TOLENTINESTAR
FIRST SEMESTER A.Y. 2014 LXIX No.4
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL - RECOLETOS MEMBER, COLLEGE EDITORS GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES
TRUTH AS IT HAPPENS
KDISASTROUS? to 12: UNO-R prepares for K to 12's surge
photo by CHRISTELLE VILLARUZ
by JOHN LESTER ALMOSA
"A tsunami will be coming in the 2016."
OF BEATS AND TWISTS. Luisa Medel National High School majorettes pose with confidence as they clinched this year’s Drum and Bugle Competition Championship title.
UNO-R LitMus champs proceed to NOPSSCEA by Neska Centina and Alyssa Marie Arceño
Showing their different skills and talents, different college students from each department clashed in the Intercollegiate Literary-Musical Competition held at the University Main Lobby during the U-Week celebration, Sept. 11. This year’s LitMus adhered to the NOPSSCEA theme in order to give the winners ample time to prepare for the said contest. The whole day activity kicked off with a series of events in the English category. This includes Oration which was dominated by Artian Eden Thea Aboso
Faculty Performance Appraisal goes online by Danielle Francis Olsen
FACULTY PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL/2
Christopher Weber wowed the audience with their rendition of Jessa Zaragoza’s Bakit Pa in Vocal Duet. Meanwhile, Group MTV and MTV Live defending champion COED didn’t make it to the runners-up with CIT’s Jet Lag for Group MTV and Beyoncéinspired performance from CAS for MTV live as champions. CEN pulled a winning lock-andpop performance, toppling defending champion CB&A down to third place in the Hip-hop competition. “Having seen the performances of our winners, I think we are all very ready for the NOPSSCEA,” LitMus chairman, Dr. Ma. Elena Doruelo said. The winners for the said events will represent the University in the upcoming NOPSSCEA Literary-Musical Contest which will take place sometime in November. “We aligned this year’s LitMus to the NOPSSCEA’s theme because we are preparing for another level. We will not only be preparing for the University Week talent and skills edition but also for the next level which is the NOPSSCEA . We have to be ready for this said competition,” said Doruelo.
REED Dept officially ends Catholic Faith Festival by Maegan Fruto
After a two-day celebration of the Catholic faith, the University Religious Education (REED) Department officially concluded the Catholic Faith Festival 2014 at the University Gymnasium, Sept. 26. The Festival was officially bannered “Enhancing UNO-R Catholic Culture in the Year of the Laity”, stressing the strengthening of faith and showcasing talents of UNO-Rians. “This is one way of glorifying God,” REED Days Chairman, Dennis Madrigal said. Throughout the history of UNO-R, the Festival was the first time for the REED Department to hold and organize a culminating activity of faith and Catholic way of life. An enthronement of the University’s patron saints was done at the earlier part of the afternoon, with each saint
assigned to different colleges: Our Lady of Consolation (CBA), St. Augustine (CAS), St. Ezekiel Moreno (COEd), St. Thomas of Villanova (CIT), St. Michael the Archangel (CCJE), St. Elizabeth of Hungary (CNAHS), meanwhile, Niño was carried by the ReEd teachers, respectively. A cultural show giving tribute to Filipino resiliency and faith in God highlighted the afternoon. The faculty, staff, and students danced with the rhythm and jive of the different festivals in the province: REED and Campus Ministry, Sinulog Festival; Engineering students under Ms. Mary Jane Eranista, Pinta Flores Festival; students of Ms. Leah Garbanzos danced and interpreted the seven days of creation through their modified Masskara Festival; Mr. Dennis Madrigal’s students, Pasalamat REED DEPT OFFICIALLY/2
UNO-R PREPARES FOR/5
Mabugat tops MTLE; UNO-R is 8th top performing medtech school by NESKA CENTINA
“We are UNO-R and we are number one!” This was Patrick Joseph Amunategui Mabugat’s introduction after his aim of making a name for the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos was realized having topped the Medical Technology Licensure Examination conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission on Sept. 13-14. Mabugat scored 90.90 percent and brought home the honor and pride of being the number one among the successful 2,986 out of 3,615 Medical Technology examinees. “This should be a signal to them [Manila schools] that we are coming MABUGAT TOPS MTLE/5
photo by ALEJO ANTONIO MONDEJAR
To make the faculty performance evaluation faster, more accurate, and more efficient, the Research Planning and Development Office (RPDO) launched the Online Faculty Performance Appraisal (OFPA) program during the University Week celebration. Faculty evaluation is conducted every semester to assess the faculty performance of the teachers and is a way for students to inform the University Administration of their level of satifaction of their teachers’ performance. Instead of the manual method of evaluation, as used in the previous years, the RPDO went online for the first time, utilizing the students’ UIS accounts. “One problem with the manual evaluation is the delayed submission of the accomplished forms by some of the college departments, which also caused a delay in releasing the results, so it came as an idea that it would be better if we would go online,” said Angie Tijing, RPDO Staff. In line with this, the Saint Ezekiel Moreno Laboratories 2 and 4 were used to accommodate students who would evaluate their teachers
proving to the crowd her oratory skill and proficiency; expressing her cleverness, Raxel Ann Gonzales outwitted other participants in the Impromptu speaking contest; CAS’ Riza Mae Tambis bested her rivals in her Maleficent inspired Character Impersonation. In the afternoon, the events were a showcase of literary skills expressed in the native tongue, Filipino. The events included Talumpati where CAS bet John Kaye Delostrico delivered his piece with his fluency in the Filipino language, fellow Artian John Dale Salazar also stood out with his gestures and facial expressions in Binalaybay while CNMP’s sophomore, Michelle Marie Panzo convinced the crowd with her stand on the K-12 issue in the Impromptu Filipino. On the other hand, students staged their vocal and dancing prowess in the Musical event in the latter part of the day. Proving their musical worth, the CNAHS dominated the Kundiman category; on the other hand, CB&A was hailed as the best in the Vocal Solo category. CNAHS’s Eira Mae Goopio and Karl
This was how University President Fr. Emeterio Buñao, OAR, put his view regarding the anticipated tremendous impact of the approved Enhanced K to 12 Basic Education Program. As he expressed his contentions of the program, Fr. Buñao stressed the threats the program poses to every tertiary educational institution and the possible deaths it brings to some of the private schools. This came following the implementation of the said program, which adds another two years (Senior High School) to the previous 10-year basic education system to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills that would prepare students for higher education. This will result to a two-year [2016 and 2017] drop in college enrollees, alarming the University and prompting it to draw strategic plans and devise alternatives in order to stay afloat. Anticipating a 30 to 40 percent drop in enrolment and 40 to 50 percent decrease in revenues by 2016 and 2017, the University prepares to strategically position itself and find ways to continue its operations. “We are looking at the 2016 school year, and we knew that way ahead of time even two years ago when there was already a kind of government approval that the program is going to be carried out with two years additional in high school,” Fr. Buñao said. He also added that the University is tying up with all the Recollect schools in the country as part of the Recollect-wide preparation for the possible impact the K to 12 program will create. Meanwhile, the University has created several working committees that gear towards creating synchronized positioning and drafting strategies and plans to prevent the massive effect of this government move. The University looks at the idea of rechanneling its personnel as one of the strategies that could combat the threats posed by the new education program when it takes effect on 2016. This form of retrenchment would allow extra college professors to take loads and teach in the University’s High School Department for grades 11 and 12, allowing the institution to cut costs and give hopes to the members of the academe to continue
living their passion. The University also plans to widen its High School Department’s capacity to cope with the possible loss of revenue as a result of decrease in college enrollees. “There is the idea of offsetting, what we lose in college, we will gain in Grades 11 and 12,” Fr. Bunao said. “If we lose 2,000 students in college, we’ll try to bring in two thousand students in Grades 11 and 12,” he explained. He also added that the University is drafting a Memorandum of Agreement with schools who will not open Senior High School to send their products to the University, serving as its secondary clients. On the other hand, the University is
KINDLING FAITH. Mr. and Ms. UNO-R 2014 Riljun Mayagama and Peah Angelica Diamante lead UNO-Rians in lighting the candles to symbolize their burning Catholic faith.
TOLENTINE STAR IS THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL - RECOLETOS