Samoan students at Stanford University, Ari Patu and Brandy Atuatasi, have been successful in getting the Samoan language included in the curriculum and taught at the institution.
Atuatasi stated, “Our language, our culture is worth fighting for.” She adds that anyone who wished to speak Samoan, should be able to.
She explained that students who are part of the class have expressed how excited they are to be able to learn Samoan, and that this is truly a blessing.
Patu chimes in that it was his love for our people and our culture that drove him to push for Samoan classes at Stanford. He also discovered so many aspects of the Samoan culture he was unaware of, that he can now learn about.
The class is taught by mother-son duo, Chris and Tali’ilagi Young, and the first one was last week Monday, over Zoom.
