Change magazine - The Gold Panicles

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Caraga State University VISION A premier university known for academic excellence in science and technology, agriculture, environment and natural resources, engineering, education and the arts towards the sustainable development of Caraga Region.

GENERAL MANDATE Caraga State University shall primarily provide advanced education, higher technological, professional instruction and training in the fields of agriculture and environmental studies, fishery, engineering, forestry, industrial technology, education, law, medicine, and other health-related programs, information technology, the arts, and sciences, and other related courses. It shall undertake research and extension services and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.

CORE VALUES

MISSION In pursuit of academic excellence, Caraga State University shall endeavor to deliver the highest quality of instruction, research, extension, production, and administration to produce scientifically-trained, technologically-skilled, and morally-sound individuals contributing to the creation of an eco–friendly and healthy environment.

Competence Service

Uprightness

I SO : 9001: 2008

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THE GOLD PANICLES EDITORIAL BOARD AND STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Managing Editor: Creative Director:

Kurtnhy Love H. Maderal Rey O. Bade Rally Jay B. Naife

Associate Managing Editor: Opinion Editor: Feature Editor: News Editor: Online Editor: Graphics Director: Illustrations Director: Photography Director:

Caryl Suzy N. Pagaran Marie Claire O. Virtudazo Dean Joshua L. Solis Angelika B. Morano Christine Joy P. Abellano Ebrahim Maicom Jeff Justin Grief Dawis Dean Joshua L. Solis

ADVISERS Chief Adviser: Technical Adviser (Filipino): Technical Adviser (English): Technical Adviser (Visuals):

Jan Grenechaux Jo Airen O. Macabale Meldy A. Acabo Isagani M. Roma, Jr.

The Official Student Publication of Caraga State University The office is independent by function and administration from other student organizations. It does not actively promote particular political, religious parties, and other ideologies. The official domicile of the office is within the premises of CSU - Main Campus, Butuan City.

ee f f o C e f i l is

SERVICES OFFERED The office serves as the official student publication of CSU, anchored on the principles of the freedom of the press. The office is of the students, by the students, and for the students.

T

he Gold Panicles reserves all rights in the textual, graphical, and other contents appearing in this magazine. Redistribution is prohibited without expressed written permission from the Editorial Board. In compiling and presenting the contents of this magazine, GP has used its best endeavors to ensure that the information is correct and current at the time of publication but assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, or defect herein.

The issue may inadvertently contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Further, references to any specific commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trade mark, and manufacturer or otherwise do not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation.

The views and opinions of authors expressed herein should not be used for advertising or productendorsement purposes. Furthermost, the opinion expressed herein are those of the authors.

They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Gold Panicles or its staffers.

The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material thereto do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the GP concerning the legal status of any institution, area or territory, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.

D

l a n r u aily Jo

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Editor’s note

A teacher of mine once told me that change is the only constant in life. That’s certainly true for the entire editorial team here, which has spent the better part of a year working determined to change The Gold Panicles for the better. You saw evidence by now that we have increased our magazine’s pages from 40 doubled to 80 pages.

This transition comes with releasing our first bimonthly newsletter to keep you posted with the news and inside scoops gathered by our reporters, and save the timeless feature articles in the semestral magazine.

We’ve also adopted a new tagline, “We never flinch in serving you the truth”, which we think is a more appropriate motto for us. Whether you read us in print or online, you represent a readership that deserves facts and shares a deep and abiding curiosity about our campus. With every story we publish and with every release we painstakingly make, we’re committed to satisfying you with what you deserve.

As always, we invite you to write or email your thoughts on the issue. Our editors are always willing to make improvements in the cause of writing.

Kurtnhy Love Maderal Editor-in-Chief kurtnhy.maderal@carsu.edu.ph

ABOUT THE COVER At the end of the day, we all want pretty much the same thing: to build a great life for ourselves. Just like an engineer who sets out to build a gadget, there really is a set of practical and logical steps that you can take to build the life you want.

However, most of us are never really aware of our capabilities of engineering our future or we are just sometimes caught unawares of a great deal of inclination to our own architect for a brighter one.

Building our life is like playing the Legos. There is a manual of instructions to follow, but you are never held back from exploring and putting together different bricks to your satisfaction. Whatever your goal is, you can only achieve your desire when you take control of the changes you make.

The challenge is to start developing the architects and engineers in us. Sometimes, it takes acceptance that life is not a matter of ‘luck or destiny’, but rather of us learning how to consciously engineer and build our lives, one brick at a time.

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The Gold Panicles

PHOTO ESSAY

CONTENTS

FEATURE

P. 10

NEWS FEATURE TAYO Conducts Seminar to the Youth -

P. 22

August Calendar Shift: CSU faces new academic calendar - P. 25 Youth: Peacemakers, Hope of the Land, Who says youth can’t initiate a positive change? - P. 28 A Year of Stellar Performance: CSU SUNA 2016 P. 30

OPINION Extra [Burden] Curriculum -

P. 35

Drug Addicts: Patients or Criminals? - P. 37 A Letter to Mario Teodoro - P. 38

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Oarfish: 5 Less Known Facts - P. 42 P. 45

The Breath of Change -

FEATURE A Humble Insect Discovered -

P. 48

THE SHIRE. THE DRAGON. THE HOBBIT. Stages of Loss -

P. 51

P. 54

Panandaliang Kasiyahan -

P. 62

P. 57

WATTPAD: THE GROWING ADDICTION - P. 59 Willpower Vs Resistance -

P. 61

Five Things You Need to Know About Body Fat Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? Why is it Hard to Quit?

-

P. 67

ARTIST NOOK -

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P. 62

P. 65

P. 70

Photo Essay

The Gold Panicles

Morning rituals Shaina Benedicto

The Gold Panicles

W

hile everyone is fast asleep dreaming of a comfortable and luxurious meal for the day, other people make this dream into reality. Setting aside the blankets and pillows and replacing them with plow and rice seedlings. Ideally, farmers should have the biggest share in the product earned but in reality they receive less than what they deserve.

We should not be drowned by the notion that farming is the lowest job in the society.

Without these people cultivating and plowing the land, we could not taste how delicious it is when sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide mixed to create our staple food.

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Photo Essay

Farming is basically not easy, you have to use all the parts of your body as well as your mind. You have to plot the land in order for you to achieve your desired setting to a bountiful harvest.

However, the difficulty is only on its creation. For the farmers, the feeling of fulfillment is priceless in seeing that golden panicles during the harvest.

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Photo Essay

Experience is the best teacher

The Gold Panicles

Photo Essay FEATURE

The Gold The Gold Panicles

“I grew up to be a farmer. My father is also a farmer and since he could not afford to send me at school I chose to be a farmer. I had no choice but to indulge myself in the rice field. In my years of being a farmer, I have learned the basic techniques and methods on how to make rice grow. I wake up everyday to visit if there are insects pesting the rice field or if there are dikes destroyed. Farming has helped me feed my family for years”

Migrating farmer T

he story of Kuya Ruben is resoundingly inspiring.

He comes from Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur and is now a resident here in Butuan City to plant and earn money to provide the basic needs for his family and to his sick mother. When asked why he chose to leave his hometown when in fact Bunawan is also an agricultural town, he quipped, “The lands there are now polluted due to mining. We tried to cultivate the land but the plants would not grow

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and we just wasted our money and efforts”.

Kuya Reuben’s reason is only an echo of the same reasons that many of our overseas Filipino workers who chose to leave for better chances abroad. The fact of the matter is, here is a growing number of disheartened Filipino skilled workers like Kuya Reuben.

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PhotoEssay Essay Photo

TheGold GoldPanicles Panicles The

The Gold Panicles

Photo Essay

When it rains, they celebrate!

We have different reactions when it’s raining. Some people gets sad and gloomy because for them rain means cancelled trips and muddied shoes. Outdoor activities like photography are also hard to pull off without the sun. For the farmers, however, the rain means a celebration for an answered payer.

Eroding the bad habits In

taking these pictures to complete my photo essay, I have gathered some insights about life. In this picture, the man is eroding the land to eradicate the bulge soil that clump the flow of water. I have thought that life is like that, we have to erode some bad habits so we can see our full potential. It is hard to erode bulgy habits when some of them are already stuck in our personality, it is hard to scratch and

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scrub these things because we are used to it.

However, just like any bulgy soil that hinders the flow of water, we can erode our bad habits if and only when we risk some things and accept that we have them in the fisrt place.

First thing, we have to work hard in eliminating them. Next, we have to find ways so that the water of positivity flows smoothly. Lastly, we have to maintain the change until we adapt.

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Photo Essay

Deep Down Below

The Gold Panicles

Photo Essay

When the bad habits of our lives have been completely eroded, it’s the time to spray the good things in life. Living in the farm is a simple life, but genuine happiness can be felt from these very small things, and they are always priceless.

There are lots of good things in life but only few people recognize them. If you’re one of these few people, be a farmer, grab the knapsack sprayer, and shower the good things to other people so they will see how beautiful life is.

Farming can teach us many life lessons and that includes being humble and knowing how to bend a little. For some people, however, who place themselves in the high rank of the society, to come down from the ivory tower and walk in the pavement below takes a great deal of difficulty. This creates divide leading to differences and imbalance in the society. This picture teaches us that not all great things are acquired up high, sometimes we can see them below.

“It is natural to feel tired bending from morning to afternoon but I cannot see these beautiful eggplants without curling my body and tilling the land. And I do not see any problem with that, I am happy with my job”, added Kuya Ruben.

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The Gold Panicles

Spraying the good things in life

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Photo Essay

Cups of hard work

A

ttaining success is a process. It demands time and concentration in order for you to gain the desired outcome. Life can be tough or smooth but most of the time we can only see the tough things and they weigh us down.

There are times that we lose our patience and balance due to dire circumstances, thereby losing sight of the things that really matter. However, these things may weigh us down in any levels but we should not forget that there are ways to bring back the color and equilibrium in our lives. We just have to believe and hold on. One hand holding on and the other holding the cup of hard work.

The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

Photo Essay

Plains and Coconuts W

e solely depend on the coconut farm. It is the only thing that we have�, said Manong Biyo.

Many of the farmers in the Philippines solely depend on the money that they earn in their farm.

The most amusing part is that they are happy and contented with it. They are mindless of the difficulty in harvesting the coconuts from its towering trees, much less the process of separting the flesh from the shells.

Those who plant will reap All of us must have our own share of awful experiences in our lives. We have been hurt, disappointed, and pitied. All of these have brought us down in one way or another. Sometimes, fall short in life due to our actions and inactions. It is the reality in life, “we reap what we sow�. Our life is shaped by how we see things in this world. Simply put, there is no bad day there is only bad perception of the day by the beholder.

When we plant bitterness and hatred in your life, they will eventually consume our energy and hinder us in fulfilling our daily living, whereas if we plant positivity and faith, we will reap hope and courage to fuel us in any journey we take.

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FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

News Feature 20 Change

NEWS FEATURE

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TAYÔ, Kabataan!

The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

Marie Claire Virtudazo

The Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards Foundation is all about finding, recognizing, and rewarding youth organizations which are believed to change lives because where others see only problems and despair, they see a call to be become movers in their communities, thereby making a difference in the lives of the people they interact with in the path they choose to take.

The foundation conducted the seminar in order to recognise, reward, and encourage youth organizations to explore current situation of the Filipino youth all over the country with programs and projects that help their communities. TAYO hoped to inspire more young people to find innovative solutions and to challenge the status quo with the help of organizations.

They believe that team work, integrity, excellence, and commitment to nation-building and sheer love for the country are the primary things that should be emphasized on the minds of the youth in order to harness the spirit of involvement and advocacy.

The youths’ realization of their role in the society was what TAYO Awards Foundation wanted to convey as it conducted an assembly for Filipino youth on August 11, 2016 at the Sanchez Gymnasium, CSU Main Campus.

With the theme, “Making Meaningful Changes Happen”, the assembly was a great avenue for the CSU youth to realize that they could be a change maker and that they could actually do things that pledge meaningful changes in our society.

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Photos taken from: TAYO awards Facebk page

Photos taken from: TAYO awards Facebk page

In the audience were the different youth organizations of the university including the University Student Council (USC), League of Campus Organizations (LCO), Association of Future Educators (AFEd), College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources- Student Local Government, Association of Engineering and Information Technology (ACEITS), College of Arts and Sciences Students Organization (CASSO), and The Gold Panicles.

“Let’s help the current administration to achieve change”, said James C. Rivera, Executive Director of TAYO Award Foundation.

According to Mr. Rivera, the youth constituted 30% of the population in the country, 24.9% of them was living below the poverty line. He also talked about the different youth issues concerning education, health, poverty, gender equality, and environment.

“We are more focused on peace. Let the youth participate in peace [development]. We [will] continue our advocacy. We [will] continue our activity.

We need to continue what we have started”, One of the TAYO awardee, RTR Committee President Mr. Wennie Bantog, shared their experience when they received threats from anonymous people. He voiced out that they were being neglected by the barangay officials, and that the reason why there were severe community problems in their area was due to the fact that most youth was not given proper attention by the local government.

The efforts to find the potent catalysts of change can be achieved as it has been stressed out that TAYO will continuously adhere to widely-recognize honor for nation-building endeavors to increase numbers of Filipino youths aspiring for the same direction. In its 13 years of running, it has succeeded in reaching over 1,000 youth organizations across the country and is lauded by different sectors of the society for its effort.

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The Gold Panicles The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

August Calendar:

CSU faces new shift in academic calendar Angelika Morano

As

our university is trying to adapt with the ASEAN Integration, the university recently implemented a calendar shift from its old academic calendar June-to-March into Augustto-May. Beginning this year, our university will be using the new academic calendar: first semester August to December, second semester January to May, and summer break of June to July.

The implementation of calendar shift collected mixed reactions from CSU community as the administration have taken such move in changing the university’s academic calendar.

Many have been wondering why we shifted from the common June-March calendar. Some thought of it that it’ll make the term breaks longer while others thought the opposite. Some seemed opposed to it while some showed excitement with its implementation. Would it be beneficial? Or I’ll just become an additional burden to CSUans?

CAL

END AR

The August System

CAL

END AR

MON

TUE

SUN MON

AAUUGU G S U T S T JJUUN N E E

SUN

WED THU

FRI

T UE

THU

WED

SAT

FRI

SAT

SAT

SAT

OMG C a le n d a r

S h if t

!

WHAT ?

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In the Philippines, Adamson University initiated the first calendar shift in the country in their academic year 2014-2015. It was then followed by other big four universities in Metro Manila: the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on the following year and were also followed by other universities and colleges.

Whereas, within the bounds of Caraga region, Caraga State University is the only university yet that applied the said calendar shifting in Butuan City while Saint Paul University in Surigao City implemented the same.

This calendar shifting is in line with the internationalization of universities for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) Integration 2015. It aims for a synchronized academic calendar with ASEAN and other countries to keep pace with universities in the ASEAN University Network (AUN) and other universities that will open more programs with its partner universities. It’ll also create opportunities for students to grow in a more international landscape to produce more globally competitive students and graduates.

Since our university is trying to connect with other ASEAN Universities, sticking to the old June academic calendar would be ineffective since most of the universities outside the country is using the August academic calendar.

Because of its implementation, adjustments were evident not only by the students but also with the faculty and administration.

According to the Office of Student Affairs and Services (OSAS) Director, Mr. Joey Arles Vergara, it was a challenge faced by the university as we encountered difficulties within its implementation. One of it was the enrollment of student transferees from other universities to CSU and vice-versa, since CSU shifted from its old calendar into August. Transfer students from other SUCs within Caraga to CSU are likely to experience difficulties because the academic calendar is a mismatch from their previous school. “That is for me, is just a part of the birth pains”, said Mr. Vergara. The administration looked on its long term effect, as the university is aiming for the vision of internationalization and a vision for a much better educational system. “It is a part of the development of the nation, yes there are some loopholes but that’s the way it is”, he added.

Mr. Vergara also said that it depends into which side of the ship were going to: To be back to our original academic calendar or to push the newly approved calendar. But coping with the international environment of education, CSU is trying to address the gap in our educational system. We cannot totally see its depth if we’ll only look on its one side.

Though its implementation is a bit late, the university took this courageous step together with other universities with the same reason, internationalization. If we will not adapt it now, then when? We were too far left behind.

A drastic change has to be felt by the university. Change will take time as there are still adjustments that we need to settle. Caraga State University, like a butterfly, must undergo a process in order to morph into its full potentials.

It’s not particularly easy for a caterpillar to become a pupa and then into a butterfly, but for a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it has to change.

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NEWS FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Here are some statements from CSUans we collected. Let’s hear their insights with the university’s changing of academic calendar.

Honey B. Goloran, BS Biology I

Based on experience as a transfer student from University of Bagiuo (which also offers the August academic calendar), its good to have an August academic calendar since it opens greater opportunities to a university, like having an exchange students from other countries, since we are in the same academic calendar internationally. When I transferred here in CSU, I observed that some have difficulties in coping with the new academic calendar since it’s the first year of its implementation.

The four-month transition period made some of the students feel so much burdened coming back to school. But as for me, there’s nothing new with it since I already experienced it from my former school.

Michelle Pag-ong BSEd Math II

We were still adjusting, and I observed some advantages and disadvantages.

First is our summer break from April to May is now move to June and July (which is not really a ‘summer’ break) in which while some are on their summer outings, while we will still have classes by that time. In the same manner, it’s a good start as were now on the same academic calendar with other popular universities, big schools such as UP and international schools. But again, were we still on the process of adjusting with the new academic calendar. Were still on the process of improvement, like the scheduling of school activities especially with the different school organizations.

Jim Peregrine Reambonanza, BSEd Biology II

To be honest, I don’t have any problem regarding the calendar shifting of our university. Maybe there are some things that I need to adjust, but what really matters for me is that I can still enjoy schooling despite of the shift. As what they have said, CHANGE is the only thing that is constant in this world. That’s why we should learn how to adapt to the changes in our environment for the betterment of ourselves.

So again, in my opinion, I don’t see any problem about the calendar shifting of our university at all.

Vanissa Lavador, BS Agro-Forestry II

It’s a good intervention from our university to implement the calendar shifting for the improvement of our university, but for what I see, we were still not prepared for such change. As what I’ve experienced on the first month of the calendar shift, the instructors were still unprepared with their lessons, like it’s not only the students that were adjusting but also the faculty.

Lilibeth Sumbilon, BS Electronics Engineering IV

During the board exam, which is usually dates around October, instead of six months, we will only have the remaining four months for the review after we will graduate. We wont have enough time to prepare for the board exam. Its not only true with EcE board exam but with other exams as well like LET.

NEWS FEATURE

The Gold Panicles Dr. Cristina Cubillas, College of Education

Since we just adapted the change of calendar this year, of course there are a lot of adjustments that we have to adapt. For example instead of having a summer class in April, it’s now on June. For us faculty members, it’s okay going with the flow.

But as to the observations, say for example in the College of Education, we have sometimes a little bit problem with deploying our graduating students for practice teaching because we need to deploy them by January, (which is the starting of second semester) and then they will end up to March only, which is a very short time because the classes from the DepEd will approximately end on March. So, within that three months, they need to comply 280 hours which results with student teachers to cram.

For the other colleges maybe it’s advantageous, but in our college, we have some struggles adjusting with the calendar shift. We also encountered some problems with Field Study (FS) students in terms of deployment schedule, instead of being deployed in the middle part of the semester, we need to deploy them earlier. In general, if we change our calendar, it should be also true with the DepEd for us to have that connection. If you’re going to notice, the other universities especially in Butuan, they are still following the old academic calendar, so the tendency there if our students cannot enroll here in our university, they have still chance to enroll to other universities, but a bit late. For the graduating students also, when they graduate, it’s difficult for them to look for a job when they graduate (in June), which is also the start of classes.

Instead of our graduates can have a beginner’s work/part time job, they can’t have it, like its complicated because of the date of graduation. The other schools cant wait for them even though they really wanted to hire graduates from CSU. That’s for me the disadvantage, but as to the rest, the curriculum and others, there is no problem, it’s just only on the product. It’s not maybe totally a problem, but it’s too complicated. So as to the change of calendar, its okay as were still adjusting, both the faculty and the students.

Charle Acantilado, Senior High School, G12 STEM

During the transition period I encountered a lot of disadvantages more than the advantages that I had experienced. Since it’s a four-month break I got to earn money from a part time job but it doesn’t last for too long. Moreover it had become a burden because it makes me forget the lessons that I had learned over the school days. And what makes it worst is I had difficult times explaining to my neighbors and friends that I am still studying and doesn’t quit school in exchange for something else.

Marvin Tejano, BS Physics IV

I saw no problem at all. Actually, if I were to ask, it is really okay for me at first since we had our On Job-Training (OJT) last summer (April-May) and the transition period (break for another two months) gave us a break before the regular class starts.

Armdin Valmoria, BS AE III

CSU has responded automatically to the call of the society and especially of the Philippines to change the university’s academic calendar together with our education background. For me, CSU reacted quickly with the adjustments, especially with our faculty and staffs. Maybe we were still adjusting, but with our academics, for me its just the same. Its only the time has changed.

Jehan Ape, BSEd Biology II Mike Baba BS EcE IV

It is more difficult to seek for a job during an OJT when it is June and July because most of the companies accepts students during summer breaks, which is traditionally April and May.

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To be honest, I felt we were now on the track with other universities that offers the same August system. Actually, we were already behind with other universities and I’m glad were now joining in the same river with them. It feels like we were like a “wallflower” before, and this calendar shifting changed us. It’s a bit surprising that our university tried to implement the calendar shifting but its okay as it brought us some advantages. Just like a river, were not against with its flow anymore, were now on the same current with them.

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YOUTH: The Gold Panicles

PEACEMAKERS, HOPE OF THE LAND Marie Claire Virtudazo

“Ang Kabataan ang pagasa ng bayan.”

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Photos taken from Youth for Peace Facebook page

is perhaps the tangiest quote of our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

The Gold Panicles

This

ideal has been taken to a whole new level as the youth slowly transformed into an epitome of hope and peace. More than a hundred youth in Caraga Region assembled at the Y4P’s first Regional Consultation last August 27, 2016 at UCCP Alviola Village, Butuan City to build a network of connection where peace and hope for the nation are the primary concern is the goal of the Youth for Peace (Y4P)

The Youth for Peace (Y4P) aimed to revive the young people’s role of embodying the hope for tomorrow. They have built a network of young minds where peace and hope for the nation are the primary concern and apply those ideals to initiate meaningful and positive changes, that peace is more than just the absence of war, rage, and conflict. Peace is which binds freedom, hope, and justice.

Y4P is a broad alliance of different youth organizations, groups, and individuals who are united for peace and social justice. Y4P is open to student groups, out-of-school youth, faith communities, publications, artists and prominent youth leaders, and young professionals who adhere to the advocacy of the alliance. It aims to build human and society values and converge peace efforts of the potent peacemakers—the youth. It strengthens the linking of arms of the young generation from the different walks of life in the country to defend people’s rights and welfare. It focuses on the recommencement of the peace process in connection with the upcoming peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPh) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

“Be a peacemaker. It is now or never,” This is what Ms. Michelle Campos, a certified Lumad environment and human rights advocate stressed out.

The amalgamation of youth working for peace building is achievable through the awareness and engagement to community service and advocacy. And to being sensitive to every societal problem that plagued our country before and even until now.

The participants were composed of youths from the Student Council, Caraga Watch Youth, and Editorial Board and Staffs of The Gold Panicles (TGP) of CSU, Student Christian Movement in the Philippines (SCMP), Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU), Saint Joseph Institute of Technology (SJIT), Surigao State College of Technology (SSCT), Saint

Theresa College, Saint Luke College, and Saint Paul University of Surigao together with the other colleges from Tandag and Surigao City. They expressed their ideas and insights on how to defend the people’s right from the brute of militarization, demand for social justice, and on how to protect the environment from further exploitation.

“It is our duty as the hope of this nation to seek for a society devoid of inequality and injustices” Miss Renalyn Tejero, coordinator of Student Christian Movement in the Philippines said.

The first regional election of Youth for Peace was also conducted before the event ended. Among the elected major officials were Mr. Decemboy Tiu of CSU as chairperson, Mr.Ralph Mancao of FSUU as vice chairperson, Ms.Renalyn Tejero of SCMP as secretary in general, and Mr. Jaybee Batiancila of SJIT as finance officer.

Some people claimed that Rizal’s quote can no longer hold this seemingly apathetic generation’s attention, that the youth’s perception about hope and peace is too

vague and they cannot initiate positive changes that the youth are too vulnerable and are too indolent to participate in nation’s peacebuilding and development.

These misinterpreted views towards the youth are corrected through the existence of Y4P.

Moreover, youth engagement must be an utmost concern. The motto of Y4P International, ‘With Peace We All Can Win Together’ summarizes that collaboration and not competition is the method of youth engagement. There is a need to act together, since unified actions will create similar goals to achieve it.

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NEWS FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Agency Performance Reviews. Accreditation, so far, is the best and most effective way in ensuring quality in academic programs and instructions.

The university was also recognized by the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) being the only Higher Educational Institution (HEI) in Caraga Region as Center of Development in three areas: Biology, Mathematics, and Information Technology. In the SUC Levelling conducted last October by regional evaluation committee, from Level II, CSU has now reached Level IV.

It’s

been seven years since the conversion of Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology (NORMISIST) into Caraga State University (CSU), with which this great leap of achievement gave the university a reputation of providing standard quality education, being an institution known in producing quality graduates. Within those seven years, a lot of notable changes and accomplishments were seen within the bounds of the university.

For the last year, 2016 ended with the university bagging numerous awards and achievements in various fields in the academe. These major pronouncements of the university’s highlights and accomplishments were shared by the University President, Dr. Anthony M. Penaso on his State of the University Address (SUnA) 2016 on February 14, 2017 during the celebration of the 7th University Day.

What did we accomplish within one year then? To mention some of them, here they are as follows:

A YEAR OF STELLAR PERFORMANCE:

CSU SUNA 2016 IN INSTRUCTION:

Performance in Licensure Exam.

The licensure examination performance of our university’s graduates is again at rise as 2016 brought seven topnotchers from different fields. Engr. Nestor D. Opeña Jr. topped the Mining Engineering Licensure Examination together with Engr. Vince Ivan Libao on the 9th place while Engr. Mark Angielou Bala ranked 6th on the Geodetic Engineering Licensure Exam. And for the Forestry Licensure examination that got four topnotchers, we have For. Cornelio Casilac Jr. being the top 30 Change

one; For. Roselyn Lina on the 3rd; For.Cristina Reveche on the 5th place; and For. Nelvin Samblasinio on the 9th place.

Summing up, this year’s CSU performance rate is 42.69% which is higher compared to the national passing rate of 34.66%. With this fact, Dr. Penaso stated that among all the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the region, CSU is leading in terms of board examination performance.

Accreditation.

In terms of Accreditation, there are already 20 programs accredited by the Accrediting Agency for Chartered Colleges and Universities in the

Phil., Inc. (AACCUP). Biology, Environmental Science, and Agricultural Technology already qualified Level III accreditation (Passed the 3rd survey visit- Phase 1); Mathematics, Agriculture, Forestry, BEEd and BSEd (Biology and Mathematics), Computer Science, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, Geodetic Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering were all Level II Accredited, while Mining Engineering and Information System are now on Level I of accreditation. Accreditation is done for SUCs as it lends prestige to universities and colleges and is a requisite for Center of Development (COD) and Center of Excellence (COE) status, normative funding scheme, SUC levelling, and

NEWS FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Student Development. It’s not only the university or the graduates have attained some achievements, but we also gained awards and recognitions through the effort of every CSU students joining different competition representing the university. The Dulimbay Theatre Arts Guild (DTAG) was hailed champion during the 2016 Adlaw Hong Butuan. Also, the CSU Drum and Lyre Corps was also the champion at the 61st Abayan Festival Drum and Lyre Competition last July 31, 2016. On the yearly Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools (MASTS) Friendship Games 2016, we got the 6th place in Sports Competition with 3 golds, 11 silver, and 13 bronze medals while 5th place in Literary and Cultural Competition with the following wins: Champion, Indigenous Dance; 1st place in Vocal Duet; 1st place in Story Telling; 2nd place in Chorale Singing; 3rd place in Contemporary Dance and Live Band; 3rd place in Ms. Mast 2016 with a special award as Ms. Photogenic; and lastly 4th place in Pagsasalaysay. On the recently concluded 8th Phillippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) 2016 Culture and the Arts Festival last December 3-8 at Vigan, Ilocos Sur, the CSU’s Vocal Duet Participants claimed the 2nd place.

Faculty Development.

The university’s faculty and staff also upheld and attended various trainings, conferences, and seminar-workshops. The university had conducted for about 32 seminars and attended 234 different training and conferences. These activities aimed to equip our faculty with relevant trainings and seminars to ensure effective service and learning to CSU students.

IN RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION SERVICES:

In terms on research, the university had presented 87 research papers locally and internationally. Forty-six research papers were presented in the international arena, 15 on the national level, 14 on regional, and 12 on the local. We had also 18 research papers that were published internationally. On the other hand, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) announced that CSU is among the ten (10) universities selected to be part of IP Hub Project and was confirmed last July 28 meeting at IPOPHL. These are evident facts that CSU is competitively active in pursuing its goal of quality research inside and outside the country.

CSU also made new linkages and partnerships on both government and private organizations. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau -13 has now sealed partnership with CSU as part of its expert group. CSU also made new linkages with LOGITRI-NET as training provider; Mindanao Knowledge Center as member of research network; Agusan River Basin Management Council, CSU as its academe partner and knowledge provider; and with the Brgy. Council of Calibunan, Cabadbaran City for community engagement.

Additionally, it had also an Academe- Industry Linkage with mining and other industries in Caraga Region such as the Hinatuan Mining Corp. (HWC), Taganito Mining Corp. (TMC), Philsaga Mining Corp. (PMC), Platinum Gold Metals Corp. (PGMC), San Roque Metals Inc. (SRMI), Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (AMVI), Greenstone Resources Corp., Carrascal Nickel Corp., VPO Agro- Industries, and with the Butuan City Water District (BCWD).

The following linkages and partnerships have been advantageous to the university to keep pace in this fast-changing world of development and technologies, forwarding the university to the production of highest quality of instruction, research and extension.

IN ADMINISTRATION

Unknown to some, the university has earned P5,278,678.05 for the whole 2016 from its different income generating projects. This income generated projects include the commercial arcade, lot/space rental, dormitory rental, Bookshop and Marketing Center, Facilities Rental, Farm land rental, Dairy Processing Project, Carabao Producing Project, Goat, sheep and cattle production project, rice production project, and the coconut and fruit orchard project.

facilitative learning environment, the new CAS Multipurpose Building is constructed with 8 classrooms, faculty lounge and offices, function hall, and additional laboratory classrooms.

Another one, the Eco-Park and Social Enterprise Development Center will create the whole CSU Main Campus an Ecotourism Park with products and services as tourist destination in the region. This will provide an avenue for education and promotion of environment and nature conservation of natural resources in the region.

As the saying goes, “What you reap is what you sow”, says what the whole university’s effort for 2016 reaped great achievements.

These milestone accomplishments were indeed a manifestation of unity from different organization behind this institution we stand to call a university.

As 2017 starts, we should aim for bigger goals, grab them all and to keep in our minds that what we do is not for the department’s development alone, not for the office’s development alone, but for the progress of our university at all. This stellar performance of CSU could be more than ‘stellar’ in the end of the year 2017 if there’s still that passion and cooperation from every university bodies. As what Dr. Penaso said, “These achievements can’t be done by ourselves and of course can’t be done by themselves, we do this altogether because we believe that we are stewards to make CSU a great university”.

In terms of the completed, ongoing, and soon to rise infrastructures, 2016 ended completing five (5) infrastructure projects.

Those infrastructures include the Two-story Science and Technology Building Phase 4, the Organic Agriculture Training Center, the construction of Mechatronics and Robotics Phase 3, and the construction of the new Administration Building Phase 1.

There are also several projects that were implemented in 2016 that were currently on going by now. The construction of new Admin Building Phase 2 has been started right away after the completion of the Phase 1.

Additionally, last November, a groundbreaking ceremony was conducted for the 2016 Three (3) major infrastructure projects, namely: The Three-Story State-of-the-Art University Library Building, Two-Story College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Multipurpose Building, and the establishment of Eco-Park and Social Enterprise Development Center.

The new State-of-the-Arts Library will replace the old Ochoa Library which is constructed almost 30 years ago and shall accommodate at least 30% per standards onetime seating capacity for higher education.

Currently, our library can cater only 3.3% capacity considering the present population of 5000+ students. To provide better and

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OPINION

OPINION

The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

OPINION

Extra [Burden] Curriculum John Francis Cadampog

L

earning in other aspects—one of the objectives of extra curriculum in education. This is to develop the students learn things outside the classroom. Recently, it seems that there were students having more fun in extracurricular activities compensating the risk of failures in academics in exchange of the freebies and monetary they have received.

Knowledge in academics must be taken with precedence than extracurricular activities or practically speaking, important things comes first. Those students who were likely more committed in participating extra activities are quietly suffering burdens and distractions in their academic performance.

In exchange to this outcome are the enticing freebies, uniforms, honorarium or increased allowances, seminars and trainings given to them by the university. These enticements became reasons of students involved, especially the student athletes, for their commitment.

It was observed that these year, the budget for the university’s participation in the recent MAST games was increased, or maybe, now it is properly utilized and well spent than before—no name(s) has mentioned at all. “The university only give the total amount paid by the students for the athletes and coordinator’s needs. The change is that, now, there is a maximize participation with proper support from the administration for the student athletes in the recent competitions,” Dr. Rolando N. Paluga, Vice President for Academic Affairs said.

He clarify that the budget, allowances, trainings and other freebies were given to support the athletes’ needs and motivate them before they play not to compensate their academics and focus only in extracurricular activities.

However, Neil, not his real name—a student and also an athlete in our university for more than a year, got a failing grade, a drop course, and an incomplete remark out of his 5 courses at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year first semester due to extensive trainings and preparations for their upcoming games.

“Usahay tungod sa sobrang kapoy na training, diretso na dayon tulog pag-uli,”—(Sometimes, after the hard and tiresome trainings, we immediately fall asleep at home), he reasoned. It shows that some of these student athletes don’t have any longer time to study and review their notes because they are physically and mentally exhausted.

In result, unfinished assignments, forgotten projects, unprepared for quizzes—worse in major examinations which gives them poor remarks in their respective academics.

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“The extracurricular activities will also help the students to develop in other aspects of learning. The university should not impose to stop the students from other activities, it is limiting the students to learn,” Dr. Paluga said. It must be the student’s decision on how to prioritize things and consider the important ones than other. The students control their lives unto possible outcomes. “At the end of the day, all of these things, the several activities will be actually useful, because you will go multi-tasking later on. The pressure and struggles are part of the learning development of the students must undergo,” he concluded.

Despite of these consequences, still, the student athletes gave the university a name in various sports and other competitions. The university ranked 5th in overall competing different SUC’s in Mindanao during the recent MAST games and some of them is to represent the CARAGA region in the nationals bringing the name of the University. Indeed, the sacrifices of every athletes are all worth it and not wasted.

In everyone’s decision there’s always a corresponding results that may incur changes to yourselves or to someone’s life. Change until there’s a time and face the consequences of the changes you’ve done.

Think of the things best for you now and to the future. The decision is always yours, only the judgement is for other people.

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FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

OPINION

MEDICATION BEHIND BARS Kurtnhy Love Maderal

Although the American Medical Association categorizes addiction as a disease, many people still believe addiction is a matter of willpower or morality. The fact is, no amount of willpower will ever arrest the cycle of addiction. Furthermore, addicts are not “bad” people. Addicts are sick people.

In no uncertain terms, addiction is a brain disease that must be treated with recovery.

The Disease Concept of Addiction Is addiction a disease? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” Addiction is a disease of the brain that affects millions of people around the world. Addiction is chronic, progressive and fatal. It meets all the criteria used by medical professionals to define the nature of a disease. Furthermore, the dictionary definition of “disease” makes it clear that addiction qualifies.

Webster’s dictionary defines a disease as a “condition of the body that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.” The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as “a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.” If you Google the definition of disease, you will find many definitions just like these two. Indeed, by definition, addiction is a disease.

A Brief History on Addiction as a Disease

The idea that alcoholism/ drug addiction might be a disease began to take hold in the early 1900’s when many Americans were becoming addicted to alcohol and opiates. The health problems that resulted from physical addiction led doctors to believe that being addicted was not a moral deficiency or evidence of a lack of willpower – it was a legitimate medical condition.

In 1926, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded. Co-founded by a medical doctor, AA began calling alcoholism a disease. In 1956, the American Medical Association followed suit and named alcoholism as an illness. In 1987, the AMA and most other medical organizations officially termed addiction a disease, regardless of whether the condition was caused by drug or alcohol abuse.

Today, the majority of medical professionals and health care organizations around the world recognize and treat addiction as a disease. And, the most recent studies on alcoholism and addiction are revealing more about how substance abuse affects the brain as an illness.

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Some Medical Jargon about Addiction

To further defend the fact that addiction is a disease, it might help to understand how addiction works on the brain.

Addiction affects the reward center of the brain, including the nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate cortex, and amygdala. The chemicals from drugs and alcohol alter brain chemistry and change the brain’s reward structures such that the brain will embrace the chemicals, react to them, and then demand more. More use of these chemicals causes the brain to want more. Once the reward center rewires itself to accommodate these chemicals, the brain will begin to associate certain people, places, events and activities with the addiction reward, which triggers cravings and behavioral/biological cues.

Addiction degrades the brain over time and causes the brain to stop functioning normally, causing symptoms like depression, a lack of cognition, and psychosis. Long after a person has been brought to their knees as a result of the consequences caused by addiction, he or she will still want more of the chemicals they have been using to make them “feel good.”

Age-Old Lies: Addicts are Bad or Weak People

Many misinformed people still refuse to accept that addiction is a disease.

They believe addicted people are low-life junkies who contribute to the moral decay of American society. This is unfortunate. There is overwhelming evidence from the medical community that addiction is a disease.

There are a number of reasons why people believe addicts are “bad” rather than “sick” people. Some people think addicts are lazy degenerates who enjoy living as outcasts. Other people come from religious backgrounds and are taught that drug use is a “sin” or even that addiction is a demonstration of demonic possession. In these cases, addicts are amoral sinners who need to be punished.

Other people perceive addiction as a weakness. They believe people who have become addicted lack the inner strength to overcome the effects of drugs or alcohol.

“Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get it together,” they say! Little do they know that addiction is not a matter of willpower or weakness….it’s a recognized medical condition. There is no amount of willpower that can overcome addiction without treatment.

How the Criminal Justice System Perpetuates the Lie that Addicts Are Bad

t’s no wonder so many Filipinos believe addiction is a matter of willpower and morality, rather than a sickness. The federal government has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to addiction. Those who are caught in the possession of illegal narcotics are punished through the criminal justice system. This results in jail time, hefty fines, and convictions that have farreaching consequences. Most people do not understand how unjust the drug laws are in the Philippines and will hop on the proverbial bandwagon, perpetuating the lie that addicts are bad or weak people.

More than 20 million Filipinos have been convicted of a felony. Most of these are the result of a drug-related conviction of some kind. It’s no secret that people who have addiction issues end up with legal problems. But, what most Filipinos don’t know is that current drug laws are incredibly harsh. The punishment for being an addict in the Philippines is unbelievable. Instead of promoting educational programs and treatment options for addicted Filipinos, the federal government continues to spend billions of dollars to fight the so-called War on Drugs, which punishes addicts for being addicts.

Getting caught with a crack pipe or being arrested for even a tiny amount of meth or cocaine is a felony that comes with prison time. Being branded a convicted felon for being an addict only perpetuates that lie that addiction only happens to bad or weak people.

A Final Thought about Addiction as a Disease

Addiction creates a sense of powerlessness and causes people to use drugs or alcohol against their own will. This is why willpower doesn’t work when treating addiction! Once addiction has control of the brain, it demands to be fed. It creates a perpetual cycle that will continue until it is arrested. The only way to recover from addiction is by getting professional help. This is because addiction is a disease.

It’s high time for war-on-drugs, if this isn’t deemed effective, maybe it’s time for drug addicts to be treated as patients rather than criminals.

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OPINION

The Gold Panicles

SECURITY CONCERNS DURING INTRAMURALS Jaed Delosa

The Gold Panicles

I

ntramurals is one of the most exciting days of an academic year. It is when, we can break loose from scholastic grips and participate in various fun activities or showcase our being competitive not only in brains but also in agility. It is also the time when the campus becomes home for making friends and building camaraderie through sports and talent shows.

This year, we celebrated with a theme: “One with ASEAN: Partnering for Change, Engaging with the World”. Once again, our inclination to excel in sports and to standout in talent shows was significantly shown.

All the efforts were aimed at the chance of participating in MASTS which will happen in the 2nd week of November. However, the exuberance behind this particular event sometimes covers all our awareness of what it takes to have safety surroundings. Most of us only come here to play and witness the flow of the events disregarding the possible outcomes of the event that can happen in a more different story.

Mind it or not but our archipelago, Mindanao, as we know it is a home of the country’s most enthusiastic extremist who can bring their harmful actions in public places in the last few years. Those particular events mark a history which has made Mindanao a known spot for possible terrorist attacks. One of the cases that is evident in connection to this is the 2014 Bukidnon bus bombing which claimed 11 civilians and left other 43 people wounded. Most of the victims were students who were about to go home when the incident happened. The bus was owned by a transport company, Rural Transit Mindanao Incorporated bearing the traffic number 2640 and the plate number KBP-178. The bus was en route to Cagayan de Oro from Banisilan, North Cotabato.

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OPINION

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters were suspected by Philippine authorities to be behind the bombings. Extortion was viewed as a motive for the attacks due to claims that the bus company had been facing threats for refusing to pay protection money to the militants. The militant group had denied any involvement claiming they would not gain any benefit from conducting such attacks and claimed further that the accusations against them was a fabrication.did is to continuously torment the conscience of people about the adverse effect of mining to every life. The title, Pamana ng Mina, didn’t suit well.

Given the fact that this particular situation happened, we can’t deny to suspect some future event that can happen related to it, especially, when we know that our campus is not yet properly fenced. For one, you can just ride a tricycle and then just pass the guards without them urgently asking for any identification. It is kindly preposterous to consider that not all who enter the university premises have the same intentions as the students, faculty members, and staffs. Some may be entering here for other intentions.

Perhaps, we are made to believe that security is only our second concern as a student because our primary concern is to fulfill the role in terms of how we make our requirements great in the eyes of our own mentors. This kind of thinking prove to be no longer relevant considering the status quo where we see acts of terrorism on national news on a daily basis.

Somehow, the quality of security that we observed was stable because there were security officers inside the campus monitoring the events inside the university premises.

However, visibility does not necessarily mean the strictest implementation of rules and regulations. Checking the identification cards of all people, CSUan or not alike, should be done religiously.

Truly, we can have a choice to realize if we deserve such kind of security. We can’t blame ourselves to always forget such concern for we know that first priority is to study and to finish the courses.

The only necessity of all the statements mentioned here is the urgency to vigilance.

We just can’t have this comfortable feeling to gain just because we want to avoid the stereotype of being bitter or didactic, but we need to put in our mind, as a university guard or just a common university student, an awareness that can also help our school to avoid the possibility of terrorism closer to home.

We do not want to cause emotional discomfort to anyone in our campus by pointing out the warnings, but we believe that it’s always better to be paranoid than dead.

In events like intramurals, the flow of crowd, familiar or stranger, go along and combine like they are in the same motive inside the campus. But anonymity is a dangerous thing especially when we suddenly realize that there lies a question of who is really responsible to a particular unexpected event.

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OPINION

The Gold Panicles

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

Science &

Technology

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Science and Technology

The Gold Panicles

Oarfish: 5 Less Known Facts

The Gold Panicles

Science and Technology

Jhea Mae Tingson

1

OPINION

2 3 Illustration by: Jeff Grief Dawis

The “Red Riding Hood” of the Deep Sea

Looking onto its Up, Close and Personal structure. Its body is scaleless, covered with silvery guanine. The protrusible mouth is toothless. It does not possess the swim bladder. Oarfish dorsal fin is distinctly colored, ranging from pinkish to cardinal red. Comprising around 400 dorsal fin rays, the first 10-12 are elongated forming a trailing crest with reddish dot on the top of each ray. The anal fin is absent, and the caudal fin is either quite tiny or absent at times, with the body tapering to a fine point.

They do have evolved gill rakes located in the mouth. Looking at its appearance, it won’t be too far off to call this fish, the “Red Riding Hood” of the deep seas. As long as we humans refrain from being the wicked wolf to it, the oarfish have nothing to worry about living their peaceful life in the deep sea.

The world’s longest bony fish

Brian Clark Howard of National Geographic, in his article suggested that “ the giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) was first described in 1772, but it has been rarely seen because it lives at considerable depths.

It is not well known, but giant oarfish are thought to be in frequent depths around 3,300 feet (1000 meters). Giant oarfish are the longest known living species of bony fish, reaching a length of 56 (17 meters).

They can weigh up to 600 pounds (270 kilograms).” Indeed, that’s what makes this elusive creature so extraordinary.

Tastes like gelatinous goo

Not a lot is known about the conservation status of oarfish because they have rarely been observed alive, although fishermen do occasionally pull them up in nets as unwanted by catch or just washed ashore in shore lines. People have tried eating them, but “their flesh is flabby and gooey”, said Howard of National Geographic.

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5

A sign of coming disaster

Many people have been buzzing about this creature that they seem to be the sign of pernicious earthquakes.

Marc Lallanila, Assistant Editor of Live Science, in his article “Can Oarfish Predict Earthquakes?” suggested that “the oarfish is known in Japan as ryugu no tsukai or “messenger of the sea god’s palace”.

Dozens of the deep-sea denizens where discovered by Japanese fishermen around the time a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile in March 2010.

Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a specialist in ecological seismology, told the Japanese Times that “deep sea fishes living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea.” Therefore, the oarfish are not the reasons why dreadful earthquakes but they are living organisms sensing earthquakes.

Not man-eater

Oarfish are said to be harmless to human. They are toothless creatures.

According to the study of the World Fishing Network website, “Despite its link to being dangerous sea serpents, there are no reports of any violent behavior from oarfish towards humans. They are solitary creatures that rarely ever comes to the surface, only doing so it on the verge of death. There are few underwater sightings but in rare footage. Giant oarfish shows a propensity to swim in vertical position using its dorsal fins for movement while keeping its body very still. It is speculated that this is a feeding position with prey primarily being zooplankton, shrimps, and other crustaceans, small fish and squids.” It simply shows that we do not need to worry for us to get harmed by these amazing creatures.

The deep sea is a forgotten realm, a mystery to many of us.

It is quite hard to imagine life 2.5 miles down below as we enjoy our time out sailing, boating, swimming and playing on the surface, but take a moment to think about what lurks beneath about according to the sailors of the sea. Oarfish is a special deep-sea creature. There are more significant things yet to explore about this unique living organism. It is never burden but a blessing in us human beings.

Washing them off in shore lines is never a coincidence but there is a hidden truth we ought to know, a truth that will always prevail

The least explored area of the deep see is home to many mysterious creatures. The oceans have given birth to many myths, legends, mysteries and events still not completely explained by mankind. It was thought that no life would be possible there. But on the contrary, extraordinary marine life blooms in the deep sea and the oarfish is one example. This strange-looking organism, much like a lot of other creatures living in isolation, has been at the receiving end of prejudice since long. A subject of speculation owing to its habitat and appearing shrouded in mystery. Allow me to share to you 5 less known facts about this special creature I have gathered.

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Science and Technology

The Gold Panicles

THE BREATH OF CHANGE Shaina Benedicto

The Gold Panicles

BAD

breath can discriminate, sometimes. We can have bad breath, and it’s really embarrassing if others can notice it.

People with bad breath mostly do not know that they have one. Their close friends, family and workmates cannot tell them also for the fear of embarrassing them.

Bad breath or halitosis can result from poor dental health habits. It is primarily caused by the presence of too much anaerobic bacteria, ones that do not need oxygen to survive inside the mouth.

CAUSES

Mouth is the first entrance of all the food we eat. Certainly, our food intakes can affect our breath. Garlic and onions have strong odors that cannot be easily eliminated with brushing and flossing. Some food particles from cheese, butter, whole milk and other fatty meats which are naturally aromatic can cause bad breath.

Another causes of bad breath is the poor hygiene habits such as lack of brushing, flossing and gargling which can help eliminate daily wastes suspended inside our mouth.

Our saliva plays an important role in keeping our breath fresh. Saliva is essential to moisten the mouth, equilibrate acids thata are produced by plaque, and wash away dead cells from the tongue, gums and cheeks. But saliva alone is composed of good bacteria which can turn to bad bacteria if we do not eat or drink, or when we do not speak.

That’s why when we wake up in the morning, our mouth smells really bad.

In other cases, bad breath can be associated with other health problems including teeth and gum diseases, bronchitis, diabetes, chronic acid reflux or liver and kidney problems.

Science and Technology

SIMPLE REMEDIES

1.

Practice good oral hygiene. Brushing, flossing and gargling are some of the simple ways to prevent bad breath. Brushing your teeth and tongue surface after eating and before going to bed can help in eliminating unnecessary odors. Use of herbal mouthwash is also advisable.

2.

Drink a lot of water. Water can help your mouth moist. Eating candy and mints can help in producing saliva that will prevent you from having dry mouth or xerostomia.

3.

See a dentist regularly. Dentists can give us oral examinations and proper diagnosis if we have oral problems.

4.

Keep a log of the foods you eat and avoid the garlic family. This can help you and your dentist track down the foods you eat every day which might cause your bad breath. As what mentioned earlier, garlics and onions have a foul odor, so, as much as possible, reduce your consumption of these foods.

Filipinos are fond of talking, sharing stories and communicating but sad to say that seventy-five percent or higher in the population have bad breath. Having this can hinder good communication and relationship that may possibly lead to low self-esteem.

We do not want people avoiding to talk with us because we have a bad breath. We can only feel free to speak if we put in mind some selfdiscipline to keep our mouth fresh.

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FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

The Gold Panicles

FEATURE

How to Prepare Herbal Mouthwash

Standard quantites: 3 cups fresh leaves, seeds, or bark 2 cups rums or voodka 1 cup water

To Use: 1. Mix one tablespoon of herbal mouthwash mixture in one glass of water.

2. Gargle this concoction before breakfast and before going to bed.

7. Store for future use.

1. Wash and dry the selected leaves, seeds, or bark.

6. After two weeks

squeeze the mixture through a cheese cloth into clean, dark glass bottles.

2. Place the herbs,

seeds, or bark in a wide-mouthed jar.

VODKA

5. Shake the jar

every two to three weeks.

3. Pour Vodka or rum and water in a jar.

VODKA

4. Cover the jar tightly and store in a cool place for two weeks.

Infograph by: Axnwdei Iweyki 46 Change

F E AT U R E

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FEATURE

The Gold Panicles

A HUMBLE INSECT DISCOVERED Christine Joy Abellano

FEATURE

The Gold Panicles diria sa Philippines,” replied Sir Ian when asked as to why he chose to study stoneflies.

“I wanted them to be appreciated by people, by the community, and [let them know] how important their (stoneflies) existence is.”

And just as when Sir Ian and his team were having problems with the funding for their study, his MA adviser in MSUIIT was planning to have a collaboration with a university professor from National Taiwan National University, including a

scholarship grant covering the possible expenses for the research. “Fortunately, Prof. Chung-Ping Lin was looking for an ongoing MA student who was interested in insects so he could work with them, including nako ato,” he responded.

The Climb

Stoneflies are known to have their habitat in shallow streams and fast-flowing rivers found in mountain ranges, so it’s a necessary to climb, trek and camp in the mountain in order to collect the individual samples. With this, their team camped and stayed in the mountain, following along the Layawan River, for more than one week. The experience of no electricity, no proper shelter and having only canned goods as consumption was something Sir Ian with his team won’t ever forget.

Overcoming Difficulties

AA greater greater pursuit pursuit for for knowledge knowledge turned turned into into an an adventure. adventure.

Out

from his love for life sciences, Mr. Ian Niel B. dela Cruz, a teaching staff of the Department of Biology, Caraga State University, together with his team and the assistance from the Department of Life Science in National Taiwan Normal University, Department of Science and Technoloy, and the Department of Biological Sciences in Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, conducted a study for the description of a newly discovered aquatic stonefly (Phanoperla constanspina) found in Mt. Malindang, Oroquieta City, last November 15, 2016, and published it as an another milestone for the scientific community.

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About the Species

Why Choose Stoneflies?

Phanoperla constanspina is a new perlid freshwater stonefly endemic in the Philippines, particularly in its type of habitat: shallow streams and fast-flowing rivers in mountain ranges. Example of which is the habitat of the insect samples Mr. dela Cruz obtained, which was along the riparian area of the Layawan River, Mt. Malindang. The samples for the adults were obtained using light traps while the nymphs were found under cobbles and dead leaves. This tiny insect is generally colored brown, and has approximately 9.5 mm body length for the male adult and 12.5mm for the female. It is an Oriental species under the Class Insecta that spends most of its lifespan as a nymph, and as an adult fly for only a few weeks, and is one of the most substantial type of aquatic tiers noted for being a bio-indicator in tropical forests. Having its role as a bioindicator, the possible loss of this organism can be detrimental to our environment (Dela Cruz, Nuñeza, & Lin, 2016).

During our interview, Sir Ian elaborated that his love and interest in insect systematics and evolution drove him to choose to have his Master’s Degree study about stoneflies, since insects are the most diverse organisms found under the Kingdom Animalia and are very responsive when it comes to the changes in the environ. “It was ‘interest in first sight’,” his reply while actually referring likeness to the cliché “love at first sight”.

Another reason for deciding in focusing on the species is his concern for the lack of basic information and data about the genus Phanoperla here in the Philippines. “As I came to research about them (stoneflies), less kaayo ang [information] about nila, to the fact nga wala jud sila gistudyhan especially

The Best Part

“All were best parts, and the whole expedition itself. There were moments that you enjoyed the work and the company of others, especially with the locals. Starting from them, didto nimo sila i-orient sa role anang imohang organism sa ilang community”, Sir Ian concluded when asked of the best part of his research. “The extra activities which were not field work, I considered them as rewards.”

Reflection and Advice to Future Researchers “[As a person] I learned things from the people I worked with, and I believe that working in science, you also have to develop your socialization skills,” his answer when asked of his reflection. “As a researcher masabtan nako [ang stonefly] if I was there on the actual place. I gained not only experience but also the knowledge, and it should be shared to colleagues and other researchers.”

Since his study involved conjoining with a Taiwanese professor, the dispute between China and Philippines greatly affected his proposals and his scholarship grant. “All scientific proposals between the collaboration of Taiwan and Philippines were held pending for the whole year [of 2015].

Of course, I was also a scholar in DOST so I was obliged to graduate as soon as possible,” explaining the circumstance he underwent.

“What I did was I came to think of a backup plan, so I decided to pursue other insects, which were fireflies, since fireflies didn’t need that much equipment and excessive budget to study it,” his reply, expounding the situation.

Unfortunately, his adviser wasn’t inclined into fireflies then, letting him resolve into shifting into another adviser. Sir Ian and his team worked on fireflies for approximately 6 months and was able to have the study well, but his pending proposal and scholarship grant for the stonefly was then accepted, leading him to go back to his previous study.

Asked about what inspired him regardless of the physical and mental tests during his study and expedition, he replied, “If you really love and enjoy your work, and you actually imagine ahead on what reward ang imong makuha, with that alone, that serves as an inspiration.”

Aside from the out-of-thecivilization lifestyle, the hardest part of the collection of the samples was the mountain and the location itself. Since the Mt. Malindang holds the record as one of the highest peaks in Philippines, the trek alone was physically tiring for the team and the local Subanen guides from Oroquieta City. “We literally climbed slopes,” replied Sir Ian while recalling their moments during the expedition.

“We were 2400 meters above sea-level, where we were at one of the top peaks where it was always raining.”

“[For future researchers] I encourage them to conserve what is already there; we do not want to destroy. Ang problema man gud kay kulang ang workforce. [It is our own] Philippine diversity and yet foreign people are studying it. If you really want to pursue life science fields and biodiversity fields, you really need to help our own diversity because if no one would, who else would?”, his words of motivation to future scientists and discoverers.

With this discovery of a new stonefly species coming from Mindanao, it clearly shows that there is more to the biodiversity and the nature in the Philippine islands that has yet to discover. Hoping that they may serve as examples, Mr. Ian Niel dela Cruz along with his team, expects this as a stepping stone for future scientists that they need to venture because there is something more in our diversity.

He even recalled the time where they had to cross the Layawan River during a heavy rainfall because of a risk for a landslide from the side where they were located, and their equipment for

the sampling of the insects were too heavy to carry while traversing the treacherous water.

References: Dela Cruz, I. B., Nuñeza, O. M., & Lin, C.-P. (2016, November 15). Description of a new Oriental stonefly species, Phanoperla constantina (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Mindanao, Philippines and association of life stages using DNA barcoding. Zootaxa, 4193, 102-116. doi:10.11646/ zootaxa.4193.1.4

Keeping His Eyes on the Goal

Despite the extreme difficulty the team had to undergo for the sample collection, it was all worth it. “In my mind, I just thought ‘this is what research is all about’. Kapoy, but I knew I will be rewarded later on,” Sir Ian shared. “I really want to get data about stoneflies, because I know they are just there, waiting to be noticed.”

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THE SHIRE THE DRAGON THE HOBBIT

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A quote from the animated Disney film Brave says,

“LEGENDS ARE LESSONS FOR THEY RING WITH TRUTH.”

Dean Joshua Solis

Last

2012, a movie adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings prequel, The Hobbit, took viewers to new heights in the fantasy genre. It told the journey of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who joined Thorin Oakenshied’s company of dwarves who lost their homeland and became wanderers. The journey took viewers from plains, to rocks and hills, and to a mountain of gold guarded by a deadly fire drake. There and back again. Although the movie effects and story plot was quite astounding, some viewers missed out the values and life lessons the movie has. Here are some lessons we can learn from The Hobbit:

1. GET OUT OF YOUR SHIRE. “The world is neither in your books nor maps—it is out there.”—Gandalf

In the first parts of the book The Hobbit, it was described how The Shire, a group of hills inhabited by hobbits, was abundant in food, and how each hobbit hole served as a warm hearth to hobbits. Hobbits were also described as halflings in height to a human; they were light on their feet and lived in the comforts of the Shire. A life of adventure and struggle is something that merry making hobbits were despiteful of. Overall, life in The Shire was easy and simple that all the troubles in the world can only be found in the books piled in their libraries.

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All the comforts of home were all the hobbit named Bilbo Baggins knew until Gandalf the Gray, the wizard, paid him a visit to share about an adventure. The wizard persuaded him but as expected from a hobbit, Bilbo was hesitant and felt threatened of being dragged into something risky that he burrowed back into his hobbit hole and made away with the wizard. As the story goes, it was only upon hearing the songs of the wandering dwarves during their assembly at Bilbo’s that made him realize that journeying might not be that bad.

Though it may not seem apparent to some, Tolkien intended to symbolize the Shire as each person’s comfort zones. It is the one thing that holds back people’s sense of creativity. It is the ritual of sitting back and relaxing while watching the rest of the world getting warped into the shambles of life. The author also pointed out that comfort inspires mediocrity that if we don’t venture onto something potential, progress won’t progress.

In getting out of his Shire, Bilbo found three things that the Shire can never give.

First, he found a better life purpose.

It was when the songs of the dwarves stirred his heart. The song told of how Smaug, the dragon, usurped Erebor, stole their home and stripped them off their identity as a race.

The song inspired Bilbo to carry on with the company amidst the obstacles along the way. He carried on because he believed that completing the quest of reclaiming the dwarves’ homeland would benefit many.

He also found his courage. It wasn’t easy for anyone who’s just gotten out of his or her comfort zones such as Bilbo to adapt with the journey’s demands. He almost got eaten by trolls, crushed by stone giants, and killed

by Ghollum. The journey of the company was likened by Tolkien as being tossed out of the frying pan and into fire, and it was not a journey intended for a hobbit. Although getting through the uglies of the journey sometimes made him want to quit, Bilbo remained to carry on and made his adversities conceive his courage.

The last thing he found was himself.

At first, he never thought that he could be any greater considering that he was just a hobbit, but the more he carried on the more he discovered that there was more to him than meets the eye. He learned that he wasn’t only made to lurk in his home, but his being lightfooted and his good reasoning skills can be used to help for a better cause.

As students, our Shires may be our habits of not studying, or doing whatever it is that we are already accustomed to that keeps us from doing something out of the box.

Just like Bilbo, we need to step up our game and do away with mediocrity. In order to do this, we need to find good courage and the purpose to carry on. We also need to inculcate in our minds that getting out of our Shires is a journey of change worth taking.

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2.BEWARE OF DRAGON SICKNESS.

“...where sickness thrives, bad things will follow.”—Bilbo Baggins

The middle part of the book tells of a sickness that lies within the halls of Erebor. In the first parts of the first movie, the filmmakers showcased how gold flowed like rivers in Erebor and the discovery of the Arkenstone, a.k.a. The King’s Jewel.

The dwarf king adorned his throne with the Arkenstone and then cities began paying homage to him. He later felt that the Arkenstone gave him the right to rule. Little did he know that while he was encapsulated with that thought, his alliances with other lords, the loyalty of his kin, and his leadership as king was getting severed. The king reveled in gold and power that later summoned the dragon, Smaug, for the dragons of MiddleEarth were greedy of gold and like hoarding it for themselves. The sickness that drove the king mad and summoned the dragon was coined by Tolkien as the Dragon Sickness.

Many viewers and book readers would think that the main antagonist of the story was Smaug, but he was mainly not. The main antagonist was the Dragon Sickness. It can be seen in the third movie adaptation, when Bilbo’s company leader and heir to Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield, refused to provide for the people whom he promised aid. His greed for gold and glory grew and eventually morphed his character into that of Smaug. He then hoarded all the gold for himself and closed the doors from the people who were in need. His refusal to give the people the weath’s share caused the Battle of the Five Armies.

In real life, there are relationships that are often severed because of this sickness. When one becomes endowed with more in life and revels in it, he or she would tend to have entitlements that are not to be taken lightly. When these entitlements begin to clash with others’ life principles, relationships get severed, and the worst, it may end it.

The Hobbit teaches us to be careful with greed. In the last part of the third movie, Thorin finally learned a great lesson and said, “If more of us valued food and cheer and good song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” Tolkien reminds his readers the principle of letting loose of our grip on the things we treasure so that our hands will always be ready to help those who are in need, and that we should learn to appreciate the small things and consider the welfare of the people around us.

3. LITTLE PEOPLE CAN MAKE A GREAT CHANGE.

“Not all that glitters is gold; Not all who wander is lost...”—J.R.R. Tolkien

As explained earlier, hobbits are physically small—only half the size of humans—and Bilbo is no exception to that. It is mentioned several times in the book of how much Bilbo was homesick because journeying wasn’t his thing. Bilbo never even imagined being in a journey that would make a big impact for a race. There was a scene in the movie when Gandalf was asked why he chose the hobbit, and he answered, “It is the small things, every act of normal folk that keeps the darkness at bay”.

Most of the time in the movie, Bilbo gets doubted by his company and even his

leader, Thorin. However, every time he feels belittled and discouraged he has Gandalf by his side to inspire him to carry on, even though he wasn’t with him all the way through the journey.

Bilbo never lost heart and was able to complete his quest of helping the dwarves reclaim their homeland. He was rewarded with the company’s fair share and he didn’t return home without having the fulfillment that changed his life. He was able to prove to himself that little people can make a big impact if they change their bad habits of staying in comfort, and venture the world of great possibilities. With this, Tolkien reminds us that we should not belittle people, but instead help them become better versions of themselves.

The Hobbit, and even the other worthwhile films or books, have truths to tell.

As its audience, it is our task to find its lessons for us not just to be entertained but also to learn from them, and then we apply our learnings in our daily living.#

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STAGES OF LOSS Shaina D. Benedicto

“He will never come back. He is already gone.

He already passed away.

You can never see him again.”

I heard those words over and over again, but I always protested with a tear in my eye, rejecting acceptance.

Losing someone important is one of the inevitable tragedies of life. We experience different emotions—from denial, to anger, to melancholy, to depression, then finally, the hardest part, acceptance.

The moment when I heard my father died, I could not feel anything.

Everything became numb. Everything was gray. Everything was blurry. I said to myself, “I will not believe the news until I see him lying breathless.” But, even when I saw him breathless, denial was still whispering to my ears, trashing the reality that he was already gone.

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I built bars to my emotions because I did not want to feel the pain. I wanted to evaluate the situation and assess myself if it was really happening. There was a commotion inside me whether I should believe it or not; whether I would cry out loud or remain silent; or whether I should walk away or just stay.

The eyes, the window to our soul, could really tell a variety of emotions, and they clearly told the people around me how troubling that situation was to me.

Just to show that I accepted the situation, I pushed myself to just believe it until I fall into my own pit, which left me bruised. I was angry with the world—the people, the surroundings, even to myself.

I excluded myself to my friends. I became bitter to those complete, happy families, thinking that my family was supposed to be like that. I was terribly confused and down; I felt I could no longer stand up and face life again. Everything was scattered, and as I picked up some broken pieces of myself, I was wounded and crying.

I was like a cloud full of water.

At any time, rain would fall. There was too much sadness, pity, and guilt inside my heart. When memories of my father came rushing to me, I could not help but to cry and to feel so alone—I gave up the rain, almost drowning my wounded heart.

I thought rainbows appear after the rain, but rainbows were never meant for me that time.

I was clinically admitted as depressed. I alternately overate and underate. The food was tasteless. Sometimes I could not even tell the difference between a sugar and a salt. I woke up each day never glad that the sun was up. My room became my favorite park.

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It was a total disaster.

I even came to a point that I almost thought of quitting my life. But when I saw how my mother spent sleepless nights just to take care of me, how my relatives spent their time just to comfort me, how my friends reached out to me, I began to notice that I had closed my door and stayed alone instead of letting the sun lit upon me.

I recognized that they, too, were hurt. That time, I realized that it is not yet the end of the world.

The rain did not fall forever. It slowly stopped, and the ground started to sip the water. I began to treat myself.

I healed my mind and controlled my emotions. I started to get out of my room and discovered good changes in myself. I began to spend my time with people, tried new things, and fixed my focus on more important things.

With the help of my family, friends, and my faith to Him, the sun’s rays finally hit me.

I gradually recovered from a protracted storm. The medical and emotional recovery took months of a serious struggle of confessions and courage.

The storm showed me how to be strong and how to believe. Now I believe that He never abandons me. His counsel to “devote [myself] to prayer, being watchful and thankful” encouraged me to be grateful despite the trial. Those moments of my life were never easy, but through constant prayer, I found peace, security and comfort.

Losing a father is like losing oneself. The tragedy shattered and brought me down, but I put in mind that I still have my mother, and I still have a life to continue.

There were times that memories would visit me. All I did was to cry to the people close to me, and then I asked comfort from Him.

When the rain falls, I could still remember the pain. But now, I learn how to use the raindrops to water my endeavors in life.

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Panandaliang Kasiyahan Joy Joy Fernandez

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“Ikaw lang ang mamahalin ko wala ng iba.

Pagsisilbihan kita hanggang sa aking huling hininga.”

Ito ang linyang kalimitang pinapakawalan ng mga kalalakihan sa babaeng kanilang minamahal. Tunay na sa pakikipagrelasyon ay nararanasan natin ang kiligin, tumawa na parang wala ng bukas, ngumiti ng kaytamis, magpasensya, umintindi at magmahal ng walang sukatan.

Ngunit paano kung ang pagmamahalan na masayang sinimulan ay nagmistula na parang ulan? Huminto, nawala at naglaho nalang bigla. Paano kung ang mainit na pagmamahalan kalauna’y nagmistulang yelo? Nanlamig. Paano kung ang dating “ikaw lang at wala ng iba” ay maging “pagod na ako , ayoko na”?

May mga bagay talaga at mga pangyayari sa mundo na hinihiling natin na sana’y hindi na magwakas pa. Na sana ay panghabang buhay na. Ngunit talagang hindi natin matatakasan ang mapait na katotohanang lahat ng bagay ay talagang nagbabago. Maging man ang dalawang tao na matagal na pinaglaban ang kanilang pag iibigan ay dumarating sa puntong nagsasawa din sa isat-isa. Nagkakalabuan at nauuwi sa hiwalayan. Ito yong sinasabi ng iba na “Akala mo ay siya na, ngunit sa isang kisap mata ay mawawala lang pala”.

Tandang-tanda ko pa ang isang kwento kung saan may dalawang taong nagkakilala sa hindi inaasahang panahon at pagkakataon. Sila’y nagkatinginan at tila may kuryenteng dumaloy sa kanilang sistema. Dahil mapaglaro ang tadhana, sila’y pinagtagpong muli dala ang kani-kanilang tinatagong pagtingin sa isat-isa. Hindi nila sinayang ang pagkakataon at ipinagtapat nila ang kanilang nararamdaman. Sa napakaikling panahon ng kanilang pagsasama ay napagtanto nilang mahal na mahal nila ang isat-isa. Doon nagsimula ang sumpaang “Ikaw lang ang mamahalin ko at wala ng iba”.

Ngunit sa walong taon na pagsasama ay biglang sumalungat ang tadhana sa kanila. Katulad ng isang kandila, unti-unting nawala ang mainit na pagiibigan. Unti-unting nawala ang dating lambing, tamis at ngiti sa kanilang mga labi.

Unti-unting nanlamig na parang yelo. Ang lahat ay unti-unting nagbago. Kung kailan nagbunga na ang kanilang pagmamahalan ay saka naman sila nagsimulang magkalabuan. Sila’y nagpasyang maghiwalay.

Ang akala mong panghabang buhay na kasiyahan ay biglang naglaho ng tuluyan.

Bakit nga ba may mga bagay na umaabot sa ganito? Nagsawa na nga ba si Kupido kaya binawi na niya ang kaniyang palaso?

Hindi lang damit at larawan ang kumukupas, maaari ring ang pag-ibig na inakala mong wagas. Hindi porke’t itinadhana kayong magkita ay kayo na ang nakalaan para sa isat-isa. May mga tao talagang ipinagtagpo lang ng tadhana ngunit hindi ibig sabihin na sila na ang itinakda . Maaaring ang dahilan ng iyong ngiti ay maaari ring maging dahilan ng iyong pagluha.

Dahil lahat ng bagay ay hindi nakukuha ng madalian, dapat itong hintayin at paghirapan. Sana’y ating nabatid na ang pag-ibig ay hindi palaging masaya. Waring mas madaling umibig kaysa manatiling umibig. Ngunit kahit mabigo man ay huwag natin itong gawing balakid upang hindi ipagpatuloy ang ating buhay bagkus ito’y ating gawing aral na magdadala sa atin sa ating tunay na patutunguhan.

Nanatiling masaya, produktibo at mainit ang kanilang pagmamahalan sa kabila ng mga pag-aaway na kanilang naranasan. Sa kanilang pagsasama ay nabiyayaan sila ng mga anak. Hindi matutumbasan ng kahit anong kayamanan ang kasiyahang kanilang nararamdaman.

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Wattpad Story

Girlfriend for Hire -Yam Yam28

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WATTPAD:THE GROWING ADDICTION Marie Claire O. Virtudazo

The

outraging growth of technology in the society brought a blast of change in the life of man. The lifestyles, norms and behaviors were altered due to the transition of the trends of the modern society that change our lives forever. We are highly modernized thus allowing ourselves to be involved in the world of technology. We are keeping our track on dealing with various products and engaging with some recent development of machineries and latest trends. From generation to generation change happens every now and then.

Students mostly teenagers are the most numbered user of technology. Why? Because teens do not want to be left behind from the new trends and products that are very rampant and trending in the market.

The millennial is much exposed to a very different world compared to the previous generation. What is much observed is students are much vulnerable to the new trends of technology. They are addicted to expensive devices where they can easily download and install their favorite apps.

P AD TTP WA NE HO

Presently, the most installed apps in the gadgets of students is a free book app. WATTPAD, sounds familiar? Perhaps you encountered it several times way back in high school or visits it often in the internet and you even create an account for this app or you probably start to make your own story and updates from time to time that instantly transformed you into an author.

Wattpad is the largest online community of readers and writers in the world revolutionizing the way many writers think about stories. This application might be the biggest revolution of reading you never heard of. Students called themselves wattpadders, Wattpad Freak and Wattpad addicts. Wattpad itself can become an addiction. Trust me when I say so, I myself, am addicted to it.

One time I asked my boardmate, “Why are you addicted to wattpad?” She said, “I just want it, it makes me feel inlove”.

Because wattpad is entirely free for all the users they have freedom to choose the

genre they like. It is like a modernized novel.

It revolutionized the relationship between the authors and readers. It has been called as the “YouTube of Writing” because it enables people to share their works to the world.

From time to time they gain access for this application through their smartphones, ipads or even mobile phones through EBook.

Filipinos are the second biggest user of the world’s online reading and storytelling platform, WATTPAD. Around 7 million Filipinos visit wattpad every month and surely your one of them. What are they doing all those time? Well reading for most of the time.

It gives excitement for students who have interest in books because one can search different genre they like to read (Science fiction, humor, romance). Because it is a digital site that become the most visited place for the young writer who likes to write and for the young reader who likes to read.

I have observed in our campus, students often visit Wattpad in the ICT or even with their laptop and accessing in the internet to read online stories they are following on.

And better yet- it has an app. They even claim to be a fan of their favorite author. One time I saw one student typing her own story in Wattpad maybe because of the influenced and inspirations from her favorite author.

Wattpad enhances the imaginations of students to create literary pieces as a product of their wild imagination.

I greatly observed it during our class. My classmate keeps on holding her phone even though she is not texting but reading an EBook. There goes the craziness of the reader admiring a character in the story. Addiction for it usually follows and too viral.

Several times I heard students who keep on telling the flow of the story they read with their co-peer. They even develop a feeling of affection and passion towards the fictional character they liked and felt happy when their favorite author replied to their messages. I also heard a student in the student center reading out loud the story lines from “Diary ng Panget” which poised to be the Philippines best-selling

book. Mostly students gravitate towards fan fiction especially when the portrayer of the character is their favorite TV love team or KPop idols.

It certainly brings addiction into the picture, if it had hindered you in your daily activities, you might want to reflect and follow a guideline to help you get back on track with your life.

Limit the time you spend on Wattpad.

If you constantly use it whenever you are online (it’s even more difficult to limit yourself when you have the app), train yourself to only use it for an hour. Time yourself so you keep on track. An easier way would be to read maybe only 5 chapters of one story a day.

Be productive with other things. I do think reading is productive, but not excessive reading. You need to focus on other things as well.

Remember to live your life. Reading novels is great! So, does encouraging the aspiring writers by enjoying their story and telling them so. But still, when you are sitting in a chair for hours on end, consuming that novel, you are missing out on things.

Take some time to study (if you have exams coming up). Why not channel out your reading skills to something worthwhile and you might just ace that exam!

I used to be just like you. I was addicted to reading novels all day. Until I finally realized that I could have done so many other things.

I would encourage you to keep reading (but within a limit) and go out as often as you can and experience the world. After all, you are in charge of your life, you can do anything you want but also be mindful of its consequences.

Illustation by: John Anunciado Vectored by: Axnwdei Iweyki 58 Change

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Willpower vs Resistance - Kurtnhy Love Maderal

Kurtnhy Love Maderal

At

some point, there comes a crucial moment when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you just can’t keep living the way you’ve been living.

Change is hard at the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and beautiful at the end.

Kick old habits, start doing something new, become healthier, eat better, exercise more, work less, or spend more quality time with our families. Whatever it is that we commit to start or stop doing, it’s a personal promise that we make to ourselves to change.

But change is hard.

Knowing the ‘why’ would take us to a better view in understanding what makes change different and using that knowledge to make it possible.

Humans’ lives as homeostatic systems

Change is often for the best, but if you’ve been doing the same thing day in and day out for years and it (sort of) works, you’ll be resistant to learning something new.

It will take awareness, focus, commitment, conscious effort, the right mind set and perhaps a considerable time investment too.

Every attempt to change a behavior or start a new one is a battle of willpower vs. resistance

Take it easy

Small steps are precise, not weak.

This idea that we should have impressive goals is widespread. The stigma with small goals is that they’re a sign of weakness—it’s a hard notion to shake even when you know the truth. The (incorrect) assumption that causes this stigma is that a person sets goals at or near his or her maximum ability. If you believe this, you’ll set big goals because you want to be able to reach them. People who use small steps understand resistance, limited willpower, and know that all big accomplishments have a first step. The guy who does 100 push-ups has to start with one push-up. When you take away the burden of action that comes from lofty goals, you can move ahead easily. Small steps require little to no willpower, and having a strategy that requires little to no willpower means that you should be able to win the resistance battle every time.

Have rituals

Create new habits that destroy destructive habits of behavior and thought.

Rituals such as drinking a liter of water or a cold shower immediately on getting up are things that you need to build. If you like studying first thing in the morning, put yourself in such a state of mind that you would do it effortlessly. If you want to go for a jog at 6 AM, set your alarm for 5.30. And before you sleep, keep all the things that you require, including jogging clothes ready so that no obstacle can thwart your efforts to exercise. Simple.

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An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an external force acts upon it.

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An object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless an external force acts upon it.

Life is largely determined by what direction we move. If we can move in the ideal direction most of the time, then we’ll have a great chance of continuing to do ideal things most of the time. If we move in the wrong direction frequently, we’ll constantly need to put on the brakes and then try to move in a positive direction. If the latter sounds like you, it’s because your subconscious mind habitually starts you off in the wrong direction, and then you have to fight to redirect yourself all the time. It’s tough.

It’s helpful to look at the behavior you are trying to change and break it out into bite sized pieces. This will serve two purposes: it will give you more insight into the behavior itself; and it will break out the problem into sensible small steps for you to tackle.

Life’s Law of motion

This name is based on Isaac Newton’s laws of motion because it’s the same concept, but applies to all of life instead of just the physics of motion. Here’s the gist of Newton’s first law of motion (from Wikipedia):

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Illustration by: Carlo Collantes

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Five Things You Need to Know about Body Fat Dean Joshua Solis

Have you ever been on a diet in which you reduce the amount of fat you take? Or have you been over working yourself through workouts that apparently are not that effective enough to reduce body weight? All these queries lead to one thing in particular, and that is not getting to know well your body fats.

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The more good fat you take the more bad fat you lose.

Fast-food chains have made our meal instant and have served us with meals with high trans fat. Trans fat food are those food that have been hydrogenated to prevent rancidity. This type of bad fat is found on food that are very much imbued with so much preservative and seasoning making it more appealing to consumers.

These trans fat food exposes the body to harmful diseases caused by high cholesterol in the bloodstream and reduces the amount of good cholesterol.

Diseases generated by trans fat include: Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions.

Below are things you need to know about body fats.

01

Fat supplies the hormones we need.

Fat is an essential part of the body health.

Most people don’t really know much about fats that they generalize it into making a person obese. Luckily for fats, nutritionists deem some fats to be good fats. These are the types of fats that don’t only store calories, but help regulate and supply hormones the body needs. These good fats are responsible for maintaining a better metabolism; regulate our appetites, reproductive organs, cell and tissues, and immune system. Overall, it’s good fat that holds our body together.

02

Bad fat is what causes you to get sick.

Fast-food chains have made our meal instant and have served us with meals with high trans fat. Trans fat food are those food that have been hydrogenated to prevent rancidity. This type of bad fat is found on food that are very much imbued with so much preservative and seasoning making it more appealing to consumers.

These trans fat food exposes the body to harmful diseases caused by high cholesterol in the bloodstream and reduces the amount of good cholesterol.

Diseases generated by trans fat include: Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions.

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04

Good fat increases metabolism.

Leptin as mentioned earlier is a hormone produced by good fat. Leptin allows the muscles to function optimally. With less Leptin in a workout, the metabolism is reduced, and it causes you to more likely regain the bad fat you’ve burnt.

In order to keep at pace with your workout, take food containing good fats such as the Garcinia Cambogia extract by Dr. Oz. This supplement will help boost metabolism in no time for it produces an adequate amount of Leptin the body needs.

05

It’s not food binging that makes us fat.

It’s over-consumption of fatty food that makes us fatty. Right? Wrong. It is the type of fatty food and food in general that makes us fat. Although over eating help us gain weight, the fat we intake have other ways in helping our bodies grow.

Without knowledge of the fats that you eat, you will be gaining the same amount of weight. However, if you start knowing the characteristics of these fats, there is an assurance that you’re growth will not be the same. It will give you better results.

Although, a strict diet and regular exercise is a must in weight loss, it is very important not to overlook the contents of the food we eat. Getting to know well the fats the body needs will empower you in losing weight without missing out.

Vectored by: Jeff Grief Dawis

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Are you a THERMOMETER or a THERMOSTAT? Kurtnhy Love Maderal

THEY

say that college life is all about jumping on the bandwagon. There is always the need to fit in with the crowd and to get attracted to some popular taste, activity, and whatnot. But what if we are put in a situation where we are supposed to do something which we know is a misguided social protocol? To what extent do we have to follow what pleases the majority? When is it better to walk alone than to be with a crowd walking in the wrong direction?

a problem. That’s how thermometers react.

They know what is going on and they take part in it, regardless whether the act is good or bad, as long as they yield to the will of the majority. Thermostats do otherwise.

They change people’s expectations. They have different perspective. They find a solution to the problem. They rally over challenges. They do not get impacted by their surroundings; they change them, instead.

There’s a modern metaphorical representation distinguishing two types of people poeticized in the disparate functions of thermometer and thermostat.

In philosophy, we are taught that there are three spiritual gifts endowed to us when we are born. We are given the gift of knowledge or the ability to recognize the things around us. Higher than knowledge is the gift of wisdom, which is the ability to distinguish between good and bad. Highest of all is the gift of discernment, which is the ability to do what is good.

Do you know the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat?

On one hand, a thermometer reads and registers the temperature in a room. It can tell you the exact temperature of the room as to how hot or cold it is. On the other hand, a thermostat regulates the temperature. Instead of just reading what the temperature is, it can control the temperature by making small adjustments to the room’s temperature. Thermometers tell the temperature, whereas thermostats regulate it.

Bad news: You are not going to fit in with everyone.

Good news: Great ones never do.

Illustation by: John Anunciado Vectored by: Axnwdei Iweyki

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Essentially, there are two types of people: those who are like thermometers and those who are like thermostats. Are you a thermostat or a thermometer? Do you merely reflect the environment or do you change it?

One of the most valuable lessons I learned being a student leader is to be a thermostat, not a thermometer, in coping with every difficult situation, like resisting the temptation of cheating when everyone else in my class is doing it. As a thermometer, it is very easy to tell what is going on, that there is a problem. Anyone can see that it is

When there’s a need to fit in, we tend to do a great deal of assimilation in order to get the social validation we need.

Fitting in involves assessing situations and groups of people, then twisting ourselves into a human pretzel just to get them to like us. Little do we know that we are actually already spending a significant amount of energy trying to fit in and worrying about what others think about us.

thermometer, the ability to gauge and regulate our inner world with the outer surroundings can be the best choice in any extreme climate.

Again, a “thermostat” changes the climate by regulating it, whereas “thermometers” are changed by the climate.

Finding the courage to know our innermost feelings and following them instead of others is a primal human need. In exercising free will to do what we desire, as long as we are not hurting ourselves or others, we become more centered and balanced.

We have to build our internal thermostat. With it, we can even possibly change some misguided beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes by rewiring our mind with the fundamental essence of morality and humanity—one which is not yet hijacked by any social constructs like cultural mores or religions and whatnot.

It’s always a choice to make: will you be a catalyst?

Just always remember: to change yourself for others is to lie to yourself.

This kind of a deal is quite stressful. Whenever we are not being true to ourselves, we are actually creating a disharmony in our life which will gradually fester and sap the joy of living. Life is so wonderful and is too short to waste it pretending around with the wrong people.

Our happiness and self-worth should not be entirely dependent on the approval of others.

In some instances where we have to choose between being a thermostat or

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Willpower isn’t the way into addiction, but it is part of the way out of addiction.

Why is it Hard to Quit?

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FEATURE

Kurtnhy Love Maderal

We

live in the age of addiction. It is a time of unbridled desire and reckless overconsumption. Addicts seem to be everywhere.

A pubescent boy discovering himself gets hooked in pornography. A teenage girl is limiting her food intake and exercising multiple times per day.

A father is frequenting strip clubs and meeting women in hotels while his family wonders why he is never home.

A homeless beggar sniffing aerosol fumes in a plastic bag. A college boy smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, the notorious addiction towards drugs, and the list goes on. This is the addiction that we talk about at the dinner table and whisper about in the school campus. It is the overt and identified kind. We express our strong opinions about it and in some cases, try to help.

These are the addicts on display. These are the ones we know.

You see, the mind is a sneaky thing that loves to play tricks on its owner. This is the case for most normal people. Then we take the mind of a normal person, tilt a funnel into their ear and dump alcoholic thinking in there. Then give it a few good shakes and VOILA- you have a recipe for disaster. Of course, this disaster can be tamed, not beaten, but tamed.

However, this cultivation process is one that won’t work simply from willpower and a want. There are steps and things that must be done to maintain sanity in the realm of recovery.

About addiction being a disease

By now, the research is clear: Addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a matter of willpower. This means that, contrary to old stereotypes, people who become addicted to drugs or alcohol are not weak, immoral or tragically flawed.

Addicts start getting better when they take responsibility for their own sobriety. If someone pushed you down into the mud, it’s not your fault you’re lying face down in a pile of sludge. But if you continue lying there after they walk away, believing that you’re helpless to change the situation, you’ll be in that mud a long time. The same is true with addiction. It’s not your fault that you have this disease, but it is your responsibility to manage the cards you’ve been dealt and to take steps to improve your life.

Because the body and the mind become dependent on the feelings that drugs and alcohol produce, drug abuse is much more than just a bad habit; rather, it is a disease. Repeated substance abuse can significantly alter the way a person’s brain looks and functions, so it is vital to understand that addiction is a disease that requires treatment. In other words, addiction needs more than willpower to die.

The paradox of surrender and willingness

Although the American Medical Association categorizes addiction as a disease, many people still believe addiction is a matter of willpower or morality. The fact is, no amount of willpower will ever arrest the cycle of addiction. Furthermore, addicts are not “bad” people. Addicts are sick people. In no uncertain terms, addiction is a brain disease that must be treated with recovery. As anyone who has tried to strong-arm themselves into recovery knows, willpower alone is rarely enough to overcome addiction. Most addicts, at some point, want to quit. They cut ties with drugabusing friends, they get rid of their stash of drugs, they make heartfelt promises to their loved ones—and, without the appropriate supports in place, many promptly return to their old ways. This pattern is common no matter how strong the addict’s will have been in the past or how intelligent, disciplined or hard-working they are.

Willpower isn’t the way into addiction, but it is part of the way out of addiction.

Of course, willpower is just part of the puzzle. Just as someone with diabetes requires medication and lifestyle changes to successfully manage their disease, you will need new coping skills, a support system, education about the disease of addiction and new routines in order to stay clean and sober for life.

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CAESAR IS NOT ABOVE GRAMMAR Kurtnhy Love Maderal

T

here was one occasion during the reign of the Roman emperor, Tiberius, when the emperor made a verbal slip and was told by a grammarian that the word was not a good Latin. A courtier interjected that the word would be a good Latin in the future because the emperor had uttered it. The grammarian rebuked him with the famous phrase, “Caesar can make men citizens, but not words”. From this comes the saying, “Caesar is not above grammar”.

This section does not mean to disparage anyone. However, is it not the idea that in an institution of higher learning, grammar in English is apropos?

Here are some common misused English expressions that make smart people look silly. You can hear them from your seatmates and instructors alike, almost in a daily basis.

• irregardless. The correct expression is regardless. The suffix –less denotes the negation. To add another negating prefix –ir makes the expression a double negative.

• not unless. The prefix –un already means not. It’s another case of double negation.

• like for example (or let’s say for example). This is a case of redundancy.

One should only say, either like or for example.

• cope up. Some verbs require specific prepositions or adverbs. When used as an intransitive verb, cope means to deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties, and it must always be used with with. For example: “Our instructor is learning to cope with the demands of her schedule”. Still, some people are quite thrown off to say cope up with.

These abominable mistakes happen in the academe simply because “scholars” have grown to become less scholarly. Worse, others turned themselves into jejemons (those who have distinctive way of typing electronic messages by using superfluous punctuations and too much use of w’s and changing letters with numbers). Imagine yourself chatting with these people.

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Sure, we are a nation with English speakers. But, which English are we talking about here? Is it the good English or the bad English?

The deterioration of English proficiency in the academe has been a national issue for quite a while already.

You can read it from the articles online.

Some articles have put the blame on the bad teachers or the poor education and the constantly changing academic policies in the country. Some have pointed their fingers on mass media. It could be the widespread effect of television shows and the internet which glorify unscholarly things like beauty pageants and dribbling balls.

Instead of elevating scholars and teachers, society is only applauding actors and athletes. Nobody knows Tesla (do you?), but everybody knows Manny Pacquiao, so to speak.

Upon reading this, you might even feel like sounding off the idea that English is a language and is not a measure of intelligence. This was once a trending meme on Facebook. I say, it’s highly definitional, but to caption the obvious is just flimsy. There are so many ways to debunk such nonsense. Some factoids are far more interesting.

In the Philippine context, English is the medium of academic instruction like mathematics is the language of science.

There is no other way. We call our institution a university upholding competence. We have to live up to it and be accurate. There should only be one language to unite us all and that’s the good English.

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Artist Nook

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Artist Nook

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Artist Nook

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Artist: John Anunciado Raphael Antonio Carlo Collantes Jeff Grief Dawis Jay Lord Torres Ebrahim Maicom Rally Jay Naife Rey Bade

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The Lego Movie Franchise is a 3D computer-animated adventure comedy movie series that started last 2014 with its first movie, The Lego Movie. Every movie is based on the famous Lego toys that kids enjoy to play with.

The Lego Movie 2014 The evil Lord Business finds a super weapon called “Kragle” and plans to use it to dominate the Lego World. A wizard, Vitruvius, tried to take the weapon away from the evil lord but failed because he was blinded by Business’ robots.

Right before Business got away with the weapon, the wizard predicted that “The Special” will find the Piece of Resistance, a brick that will stop the weapon.

More than eight years later, Emmett Brickowski, a construction worker, meets a woman named Wyldstyle looking for something in his construction site. He searches together with her, and ends up falling in a hole and finding the Piece of Resistance. He touched the piece, and Emmett gets visions and passes out. He then wakes up, finding himself under the custody of Bad Cop, Business’ lieutenant. Wyldstyle rescues him, and tell him that he should come with him to see Vitruvius to the Old West, thinking that Emmett is “The Special”. This is where Emmett’s adventure to seek his true self begins.

The Lego Batman Movie 2017

Batman, who continues saving Gotham City, came across Joker during his last mission to stop destroying the city.

He spoke harshly to his arch-rival then, saying that Joker is not as important in his as he thinks he is, causing the Joker plan out an ultimate-revenge plot against the hero. Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter-ego, attends the city’s winter gala the next day, in which the city celebrated the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and his daughter, Barbara, rise to take his post as the new police commissioner. Barbara has set new rules and announced that she will change the police system to show that their forces do not need the help of vigilantes like Batman. In the middle of the speech, Joker appears out of nowhere together with the city’s other villains and surrender, except for Harley Quinn, who escaped out of confusion.

Suspecting that Joker’s surrender was connected to an evil plan, Batman plots to steal Superman’s Phantom Zone Projector, which was a device that banishes anyone into the Phantom Zone that serves the prison for the notorious villains and criminals in the Lego multiverse. Because of this, Barbara’s anger spiked, and she decides to lock them up.

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The Lego Ninjago Movie 2017

A boy ends up inside an old relic store, and meets the mysterious owner Mr. Liu, who tells him the legend of Ninjago. As what the owner narrated, Ninjago is a city that was frequently attacked by the evil Lord Garmadon, which was the father of Lloyd Garmadon and husband of Koko. Because of his father’s acts, Lloyd was hated by the city, which causes emotional stress to him. Despite being condemned by his people, Lloyd is still dedicated to protect the city from Garmadon, that is why is a member of a secret ninja force consisting of Nya, Zane, Jay, Cole, Kai and their master named Master Wu.

On Lloyd’s birthday, Garmadon comeback again to the city for another attack but ends up being defeated. He then escapes and removes his generals from his army for failing in the attack. He eventually plans out a big attack to conquer Ninjago using a giant mech that is immune to weapons.