As the basis of the Filipino language, Tagalog is spoken by an estimated 90 million people worldwide and ranks among the top four most common languages in the United States. But Tagalog remains absent from Brown’s extensive language-program roster—a gap that Filipino students have challenged for the past two decades.

The Tagalog at Brown initiative is a student-led petition that calls for the establishment of a formal Tagalog language program under the Center for Language Studies. “This has been pushed for since the Filipino Alliance was founded in 1988,” said Alexa Theodoropoulos ’27, vice president of the FA.

After years of groundwork and growing student interest, the petition regained major traction earlier this year. The movement has expanded rapidly among the Brown community, with students gathering over 1,000 signatures and testimonials from undergraduates, alumni, faculty, and staff. 

Members of the alliance have used Brown’s own history to strengthen their case. “Upon doing some digging, I realized that [alumnus] John Hay, who was U.S. Secretary of State during the Philippine-American War, played an active role in the decision to colonize the Philippines,” said Theodoropoulos, adding that several other Brown alumni were among the Thomasites—American teachers who helped enforce English instruction and suppress local Filipino languages. “That’s something we’ve been working on as a framework for why Brown specifically has a responsibility to offer a Tagalog course,” she said.

Today, students await the University’s decision on a grant from the Philippine Consulate, a possible first step toward making Tagalog instruction a reality at Brown.