022 by student graphic designer, Karla Peralta Ortiz, with the guidance of our program director, Jinni Pradhan, and summer graduate intern, Ngoc Nguyen. The graphic seeks to capture vibrancy and diversity of our many Asian and Pacific Islander cultures and communities, as well as the movement and flows that our diaspora constantly experience.