ISSUE 1
the magazine
FIRST SEMESTER • NOVEMBER 2015
of the aquinian herald
AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
Falling Upward,
How Aquinas University was Aaron Marc Dimaano’s second chance
FAILING FORWARD
THE SEMESTER REPORT / THE V-POINTS / CULTURE / LIFE x STYLE / DEVCOM
NOVEMBER 2015 • FIRST SEMESTER • ISSUE 1
IN THIS ISSUE
AQUINIAN
STORIES
FEATURES
ISSUE
26
DEVCOM
CAFETERIA FOOD: TOO PRICEY? Aquinians react to the price of food in the University's cafeterias By Kristine
Arienda / John Paul Garrido
31
SMALL VOICES
THE ROAD LESS TAKEN On peer pressure and living young, wild, and free in college
By Karen Daniele Besmonte
32
SMALL VOICES
GOD'S WAY On finding growth in faith in college By
Rona Maricar Miña
34
ON THE COVER
FALLING UPWARD, FALING FORWARD "Meet an Aquinian who fell down hard only to get back up, because there simply was no way but forward." By Ivy Jonna Tolosa
40
40
FEATURE
'MALDITANG YSA' Aquinian Shaira Louis Perez sat down with us and talked about her success from being a Wattpad author, to being a self-published writer, and finally getting a book deal with major publisher Summit Media By
Melissa Mesias / Rona Maricar Miña
32
26 IMG CREDITS: KARL BRIGUERA FOR VERITATEM, OAPA-AUL
VERITATEM AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
14 ATHLETE EXTRAORDINAIRE Meet the only known Aquinian taekwondojin who is also a member of the basketball varsity. By Ralph B. Orense
CAGER . SPIKER . TAEKWONDOJIN . Janna Francisco is AUL varsity’s new rising star.
VERITATEM
FROM THE EDITOR
The Magazine of the Aquinian Herald
All about your stories
E X EC U T I V E T E A M RALPH B. ORENSE
Editor in Chief
JILLIAN J. ESTRELLADO KARL B. BRIGUERA
Associate Editors
RONA MARICAR C. MIÑA KAREN DANIELE BESMONTE
Managing Editors
M AGA Z I N E T E A M MELISSA R. MESIAS
Managing Editor for Magazine JESUS L. DAWAL, JR. IVY JONNA M. TOLOSA
... it shall always be about your stories and the truth of your stories - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
CAN WE A C T U A L LY PULL THIS OFF?
Associate Editors for Features ALDRIN C. BROSAS
Creative Director
JANIN B. VOLANTE
Copy Editor
this question first hung over our heads earlier this year as we planned for the incoming publication year 2015-2016. We just got the approval to raise the publication fee during a student leaders convocation. This, we believed meant improving our services - upping our game. You could say we had something to prove, and that was to make every centavo of our parents’ hard-earned money count. You can imagine there was pressure to come up with something more, something better. And so from one to two releases every year, we decided to triple that and come up with three newsletter issues, one tabloid, literary and art folio, and a magazine. The magazine was a cause for excitement for most of us. We felt there were a lot
J U N I O R STA F F
Writers
ARCHIE NER FAYE ANDREA M. TERWEL PATRICK JOSEPH N. SECILLANO JOHN PAUL B. GARRIDO CLAIRE B. GALLANOSA KRISTINE MARIE B. ARIENDA MA. JOAN B. SAULER JUSTIN ROMAN AMARGO ARIANE GISELLE C. SANTOS PATRICK JOSEPH I. ESTILLOMO VAL C. LAURIO
Arts & Graphics
WENDELL T. CILOT KENNETH M. OSABAL JOHN XYRUS F. ARANETA JOHN ALCANTARA JUVIC MOYO
Photographers
FRANCES NICOLE BANTON PAUL R. MENDIZABAL KEVIN GEVA JULIENE OLAÑO CLARKSON L. ANTIQUIERA ANDREW VILLAFLOR ANGELICA R. SAJUELA
Publications Adviser
of untold stories that we simply haven’t had a lot of chance to tell because of limited resources, time, and manpower. While it’s not our first foray into magazine publication, we wanted it to be a completely different and new experience for you - a smarter, better, and hopefully more engaging content. And thus, you have in your hands the fruit of sleepless nights, of sweat and tears, and for some of us, grades that almost went down the slippery slope. Quite frankly, when the gravity of the work started to sink in, for a time, we weren’t sure it would see the light of print, so to speak. But that’s a long and rather unnecessary story. The story we have always been about is your story -
your failures and successes, your personal journeys and achievements as Aquinians - from the ordinary to the extraordinary, and to even finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. The pioneering issue of veritatem, born of our collective desire to affect and inspire much-needed change in our beloved institution, we especially dedicate to you. Let it serve as a promise that it shall always be about your stories and the truth of your stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We look forward to hearing what you think about it. IN THE SERVICE OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE,
ALDRIN C. BROSAS, Editor at Large CONTACT US Aquinian Herald Publication Office AUL Dome, Aquinas University of Legazpi, 4500 Rawis, Legazpi City aquinianherald@gmail.com Office: loc. (218) Editorial: (+63) 915-230-7815
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DEPARTMENTS NOVEMBER 2015 • FIRST SEMESTER • ISSUE 1
ˇ
THE
SEMESTER
PAGE 11
REPORT
T HE NAT ION
[ news + notes ]
CULTURE
STATE OF THE NATION Elections 2016, economy, telecommunications industry
ˇ
PAGE 6
TH E RECAP
[ The semester in the brief ]
WHAT YOU SHOULD AND WOULDN’T KILL YOU TO KNOW PAGE 12
51
S PORTS
[ commentary ]
Make way! There’s a new ‘Kobe’ on the way [ news ]
NO WINTER, NO PROBLEM: PH ice skating and hockey teams rule int’l games
PAGE 8
U N IVE RSIT Y
[ news + notes ]
PAGE 13
Arceo: Gov’t should help private school students too
[ sports preview ]
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR NBA Season 70
PAGE 10
CO MMU N IT Y
C O L U M N S
On society’s labels, by John Paul B. Garrido / P-21
On marriage equality, by Janin B. Volante / P-20
LINE OF SIGHT W E R E W E M I S L E D? On the UST supervision of AUL programs, by Ralph B. Orense / P-19
LIFE/STYLE
PAGE 46
SAGIP PELIKULA: Preserving Philippine cinematic gems
BACK ON BROADWAY IN ‘GROUNDBREAKING’ NEW MUSICAL THE MUST LIST What’s worth watching, listening, or playing
V-POINTS RUN NO MORE H AT H N OT LOV E
CASTAWAY ON MARS (The Martian Review)
PAGE 47 LEA SALONGA
THE
OVER THE COUNTER PA N O R A M A O F P E R F ECT I O N
MOV I E S
PAGE 45
T H E AT E R
[ news + notes ]
City gov’t tightens the reins on overcharging tricycle drivers
“
ENTERTAINMENT
&
E S S A Y S
ESSAY B E YO N D T H E TA R P S
The award-winning Filipino-American author Eric Gamalinda’s 2014 international novel
PAGE 57 ACUPUNCTURE, ANYONE? The ancient therapy goes modern sans needles, in a travelling acupuncture clinic currently set up in Tiwi.
T E LE V I SI ON
‘I’LL BINGE IT LATER’ A MILLENIAL’S TVVIEWING HABITS
PAGE 25
On the value of education, by Karen Besmonte /
THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS
PAGE 54
ALWAYS ON: YOUR SMARTPHONE COULD BE STRESSING YOU OUT New study concludes that your need to stay connected can cause stress, anxiety and poor cognitive function
PAGE 49 [ commentary ]
by Jesus L. Dawal, Jr. /
BRAINCHILD EYES ON THE PRIZE
BOOKS
PAGE 48 [ review ]
HEALTH & WELLNESS
PAGE 51
ESSAY B R AV E N E W WO R L D
PAGE 49 IN SOCIAL
P-24
Our take on pop culture topics & trends of the last six months
by Ivy Jonna M. Tolosa /
P-22
THE ALTERNATE DOMAIN
M OV I N G FO RWA R D
On failure and rising above it, by Melissa R. Mesias / P-23
MEDIA NUMBERS
CAFES AROUND LEGAZPI Know your way into some cafes that recently popped up around the city
ARTS, FOOD, & TECH
PAGE 52
P OP C ULT URE
PAGE 50 APO WHANG-OD:
Tha Last ‘Mambabatok’ and Kalinga’s dying traditional tattoo culture
[ review ]
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10 Is it worth THE upgrade to the latest Windows-OS release?
IMG CREDITS: (THE SEMESTER REPORT) K. BRIGUERA, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CULTURE) INSTAGRAM.COM • DROPDEADDAPPER
THE
SEMESTER
JUNE - NOVEMBER 2015
W H AT YO U S H O U L D A N D W O U L D N ’ T K I L L YO U T O K N O W
REPORT
T H E ˇR E C A P UNIVERSITY
/
TUITION AND SCHOOL FEES
K TO 12
“We are all anxious in different ways. We just do our best hoping that things will go well despite transition difficulties.”
ENROLLMENT STATS
2,554 STUDENTS
Total enrollees this semester in the four colleges, about 600 of which are freshmen
BY COLLEGE
345
Php
635.00 Total increase in miscellaneous and other fees introduced this semester, courtesy of increase in the intramurals fee, publication fee and the introduction of a special project development fee
ERNESTO M. ARCEO, O.P. speaking about the K to 12 transitioning next year during his installation address as Rector and President last June 8 The University has recently been declared ‘K TO 12’ READY
after three years worth of preparations.
College of Arts, Sciences, and Education
1,159
College of Business Management and Accountancy
760
College of Engineering, Architecture, and Fine Arts
290
College of Health Sciences
/
1%
UST INTEGRATION
‘ ...we might find UST not only in General Santos and Sta. Rosa, but also in Legazpi, Iloilo, and Quezon City.‘ HERMINIO DAGOHOY, O.P. Rector Magnificus of University of Santo Tomas (UST) in his first Rector’s Report last Oct. 16, announcing the plans to integrate Dominican schools with UST, apart from the planned new UST satellite campuses in Mindanao and Laguna
P E N A LT Y
for late payment;
DISCOUNT for on-time payment imposed this semester to the surprise of students who did not read the new Financial Policies signed upon enrollment
INFRASTRUCTURE
25million
Php
Cost of the student-funded covered court and multi-purpose building set to be functional next school year. Construction is expected to start this November.
LICENSURE EXAMS
100%
PASSING RATE Midwife
%
0
PASSING RATE Chemist
SOURCE(S): (UNI) AQUINIAN HERALD, OAF, THE VARSITARIAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS | PHOTO-ILLUSTRATIONS BY ACB | IMG CREDITS: OAF, OAPA, INQUIRER.NET
6
V E R I TAT E M
NOVEMBER 2015
SOURCE(S) RAPPLER, INQUIRER.NET, MANILA BULLETIN
/
COMMUNITY
/
/
‘I was also a victim of [the] traffic and gridlock during that precise moment.’
2,000+
Recorded cases of rabies in Legazpi City, prompting the City Veterenary office to declare the Legazpi under state of calamity in July 2015
1. FRANCIS TOLENTINO, MMDA Chair, the man in charge of the agency responsible in managing Manila’s traffic, telling Karen Davila in ANC cable news show Headstart where he was during a particularly bad traffic jam in EDSA the day before. He was doing the interview by phone because he's stuck in traffic and couldn't make it.
300million
Php
Total budget the provincial government of Albay allotted for hosting the annual national games, Palarong Pambansa in 2016
T H E WO R L D
130
/
SOUNDBITES
BY THE NUMBERS
/
N AT I O N
‘Negosyo o kalayaan, bayan o sarili? Pumili ka!’
/
2. GEN. ANTONIO LUNA (played by JOHN ARCILLA), A quote from acclaimed historical movie Heneral Luna, that ‘strikes the most truthful,’ an Inquirer.net poll says
TERROR ATTACKS
PEOPLE KILLED
“WHEN I SAID I’LL STOP CRIMINALITY, I’LL STOP CRIMINALITY. IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU, I’LL KILL YOU. PERSONALLY.”
in the violent attacks, claimed by terrorist group ISIS, on Paris, Friday, November 13, the most deadliest on France since World War II
3. RODRIGO DUTERTE, Davao City Mayor and favorite presidential bet, unflinchingly told Maria Ressa in an exclusive Rappler.com video interview
SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS
‘ APPARENTLY, THEY’RE SCARED OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ’
4. MIRIAM DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO, Senator and 2016 presidential candidate defends running-mate Bongbong Marcos
BARACK OBAMA US President slamming the move of the Republicans in the US Congress to push for the immediate closing of their borders to Syrian refugees, in light of the ISIS attack on Paris
4 MILLION
IMG CREDITS (1) CNN-PH T (2) HENERALLUNA.COM (3) RAPPLER (4) PHILSTAR
‘ I do not think on a family basis, the Marcoses as a family owe us an apology. ’ 2 4
3
1
SYRIAN REFUGEES
displaced in five countries: Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan, according to an Amnesty International report in September
NOVEMBER 2015
V E R I TAT E M
7
THE
UNIVERSIT Y
SE M ES TE R REPORT
NEWS + NOTES
Student Services Director, Jesus A. Barizo, briefs Aquinian freshmen and transferees during the orientation seminar in July 2015.
Arceo: Gov’t should help private school students too The University’s Rector and President talks about the decline of the school population and the need for fairer higher education assistance from the government. in a sit-down interview with Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P., the University’s chief administrator, discussed the direction AUL is taking during his second term and the University’s current state including its small and decreasing college population. He also offered his take on the reasons and problems as to why this is so. “It’s an issue we’ve discussed a couple of times, although the increase isn’t really going down in a gradual pace as of now. Since I came in last 2011, we have been able to maintain up to 4,300 students every semester. Before, in Fr. Mendez’ time as Rector, the population reached up to 7,000, as
8
V E R I TAT E M
NOVEMBER 2015
I’ve been told,” he said. This year’s first semester welcomed a total of 2,554 tertiary students. The College of Business Management and Accountancy still has the most number of enrollees at 1,159 while the College of Health Sciences is the least populated college with only 290 students. The College of Engineering and Architecture admitted 760 while the College of Arts and Sciences had 345 enrollees. there is one big reason he believes as to why the college population of Aquinas is relatively small. “A big factor is the proliferation of
Photo by JADE-OAPA
‘Why is the government not providing every tax-paying parent equitable educational aid for their children?’
community colleges. A congressman with a permit from Congress and the LGU can simply put up a local college, like in Oas and Ligao, and many others that opened, which are practically free.” This provided a lot more options, cheaper options, compared to our tuition rate. Also, students from far areas no longer have to go all the way to Legazpi when there are local colleges near them, Arceo explained. “Our state universities and col-
NOTES: STRATEGIC PLAN 2016
UNIVERSITY
STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLAN 2015-2020 leges (SUCs) are quite good too. BU is doing very well, kasi nakakapamili sila ng estudyante, and 90-percent of its facilities is supported by the government. If I had a child, and the quality of education is good, like in BU, my first choice would be there. So that’s another thing that lessens our population.” According to him, SUCs are also doing well in terms of population because they can choose students. “In BU, they have a quota because they can only admit so many. Kung minsan naghihintay tayo ng hindi matatanggap doon. That’s the reality and there’s nothing shameful about it.” lastly, the rector acknowledges that financial constraint plays a major part in AUL’s enrolment drop. With college tuition in AUL at a minimum of Php 522 per unit, a regular student’s tuition, with the miscellaneous and other fees, can cost Php 20-35,000 a semester. The UST-supervised health science programs (i.e. Pharmacy, MedTech) can go as high as Php 40,000. Arceo added that unlike the SUCs, AUL’s students pay for everything. “You pay the faculty, the classrooms, energy, all that,” he said. “But here’s a critical problem I see. I get the government’s mentality to not help the private schools because they see it’s doing fine. Perhaps, on the outside, they look at our buildings, our facilities, how the students seem well-off, so why help? But my point is, they don’t need to help the school, they need to help the students.” The several billions worth of the educational budget, he added, rarely ever get to the private schools. “That budget comes from the taxes - parents of students in private schools pay taxes too. Why should the government funding on education only ever go heavily to parents who send children to public schools? Where is the equal protection from the law or equal privilege for people who are similarly situated?” The question that needs to be asked, according to him, shouldn’t be ‘why should the government help the private schools?’ Instead, it should be: ‘why is the government not providing every tax-paying parent equitable educational aid for their children?’ “That’s how we should approach it, not resorting to generalizations that private schools are rich and then so are its students.” ■
1
2
3
4
books
clipboard
library2
stats2
ACADEMICS
ACCREDITATION
FACILITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE
RESEARCH
1 ACADEMICS
3 FACILITIES /
Boosting academic profile is the school’s top p riority. This should manifest in favorable accreditations and good performance in licensure exam.
/ 2015 - 2017 /
INFRASTRUCTURE
/ 2017-2018 /
These years are crucial with the Senior High School transition, and are ready to admit senior high school students Open
Graduate School will open a
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM C AT E C H E T I C A L INSTRUCTION IN THE DIOCESE OF LEGAZPI
GENERAL CURRICULUM HIGH SCHOOL
and new four offshore graduate programs with UST: MASTER OF ARTS in LIBRARY SCIENCE, POLITICAL SCIENCE, & PSYCHOLOGY
AEC 2015-READY,
K to 12 COMPLIANT
BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULA
The P25M covered court , which would
start construction this year and finish by 2016, is intended as space for PE classes and other student activities. BROADCASTING, STATISTICS, SPEECH LABORATORIES
AND
OPERATIONAL
MASTER OF LAWS
BIOMETRICS or RADIO FREQUENCY (RFID)
/ 2018 -2019 /
OPEN HIGH
in board exam in Architecture, TOP TEN P L A C E R S Midwifery, Chemistry, and Law
The OHSP, a high school distance learning program will open
2 ACCREDITATIONS
PAASCU
PACUCOA ACCREDITATION
ISA
NEW BUILDING
STUDENT
10
SCHOOL
LEVEL II
school ID system
/ 2019-2020 /
50% COMPLIANCE
COD
LIBERAL ARTS BUSINESS ADMIN. TEACHER ED. CENTER OF NURSING DEVELOPMENT MAEd STATUS REQUIREMENTS MBA
INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT by CHED
CENTER
4 RESEARCH To be a research university is also the school’s main goals
FACULTY
RESEARCH
1 PER TEACHER In 3 years, should be engaged in research with patentds
HOST NATIONAL and REGIONAL
user5
RESEARCH FESTIVALS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION
RESEARCH SUMMIT
BICOL STUDIES
NOVEMBER 2015
V E R I TAT E M
9
THE
COMMUNIT Y
SE M ES TE R REPORT
Tricycles are one of the primary modes of transportation for Aquinians to get around the city
City tightens the reins on overcharging tricycle drivers BY RALPH B. ORENSE
‘We also appeal to the riding public to exercise their rights by not paying excessive charge by drivers.’ 10
V E R I TAT E M
NOVEMBER 2015
over the last couple of years, Legazpi City has been facing the problem of tricycle drivers charging passengers fares that are way beyond the standard price set by the local government. “There are times when I’ll ride a tricycle from Aquinas on my way to Gaisano or Embarcadero, and they’ll charge me fifty pesos,” said AB Communication student Stephanie Cardiño. “It’s not right. They’re taking advantage of their passengers, some of whom are still students like me who’re still dependent on our parents,” she said. Cardiño is one of the many Aquinians who continue to express their dismay
NEWS + NOTES
P h o t o By R O M E O L . D I E S TA , J R .
over the issue. She never agreed to pay the drivers who charge too much fare. “Whenever a driver charges too much fare, I immediately get their plate numbers and tell them I’ll file a formal complaint against them. Most of them settle for the eight pesos I give them,” Cardiño added. The locals, unfortunately aren’t the only ones who fall victim to exorbitant tricycle fare around the city but also tourists and visiting delegates of conventions hosted in the city. Mayor Noel Rosal himself had confirmed in radio interviews that this problem has been giving the city a bad name, derailing the city and provincial government’s efforts to promote it as a convention center and tourist hub of the region. As the second “Most Livable City” in the country, the center of tourism in Bicol, the regional government administrative center, the center of education, and the convention capital, the mayor
THE NATION
NEWS + NOTES
stressed the need for discipline in our public transport. City Councilor Raul Rosal launched the ‘Tamang Singil Advocacy Program’ to curb this growing problem and apprehend not just abusive tricycle operators but also taxi operators. “We are now on a no-nonsense enforcement of local ordinances involving tricycle and taxi fares to eradicate overcharging. We also appeal to the riding public to exercise their rights by not paying the excessive charge by drivers and file formal complaints with local authorities when victimized,” Rosal told the Philippine News Agency in October 14. According to the city councilor, they have apprehended dozens of tricycle drivers who got caught charging over the eight-peso per kilometer limit, and have impounded tricycles and fined the violators. Meanwhile, the LGU has imposed a stub scheme for tricycles of the Legazpi Airport, by which trip coupons (worth Php 30-50) can be purchased in the CityTourism Office (CTO) and will serve as the passengers’ fare. The campaign has also penetrated social media, with a post circulated by Mayor Rosal informing the public regarding the standard rates for tricyle. A passenger should pay only P8.00 for the first kilometer, and then add P1.00 for the succeeding ones. Students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities are eligible for the 20% discount, making their regular tricycle fare at P6.40 and additional P0.80 for additional kilometers. The local government also placed stickers on registered tricycles. Rosal discouraged the public to not patronize tricycles with no stickers. ■
STATE OF THE NATION
truck
WORLD’S WORST CITY TRAFFIC - Metro Manila
Popular traffic app Waze recently evaluated the user experience of 50 million drivers from 32 countries and 167 metro areas, calling it the world’s first Driver Satisfaction Index based on the users’ numerical score (1 for “miserable” and 10 for “satisfying”). 0.4 - MANILA, PHILIPPINES
NATURAL PARKS
7
Number of
ASEAN Heritage Parks in the
Philippines, making it the country with the most ASEAN heritage parks
0.5 - BANDUNG, INDONESIA 0.7 - YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA 0.8 - CARACAS, VENEZUELA 0.8 - BOGOR, iNDONESIA
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
connection
San Miguel Corporation announced that it is building a “mobile broadband telecommunications network” and will be the third major network in the country in 2016, with current main players Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT ) and Globe Telecom, Inc dominating mobile internet service in the Philippines. Ramon Ang, SMC head said that the network will be offering call and text services but with focus on mobile broadband.
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park at Puerto
Princesa, Palawan, was named an official ASEAN Heritage Park in Nov. 5 by the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity.
ECONOMY
47th
ELECTION 2016
Here are the official major players for President and Vice-President in the upcoming May 2016 elections, with Sept. 2015 Pulse Asia poll scores 19% BINAY - HONASAN / UNA 26% 23% POE - ESCUDERO / Independent 20% 3% ROXAS - ROBREDO / Liberal Party 3% 13% SANTIAGO - MARCOS / PRP
the PH’s rank in the Global Competitiveness Index by the World Economic Forum PH rank went up 5 notches from last year’s 52nd The GCI is measured based on how institutions, policies, and other factors affect a country’s productivity level.
The city government-issued sticker for registered tricyles
NOVEMBER 2015
V E R I TAT E M
11
SPORTS COMMENTARY by RALPH ORENSE
Make way! There’s a new ‘Kobe’ on the way While everybody seems to be talking about the looming retirement of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, another basketball player is starting to make a name forhimself in the prestigious city of LA. His name? Kobe. Kobe Paras. Yup, he was named after the Black Mamba. The 17-year old Kobe once played for La Salle Greenhills’ high school squad before moving to Los Angeles to study in LA Cathedral in 2013. That same year, Kobe caught the attention of basketball fans worldwide when he participated in a Nike sponsored exhibition game in Manila. The highlight of that game? Well, he just posterized a two-time champion, and four-time MVP from the National Basketball Association LeBron James. “He was my idol since I was a kid, and getting to do that with him is something that changed something in me big time,” Kobe said. The 6’6 teenage sensation started to gather a lot of followers from social media when the video of the said dunk went viral. And while nobody really took that dunk seriously, Kobe suddenly found himself an instant basketball celebrity. But Kobe isn’t someone who’s new to fame or basketball. His father Benjie Paras was once one of the most dominant players in the Philippine Basketball Association during the 90s and the only player in PBA history to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Award in the same season (1989). Benjie then became a comedian. Meanwhile, Kobe’s older brother Andre, is also a skilled cager. He’s playing for the San Beda Red Lions in the NCAA. Like their father, Andre also entered showbiz. Despite having the good looks, Kobe seems to have no intention of becoming a celebrity like his father or brother. His attention is solely focused on his studies and basketball career. He had an impressive run as part of the Philippine teams that participated
12
V E R I TAT E M
in FIBA and SEABA sanctioned tournaments, he immediately received scholarship offers from several tertiary schools from the US, including Arizona State, California, Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. He didn’t commit to any of those schools, but when UCLA offered him to play for their school, he committed in less than 24 hours. Recently, Kobe made it official when he signed a four year scholarship deal to play for the said school. Although he’ll be spending most of his time in the US, a significant number of Pinoys are expected to watch every game of the Bruins in the US-NCAA this season. More than 380,000 Filipinos reside in Los Angeles, and knowing how passionate Pinoys are in basketball, it is expected that a significant number of Bruins fans will be waving a Philippine flag to show support for Kobe. Once Kobe finally dons the Bruins uniform, it is expected for Kobe to be a one man highlight reel because of his explosive dunks. Aside from his dunk against LeBron, Kobe is also the reigning back-to-back champion of the dunk contest held in the last two editions of the FIBA U-18 Championships. What most people don’t know is that Kobe is also a terrific shooter, especially from the three point line. In addition, his work ethic is admirable according to his highschool coaches and teammates in Batang Gilas. Overall, Kobe’s a very talented player who has a potential to be really, really good. He can easily be compared to a young Vince Carter or, you guessed it right; Kobe Bryant. A young Pinoy cager with a bright future, that’s who Kobe Paras is. And while everybody seems to be talking about the looming retirement of the legendary Kobe Bryant, it looks like basketball fans in Los Angeles and all over the world need not to wait long before another ‘Kobe’ takes the spotlight. Kobe chants will be heard all over LA, but soon, it won’t be for Bryant. But for Kobe Paras. ■
NOVEMBER 2015
Members of the country’s junior ice skating team with their coaches in a team photo-op at Hong Kong Photo courtesy: INQUIRER.net
No winter, no problem: PH skating and hockey teams rule int’l games The philippine figure ice skating and Hockey teams recently dominated the competitions they participated in the last two months, earning much needed victories in international competitions to build momentum for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. FIGURE SKATING. Filipina members of the country’s ice skating team triumphed in the Asian Junior Figure Skating Challenge (AJFSC) held on October 5-7, 2015 at Hong Kong. The Philippine delegation took home six gold medals from the said competition. The gold medallists are; Charmaine Skye Chua (Basic Novice Girls Category), Emme Dy (Basic Junior Ladies Category), Kate Orrock (Basic Pre-Novice), and Gabrielle Panlilio (Basic Novice Ladies Category). Completing the list is the youngest member of the national ice skating team, Amanda Sophie Hernandez. At seven years old, Hernandez won gold medals in the Basic Juvenile Girls Category and the Basic Pre-Novice
Category. Three weeks later, another Pinay figure ice skater went home with six medals and a trophy for her superb performance in the Skate Bandung 2015 held at Bandung, Indonesia on October 30-November 1. Verniece Enciso took home four gold and two silver medals as well as the Best Performance Award in the said competition. Her winning routine was inspired by Ariana Grande’s “Bang Bang”. Enciso is also known as a Pinay fashion blogger. HOCKEY. The Philippine ice hockey team ended a three year drought by winning the gold medal in the peewee division of the Malaysia Invitational Ice Hockey tournament held on September 11, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 13-year old Carlo Angelo Tigaronita was awarded as tournament’s Best Forward (equivalent to MVP in other sports). The Philippine Ice Hockey team featured a group of kids aged 13 and below. The national teams for figure ice skating and hockey will continue to participate in local and international tournaments, in preparation for their showdown with the best in South East Asia in the 2017 edition of SEA Games to be staged in Malaysia. ■ By R. B. ORENSE
N B A P R E V I E W SPORTS
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR NBA SEASON 70
IMG C R E DIT : E S P N / P HOT O-IL L U S T R AT ION: A .C.BRO SAS
By R A L P H B . O R E N S E
IF YOU’RE A SOLID NBA FAN, you’re probably familiar with a lot of interesting stories surrounding the best teams and players of the league. From the Golden State Warriors’ bid to repeat, to LeBron James’ quest to win his first title as a Cavalier, to the ‘super team’ that is the San Antonio Spurs, to Kobe Bryant trying to defy father time again. While it’s still too early to give the conclusions on biggest headlines in the NBA, it would be nice to look at them and see how they will develop as the season progresses because some of these stories could make an impact in the league’s foreseeable future. So let’s take a look at the biggest stories in the league and see how they would develop as the season progresses. WILL THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS REPEAT? The Golden State Warriors had an unbelievable run last season, winning the title at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, some people believe that the Warriors’ championship was a fluke, including Los Angeles Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers. So Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and the rest of the Warriors are out to prove that they can win it again this year. However, they would face a tougher road this year, as the Clippers, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs have all improved. Also, Kevin Durant returned from injury so expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be a legitimate threat to the Dubs’ hopes of winning back-toback titles. Then again, the Warriors have a coach who knows how to win in strings. Steve Kerr was once a teammate of Michael Jordan and he won multiple titles with the Chicago Bulls. So don’t be surprised if the Warriors are still hoisting the Larry O’Bried trophy come June. WILL LEBRON JAMES FINALLY BRING A TITLE TO CLEVELAND? The self-proclaimed best player in the world failed to lead his team to a title again. LeBron James now has a 2-4 record in the NBA finals and has yet to win a title for the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he’s expected to make a deep playoff run again this year, especially if his other All-Star teammates, Kevin
Love and Kyrie Irving can remain healthy for the entire season. The Eastern Conference doesn’t present much threat to the Cavaliers. Last season’s playoff contenders Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, and Toronto Raptors lost some of their best players. Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers are expected to challenge the Cavaliers, but only if their respective stars, Derrick Rose and Paul George are healthy. It wouldn’t be a shocker if LeBron James reaches the finals for the sixth straight season. But the major hurdles don’t belong in the Eastern Coast. James’ biggest nightmares, the Spurs and Warriors will most likely be his adversaries in June next year. SHOULD WE GIVE THE TITLE TO THE SPURS ALREADY? After an early playoff exit last season, the San Antonio Spurs signed one of the best power forwards in the league, LaMarcus Aldridge. They’ve also added former All-Star David West. Oh, and the Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili are all back this season. Add the young, talented Kawhi Leonard and it is safe to say that the Spurs are the best team in the league right now. Gregg Popovich is still calling the shots for the Spurs, and if he was able to lead a bunch of ‘old’ guys to back-to-back NBA Finals a couple of years ago, imagine what he would do to a team that has Aldridge. The concern is not
how they will fare against the best teams in the league, but rather how the best teams in the league will fare against them. Sure, the Warriors, Thunder, and Rockets are all expected to be title contenders in the loaded Western Conference. But knowing how good the Spurs are on paper and on the court, the NBA could just hand them the title right now, don’t you think? A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR FOR THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER Kevin Durant is returning from a season ending injury to join a Thunder team that has fallen short of winning the NBA title since becoming a Western Conference powerhouse in 2010. Although Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and Iman Shumpert are expected to help Durant this season, Oklahoma City Thunder is pressured to win the title this year, more than ever. Durant will be a free agent in 2016 and a lot of people inside the NBA believe that he’ll leave the Thunder if the team wouldn’t win the NBA championship this year. While nothing is certain at the moment, it is safe to say that this is a make or break year for OKC. Oklahoma City Thunder will be one of the best teams in the West this season, but they’ve been like that for several years already. Durant wants nothing more than to win his first NBA title, and he could win it in OKC this year or with another team in the future.
THE PRESENT IS DIM, BUT THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR THE LAKERS The Los Angeles Lakers have won 16 NBA titles in the past, but the last couple of years saw the franchise struggle to even make the playoffs. Kobe Bryant, who is coming off three consecutive season ending injuries, will be playing his 20th season for the Lakers and will try to make the most out of it as many people believe that this could also be his last. Bryant and co. are not expected to contend for the title, or even reach the playoffs (again) this year, but what’s interesting about the Lakers is the team’s core of talented, young players with the potential to be superstars in the NBA. The 7th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft Julius Randle, this year’s 2nd pick D’Angelo Russell, and fil-am Jordan Clarkson will be significant for the future of the Lakers. Their development this year will be of grave importance, as it will determine if the Lakers will be title contenders in the near future. Bryant will be mentoring the team’s young guys and hope that they will bring back the glory days in LA-LA land. Aside from tons of exciting games, the NBA also features a lot of great off-court stories that you should follow, whether it involves your favorite team/ player or not. While some of you might not agree with the things that have been mentioned here, we can all agree on one thing. We’re all glad that NBA basketball is back! ■
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AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
ATHLETE EXTRAORDINAIRE AUL varsity’s Janna Francisco might just be the most versatile athlete the University has seen in years. With quite the skillset in various sports, a disciplined and competitive mind and spirit, will she surprise again this season? BY RALPH B. ORENSE
FIRST LOVE
Janna says taekwondo is her favorite among the sports she managed to pick up over time, considering the Korean martial art her ‘first love.’
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Photographs by KARL B. BRIGUERA
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CAGER. SPIKER. TAEKWONDOJIN. That’s Janna Francisco of the Aquinas University varsity rolled into one. Her talent and versatility went mostly unnoticed until she surprised everyone when she played taekwondo for Bicol in the 2014-2015 season of the PRISAA nationals. the university has built quite a reputation for producing some of the best collegiate athletes in the region, especially in basketball, volleyball, and table tennis. The Aquinian players’ success in regional and national tournaments proves that the school is one of the powerhouse universities in Bicol when it comes to sports competitiveness. Janna Francisco, a Civil Engineering major, who was not a member of any AUL varsity team back then, along with two others for the men’s division represented AUL for the Taekwondo events in the regional meet for 2014-2015 season of Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) in Naga City. What they didn’t expect was for her to dominate the women’s division in the regional games. She didn’t really get formal training and prep for the tournament since AUL has yet to revive its varsity teams for martial arts. Armed with just her passion and longtime love affair with the Korean martial art, she was able to best other contenders from Bicol and qualified for the PRISAA nationals in Palawan April this year. “I’m very happy to be able to represent the school in the national games despite AUL’s lack of a taekwondo varsity team. I couldn’t believe I was the first player the school was able to send in the nationals ever since they disbanded the team years back,” Janna gushed recounting the honor of carrying the banner of the school all the way to the nationals. She considers taekwondo as her favorite of all the sports she’s picked up over the years. “It’s really my favorite sport, I’ve been playing taekwondo since elementary. It’s my first love.” However, her lack of varsity training and the school’s lack of equipment were the same reasons she lost in the elimination rounds to a player from the University of Cebu at the nationals. “I was really nervous because I saw their equipment and some of them, I haven’t even seen or used before. I did my best to prepare for the nationals, but I was eliminated early.” Nonetheless, the Welfare for Sports and Fitness Center (WSFC) was proud she came as far as she had without 16
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If God permits, I want to try out for our national taekwondo team.
it. With the upcoming selection for the PRISAA regionals next year, she says she’s gravitating more towards taekwondo since, in her words, "Yun ang laro ko talaga.” AS IDE F R OM taekwondo, Janna
can also play a number of other sports like basketball and volleyball. In fact, she plays both games quite well. WSFC Director Jaucian even joked that there was a tug of war between the basketball and volleyball varsity teams to get Janna. “She is a versatile athlete. She knows how to play several sports but we felt that she would be most productive in the basketball team.” Janna admitted she only learned basketball and volleyball when she entered college representing her department in the annual intramurals. She adds that she is always determined to contribute to whatever team she’ll play for. Aira Ravago, ace player of the women’s basketball team commended Francisco’s work ethic as an athlete. “She’s good. She’s a fast learner. She knows how to follow instructions from the coach and from her veteran teammates.” A native of Catanduanes, her love of anything sports was apparent. Aside from taekwondo, volleyball, and basketball, Janna since elementary all through high school had played and competed for various events. “I also love badminton, I tried out for the soccer varsity team in high school, and even arnis. I tried to learn all of these games. I was determined to try a lot of sports, and I did.” DES PIT E H ER love and talent for
school-supported training. “We’re proud of what she accomplished,” said WSFC Director Edward Jaucian. “She’s a very good athlete who has a lot of potential.” Following her national bout, it would make sense to take advantage of the momentum and continue to train and further develop her skills. And so she joined the varsity program this academic year, but not for taekwondo. She’s now a member of the basketball team currently training for the upcom-
ing Governor’s Cup. “Mahirap kasi kung mag-isa ka lang, kung walang team. I wanted to assemble the university’s varsity team for taekwondo, but we really lacked resources nor the time,” she shared regretfully. Abandoning her plans for a team, she got drafted for the volleyball varsity but was later transferred to the basketball squad. Asked if that meant she won’t be pursuing taekwondo this year, she answered that she’s still thinking about
sports, especially the martial arts discipline, Janna never loses focus on her studies, and that in fact, she’d be willing to leave the varsity team if it causes conflict to her studies. “I want to be an engineer. It was my dream since I was a kid,” she said. “I want to help my family someday.” But if she would be given the opportunity, she would pursue a professional career in taekwondo as a player or as a mentor. “I want to help educate people who want to learn the sport, and if God permits, I want to try out for our national taekwondo team,” Francisco said. An athlete who can immediately contribute to the success of the university as a player or as a member of a varsity team, it seems that AUL may have found a gem in Francisco. The best thing that the school could do for players like her is to continuously help her develop. Who knows, she might surprise us again in the future. ■ NOVEMBER 2015
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/ LINE OF SIGHT /
WERE WE MISLED? / RUN NO MORE /
HATH NOT LOVE
‘They are stuck in the past where divisions are made between people because they are not alike.’ On marriage equality, by Janin B. Volante /
PAG E 21
‘AUL’s Fine Arts program, the only one in Bicol, is under the supervision of UST-CFAD.’ On the UST-supervision of AUL’s Fine Arts program, by Ralph B. Orense/ P A G E 2 0
/ OVER THE COUNTER /
PANORAMA OF PERFECTION ‘They are like a dressing, plastering over the cracks, the flaws...’ On society’s labels, by John Paul B. Garrido / P A G E 2 2 / BRAINCHILD /
EYES ON THE PRIZE ‘TERTIARY EDUCATION IN THE CURRENT SETTING IS MERELY ABOUT PASSING AND NOT LEARNING.’
/ T H E A LT E R N AT E D O M A I N /
MOVING FORWARD
“IT’S SOMETHING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID OF. ” On failure and rising above it, by Melissa R. Mesias / P A G E 2 4
On college education, by Karen Daniele Besmonte / P A G E 2 3 / E S S AY /
BRAVE NEW WORLD ‘We are living in a realm bounded by time. It’s justifiable that we worry about getting late. But worrying won’t get us anywhere.’ by Ivy Jonna M. Tolosa / P A G E 2 5
/ E S S AY /
BEYOND THE TARPS
“They could be the best heralds of what Aquinas University of Legazpi can offer.” by Jesus A. Dawal, Jr. /
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This is what the Rector and President confirms amid some people’s doubts over the actual status of the program. For the last three years we saw the opening of new academic programs in the College of Health Sciences (i.e. Pharma, MedTech) in collaboration with our Dominican affiliate, University of Santo Tomas. This collaboration mostly entails that the curriculum and instruction is matched and “supervised” by UST, thereby making it a little different in terms of standards and quality. This is achieved through the professors who would come here all the way from UST on a weekly basis, to teach the major courses of the said programs. Students of the Fine Arts program wondered when no professor from one of the country’s respected institutions on arts and design came to teach them. Some speculated that the whole thing was a “stunt” to attract students; that the big tarpaulins brandish a glaring false advertisement; that they were duped. Some of us asked, ‘were we misled? Were we made to believe something that isn’t true?’ AUL’s relationship with UST has always been a point of speculation, in a way that some of us are in the first place, unaware or unclear about our ties with the Pontifical University. Some of us heard that by this year, we would be annexed to UST’s name. A marriage of institutions, some of us were told that would end in hyphenates - UST-Legazpi (as in Ateneo de Naga). While there are truths to said rumors, this relationship can only be described as complicated. (To uncomplicate it, please see, if you haven’t already, our tabloid’s front page story on the real score of the UST-AUL
“ . . .T H AT T H E B I G TA R PAU L I N S BRANDISH A G L A R I N G FA L S E A DV E R T I S E M E N T; T H AT THEY WERE D U P E D.”
relationship.) But the gist of it is: AUL is the only other university in the country (apart from UST) ran by the Dominican Order, and a mandate has these schools working to integrate into one system, as with the case of the Letran schools. Obviously, a lot of time and effort would be required bridging and filling in gaps, for that to happen. The school felt that a good way to start with the integration is to slowly do it through some form of close partnership. Thus, the UST-supervised programs. Fr. Arceo, in a sit-down interview, set the record straight that Fine Arts is a UST-supervised program. During official talks by both the UST and our own officials in March of 2015, faculty from CFAD have agreed to come here. But the problem with that was that it would be financially demanding to the students. Ask any MedTech or Pharma major about their tuition. According to him, it would be very expensive and might be too much for majority of the aspiring Fine Arts students to afford. But it didn’t mean that the school backed out on the deal. The Rector said that when the time is right, they might be able to have regular visiting UST Fine Arts faculty as well, but until then, UST is willing to receive Aquinians in their campus for tours, exposure, seminars, and special lectures instead.
Circumstances with Fine Arts were a bit different compared to the other two programs. The Rector stressed that both are new programs which didn’t have students yet, and most especially, they are board courses so it was top priority to match UST’s quality of instruction. In two to three years, the pioneer batch will take the boards, and projections from the UST faculty themselves suggest that the result will be at par with UST. This setup, unique as it is, doesn’t come cheap and the Rector assured it is temporary. A long term faculty development program where our faculty finish their post-graduate education or undergo trainings in UST is in place, so that eventually, our own can teach with equal quality. This training, worthy to note, is not limited to MedTech or Pharma. “UST supervision” apparently is a term that is not synonymous with UST faculty presence. It may be part of it but not strictly what the term entails. It kind of reminds you of the contention on the difference between U.S. military presence to military assistance in the Philippines. Having said all of that, is it safe to say the confusion was understandable? Maybe so. But on the one hand, issues like these show how much the communication between the students and the admin needs work. Concerns and issues like this should have been voiced out and cleared up months ago. Did the students have such big reservations to come forward with this question?Did the channels to do that failed or are maybe nonexistent? Is the admin too unwelcoming? Did they fail at information dissemination? Whatever the case, we’re way past the time finger-pointing. One simple takeway from this is that failure in communication can happen due to barriers, we are taught in AB Comm. But the important thing is we try to get past them before it’s too late and then learn how to avoid them next time. Only then can we finally have some peace of mind. ■ NOVEMBER 2015
V E R I TAT E M
COLUMN
AUL’s Fine Arts program, the only one in Bicol, is under the supervision of UST-CFAD (University of Santo Tomas - College of Fine Arts and Design).
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UST supervision of Fine Arts - the real score
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WERE WE MISLED?
/ LINE OF SIGHT /
by RALPH B. ORENSE @iAmEyeSight
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love won... but just one battle of many
In a move many are calling historic, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) declared gay marriage legal in all 50 states and in the one federal district of the country.
GETTY IMAGES
The justices voted 5-4, in the case Obergefell et al. vs Hodges, in favor of legalization on June 26, 2015. Worthy to note is that it required no amendment or revision to the US Constitution. The text in itself already provided the basis for the said ruling and the Supreme Court merely interpreted it as such. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in the official document wrote, “The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, couples of the same sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.” Furthermore he said, “It would misunderstand these men and women [the petitioners] to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.” People around the world, queer and ally alike, celebrated this declaration of equality. Rainbow
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by JANIN B. VOLANTE @thesunwontset
V E R I TAT E M
“THE RIGHT S I D E I S A LWAYS T H AT O F AC C E P TA N C E AND OPENMINDEDNESS, THE RIGHT SIDE I S A LWAYS T H AT O F L OV E .“
flags, banners, balloons, streamers and scarves flew in the wind as outside the SCOTUS building and many other areas in different states, people gathered on that fateful day. Online, people changed their social media display pictures to ones with rainbow filters, and the hashtag #LoveWins broke trending records. The world is all the better for this new development in equity, but all the happiness that people have, all the celebration and merrymaking reveal in stark contrast the ugly side of humanity. There are people who sought to still take away this right given to us. An example is the conservative Republican Party who wished to overturn the court ruling. Another is that some religious groups still see this decision as a tragedy, a repulsive disgusting thing, a sin. Then, there are some merely
fueled by hate and ignorance. It’s sad to think that we have come so far in terms of social change and yet they are stuck in the past where divisions are made between people because they are not alike. They do not understand how we are all equal in everyone’s eyes, not just by man’s and not just by everyone’s respective gods but in all aspects and in every absolute way. What makes the union sacred? Is it really the book that prophets have written under the guidance of God? That line in Leviticus where it says, “Man shall not lie with man,” is mistranslated. If translated word for word from the original Hebrew, Leviticus 18:22 is roughly ‘And with mankind you shall not lie beds a woman/wife.’ It is actually a warning against prostitution, not homosexuality. Another thing that religion at large usually misses is that the rules written in Leviticus were meant to be ceremonial law followed in the advent of the apocalypse which Jesus graciously redeemed us from. In the face of salvation, that piece of scripture thrown around in the faces of homosexuals is inadmissible. Paul in his letter to the Galatians even said so. Lastly, there are 613 laws in Leviticus which include that we are forbidden to shave, forbidden to wear garments with more than two types of thread, forbidden to eat meat and seafood. We disregard all these rules in favor of convenience in our modern lifestyles and yet we follow that one thing that goes against God’s greatest commandment, “Love thy neighbor as much as thou love thyselves, as much as I love thee.” Religion says we should love all people. Last I checked, homosexuals are people. If we go by the word of Leviticus, we are all going to hell anyway because we have all worn denim and polyester jeans and a cotton and silk tunic. In the end, does it really matter who people want to marry? I am not saying that everyone whose beliefs contradict our cause is being belligerently difficult about C O N T I N U E D N E X T P A G E >>
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can society’s labels strictly define us?
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/ OVER THE COUNTER /
by JOHN PAUL B. GARRIDO @jape_garr
COLUMN
Figuring out who we really are is considered to be one of life’s greatest aspirations.
CHEAPWIRE ART
I know you would be saying that it’s so clichéd, that you are already fed up with the notion, but that seems to be what everyone of all ages, sizes and colors is seeking. It is thought to be the Holy Grail of humanity since we are very complex beings. In this tough yet stirring search, I have found that one thing tends to get in the path of finding out the identity: society would classify people or things with phrases or names that tell us what they are. It is known as a “label” – a convoluted attempt at definition. We humans are far more complex and cannot simply be classified as contrast to inanimate objects. Like the prescriptions that we get from our doctors, labels can be erroneous, tapered or limiting. They are too confining. We never want to feel that we are restricted from reaching our full potentials, portraying an inaccurate version of our true selves. We are also a lot of things, not just one. Let us take the label “student” for an example. We embrace the fact that we are students, Aquinian students to be specific, and we are very proud of it, but it is not all that we are. It puts us in a box and explains what we do, but that doesn’t, and shouldn’t define our existence or tell people who we really are. From an early age, we have fought against labels. We found it hard to self-identify with any one thing. We would ask stressful and tiring questions that would play a huge role in how we see ourselves and how others perceive us. For example, people would judge others through their favorite music – is it too feminine, too masculine, too mainstream, too weird? Or the phones that they use – what brand is it, an iPhone or an Android? Or the clothes that we wear – is it branded, in the trends, too hipster, too jologs or baduy?
standards, in order to reach that peak of happiness – the ultimate goal of men. People get judged easily through speculations, biased judgments or any form of defamation that somehow leads to the fabricated definition of one’s worth. I get judged. You get judged. We all get judged. So let us peel-off our labels and break free from this drama. Defy the status quo because at the end of the day, labels are just labels – invisible pieces of papers and that don’t really exist. ■
> > H AT H N OT L O V E / C O N T I N U E D
“AT T H E E N D O F T H E DAY, LABELS ARE JUST LABELS - INVISIBLE PIECES OF PA P E R T H AT D O N ’ T R E A L LY E X I S T.“
Sometime or another, we have all postured in the window of social media to uphold or invent a certain image that we think is #cool or #relatable or #perfect. Society always clings to this panorama of perfection. It is indeed the disease of the nation that no surgery could cure. In fact, labels conceal who we actually are. They are like a dressing, plastering over the cracks, the flaws, and create a clean new image that does not allow us the freedom to be our true selves. Maybe it is because we are only human. We are tempted to strive for something that can satisfy our
this. I know religious people who are in full support of their friends because they know full well what this means to us. They know our struggles, our trials, our very exhausting journey. Here in the Philippines, gay marriage is still not legal. What with the cultural impetus that the SCOTUS ruling has started I thought that maybe people will realize that we should not just stay in the level of tolerance but completely accept others for what they are. The people were abuzz with fervor at pushing this social movement. Hashtags took off left and right and a bill was even presented in congress. But alas! It was not to be—at least, not yet. I had thought that perhaps we would be next in the nations that would legalize same-sex marriage. If a country like Mexico, who has had practically the same historical and cultural influence as the Philippines, can get over prejudice and accept gay marriage, why can’t we? We tell people to be on the right side of history. That has indeed prevailed in the many dilemmas throughout the decades–during the fight for racial equality and for women’s rights. it holds true now. The right side is always that of acceptance and of open-mindedness. The right side is always that of love. ■ NOVEMBER 2015
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EYES ON THE PRIZE but what’s the price?
Graduate with a degree, get a decent job, acquire a house and lot or a car perhaps, and explore the world with the ones we love- these are just a number of the usual to-dos in our dream list.
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while learning. As how others put it, tertiary education in the current setting is merely about 'passing' and
“A S H O W OTHERS PUT I T, T E R T I A RY E D U C AT I O N AT ITS CURRENT SETTING IS M E R E LY A B O U T ‘ PA S S I N G ’ A N D NOT LEARN I N G. “
future. We must understand matters through its essence not its presence. The way we learn is the same with how we will realize our dreams. A mere wish without a serious intent from the heart is not as great as a dream in which we placed all our time, passion, and efforts- those dreams that grew with us. Moreover, realized dreams which we truly worked hard for and really yearned for since the beginning are more fulfilling than those which we accomplished without
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Some people dream big while others envisage the simplest of all dreams; yet, regardless of the size, the point is all human beings have a dream. And as the song, “to dream the impossible dream….” goes, there are indeed some more daring dreams which without a feisty character, one could not attain. Daring or spineless, dreams have one thing in common, they all have a price. As part of the journey towards our dreams, we matriculate to educational institutions in pursuit of realizing the first to-do in the dream list. But it does not end there. We endure sleepless nights, shorter nights and longer days, brain drain, physical fatigue, haggardness overload, and a lot more. And in the process, we somberly forget that we came to learn and not to mourn. Yes, we must study well but not study hard. The dilemma nowadays is we misconstrue the true meaning of learning, the blame is not on our end and neither of the university’s. Whose end is it then? The decades of systemization and advancement have detrimentally changed our culture. As things became easier through technology, we in turn, searched for the easiest ways to measure learning, talents, and intelligence. In schools, we attributed more significance to figures which must only serve as an assessment of one’s progress in the learning process. While it is true that some who persevere on a greater scale also receive a commensurate grade, this is not true in all cases. Not for those who are naturally gifted with intelligence, those who exert effort but are restrained by circumstances, or those who require more guidance
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by KAREN DANIELE BESMONTE @unmundayne
not learning”. As much as I want to contest it, it is the general truth. A few months later students forget the chapters they memorized. Education must be about learning- knowing what the lessons are “by heart” and “to the core”. Though it will take some time, this can still be changed and it is a line item in my very own dream list. This is one dream which was nowhere before in the usual dream list but hopefully be now included, may we all aim to truly learn and not simply pass subjects as we go along our journey. This dream of mine costs speaking up and opposing what is customary yet if realized will benefit more people and the world in the
much toil. My fellow dreamers, dreams come with a price, sometimes not just material things in life such as money but it may cost us our courage, belief, faith, determination, and persistence. Due to our distinct situations in life, our dreams have different prices and prizes. But, whatever the difficulty is, carry on and move forward for your dreams await you at the end of the line and remember that the more arduous the planting process is, the more bountiful the harvest. ■
failures aside and lessons learned
Let us take J.K. Rowling, one of my favourite authors, as an example. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was initially rejected by editors and numerous publishing houses because they believed that her work was not worthy enough to be published. Despite the rejections, Rowling pushed through with her dream to become a published author because she believes her work will make a difference in our world if given a chance. Well, her intuition was not wrong and now Harry Potter is a staple book in every shelf in the world. If she let her previous failure consume her, then we won’t have ever heard of the beloved boy who has a lightning scar and his magical adventures. Why am I talking about failure? It is because it is something each and every one of us should not be afraid of. Just like breathing, failure is a natural course in life. There is no such thing as instant perfection. Failure is not always the end of a journey. Usually it is a beginning of an adventure that changes you as a person and how you see the world. I would like to share a story of how failure helped me shape the person I am today. I started out in Aquinas University the wrong way. Before, I was the kind of student who does not care if I get good grades or perform well inside the classroom. I was the epitome of bahala na, or katamad, or ang boring ng professor kaya di na lang ako papasok attitudes - sure ingredients of the recipe in failing college. Due to my negligence failing became the turning point of my college life. I was in a sinkhole and clearly I needed strong hands to pull me out before I was gobbled up completely. The good thing was,
“DUE TO MY NEGLIGENCE, FA I L I N G BECAME THE TURNING POINT OF MY COLLEGE L I F E .”
change and realization came, with the help of my two professors, whose words are still instilled in my mind up til now. Without them, I would still be wandering in a path unknown. Their words were like a beacon of a lighthouse guiding a fisherman in rough seas. With their help, I contemplated on all the irresponsible things I have done and asked myself, where will it bring me? Will the failed marks and
laziness bring me closer to my goals and dreams? No, it will not. So then and there I realized that I needed to do a complete 360-degree turn around in order to achieve what I want in my life. Setting my failure aside, but not the lessons learned, I tried again. In small but sure steps I was able to recover and at the same time gained wisdom that it is all about how you stand up from your mistakes that defines you and not the failure. I may not be J.K. Rowling because our situation and predicaments were not the same but the common thing between us is our ability to rise up and use our failure as a stepping stone to better ourselves. All I want to share to you my fellow students is to not get discouraged if you failed once, twice or even thrice. What matters most is how you stood up and tried again, because at the end of the day, life is too short to wallow in your failures. Accept it, learn from it, and move forward with all the valuable lessons you have learned. ■
COLUMN
More often than not, failure is associated with the word “end.” If you failed, it is the end. But most of the time, it’s not exactly the case.
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by MELISSA R. MESIAS @Lizzie_Oi
V-POINTS
MOVING FORWARD
/ T H E A LT E R N AT E D O M A I N /
PHOTO BY KARL BRIGUERA
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BRAVE NEW WORLD we can all begin again...
BY IVY JONNA M. TOLOSA
The world is a battleground where we have to make decisions both big and small every single day the sun rises. And though not every person is blessed enough to get what they love, everyone is given the grace to love what they’ve been given. And yes, there comes a point in your life when you’ve got to decide who you are and what you want. In a world with political decline, shattered dreams, broken relationships, and cruel society abound, surely there must be someplace to find solace. But what if the only place you find heaven on earth is within? Is that so hard to find? What if what’s inside is the most chaotic in the first place? Adolescence to young adulthood is the most turbulent time in a person’s development. And youth are said to be the future’s hope. Yet even the youth shall faint and be weary. “How did I wind up here?” or “what am I here for?” or “am I on the right track?” If you’ve ever asked yourself such questions, you are not alone. It’s an inherent longing. And a longing is an aching of the heart that yearns to be resolved. There’s no wonder some students shift from one course to another, don’t find the drive to attend their classes, remain in school for extended years, and fail to recognize their passion even at a certain age that’s seemingly delayed. The future then seems to be so dreadful. Would it be so selfish to pay them some attention and at least give them some encouragement? That it’s okay to hear their cry, their angst, and their confusion. That it’s never okay to be judged that early. That it’s never good to compare yourself with others. Because you see, the rarest flower blooms in adversity. So if your brain is deceiving you with 24
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countless reasons to give up, please don’t lose heart. While the world is toiling over its own issues, we might lay our eyes on the struggles beside us. I know we can’t change the world but at least we can make a difference in our own little one. We are living in a realm bounded by time. It’s justifiable that we worry about getting late. But worrying won’t get us anywhere. Staying patient is the most enormous job one can do. Have patience with everything that is unresolved in your heart for in due season, each will be gradually revealed. And along with patience, work your way through unfinished dreams with courage notwithstanding your feelings. School is a great place to learn but real learning happens beyond the curriculum, or better yet, in one’s intangible character. We are shaped by our struggles, our failures, our fears, our beliefs, and our passion. Along that journey, we are being brought face to face with ourselves, our relationships, and our purpose. Each waking morning is a grace given by God to decide to keep moving forward even in the midst
“S C H O O L I S A G R E AT P L AC E T O LEARN BUT REAL LEARNING HAPPENS B E YO N D T H E CURRICULUM, OR BETTER Y E T, I N O N E ’S I N TA N G I B L E C H A R AC T E R .“
of our battles. To err is human. You have fears? It’s okay. One gets his life back again when he lays it down… for others. They sang “it’s a small world after all.” I don’t think so. It’s enormous, for your information! Mine’s a brave new world. And we can all begin again. ■
Then and now, Aquinas has been a producer and training ground of many notable Bicolanos. The walls of our’ fences have always been occupied by faces and names of students and faculty, whose achievements range from passing the board exams to winning in local, national and international competitions. The walls herald excellence, gleaming with distinguished pride and honor. But admittedly, there is more to them than meet the eye. The walls inside the campus tell a different tale. Say for example, the small, cramped bulletin board designated for the Office of Guidance and Testing knows more names than the tarpaulin extravaganza outside. It’s a little bit sad that to an outsider, the tarpaulins outside may scream of students whose aptitude threaten to rise higher than Everest, but for students inside, it’s a different thing. Absenteeism, apathy, unsatisfying classes, boring activities are but a few that plague Aquinian campus life. A culture of mediocrity thrives, from students who can’t be bothered to turn in a term project or a simple seatwork, to big things like our very low performance in the board exams. You could say this is neither new nor unique to our educational institution. It could be many things: the educational background of the students before they got here; it could be that many of them did not really like, and are not fit for, the course that they have chosen, if they really chose for themselves. But could some of the factors also be the kind of teachers we have, and the system we’re implementing and a bad culture we’re allowing to flourish? I have heard the old students speak of good professors who have left the school to teach in other colleges. And while there may still be professors here who hold Ph.D.’s or Masters, not all show blazing passion for the chance of contributing to the future of each student he or she handles, and certainly not all
“BUT SOMEH O W, T H E TA R PAU L I N S O U T S I D E L E AV E S ME TROUBLED KNOWING T H E R E ’S A R E A L STRUGGLE INSIDE THE S C H O O L T H AT NEEDS L O O K I N G AT.“ focus on the welfare of the students. If they ever do, then those on the other end do not see, lest feel it at all. The students understand that teaching is a very hard task - the work of a teacher doesn’t end when one has pressed her thumb hard against the biometrics machine as she clocks off, and certainly not when she has gone home already. We understand that you don’t get paid extra for the secret “considerations” you give the students and the extra miles you take daily just to be ready for class come morning, not to mention the wee hours in the hundreds of nights wherein you stay awake to check the outputs of students. I also know that teaching is the profession that can never be bought, nor adequately rewarded. Many say that if you want to be rich, don’t be a teacher because a teacher gives all of herself, and no amount of recognition and gold could ever equal her efforts and aspirations. Our school, unlike say BU, is kind of different because class standing (i.e. attendance) contributes a high percentage to each student’s passing. While the final outputs give a meaningful weight, it doesn’t guarantee that the student will pass because the professor will take note of his attendance. Worse comes to worst, when two students are about to fail and a teacher is torn between a student who
NOVEMBER 2015
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BY JESUS A. DAWAL, JR.
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look inside, and look well
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BEYOND THE TARPS
shows aptitude and understood the subject matter despite all odds yet flunked his attendance record, and a perfect-attendance student who did not even know a fragment of the subject he’s taken up, who should the teacher pass? I do not want blame the school for our blunders and ignorance. Inside the classroom, we see students yawning, texting, even daydreaming. Ultimately, even if a good teacher screams the concept at the top of her lungs, and sings the lesson just to help the students remember and understand, if the student does not want to learn, it’s useless. Again, this holds true not just here in Aquinas, but throughout all schools. But what’s disturbing is that those who actively participate in the discussions could only be pinpointed. Some of us have thought of participating in class discussions as a means of proving we know, instead of digging for more knowledge. Or maybe some of us are taking up a course that is very distant from our heart’s passion. And worse, some do not take their education seriously because they know that their parents can always provide. The list could go on, as to explaining the intellectual sloth I see within our four corners of education. I do not presume to know how to fix all these, and I do not, by any means, say that I know better than anyone in the university’s administration. I see the dedication. I see the positive changes. I see the competent and dedicated teachers - few as they are - giving their all, because they believe that their students are capable of learning, and have the potential to reach their dreams. For that, I give my thanks. But somehow, the tarpaulins outside leaves me troubled knowing there’s a real struggle inside the school that also needs looking at. The tarps are innocent without a doubt. It has its purpose. But hopefully, obscuring something we’d rather not see is not one of them. It is not my wish to remove them. In fact, I want more names in that walls that it wouldn’t be enough to contain all the congratulations to the Aquinian students, whose achievements would not be forgotten and whose causes would champion those of truth, love, and gratitude. For now though, those drowsy and absentee students are some of what this school has. They should be our priority. And they could be the best heralds of what Aquinas University of Legazpi can offer. ■
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CAFETERIA FOOD
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TOO PRICEY?
BY KRISTINE MARIE B. ARIENDA / JOHN PAUL B. GARRIDO
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CROWDING the cafeterias inside the University come lunch time are students eager to fill their stomachs during the usually hour-long break. It’s a race for some who have classes at one o’clock and are too pressed for time to go off-campus for a meal. Sounds normal enough for a university. But aside from the long qeues, or the place buzzing with students and staff, there is another situation some of us would be all too familiar with. While some are contented with their meals, some are moaning and complaining to their friends about how high they paid for such a small serving. One could argue the simplest solution is to opt out if something is not to your liking. Students who don’t have flexible or free schedules eat in the cafeteria than get on with their busy day on an empty stomach. But for ones who have the time or don’t mind the walk outside the campus at high noon, they frequent canteens and carinderias nearby for more affordable meals at a generous serving. Some would even spare a jeepney ride to the nearest mall for cheaper and more options served by several fast food chains. It’s all a matter of preference, right? But we’re talking about food service inside a university. Providing the students with the best options on food should not be a low priority. Evidently, it’s a hard choice for students who are not only pressed for time but also for money. Cafeterias inside should not be a student’s last choice because they’re too expensive or not worth the student’s money. Food, one cannot overstate enough,
is such a basic need. Especially for the average college student whose daily activities require a lot of energy to keep up with the academic rigor and stress. A Georgetown University study shows that a student’s diet tends to deteriorate when entering college due to several factors - stress, changes in schedules due to shifting study patterns or class schedules - which then can lead to bad habits like skipping meals or eating too much fast food. The school cafeterias are the best and most likely place to address the students’ nutritional needs inside the school. Therefore it follows to ensure the accessibility of healthy and quality food since their primary customers need them to function and perform well. CAFETERIAS IN AQUINAS The University has four cafeterias Sandie’s and Vi-An Mae’s located at the St. Dominic Building, Createria at the M-Building, and Ysabelle’s at the T-Building. In addition, there other several concessionaire stands by local and fast food outlets located around the campus. All these establishments are independent from the University. Aquinians have varied opinions about the school cafeterias and their prices. Some think the prices aren’t very friendly to the average student’s budget. “It’s like there’s gold in their food!” quipped Pharmacy student, Kryzta Cabaccang. “It is so expensive but their servings are really small. It is not worth it.” Accountancy students, Angela Camille Acuña and Claire Gallanosa agreed and jokingly remarked, “Nasaan ang hustisya?” On the one hand, despite some students dubbing them the ‘dollar canteens,’ there are also students who
“THESE CANTEENS SHOULD CONSIDER THAT MOST OF THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE STUDENTS WHO STILL RELY ON THEIR PARENTS FOR THEIR EXPENSES. NOT ALL STUDENTS ARE MEMBERS OF THE ‘AFFLUENT’ SOCIETY AS PRIVATE STUDENTS ARE OFTEN PERCEIVED AS.” - N I Ñ A C R IZE L L E R E L U CI O, E CO N O MI C S P RO FE S S O R
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believe the prices are quite reasonable. College of Health Sciences Student Council President, Faith Marquez said she understood citing that these businesses need to profit reasonably given that they are also paying rent to AUL. In Engineering student Odine Raphael Areola’s view, the prices are expensive but are justifiable. “It is common mentality for students to compare prices to the food outside due in part to the fact that they are paying for the same product. But let us take note of the proximity of the canteens. For example if you eat your lunch at school, you would save both time and energy especially if you have classes or exams at 12:30 or 1:00 PM. So I think I can live with that.” But Daniel Villania, an Architecture major, sees the pricing as inconsistent. “I find the products sold by some canteens
VALUE FOR MONEY The school canteens believe they provide quality food services that make their prices reasonable and ensure customer satisfaction.
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expensive but there are also ones that are selling their products at a lower price. Why is that?” AUL Economics professor, Niña Crizelle Relucio weighed in on the issue and agreed to the inconsistencies. “I think one of the significant factors why they seem ‘overpriced’ to people is due to the rental fee these establishments pay. I once asked a staff of a canteen why their prices are higher and was told it was because of the rent. However, there’s another canteen with lower prices, so I wondered why can’t others do the same? Do they pay a different amount in terms of rent?”
Createria, located at the lobby of the St. Martin building, prides itself with quality and quantity for a reasonable price, and variety to give students more options. Photograph by KARL B. BRIGUERA
All the four major college cafeterias offer the basic student meal that costs Php 45 to 50. All offer free water escept Ysabelle’s. According to them, their prices for their meal courses are reasonable considering their use of quality ingredients and the cost of rent and utilities like water and electricity. “I believe they are satisfied as I see those same familiar faces that patronize our products,” said Vi-An Mae, the manager of Vi An Mae’s Canteen and Catering Services. “We base our prices not solely for profit. We look at our market, the students, and offer our food at a price that’s friendly to their pockets.” Sandie’s, Createria, and Ysabelle’s also take their years of service in the University as a sign of customer satisfaction. They believed that their patrons know that they serve “value-for-money” dishes. Odine NOVEMBER 2015
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BETTER OPTIONS So is it simply an overstatement and a misconception to say our cafeterias are too pricey? Or are they just misunderstood by the students? “I think the rice meals catered by the canteens are very affordable but I find the other products such as junk foods, merienda snacks and soft drinks to be quite overpriced,” said Pharmacy faculty, Maridel N. Santos. Junk foods, biscuits, soft drinks, etc. costs 5-10 pesos more or even twice the amount from the normal price at the same quantity. The canteens and school cafeterias usually overcharge for their services due to a misguiding notion that students have little expenses and that they have a lot to spend. In most schools around the world, a particular commodity has a higher price in a school canteen than in a normal shop outside a learning institution. Cafeterias and canteens are not in most cases considered part of the school system, but as a way of making maximum profits by exploiting students. In Prof. Relucio’s expert opinion, the term ‘overpriced’ can be seen in different perspectives. “It depends on how and where you examine the case at hand. In any case, I can’t firmly state that the pricing system here is overpriced as the quality, quantity and operating costs varies. AUL-HS department charge higher prices on goods that are exactly the same offered in canteens located in the tertiary level. Why? Rental costs are mostly the thing to be considered. At a macro perspec-
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Areola concurred saying, “In my experience, even at an expensive cost, we are assured that they only serve quality food.” Some students, however, disagreed and maintain their stand that the food is too expensive or the price doesn’t correspond to the quality or quantity they are served. “Some products catered by these canteens are not really value-for-money products,” Jane Kirsty Jazmin weighed in.
tive, I can compare the pricing system of the canteens here to their counterparts outside other schools, even in public schools. Do they have the same costs? Answers may vary but chances are, they do not. On the micro perspective, do all canteens in AUL have the same pricing system? No. but most likely, discrepancies are not that large, maintaining competition, just different strategies.” But even with these justifications, Aquinians believe that there are still measures that could and should be taken to improve our campus food services. “One thing is that maybe, just maybe, the school could lower the rent fees. If the rent is not much of a burden for the canteen owner’s pocket then maybe they could make the price of their products less of a burden too for the buyer’s pocket. The school could also talk to the operators and ask them to justify the prices of their products,” said Marquez. Relucio points out, “These canteens should consider that most of their customers are students who still rely on their parents for their expenses. Not all students are members of the ‘affluent’ society as private students are often perceived as.” Asked about possible solutions
Some canteens offer merienda options that are healthy at a price reasonable for students.
Photograph by KARL B. BRIGUERA
Relucio advised, “Alternatives. Substitutes. Inexpensive substitutes for the ingredients of their goods could very well improve their creativity, at the same time, decreasing their prices and attracting more customers in the process without losing much of the profit. On the other hand, rental fee could be lowered. As for their customers, mainly the students, they are very sensitive and reactive to price changes.” Food service, as it is, in Aquinas cannot be considered terrible. But the students are asking for more; for better and reasonable options. In a way, food can be an opportunity for a university to define its culture. Campus life for the most part, can be stressful. Campus food services, ideally, should not be a bothersome necessity or a last resort. It shoudn’t in turn, discourage students to eat healthy or worry that they might be spending too much on food. ■
D I S PAT C H E S F RO M T H E BAC K ROA D S O F C O L L E G E L I F E
SMALL VOICES I
A Road Less Taken and how it made a difference BY KAREN DANIELE BESMONTE
ILLUSTRATION BY W E N D E L L T. C I L O T
HOW DOES ONE TYPICALLY go about life in college? Or better yet, why are we in college? To get a degree, ideally fiinishing your degree within the regular time frame, and hopefully receive laurels at the end of our journey? Suffice to say, college is no walk in the park and for most of us, the answer to the question would be to work for it - study hard, comply with the requirements, attend our classes. What happens when you want it but you don’t want to take the usual route to get there? As the poem by Robert Frost The Road Not Taken says, ‘when two roads diverge, we cannot take both and our choice will make all the difference.’ This is how Jade Therese Barangan, a graduate from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts made a difference in her life - by choosing a road less travelled. Jade’s journey in the
these events, she met people whose interests, personalities, and behavior perfectly suited hers - the people who later on became her best friends. They were inseparable, just having the time of their lives. Everything was ideally going well. Until… It almost became the stereotypical American college lifestyle - partying, drinking, and smoking. As an Architecture student, Jade understood that she must comply with the demanding requirements of her major courses and to prepare well for examinations (which means studying every night), especially since her professors had high expectations from them.
She wanted to be with friends and lead a life of parties. Going out with the barkada to drink or smoke became a staple part of her life. “What is there to lose?” Jade thought. “Alcohol won’t kill me. I want to live young, wild, and free.” Indeed, she proved that when she didn’t let that affect her studies. She effortlessly passed her subjects despite it all. She even got elected as vice president of the United Architects of the Philippines Student Auxiliary (UAPSA). But on her last year in college, her vices, particularly smoking, would test the limits of her body. In 2014, amid
‘non-conformist’ road began in 2010 - in her first year here as an Architecture student. Unlike most freshmen in college who felt anxious the first day, Jade was instantly comfortable in her new home. However, instead of being amiable or smililng and starting conversations with new people, Jade preferred silence and the comfort of her chair. She was not antisocial nor had issues adjusting to the college environment. She just felt that she hasn’t met her future pals yet. Thus, one year passed - a time when her trusty comrades were her T-square and plates, and little did she know that her simple, ordinary and quiet days in college would take quite the turn. She finally meets the people who will make a difference in her life. In her second year in college (2011), Jade took the first steps to becoming an active student leader of her department by attending national conventions for Architecture students. On
‘There is nothing wrong with living the whole ‘young, wild and free’ mantra, as long as you know your limits. ‘Pag di na kaya, ‘wag ipilit...’ working on her undergraduate thesis and her apprenticeship, Jade reached a point of cigarette dependence that it was not only her stress reliever, it also replaced eating. Holding on to the belief that she could manage it, she continued doing it until her body surrendered and proved her wrong. In August of 2014, she had to get an operation. The surgery (chest tube insertion) was not a pleasant experience
for a young woman. The painful and complex medical procedure is done thru a specially designed tube that’s inserted through the side of her body, between the ribs, to empty two liters of water that accumulated in her right lung. As if the rigors of the operation were not enough, she also got dengue days later. Her health proved challenging for someone about to graduate but Jade persisted and
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SMALL VOICES Jade is now based in Dubai, UAE and works as an architect in a firm.
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God’s Way
a journey of faith, hope, love BY RONA MARICAR C. MIÑA
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did her thesis on her hospital bed. Her thesis, successful despite the odds, qualified her to still graduate on time with her friends. And to her absolute surprise, on her graduation day last March 2015, she received the ‘Best Thesis Award’- a feat that was the cherry on top of her still making it to the end. Nowadays, Jade and all her best friends are already successful graduates who are on a journey towards their dreams. Asked if she blames her friends or if she’d consider the whole ordeal a result of peer pressure, she said no and humbly owned up to her choices. “Choice ko ‘yun”, she emphasized. “Our jamming was not really about the drinks or cigarettes, it is more about the stories we shared and the memories we’ve created during those times, they were priceless,” she recalls nostalgically. She also pointed out how helpful and thoughtful her friends were during her stay in the hospital which proved her that they are her friends through thick and thin. Jade says she has no regets. “I do not and never will. In fact, I am grateful that I learned about these things at an early point in my life. At least, I’m health-conscious and now observe a healthy lifestyle”. Jade leaves a meaningful message to college students who might feel the same need or is facing a choice on getting peer-pressured. “There is nothing wrong with living the ‘young, wild and free’ mantra, as long as you know your limits. ‘Pag di na kaya, ‘wag ipilit and lalong ‘wag aabusuhin ang katawan. Be wise enough to learn from other people’s experiences, be wise enough to learn from me.” Jade concluded that her friends made her college life the best despite the challenges and she would not trade them for anything or for the road most people take. ■
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BEFORE I JOINED
DomNet (Dominican Network) Youth Group, I heard so many things about it. They told me it’s a corny group where they sing and dance and praise God. They made it sound like that’s a bad thing. Like most kids today, I guess religion isn’t what one would say ‘cool.’ Nevertheless, I wanted to be part of it. I don’t know if God was just testing my faith because I was suddenly surrounded and became friends with nonbelievers or atheists and agnostics. Atheists believe that God does not exist while agnostics are those who does not have a definite belief about God’s existence. I grew to be very close to them. Despite differences in faith, it didn’t stop me from being friends with them. I can genuinely say that they are good, kind and happy folks. Interacting with them everyday, our differences in belief always come up. But not in a hostile way. It
was a healthy and friendly exchange of thoughts. It only made me want to know more about my religion. I had a lot of questions on my mind. My friends have so many thought-provoking questions which awakened in me the idea that I need to know what I believe. You could say I reached that point when I questioned everything, and ultimately whether God really exist. DomNet became the medium for me to be able to understand more by giving the chance to meet and talk to people who knew more about it than I did. I had a chance to attend the DomNet National Convention in Palawan. There I met a lot of other DomNet kids (kids from Dominican schools across the country). I met kids my age who are very outgoing. Inevitably, I asked them if they ever questioned their faith. Someone said yes, someone said no. But one takeaway from it is that I knew I wasn’t alone. That I belong. I belong to a group of teenagers expressing God’s grace and love to each other. The talks given by Dominican priests, brothers, and sisters were very enlightening. I also learned about these groups within the Dominican Network called commissions - as in commissions on community service, instruction,
‘You could say I reached that point when I questioned everything, and ultimately whether God really exist.’
educational leadership and research. That time I also finally understood what DomNet is for. This is a network of Dominicans all over the Philippines spreading the word and continuing the work of St. Dominic De Guzman. This was formally organized on November 15, 1995 and launched at the UST Ed-Tech Center. They carry on the work of evangelization in the spirit of the cardinal virtues - faith, hope, and love. I realized then and there that I am happy and fortunate to be a part of this organization. In a way, it has been a journey towards my recommunion with God, getting to know Him more as I go along. It doesn’t hurt that the convention was held in a place as beautiful as the island of Palawan. The sheer beauty of the place was a good backdrop for a journey as important as this. The feeling of community, and passion, and bearing witness to God’s faith, hope and love was simply something I could not contain or keep to myself. And so a few months later, I had the chance to share that in a big way - to my fellow Aquinians. I was part of the core team of the DomNet-TEC (Teens Encounter Christ). Fernandino Pancho, one of my RE professors said that this is offered as an expression of God’s grace and love to all young Aquinians, regardless of race, gender, economic status, religion, denomination or educational achievement. It is specifically designed for those who are searching for deeper meaning,
SMALL VOICES
or want to be part of a community of believers. The Office of Religious Affairs and the DomNet core team’s primary goal is to inculcate among the youth the paschal mysteries of Christ in a Dominican way. More than nine-hundred people filled the AUL Dome that night - students from both the high school and college departments and even employees and administrators alike were part of it. As part of the organizing and facilitating team, it’s a particularly good feeling to see that despite the initial awkwardness of meeting and interacting with new people, the students end up happy and smiling and laughing about a new experience or newfound friends. A main portion of the evening’s activities is St. Dominic’s nine ways of prayer - where participants engaged their whole body in creative gestures of praise and worship, both to express the being before God in prayer. Fr Roberto Reyes spoke on “Stewardship: My Sacred Body.” Participants were awakened by Fr. Robbie’s lively voice and engaging talk. Come midnight after a meal, the Music Ministry team led a praise fest where participant sang and danced joyfully. And to everyone’s surprise, the floor was opened for an acquaintance dance party. But after an hour, the dance was cut short for a group dynamics where everyone shared their experiences, their memorable takeaway from the event and the lessons they will carry as the festivities end. A lot of students also shared their heartfelt gratitude of being part of the activity. Afterwards, the dance party resumed as promised. With what few hours of sleep I had, before I knew it, it was time for the activities to resume. Adequately rested, the morning praise and exercise we led took me back to a memory of when somebody told me about the corny dancing. To me, it wasn’t corny at all. To be part of something big, something a big group of people are doing, there was no other feeling like it. For me, being in this organization is a blessing. As a student who faces many challenges in her studies and outside the walls of the university, this group also served as a stress reliever, a break from all the hardwork to achieve the hopes and dreams, a reminder to look up and call for Him not just in time of need but also just to be thankful for everything. A break which makes us appreciate what we have now and give thanks to the one above. I hope that there will be that moment where all of the Aquinians say the statement I want to say. I found my way back. I’m a follower of God. I’m not ashamed to be one of those kids who takes part in corny dancing and singing. I am proud to be a DomNet kid. ■
SH A R E W IT H U S YO U R OWN
STORIES
We’d love to read about your unique and memorable experiences, or your ‘MMK-esque’ stories that had greatly influenced and defined your life as a student in the University. Send it at aquinianherald@gmail.com for a chance to get published in this section or at the magazine’s official website. This is open to the alumni too. Aquinians during the DomNet Teens Enountering Christ at the AUL Dome
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AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
Falling Upward,
FAILING FORWARD
Most Aquinians of recent years would probably recognize the name Aaaron Marc Dimaano for his achievements and big dreams for the University. After graduating Political Science in 2014, he is now on his way to make more difference in his second year in law school. You probably had him as your Argumentation and Debate instructor last semester. But not many know the story behind the Aquinian who strived for excellence in everything he does, or on how Aquinas University served as a second chance during the lowest point of his young life. But if he’s a stranger to you, then meet an Aquinian who fell down hard only to get back up, because there simply was no way but forward.
B Y
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I V Y
J O N N A
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Photograph by CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE S. REOLO
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“As a child, I focused more on knowledge. I was so comfortable because I know. Growing up, I realized knowledge is not enough.”
“I’M NEVER G OI NG TO W I N I F MY G OAL IS TO MAKE OTHER PEOP L E LOVE ME B ASED ON THEI R STANDARDS. O NE W IL L EV E R BE SATI SFIE D BECAUSE P EOP L E DEFI NI TELY HAVE DI FFER ENT STANDAR DS. ”
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Unlike other kids his age whose language was play, little Aaron liked the depth of things. While his classmates were spending time with each other at the playground, he didn’t find the sense in it. And so his seemingly unquenchable thirst for information had most of the time, ostracized him from his peers. This natural curiosity and inquisitiveness in a kid, according to him, didn’t made school easy though. Aaron shared that he was not a great student by any means Some of the things he had a hard time doing were reading books and studying. In fact, he had difficulties submitting some projects on time. Nevertheless, he was still the top performing student of his class. So geekiness is not really about being a bookworm and wearing thick glasses. It’s about being curious about anything. He would learn things from the television and by talking to well-informed or well-meaning people. Things like hobbies, playing games, and other usual activities kids his age do were not his thing. He was the chubby, antisocial, weird type of kid, as he would describe his young self. Asked if Aaron had friends then, he sluggishly answered “I guess I had.” He would ask himself often on how to have friends. He wondered if one has to ask permission, or they would have to formally agree on being officially friends. This brilliant kid who seemed to know a lot then had a hard time figuring out how to make friends. But definitely, he was grateful that he had a few people who considered him to be their companion. For some reason, it was his childhood dream to be ‘of importance.'
NOVEMBER 2015
He wanted to become the president of the nation. He wanted to use his knowledge to improve the system of the community. At his age, though young and innocent, little Aaron’s mind was advanced for more serious and sober thoughts. Growing up, he focused on what he thought was essential, on what he always loved education. SUCCESS BEGINS WITH FAILURE. Sometimes, success is only the result of hard work, persistence, and a thousand painful failures. Despite being the school’s asset, Aaron also has his fair share of bad experiences that created a lasting effect on how he sees himself until today. When he was in the sixth grade, he got into some sort of serious argument with his school’s student council. The latter had a project and the president wrote a draft solicitation letter to raise funds. Aaron, being the nosy, meddling kid intruded and scrutinized the letter and saw it as demanding and impolite. Inadvertently, his actions snowballed a controversy implicating the whole student council along with their adviser. This led many to resent him. Aaron recalled that day when he was sitting alone in a hall during the investigation that he felt so ostracized. He could remember that time nobody at all had an inch of sympathy, with all eyes on him as if he’d already been unjustly judged in their minds. “I couldn’t recall if I cried but it affected my thinking towards myself until today,” Aaron said. It might not sound like such a big deal for some, but it was tough for the young boy. “It made me doubt my ability to be valued by others, and from that point on I questioned myself if people will still like me for who I am or for what I do especially when I reached college level.” The longing for a sense of appreciation grew stronger. He tried to change himself because he was convinced that no knowledge or information could change him for
ÂŤ Aaron, as AUDS Premiere, leading the opening of the AUL-hosted regional debate tournament, Don Buenaventura Cup (now the Savonarola Cup) in January 2013 Photograph by ROMEO L. DIESTA JR.
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who he was and believed that nobody liked him the way he was. He doubted whether he had value in any extent. Sometimes even if he did something good he still found it hard to appreciate himself. He believed that he was never going to be loved. And that was why he actually doubted if he was ever going to make new friends then. After that downer, Aaron heeded the lesson very well. “I focused more on knowledge. I was so comfortable because I know. Growing up, I realized knowledge is not enough”. But eventually he learned the dynamics with peers because he believed that whatever and no matter how much you know, unless you’re not gonna be able to learn how to relate to people, it’s useless. Now he could finally say that he is totally prepared to interact with anyone whether it’s the ambassador of the United States of America or a tambay. He’s finally learned how to relate with people. He also promised himself that he would not live to please other people. “I told myself that I’m never going to win if my goal is to make other people love me based on their standards. One will never be satisfied because people definitely have different standards. Man has only one life to live so maybe it’s okay that at some point you live for others and after that, that’s enough. Move on and do something for yourself because whatever you do, it’s only you who will feel the joy or sorrow it takes.” BEFORE STUDYING in Aquinas University, Aaron had a long and unfulfilled stay in Ateneo de Manila for six years. He took up Electronics and Communications Engineering his freshmen year then later shifted to Developmental Studies. However, he didn’t earn a degree despite the long years he stayed at Ateneo. “Wala akong natapos,” Aaron exclaimed, his voice full of remorse, longing, and self-reproach. In fact, at the time he was already poised for law school passing the Law Aptitude Examination (LAE) of the UP College of Law. But alas, with no diploma in hand, Aaron was unsure of many thing in his life. He had one thing 38
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Aaron, who was an active debater during his stay, now juggles law school and teaching Argumentation and Debate part-time in Aquinas. Apart from that, he's also an active advocate of political awareness among the youth.
sure though - he had to somehow earn enough to finish college, and so for barely a year, he worked at a call center in Makati. “Aquinas University was my second chance,” he says. As he tried to get past the depression and shame that came with it, and a supporting and forgiving family, he went back to school with renewed purpose, passion and determination. He entered the school’s Political Science program in 2011 and finally graduated in 2014, and is now in Aquinas Law School as a sophomore. A consistent Dean’s Lister, he was one of the University’s notable academic achievers maintaining an academic scholarship all throughout his stay. He topped the Civil Service exams ranking second in the region and fifth nationally. He had big dreams not just for himself but for the school that gave him his second chance. One of the legacies he has left the was the reestablishment of the university student publication, a fixture of student life he felt mustn’t be lacking in the school.
Aside from the regional and national achievements of the student paper, Aaron also co-founded AUDS (Aquinas University Debate Society), now one of the most accomplished debate organizations in Albay. To say his three-year stay in Aquinas was fruitful is an understatement. But people who don’t know him well at school wouldn’t think this smart, bubbly, and outgoing guy had his fair share of failures. But to people who were his peers and colleagues, classmates and orgmates, his story is an inspiration. AARON RECALLS HOW he had an excruciatingly hard time forgiving himself for wasting so much time, money, and effort. He felt that he was destined for nothing else but to live a sad life and to achieve nothing. He cried himself to sleep at night. But when he finally reached the moment of his lowest point, he learned—there is nowhere else to go but up. Reaching the proverbial rock bottom of his young life, Aaron can say that he definitely learned from his failures. He slowly moved on from the
«
“ KU N G SI LA LU M A L A BA N , A KO, A N O A N G A KI N G N A KA KA HI YAN G DA HI L A N ? ”
Photograph by KARL B. BRIGUERA
pains of his past and eventually forgave himself. From there, the healing process started. What mattered more to him was that he learned and decided to do better, become better even just by a little bit every day. Today, Aaron no longer sees his stay at Ateneo as a waste of time. Instead, he considers those years as a huge part of the making of the man he is now. “If there was ever a decision that I regret, it was about not being brave enough to challenge myself when opportunities paraded to my face. I learned along the way that opportunities are actually always around, they visit us more often than we expect.” Aaron now has overcome remorse. He knows he’s been much braver now in facing life’s trials. “BEING COMFORTABLE AND HAPPY with who you are and what you have done.” This is how Aaron defined success. “I think success is when you can sleep at night and be happy with the choices that you have made for the day,” he added. Asked how he measures up to his
own definition of success, Aaron admits he still doubts himself. But he’s not too bothered whether he’s successful now or not for he knows he has big dreams. Even if sometimes he fears he won’t reach those heights, at least he’s doing his best to be wherever he wants to be. So far, his most rewarding experience is being able to balance the different hats he wear. Aside from juggling law school and his part-time stint teaching at the University, Aaron is also a political activist. He admits how hard it is, and that there are many, many times he doubts if he can keep doing it all. But just surviving a semester in law school keeps him going. Aaron is hopeful that all of the hardwork and sacrifice will bear fruit someday. “My ultimate dream is to be of relevance to the next generation. To teach them the way people before them have lived their lives, and the things they should know then. Also, I’m hoping, in the process, I’d learn as much from them. That would be a great pinnacle to one’s life,” he gushed. Asked what motivates him to put such great efforts, he responded that it’s
the human capacity for love. He sees the many negativities of the world because man fears empathy. But for him, “empathy is so powerful, that it could break barriers or create friendship and understanding.” “I believe it is the foundation of passion, commitment, and excellence. I see the world in need of a lot of love and so I’m more inclined to give through my words and the thoughts I share with my interactions with people.” Asked what accomplishment he is most proud of, it’s finding the reason to wake up each day and be happy. “Cheesy man pakinggan pero totoo. It’s for others who couldn’t seem to rise up from their pitiful situations.” After having his heart broken by painful experiences, Aaron has summoned up the courage to get up for others who have worse situations in life. “Kung sila lumalaban, ako, ano ang aking nakakahiyang dahilan?” TIME AND TIME AGAIN, it’s those who have fallen a thousand times and got that little courage to get up that reach their destination, more than those who have been riding all along. It is never about who goes first and who gets there fast. There is no reason for most of us to leave our present comfort zones. Until one day, we don’t get a choice to stay or move out. Because you see, life happens. And we get stuck unless or until we have to leave. Growth occurs when we get out under the sun, have our feet calloused, and get our hands dirty. ■
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THE SELF-PUBLISHED AQUINIAN FICTION WRITER
ysa
‘Malditang ’ Starting out
in the popular online reading and writing
platform, Wattpad, then building up a following of more than 80,000 under pseudonym MalditangYsa, there is definitely no stopping Accountancy major Shaira Louise Perez from achieving her publishing dreams. Aside from delving into the tough selfpublishing business, this tenacious young writer recently signed under one of the nation’s top commercial publisher- Summit Media. BY MELISSA R. MESIAS / RONA
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MARICAR C. MIÑA
AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
Photograph by KARL B. BRIGUERA NOVEMBER 2015
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What
started as just another way to clear up the chaos that is her mind through her writing turned into something beyond self-expression.
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It turned into so much more than she could have imagined. The internet has changed so much in our lives and how we do things. Technology and its endless applications has inserted itself into our lives so much that we can't even imagine life without it. Like putting your work out there for the world. It has never been easier. The simple touch and tap on your smartphone can connect you to lots of people. And so with the dawn of a technology that connected millions of reading and writing enthusiasts in one place, which also opened doors and great opportu-
nities for budding writers to get noticed and then eventually get published, the world of literature and publishing has since changed. And this has changed life for Shaira Louise Perez. Shaira, a fourth year Accountancy student of AUL, to some of her classmates, was just any other student. What they didn't know was that she has developed quite the following as an online fiction writer. This, as you very well know was through the online and mobile-based application Wattpad, popular for combining the power of social media with
literature. It's founder and CEO, Allen Lau, singlehandly changed people's reading experience from a solitary activity to being able to interact with the author or the author to the readers. "The interesting social connection between writers and readers makes Wattpad so unique. That is our main differentiator," says Lau said in an interview. Shaira, like many other young literature lovers discovered Wattpad and found a place not just for reading but also for her love of writing. This love affair with writing, she says, started at a very young age. She wouldwrite poems in fifth grade but only to
“I started from nothing. It didn’t really occur to me that I could affect people’s lives this much.”
discover fiction later. It was only then did she realize that she not only love reading novels but she also wanted to write one someday. From then, Shaira never stopped writing, honing her skills thorugh writing a lot of stories. Flashforward to now, she has published her stories in Wattpad with more than 80,000 followers who have read her stories. Some of her most popular works include Intoxicated, One Sinful Night, For His Entertainment, A Prince, A Princess, Sentiments of Unborn, and To The Guy. Her pseudonym in Wattpad, 'MalditangYsa' made us curious. Does the name mean anything important or does embody the author's persona? Shaira admitted that her pen name is not reflective of her personality. "I’m not really like that [maldita]. It just kinda stuck. I picked the name when it was this whole thing in the internet back in 2012. Nauso yung nilalagay yung 'maldita' sa name. Then I picked Ysa because I find the name simple but beatiful.” The name was already popular that she decided against changing it. WRITING HAS become a very important
part of her life. "My mind is usually in chaos. That’s why I need to write.” Shaira said, citing how writing helps her clear her mind after a stressful day. She also claims that writing is her way to express the other side of her personality. “I am shy. In reality, there is a big difference between me and my persona as a writer. I am an introvert in school. I don’t have many friends unlike others who are surrounded by lots of people," she said. This is way too different from the sensual and aggressive persona that comes off the stories of MalditangYsa. And most importantly, Shaira tries to portray her stories that are in a way, representative of the curent world and society we live in. That semblance of realism, of art imitating life, she felt was an important voice of her writing. “My short story A Prince is about a girl who fell in love with a guy that happens to be her brother's boyfriend. There are already lot of stories out there exploring conventional relationships. I just want everyone to know that we have the freedom and the right to love someone
regardless of gender.” she said. Asked what challenges her most in her writing, Shaira said it was character development. Sometimes, she finds it hard to disentangle herself from the character because her writing is a very personal activity for her, pluse she mostly writes in the first person point of view. That makes it hard to internalize and create someone that is the complete opposite of who she is in real life or the things that she would and wouldn't do. Although it’s a bit tough according to her, she said she’s always manage to create convincing and diverse characters for her stories. “It may sound weird but I like to think of like this: the characters would suddenly just possess me and I happeen to be the one writing what they think or what they'll do," she explained. IN DEFENSE OF WATTPAD
Wattpad and its readers here in the Philippines have become this popular but also 'looked-down upon' subculture online. Pinoy Wattpad stories are blockbuster movies or adapted to television shows popular escpecially to the young, with the likes of She’s Dating with the Gangster or Diary ng Panget dominating the cinemas and atapulting big names and tandems to even more popularity. Just look at Kathniel (Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) and Jadine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre). In many ways, Wattpad can be considered the digital reincarnation of the romance pocketbooks, minus the editing and finetuning a published work goes through. The cheesy, rom-com plots involving characters that are mostly teenagers based off popular celebrities, had become almost the regular flavor of Wattpad stories in the Philippines. While there are people who greatly appreciate it for being a medium of interaction between authors and literary lovers, there are also those who criticize it for being a website that had allowed pretty much anyone with access to produce stories people that are not worth the time. It allowed for a lot of "junk stories" to overcrowd the site. Others even say that Wattpad stories are a collection of poorly written fan fiction. Shaira couldn’t blame some critics who have this feelings towards Wattpad. She
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also had her fair share of experiences in seeing not-so-good stories. She added that since Wattpad doesn’t require anyone to pay any amount, netizens can do whatever they want in Wattpad, even minors. This limited gatekeeping can be a very bad thing for the quality of writing found in the site. “I cannot blame people who lament about the quality of some of the stories. It also makes me sad everytime I encounter young people who already write stories with mature content. There’s this 12-year old girl who was already writing adult fiction." However, Shaira was quick to defend Wattpad and her fellow decent writers. “All I want to say is that they should not generalize Wattpad because of what they see. If they try to explore, they will find out that there are many stories which is worth the time not because it’s funny or nonsense, but because it’s good,” she answered. During her early years in Wattpad, her works were mostly teen fiction. Then in 2012, she moved to start writing adult romantic fiction for a change. Some of these stories have erotic content, which includes very graphic sex scenes. To reach a wider audience, she plans to try her hand on the fantasy genre.
Ysa
@MalditangYsa
86.5K Followers
22.9M Reads 9
Works
ˇ
One Sinful Night
10.2M reads, General Fiction
MANAGING HER TIME is one of the things
she admits she has a hard time with. Between being a full-time student and a writer who has thousands of demanding readers, she says she has no clue how she does it. She updates her stories on a weekly basis or whenever there are vacant hours between classes and she doesn't have other things to do. However, in recent months, Shaira has sometimes felt that she’s been taking her studies for granted because of her writing. But she has then adjusted and shifted her focus to her studies. Besides its impact on her schooling, she also told us about her family's take on the path she has chosen. When she started getting into adult fiction, Shaira tried to hide her stories from her family especially her parents. Then eventually, her mother found out about her stories and was terrified that she would hate her. But she wasn't. Shaira was relieved and happy to find out she was very proud of her work. Shaira’s father is also very supportive of her too. He even accompanied her on the contract signing with Summit Media Philippines. When the conversation steered towards love and relationships, Shaira shared she's been in a few relationships in the past, but none of them lasted.
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For His Entertainment
2.1M reads, General Fiction
Deception
408K reads, General Fiction
Sentiments of the Unborn 61.1K reads, Short Story
“It [relationship] distracts me. So as much as possible I don’t want to be in one at the moment,” she said. She also negated the idea that being in a relationship helps writers like her to write better stories. Being in a relationship doesn’t affect how she write. She believes that she still has the control on what to write, regardless if she’s committed to someone romantically or not. When asked if her ideal boyfriend is in one of the characters she created in her stories, Shaira quickly shrugged saying that most of the men in her stories her stories would give up anything for love. "I don't want that kind of guy. I would rather be with someone who’s logical and practical." Besides the book deal with Summit Media, Shaira has also self-published works. She wanted to experience doing everything, from writing and editing the content of her story to conceptualizing the cover of the book, on her own. “It’s really hard work, but I know it will pay off," she admitted. She has recently published Intoxicated last November. Readers from all over the Philippines and the world expressed their desire to have their own copies of Shaira’s works and some of them even made their reservations by sending her a personal message on Facebook. “Everything came from zero into something. I started from nothing. It didn’t really occur to me that I will affect people's lives this much. I didn’t really ask for this. I just wanted to write and express how I feel. Honestly, up until now, I still can’t believe that I made it here. I really couldn’t articulate how, but opportunities came knocking in,” Shaira said with pure enthusiasm. “To everyone who supported me, no words can ever suffice the gratitude I feel towards you. I will not be here if you didn’t believe in me, and with that I truly am grateful. Thank you for letting me be part of your lives in simple ways! Thank you for being my inspiration! Thank you for giving me something to write about!” There’s no doubt that Shaira is on her way to becoming one of the best online fiction writers in the region, but she remains humble despite all the blessings she’s been receiving. Although she’s already successful, she strives for more, and that’s what we should all do. Life is a never ending journey to fulfill our desire. Travel through it in whatever way you want. Shaira used her pen and paper to find satisfaction. How about you?
ENTERTAINMENT / ART / FOOD / TECH / POP CULTURE / REVIEWS
CULTURE
POP CULTURE Heneral Luna, AlDub, Star Wars and other topics on pop culture that broke social media numbers PAGE 49
E N T E R TA I N M E N T / M OV I E S
REVIEW
‘CASTAWAY’ ON MARS “I’M NOT DEAD… OBVIOUSLY.”
Those are some of the first few words uttered by astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) when he wakes up stranded on Mars, injured and making a video log he can’t send to NASA. The Martian is the story of Watney and his struggle to survive in an alien and hostile environment after he gets left behind by his crew on a manned mission to the Red Planet. Adapted from Andy Weir’s bestselling novel of the same name, the movie shows how human ingenuity and loyalty can overcome even the direst circumstance.
BY JANIN B. VOLANTE
The movie is exceptional in terms of plot, world-building, dialog and acting. However, it suffers from the occasionally draggy pacing and lack of conflict, which doesn’t necessarily take away much from the movie experience. Watney is part of Ares 3, an exploratory manned mission to Mars led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) and four other astronauts. On Sol 6 of the mission (a sol is one Martian day), after they landed and started taking samples, an extremely strong dust storm hits the mission’s camp, constraining them to evacuate. During the commotion, Watney
is blown out of sight and the readout for his vital signs completely goes out. The crew could not locate him and in the impending danger of the cyclone, are forced to board the Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) without him, thinking he was dead. Mark wakes up, cringes in pain and performs first aid on his torso impaled by a flying antenna. From there he tries to think of a way to survive the planet up until the next Ares mission or until NASA realizes he’s not dead and sends a rescue. Both of those scenarios are still years away and the resources and rations that he has CONTINUE D >>
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IM G C R EDIT: 20TH C ENTU RY FOX
CULTURE
E N T E R TA I N M E N T / M OV I E S /
SAGIP PELIKULA Preserving Pinoy cinematic gems
MUST- SEE
I M G C R E D I T S : L I O N S G AT E , S TA R C I N E M A , P I X A R ,
A wide selection of old Pinoy movies won’t be lost or inaccessible for long, as a restoration effort of the country’s classic films was launched by the ABS-CBN Film Archives. Dubbed the Sagip Pelikula: ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project, the noble and ambitious restoration work started in 2011. As of this year, they have been able to restore 100 films including celebrated and internationally acclaimed films such as Ishmael Bernal’s Himala and Peque Gallaga’s Oro Plata Mata, both first released in 1982. The project, in partnership with Central Digital Labs, aims to preserve some of the greatest works of Philippine cinema through the aid of digital technology for restoring and remastering old films into full high-definition. In a recent press launch, ABS-CBN Film Archives and Restoration head Leo Katigbak explained the project’s movitations and brought into the foregound the achievements of the first and only film restoration effort in the country. He said that very few Philippine classic films survived in truly viewable form and the masterpieces that paved international recognition to Filipino filmmakers aren’t very accessible to Filipino audiences especially the younger generation. Restored films have been widely distributed through international film festivals, limited commercial runs in local cinema, aired on free-to-air and cable television, pay-perview, released in DVD, video-on-demand, and can also be downloaded in iTunes. The restoration is a painstaking process that reportedly costs ^ PINOY MOVIE ICON from two hundred Nora Aunor in acclaimed thousand to ten in her iconic role Elsa in million pesos Himala (1982) each film. ■
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The Hunger Games Mockingjay, Part 2
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A Second Chance
T H E M A R T I A N / C O N T I N U E D >>
are not enough. What he does is farm potatoes inside the artificial habitat using his and the entire crew’s manure as fertilizer. It would figure, since Watney is a botanist and he concluded that the only way to survive is to “science the sh*t out of this.” I won’t delve too much into the details for the spoiler-conscious, but NASA gathers from satellite images that there is still movement on the ground at Mars and infers that Watney is alive. They find a way to communicate and what follows is technical dialog, infused with snark, and very witty references. Matt Damon gives a stellar performance as the wisecracking but quite resourceful botanist/astronaut. From Weir’s novel you can definitely feel the self-deprecating narrative rise from the pages and Damon portrays that very well. He will really have you rooting for Watney’s rescue (the same way he did in the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan). Now, anyone can tell where the story is going in these types of films. We all know that Mark is going to be rescued despite all odds, but what’s great is that knowledge of that fact never diminishes the emotional investment we have to the tale the filmmakers are trying to tell and to Watney’s plight. That right there is
Star Wars The Force Awakens
good storytelling. Another thing that I really liked about the film is its technicality, its science and pseudoscience. It really showed how technological ingenuity can go a long way. The Martian showed the inner workings of space programs and manned missions. It showed the mechanics of how to farm in space, how to set up a crude communication system and even how to avoid blowing yourself up in an artificial habitat. People who like science and geeking out about it will definitely enjoy this film. The only flaw I think the film had is that it stretched out the “bring him home” plot for too long. The main premise is very straightforward, the only problem is how to go from there. But it took a while for the NASA officials to bring forth a solution. This resulted in some parts, especially the scenes set on Earth, to be a bit draggy and boring. Aside from that, however, The Martian is a very impressive film with a good lead and a more than adequate cast. It’s not as heavy as the other pieces in the same genre and takes a more technical perspective. I recommend it for the science buff and the regular moviegoer alike. It’s a fun ride that will have you hyped up long after leaving the theater. ■
The Good Dinosaur
Gods of Egypt
CULTURE
ENTERTAINMENT / THEATER /
Lea Salonga back on Broadway in ‘groundbreaking’ new musical
LEA SALONGA’S NOTABLE MUSICAL ROLES
MUSTLIST OUR EDITORS’ PICKS ON WHAT’S HOT AND WORTH WATCHING, LISTENING, READING OR PLAYING
1
MUSIC
Kim “Miss Saigon”
She originated the lead role, first in West End in London and then later on Broadway, winning a Tony award at age 18
Éponine, Fantine “Les Misérables”
Lea Salonga came back to Broadway this year, in what would be her sixth stint in the 'Great White Way' since breaking ground in 1991 as 18-year old Tony award winner for the role she originated in the beloved historical musical, Miss Saigon.
Salonga co-starred and co-produced the widely-praised musical with fellow Asian artist George Takei (more popularly known as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek). The new musical Allegiance lives up to the word “new” as it’s “a story that’s never been told before on Broadway," says Takei. Over 120,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated and placed in internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor - a piece of the American history many still refuse to talk about. In an interview with entertainment magazine Backstage, Takei revealed that the story is based on his earliest memories when he himself was interned along with his entire family for being a Japanese in America during those turbulent times. The musical has been in development since 2009 and finally opened on November 8 at the Longacre Theater. Salonga plays Kei Kimura, a woman torn between her brother Sammy’s (played by Telly Leung, Glee) American patriotism and the resistance in the internment camp in Wyoming where her entire family was relocated. With an Asian-led cast dubbed by Entertainment Weekly as “phenomenal,” the musical impressed upon a staggering parallel to what’s happening with the Syrian refugees who’re being refused entry by countries like the US, because they are of the same race as the people who recently attacked Paris and Beirut. “These people are being unfairly judged like we were because we looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor,” Takei said on a Facebook post.
(Broadway) 1993
Mei-li “Flower Drum Song” (Broadway) 2002
IMG CREDITS: SONY MUSIC, LTD., ABC STUDIOS, WITTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD, CO., HENERALLUNA.COM
(West End, Broadway) 1989 - 2001
BOOKS
25 by Adele
The awaited album of the Brit singer-songwriter following her hiatus in 2012, does not disappoint. The album’s lead single, “Hello,” dominated charts and digital downloads since it was released in October
Previously featured as a fictional book in the hit indie film, That Thing Called Tadhana, it is now a real book published by Witty Will Save the World, Co.
TELEVISION
How To Get Away With Murder
3
If you haven’t caught up yet with the twisty, whudunnit suspense and murder drama, you better start now or get left out
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GAMES
5
Life Is Strange This episodic game focuses on the importance of ingame decisions to longterm changes in the storyline, with the good combo of elements (e.g. time travel), good storytelling, and relatable characters. Available in PC and PS4
MOVIES
Heneral Luna If you haven’t seen the film that got everyone talking and now the Philippines’ official entry into the 2016 Academy Awards, catch it on DVD this Decemeber NOVEMBER 2015
IMG CREDITS: ALLEGIANCETHENEWMUSICAL.COM / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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The Arrow With A Heart Pierced Through Him by Antoinette Jadaone, with illustrations by Onin Pilotin
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ENTERTAINMENT / BOOKS /
REVIEW
ERIC GAMALINDA’S
THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS
BY ALDRIN C. BROSAS
I finally get to crack open Filipino-American author Eric Gamalinda’s novel, The Descartes Highlands, almost a year after I heard about its well-received launching at the first ever Philippine Literary Festival in Manila.
In the noisy crowded space that was the local McDonald’s, loud music blared making me adamant at first to open the book. But the fast-paced beats of the music and the crowd's chattering which I thought would be too distracting were soon irrelevant white noise a few pages into the book. If anything, it was quite the soundtrack for the unique and unflinching style of storytelling it took. My hands flew into the pages, as in short order, we discover that a baby has been sold to a stranger; a woman learns she is infertile and is then abandoned by her lover; a young girl suffers fits of hysteria and must be sedated to receive an abortion; and Manila, “a city used to constant erasure,” is bludgeoned by a tropical storm. I had to stop reading after that explosion of exposition, if only to take it all in and marvel at how it's going to be a book unlike any other I've read in quite some time. A striking confluence of poetic and philosophical flair jumps out of his interweaving narrative. His descriptions of Manila – from the city’s climate [“a city used to constant erasure. Lives and homes are lost, but disasters come and go like clockwork”] or the political turmoil [ “a group of peasants who marched to the president’s palace to ask for aid but were met by teargas and truncheon–clubbing police”] - despite being a portrait of the country’s Martial Law days can easily and eerily still be reminiscent of the present. Three points of view or voices narrate the story: two half-brothers born on the same day to different Filipina mothers (they don't know the other exists in the first half of the book), and their American father. The brothers, as it turns out, were given up for adoption separately, through a human trafficking ring. Jordan was adopted in the U.S. and Mathieu ended up with a French couple who had recently lost a son, whose name he took. Their own sep-
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arate stories told in creative snapshots and interesting flashbacks told of a life and a struggling existence marked by absence, unstable relationships, ugliness, and half-truths. It was hard to continue reading sometimes. The way he had so smoothly and richly rendered discomifting images into his prose made me occasionally put down the book for a bit. Not to digest properly, but to will the startling images in my head away. I am no stranger to George R.R. Martin's books but this one was something going in, I was not mentally and emotionally prepared for. It's definitely not for the fainthearted or someone looking for an easy or entertaining read. A dog gets castrated in flagrante delicto (during sexual activity) while a main character watched the animal howl in pain running around as his assailants laugh like its first class entertainment. Or a prisoner, a rapist himself, was experiencing unspeakable sexual abuse. The darker aspects of the book, however it made the reading experience so challenging, was outweighed by my genuine concern and curiosity on what becomes of these characters. At the end of it all, I kept returning to Jordan, whose collection of coping mechanisms includes stepping outside of himself and existing in the third person. “‘Then I can think of myself as maybe a character in a film,’” he explains to his lover, “‘in a story that maybe I can create myself.’” Is this, then, how we pull ourselves out of our sinkholes? Jordan and his father cite the "Descartes Highlands," where the Apollo 16 moon rover left behind tracks that will remain for a million years. By telling our stories—the most difficult ones, the painful, ugly ones—we leave our own tracks behind: proof that we were once here, that we once mattered. It’s not quite hope, but I’ll take it.
'A striking confluence of poetic and philosophical flair jumps out of his interweaving narrative.'
P O P C U LT U R E
In social media numbers
IMG/ART CREDITS: (HL) OLIE MERZA / (TV) SPOOKMAGAZINE /
E N T E R TA I N M E N T / T E L E V I S I O N /
CULTURE
VIEWPOINT
‘I’ll binge it later’ A millenial’s TV-viewing habits
I was a bit late into the party that is Game of Thrones, despite being told repeatedly how it’s the “best friggin’ show on television.“ As a self-professed telephile, I held off as much as I could. That proclamation could only mean one thing for me - it’s “binge-risky” which definitely means sleepless nights. Alas, when I got started, I finished the entire show’s 50 episodes in a matter of two weeks. We’re in what people in Hollywood call the golden age of television. They say some are even better than film. A plethora of high-concept, artistic, and compelling shows only served to enable a somehow functional TV junkie like me.
I’ve grown tired of the tired teleseryes our local TV networks keep making. I simply had my fill of the same old thing over and over again. Simply put, I might have the attention span of a toddler. So I gobbled up the ‘American’ shows I could get my hands on in cable channels like AXN, Fox, Star World only to discover variety and the socalled 'genre television.' And variety meant me wanting to sample everything from crime shows like CSI and the very science-y Bones, to science-fiction fantasy Heroes and even reality shows like Survivor. I was hooked. Until the media landscape completely changed and the internet took over
LoveWins
brand16
#6.2 MILLION brand10 80,000 IN SI X H O U R S
AVERAGE LIKES PER POSTS OF
#HugotHeneral The 'cultural phenomena' that is the historical film Heneral Luna was saved by social media from being pulled out from theaters just a week after its release.
everyone’s already short attention spans. We’re now free from the tyranny of being told when and where to watch what. With the options provided by today’s technology, it’s easy to be an insatiable binge-watcher until the sunrise or your conscience puts a stop on things. Back then it’s called a “marathon” which made it sound like such an adventure. Now, we refer to it as “binge-watching” and rightfully so. It can be akin to “binge-drinking” or “killing spree.” I’m exaggerating. A little.
'Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else.'
President Obama @POTUS
A tweet by U.S. President Barack Obama with the hashtag #LoveWins started the one of the most viral movements of all time, as he endorsed the SCOTUS ruling in favor of marriage equality.
Too much of anything is a dangerous thing, we heard it said. So much so when you do ‘too much of anything’ in a short period of time. To some, it’s an occasional indulgement but to me, it’s also relevant escapism. Entertainment is just a form of escapism; to catch a break from life’s daily routine. I just don’t want my escape to be inane and fruitless. I’d rather just sleep. So If I have to hold off until I can consume them all, then so be it. The ever-growing pile
of good shows out there make it seem like I could never keep up. But I learned I don’t have to. I learned it’s not going anywhere. (Unless of course I am, in which case that means I died.) Bingeing has its pitfalls, I know it has its time and place. I know better than to gorge indiscriminately and to strategize consumption. So when a friend would ask me if I saw (insert show here)’s latest episode on a hectic school day, I just say I’ll binge it later, when I don’t have to feel bad about it. ■ B Y NIRALD C. SASORB
41M tweets #AlDubEB Tamang Panahon
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MILLION
VIEWS IN 24 HOURS
Eat Bulaga's live special TV event starring the most talked about pop culture phenomenon, 'AlDub' amassed a record breaking number of tweets for a live TV event surpassing the record held by FIFA World Cup 2014
#CallMeCaitlyn
1TWITTER million FOLLOWERS
STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS TRAILER
in 4 hours, 30 minutes Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce,broke internet record previously held by Barack Obama as the fastest Twitter handle to reach a million followers, revealing that she has transitioned to life as a woman.
released this October NOVEMBER 2015
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PHOTO BY FRED WISSINK
CULTURE
APO WHANG-OD
THE LAST ‘MAMBABATOK’ and Kalinga’s Traditional Tattoo Culture BY RALPH B. ORENSE
Tattoos nowadays are generally thought of as self-expression through body art, or to the faint of heart, a form of rebellion. But tattoing has been part of rich ancient traditions in the Philippines. It symbolized stature, identity, bravery, beauty and respect to one’s heritage and culture. Believed to be the last remaining ‘mambabatok’ is 97-year old Apo Whang-Od from the mountains of Kalinga in a remote area called Buscalan, where elderly men and women carry distinct artistic tribal tattoos called “batok.” The tradition is believed to have existed for thousands of years and was used not only to communicate, but also to pass the history and culture of generations through symbols being drawn to the skin. According to Whang Od, tattoos symbolized courage for the men and beauty for the women. However, many people believe that once Whang Od dies, pambabatek would be gone as well. She has no sons or daughters who can carry the art for future generations to see. WhangOd once had a boyfriend, but he died in the war. She never had a chance to find someone to love after that. Whang Od has a niece named Grace, and she taught her the process of doing pambabatek. But Grace doesn’t seem to like the idea of being a tattoo artist as her profession. She is already in college, and is aspiring to become a teacher someday. Some Buscalan villagers expressed their desire to learn Whang-Od’s way of making her tattoos, but she said that the future artist should be from her family. Whang-Od uses tattoo making as a means to earn money. Her minimum fee is three hundred pesos. She also offers tourists to stay at her house if it’s already late for them to travel. The second floor of her hut is where the visitors stay and sleep. T H E P R O C E S S . Whang-Od uses water, charcoal, and sweet potato for her ink. She mixes them in a coconut bowl. She then uses calamansi twig or other types of grass to draw the pattern of her tattoos. Tourists who want their tattoos made by WhangOd can choose what part of their body they want the tattoo on. However, the tattoo guru will be the one to pick the designs, or
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customers can pick a symbol from the tattoos on Whang Od’s arms. Once the design has been drawn to the skin, the painful part begins. Whang-Od uses a thorn to serve as the needle. She puts it at the end of a bamboo stick, dips it in the ink she made, then taps it to the skin of the customer several times until the ink is absorbed. She doesn’t give any anesthesia or painkillers while making her tattoos, which makes hand tapping three times more painful than the tattoos done with the use of machines. People who visit Whang-Od for their tattoos never complain about the pain it brings, for it makes them feel that they became a part of the country’s history through the Kalinga tattoo maker’s craft. And don’t ever judge Apo Whang-Od based on her age, because she can still perform pambabatek in a really impressive way. N A T I O N A L A R T I S T . A lot of people who have met Apo Whang-Od believe that she deserves to be given the distinction as a national artist. Without her, the craft of pambabatek would’ve been forgotten long ago. She is singlehandedly keeping the practice alive, and this is the reason why many are pushing for her to be recognized as a true Filipino artist. But whether she gets inducted to that list or not, Apo Whang Od will always be remembered as one of the country’s best tattoo makers. And she’s doing this not solely because of money, but because she wants to preserve a culture. A culture that’s on the brink of extinction. A culture, a tradition, a practice Apo Whang-Od will continue to do until her last breath. ■
FOOD | CULTURE
Cafes around Legazpi City BY CLAIRE B. GALLANOSA and KARL BRIGUERA
The numerical ratings are based on the authors' evaluations based on taste, ambience, interior, service, and food presentation.
like 7.4 7.4//10 10 bookmark like Treff Cafe
map-marker F. IMPERIAL ST., LEGAZPI CITY Quiet and cozy? Affordable and healthy? Treff Cafe would fit your needs. You don’t need to go too far as it is located at Imperial St. IN the compound near Landco and Pacific Mall. Treff Cafe offers pasta and varieties of refreshments boasts itself with the healthy options that dominate the menu like the fresh fruit and vegetable drinks, salad, their special ‘herb bread,’ cake, and other dishes. According to the owner, the cafe is named after the German word ‘treff’ which means meeting place or rendezvous.
bookmark The Apple Peach House
like 7.6 / 10
CHICOS BAR AND CAFE
map-marker2 COR. ROSARIO ST. MARQUEZ ST., OLD ALBAY, LEGAZPI CITY The modern, minimalistic and artsy interior is the first thingthat would greet you in the hotel cafe. From the art gallery to the chess-inspired furniture, the palce screams elegance and modernity. The food they serve reflects the urbanity they exhibit. Pasta paired with chicken is highly recommended.
like 7.9 / 10 bookmark Poison Cauldron
map-marker ARBOLEDA ST., BRGY. ILAWOD, DARAGA, ALBAY
This little haven located deep in the nearby town of Daraga is more than just a cafe. The old colonial feel of the place, which from the outside looks a bit eerie, actually complements the themed menu. The places oozes with creativity and has in fact been helping promote the local art scene by hosting art exhibits, open mic nights and poetry reading. It also has a rich library for the booklover who would want to sneak in some reading while enjoying good food with hefty servings. While a bit out of the way from the heart of the city, this 'library cafe' is definitely worth the trip.
like 6.2 / 10
bookmark
Cie's Pastry Cafe map-marker2 TOWER III GAS STATION AND ALLIED SERVICES BLDG., LANDCO BUSINESS PARK, LEGAZPI CITY Famous for introducing Legazpi to froyo or frozen yogurt, Cie's Cafe has that classic American cafe vibe. The modern ambiance is good for people who'd want some quiet and cozy place for a cup. They also offer pasta, pastry, and also pizza. NOVEMBER 2015
IMG CREDITS: (TAPC) APPLEPEACHHOUSE.COM.PH / (PC) INSTAGRAM.COM • @jillefeesh • @eerecamunda (CPC) INSTAGRAM.COM • @krstnrcs
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TECH
REVIEW
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10 BY JUSTIN ROMAN AMARGO
Looking back on Windows 8, it’s easy to see where Microsoft went wrong. It was a giant bet on touch-based computing, but it also made using a PC with a keyboard and a mouse awkward, frustrating, and outright confusing. This was easily reminiscent of its previous version, the Windows Vista, where most users ignored and refused to update. The same can be said for Windows 8. Regular users did their very best to avoid it. While the tablet interface was a great experience, the rest of it annoyed everybody who just wanted a system that worked the way they were used to. Microsoft is trying to fix all that with Windows 10. Windows users until the end of the ‘90’s may say that the OS has a cycle. Windows XP saved us from Windows ME, Windows 7 saved us from Windows Vista and now, Windows 10 is here to save us from Windows 8. We may as well refer to Windows 10 as a date, or an hour, as much as an operating system. It’s a moment in time. A month from now, it will have changed, evolved, improved. But right now? Microsoft has shipped an operating system that was meticulously planned and executed with panache, but whose coat of fresh paint hides some sticks and baling wire. If you’re upgrading to Windows 10 on a desktop or laptop PC, then prepare to be delightfully surprised: the Start menu you know and love is back. It feels slightly odd to celebrate its return, as it should never have gone away. It’s probably the biggest change, aside from the dark theme, that you’ll notice after Windows 8. But Microsoft hasn’t simply just reinstated the old version from Windows 7. Instead, it’s completely redesigned it in a way that combines the best aspects of the last two versions of Windows. INSTEAD OF booting you a completely different screen, the Start menu lives in 52
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the lower-left hand corner — where its throne resides. Microsoft is keeping the Live Tiles it introduced in Windows 8, but it’s put them inside the Start menu. That means that they won’t take up your entire monitor anymore. You can pin both modern and traditional apps to the Start menu, and there’s easy access to settings, shutdown or restart, and a list of mostused apps complete with handy jump lists for apps that handle files. This mix of features feels like the best approach for bringing the Start menu back, and you can resize it freely to customize it further. It seems like every version of Windows brings a different theme and Windows 10 is no different. It’s more restrained than Windows 8 or Vista were — but not as boring as Windows 7. A black theme sets the stage for Windows 10, but if you’re not a fan of the darkness, then there are options to pick an accent color that can be shown on the Start menu, task bar, and the new Action Center. Across all three, you’ll notice subtle transparency effects have returned to Windows 10 from their roots in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Microsoft hasn’t added any transparency to built-in apps like File Explorer, so the effect isn’t overplayed or irritating. It feels
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1. START MENU WITH LIVE TILES 2. TASK VIEW AND VIRTUAL DESKTOPS 3. EDGE BROWSER 4. ACTION CENTER
TECH
CORTANA
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IMG CREDITS: PCWORLD.COM
utilitarian, but in a modern way. Microsoft has focused a lot on multitasking with Windows 10. The Snap feature has seen the biggest improvements here. You can drag any window to a screen edge to snap it to half of your screen, and then the OS helpfully displays all of your other windows in an array for the other half. If you use a touchscreen, you can swipe from the left to bring up a list of all open apps and snap two of them alongside each other. Alongside the snapping improvements is a new feature called Task View, which is a lot like Mission Control on the Mac. It displays all your open windows on a single screen so you can find what you’re looking for quickly. Microsoft has added a dedicated button to the task bar to try and get Windows 10 users to activate Task View and start using it. Microsoft claims the vast majority of its users have never used Alt+Tab to switch apps, so the idea is to help those users get better at multitasking. The Task View button is also the gateway to a great new feature: virtual desktops. Yes, Microsoft has finally added this to Windows after years of having to use third-party alternatives. It’s a true power user option, allowing you to create separate virtual desktops with different apps. I consider myself a Windows power user, but I only find myself using virtual desktops on my laptop rather than my desktop PC. There’s no quick way to switch between virtual desktops using a trackpad or mouse, but Windows key + Ctrl + left / right is a handy shortcut. Microsoft has also built a virtual assistant like Siri right into Windows 10. It’s called Cortana. It is named after Cortana, a synthetic AI character in Microsoft’s Halo video game franchise originating in Bungie folklore, with Jen Taylor, the character’s voice actress, returning to voice the personal assisstant’s US-specific version. It’s designed to look and feel like an extension of the Start menu, and just like the Windows Phone equivalent, you can also use your voice to search. There’s also an option to enable a “hey Cortana” feature that lets you simply yell questions at your laptop. It’s useful for simple things like the weather, but I found myself mostly using it to demonstrate Cortana to friends and family. Cortana’s visual interface is a lot more useful. It’s an overview of your day mixed with the weather, news, local restaurants, and other interests you’ve selected. Cortana keeps everything it knows about you in a virtual notebook, which you can
CULTURE
edit to trim out information you don’t want it to remember. Cortana also handles local search, and it’s excellent. Hitting the “My Stuff” button within a Cortana search will search for files that are local to the machine and any data stored on OneDrive. Having a single interface for virtual assistant searches, web searches, and traditional computer searches is a super convenient and powerful thing, and Microsoft has done a really great job of integrating it in Windows 10. Windows 10 also includes a new browser, called Edge. It may be new, but it sadly sticks to the past in a number of ways. Edge’s task bar icon is barely different from that of Internet Explorer (IE), in an effort to keep it familiar to those who used IE. It’s simplified, clean, and performs well in most cases — but it’s lacking features you might expect of a modern browser. Snapping tabs into new windows is messy and clunky, and downloads start automatically with no choice of where they’re being stored. With most browsers, the one key thing I care about is performance, and Edge mostly delivers. Rendering most popular websites is smooth, and load times are usually good. It still feels like there’s some work to be done on occasions, and I’ve run into situations where pages just don’t render well at all or sites ask me to use Internet Explorer. Yes, Internet Explorer still exists in Windows 10, and you can access it through an “Open with Internet Explorer” option in Edge. Edge does have some neat new features. You can draw all over webpages and send a copy to friends. It’s useful if you want to quickly share a screenshot of a site with some annotations. The digital assistant is integrated into Microsoft Edge, and it shows up in clever little ways. If you search for something in the address bar like “weather,” then it will immediately surface the weather nearby. The instances in which it’s really useful are when it gives me the information I need without having to load a full search page. If I search for “how tall is Tom Cruise” then it immediately returns the result before I’ve even had the chance to hit Enter. Windows 10 is hugely exciting. The direction Microsoft is taking with windows 10 is a brilliant one, accepting feedback and ideas from its customers along the way. It’s one of the best ways they can think of to further shape Windows into something people will not only use but also enjoy and love. ■
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LIFE /STYLE HEALTH / WELLNESS / FITNESS / FASHION / TRAVEL
always on YOU R SM A RT P H O N E C O U L D B E STRE S S I N G YO U O U T
BY RALPH B. ORENSE / ALDRIN C. BROSAS 54
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KICKING YOUR BAD SMARTPHONE HABITS You probably already know that your surgical attachment to your phone isn't healthy but you just can't bring yourself to do anything about it. Experts have ruled that much of the anxiety and stress it causes are self-induced. Consider slowly weaning yourself off that unhealthy dependence through these tips by experts
ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM.
KEEP IT AWAY WHEN YOU'RE CALLING IT A NIGHT. The bright
screen of your phone at night won't It's either a help you sleep right away or get problem for you good sleep. Less sleep or bad or it's not. It's sleep makes you cranky or less important to alert the next day. self-evaluate and consider START SMALL. if it poses a Breaking problem on habits like your productivunnecessarily ity, your well-bechecking your ing, even your manners. Is phone all the it causing you undue stress time can be or anxiety, or impeding more effective your ability to focus? by not trying to ELIMINATE MINDdo it in one go. Start LESS TIME. Cut down with an hour a day of not on the times you're checking or keeping it simply on it because away, then two, until it you're bored or tired or eventually doesn't feel like your hands feel empty. the limb it has become. Find something else other than your phone, or if you're tired, BE IN THE NOW. There try sleep. Or meditation! are probably moments when you really don't LOG OUT. You're probably always need to be on your phone checking your Facebook or other but you are out of habit. accounts because it's logged in all When with friends, put it the time. Try logging out of your away and talk with each accounts so you won't receive other, instead of uploadnotifications that would prompt ing that selfie with them. you to open it every time.
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DING IS ENOUGH TO TRIGGER SUCH EXCITEMENT OR ANXIETY.
One ding in the middle of the night could be a matter of life and death. It doesn’t matter that you were just about to succumb to sleep. Your grab your smartphone to check the notification. It could be important, you tell yourself. Before you know it, you’ve been scrolling through your social media feed for a good hour and sleep is just going to have to wait. New studies reveal that more than 80% of people who own a smartphone are prone to anxiety and stress because of the bad habits they are susceptible to picking up. People develop compulsions that make them check their phones several times an hour, or keeping their phones near or with them all the time, even during sleeping hours, to check for application updates, messages from their friends, social media alerts, and so on.
A study conducted this year by University of Missuori in the United States reveals that phones had become such an extension to an average person that being away from it causes anxiety and stress, and impact negatively on a person's ability to perform mental tasks. The study conducted involved monitoring the participants' vitals and stress levels while solving word puzzles with and without their iPhone. These findings have led to a conclusion that a lot of people, especially the young, are suffering from an addiction or unhealthy dependence on smartphones. And just like any
other form of addiction, cases like this could take a toll one one's emotional, social, and even physical well-being. Smartphone stress A pyschology professor from California State University, Dr. Larry Rosen, is considered as a leading expert on "smartphone stress" for his extensive research and experiments on the behavioral effects of our technology-addled brains. His study in 2014, where he separated college students from their phones, concluded that the heavy users and most prone to this kind of stress are the young people. "Technology tends to
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HEALTH
LIFE /STYLE
IMG CREDIT: GETTY CREATIVE / FANATIC STUDIO
‘ It makes us very tired. It makes us very miserable. It overloads our brains. It is not good for us.’
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'overact' our brains, draining us of unfettered, daydreaming-type creativity," he says. "Today’s average college student, a member of the first generation to really grow up digitally native, now focuses and attends to one thing for about three to five minutes before feeling the need to switch their attention to something else. It makes us very tired. It makes us very miserable. It overloads our brains. … It is not good for us.”
The best way to start dealing with this issue is to not to try to abruptly stop or go about it in one go. It will only serve to cause even more unpleasantness and stress. Like most bad habits, fighting them is mind over matter. You put yourself in the right perspective, undestand and acknowledge how and why it's a problem for you and then accept that you need to help yourself. Then you take it from there. If you’re someone who Battling the addiction uses your smartphones for at Dr. Rosen belives that most least ten hours a day, try to reeffort to curb smartphone de- duce use by 30 minutes in the pendence should come from first couple of days, then make those who are suffering from it an hour, two, or five, until it, as the stress are self-inyou’re comfortable that you’re duced. But they need to take not with your smartphones it one small step at a time. for majority of the day. Until Others would think that eventually, it doesn't feel like forcing people to be away from a physical extension of you their phones would be the or a limb that makes you feel best solution, but it’s not. It incomplete and anxious. might just make things worse. One should also inform
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their family and friends when they're going on a 'smartphone diet.' That way, the people close to you won’t be surprised or even offended if the interaction through texts, calls, or social media between you is reduced. Plus, it'll take off the pressure from you and make you relax knowing you don't have to get back to them immediately. People who already feel that they're using their smartphone too much but isn't in the place where it stresses them out yet, should also try to start reducing or managing their habits. In the end, it's self-discipline. In a world and time where technology is developing at a fast pace, it is important for us to be able to keep up. However, we should always remember that we are humans, and that we should be the ones controlling technology, not the other way around. ■
WELLNESS
LIFE /STYLE
Acupuncture, anyone? The ancient therapy goes modern sans needles, in a travelling acupuncture clinic currently set up in Tiwi. BY KAREN DANIELE BESMONTE ARIANE GISELE SANTOS
PROVEN BENEFITS OF ACUPUNCTURE IN THE BODY HEADACHES & MIGRAINES. A study in
Center for Complementary Medicine at the University of Munich reviewed over 11 studies involving 2,137 acupuncture patients, they concluded that acupuncture “could be a valuable non-pharmacological tool in patients with frequent chronic tension-type headaches.”
CHRONIC PAIN.
Studies in Berlin showed that acupuncture patients with chronic pains in the back, neck, knee, or arthritis, reported that there was a significant difference in pain
CANCER & CHEMOTHERAPY RECOVERY.
According to the National Cancer Institute, several studies show that acupuncture can help boost immunity and speed up recovery following cancer treatments.
SLEEP DISORDERS.
Getting sick is part of life, and something no one can really avoid. In this light, people have been in the ceaseless search for effective medicines to treat and cure them. And more often than not, people seek healing procedures which are physically painless because of the fear of being tormented by further pain while in pursuit of alleviating it. Thus, this might be the very reason why acupuncture is not a popular healing process since conventionally, it requires needles which people perceive as an apparent representation of the painful process they have to go through.
There's a new tool for the traditional Chinese practice that uses magnetic energy. Thus, no needles need to be inserted in the patient’s body. The downside, however, is that it can't be done on people with metals in their bodiessuch as braces, retainer, and so on. Since only few people actually try alternative medicine, much less acupuncture, the number of people who can perform it is very small. In fact, in the entire Philippines, the number of acupuncture healers can only be counted with our fingers. Most of them are in the Shaolin Temple in Binondo, Manila, denying people in
Acupuncture revs up the production of neurotransmitters associated with relaxation and sleep, and may help insomniacs sleep better. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine conducted large meta-analyses in 2009 that showed a beneficial effect of acupuncture on reducing insomnia symptoms.
PREVENTS COGNITIVE DECLINE. In a 2002 study
by the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Parkinson’s patients were treated with acupuncture, 85% of which reported subjective improvements of individual symptoms, including tremors, walking, handwriting, slowness, pain, sleep, depression and anxiety, with no adverse effects.
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LIFE /STYLE the provinces the chance or the access to these kind of medical pracice. Acupuncture clinic in Tiwi In the small municipality of Tiwi here in Albay, a clinical practitioner of acupuncture set up camp after being all over the country as healing for him was more than just a profession but also a devotion. In a modest house in Brgy. Libjo, Tiwi, Albay is Teodoro P. Valenzuela's small acupuncture clinic. Teodoro is a native of Goa, Camarines Sur. In our visit, he walked us through his experiences and learning as an acupuncture healer. According to him, acupuncture is not commonly thought of nowadays as a goto method in medicine especially here in the Philippines. With the advances of modern medicine, rarely does one find contemplating acupuncture which in itself can instill serious reservations for anyone because of the needles. He explained that acupuncture is founded on the theory that energy, called chi, flows through and around the body along pathways called meridians. These can be manipulated or controlled through the insertion of needles through the patient’s skin at specific points on the body which are of varying depths depending on the condition of the patient. Teodoro shared that acupuncture treatment has already helped with cancer and other terminal illnesses of his past patients. Since his humble beginnings as a healer in 1987, he shared that he acquired knowledge from different parts of the globe in places like Vietnam, Russia, China, and Hong Kong where acupuncture is an important study. Back then, he was still using needles which are flexible and ultrathin. But when he learned about the new needle-free treatment, he was adamant to switch. “People need not experience anxiety and be bothered by the needles in acupuncture. It only meddles with the healing process." The more relaxed and assured they are, the better, he says. So in 1997, he started using "modern green acupuncture" - a technology introduced by Chinese multinational biotechnology conglomerate Tiens Group. It's called the Acupoint Treasure Multifunctional Apparatus (ATMA) or “invisible magnetic needle”. The said high-tech acupuncture invention won the golden award in the 1996 Beijing International Invention Expo and at the 1st International Einstein New Invention, New Technology (products).
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Moving clinic Teodoro revealed that his practice is in fact, a moving clinic of sorts, and that his team is composed mostly of volunteers who aren't in it for the money. For almost three decades, Teodoro and his volunteers only charge their patients only enough to help with their cost of livingrent for their temporary clinic, utilities, and food. Thus leaving them with no savings at the end of the day. His volunteers are all from Ateneo de Zamboanga University, his alma mater, who decided to join him in this life-long medical mission. The small and simple clinic moves around every three to six months or so. They have already roamed practically the entire country particularly in remote areas since they started in 1987. ■
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ISSUE 1
the magazine
FIRST SEMESTER • NOVEMBER 2015
of the aquinian herald
AQUINIAN
STORIES ISSUE
‘MALDITANG YSA’ | THE SELF-PUBLISHED AQUINIAN FICTION WRITER
On Accountancy senior Shaira Louise Perez’s journey to Wattpad fame, and getting published
THE SEMESTER REPORT / THE V-POINTS / CULTURE / LIFE x STYLE / DEVCOM