The BEACON Newsletter September 2019

The Beacon Publications Newsletter

September 2019

B E S A F E LY F R U I T F U L A N D R E S P O N S I B LY M U LT I P LY

By Jo hn Fabi an and K r i sti an Ke n M abal o t

PHOTOCOURTESY OF MARICAR SANTOS

TABLE OF CONTENTS Be Safely Fruitful and Responsibly Multiply

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Rizal Monument, a gift for PH 121st Independence - 3 Autopsy Report: Clubs and Organizations 1 The Beacon Publications

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The vicar of Christ in the Philippines, Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has called out the Filipino parents to be critical and open in educating their children about sex, especially in the periods of hormonal surges.

In an event “Dialogue with the Youth” held last June 23, 2019, the cardinal pointed out that parents have the main responsibility of teaching their children the right conduct that is grounded on morality and responsibility. He also insinuated that in the absence of such parents’ capabilities, the presence of other relatives, like grandparents, uncles, aunts should take their place in helping to guide the children.

According to him, when such education lacks, reckless and rushed sexual activities give rise to problems relating to teenage pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Cardinal Tagle blamed the status quo of irresponsible teenage sex to the failure of some parents to inform their children especially on the issue of sexuality and sex. The problem here is clear; the parents’ shortcomings of teaching their children of the birds and the bees.

Sex education, or “sex ed,” has always been a hot-button issue among conservative parents. The act of engaging into conversation on the realities of sex education has long been a source of anxiety for families, especially those who cater themselves to strong religious beliefs, leading to a vacuum of extreme conservatism of essential issues that must be talked about in today’s society. If this extreme

conservatism continues at this rate, this will prevent the needed sex education of parents to their children, leading the youth to learn about the birds and bees from another medium. The medium involved is not limited to friends – it can also be referred to the media, the Internet, and pornography. These do not directly tackle the topic of sex education at heart – but are outlets of other people in the actual engagement of sexual intercourse and related activities.

In essence, these do not seem to be promising in respect to effectivity. According to Cardinal Tagle, without the said guidance, children tend to look to rely on incomplete and ineffective information on mass media about the sensitive topic leading to poor choices.

So why just now? Christianity has a historically negative view about sex. When it came to sex, Christianity, like other morally-driven-book-based religion, decisively saw the primary purpose of sex to be a procreative activity of responsible nature rather than being focused on the enjoyment and pleasure.

Combine that with the fact that a major part of the Filipino culture is to be conservative with one’s actions and body. For these reasons, the topic of sex has since become a taboo in a common Filipino household, with people subscribing to the idea that it is better for the youth to discover sex education themselves through other means.

More than 80% of Filipinos are Catholic. But nonetheless, the Catholic Church sees that the parents are the answers in resolving the spread of sexual ignorance. Senior Church leaders believe the task of telling children about sex and relationships should be up to the parents because it is their responsibility, as procreators themselves, to educate their children on how to safely and responsibly procreate. Parents should be the primary sex educators of their teens. Regardless of religion, what the world says, or how a person sees sex, teenage sexual activity is a controversial issue; it is not healthy for teens to be having sex. All the more, this points out that our youth necessitates sex education sourced from their parents.

Sex education outside home should be in addition to, and not in place of, sex education at home. Parents that begin sex education early on and focusing on what is most appropriate, seemed to be the best way in teaching these kids. Keeping a constant parent-child open dialogue is a key to staying in charge of what they are learning. Cardinal Tagle’s words hold true – it is without a doubt that in today’s reality of issues and predicaments that are caused by teenage irresponsibility, it is the task of parents and guardians to educate on sex education to their offspring.

At the end of the day, when parents take responsibility of teaching responsibility, then those children may also act responsibly.

PHOTOCOURTESY OF MARICAR SANTOS

PHOTOCOURTESY OF MARICAR SANTOS The Beacon Publications 2

PHOTOCOURTESY OF BIN KON LOO

Rizal Monument, a gift for PH 121st Independence

By Fa dzrat i A sa r u d

In celebration of the 121st Philippine

The project, first announced in 2016,

Independence day, a life-size monument of

was spearheaded by the former Councilor Alex

Dr. Jose Rizal has been unveiled in the Luneta

Chiu as part of his master plan of putting his

Gardens, Markham City, Ontario, Canada. The

homeland on the map in Canada. For this dream

installation of the six feet tall cold cast bronze

project, they commissioned a famed Filipino

monument was made possible by the partnership

sculptor who is also a resident in Markham.

between the Filipino Canadian Community of

Mogi Mogado designed the monument that was

Markham and the city government.

mounted on a seven feet granite pedestal.

Mayor Frank Scarpitti, an avid Rizalist,

graced

the

Filipino

who

event

to

honor

championed

multiculturalism,

the

social

democracy,

greatest cohesion,

equality,

and

universal brotherhood. According to him, these qualities are reflective of the characters that Canadians possess - welcoming and inclusive.

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The monument is strategically installed

close to the Rizal Avenue and is part of the beautification

and

public

art

portfolio

of

Markham City, together with the entire Luneta Gardens.

Autopsy Report: Cl ub s a nd O r ga niz a t ions B y Z a c h a re e M asa ma yo r a n d Pa u la A lexis A n d o

Here lies a student organization that was once active and booming. Cause of death: Lack of financial resources, support from members and officers, and interest for the said organization. Does your organization have this tombstone too?

As students, we have our own set of struggles. Of course, academics will never leave the list, having such as the primary concern of one’s college life. In the midst of voluminous requirements, an escapade from them is very much needed. Fortunately, organizations exist to give us solace in the company of like-minded students, may it be freshmen or seniors. These clubs also give opportunities for us to grow holistically, forming us in ways the conventional classroom setup could not. However, just as students have struggles, so do organizations - the struggle to survive. We sat down with Ms. Sitti Fatima Paula Chua, the Program Officer of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) to find out more about the struggles of organizations.

This school year, there are 34 accredited organizations by the OSA. These are the ones who made their noise during the Orientation Seminar and Recruitment week – handling flyers, freebies, all in the efforts of making them known to students. Though, being known is just one of the many hurdles an organization has to face. Recruiting new members is not as easy as it is thought to be, considering the spectrum of interest of each individual. Not everyone who visits a booth actually signs up.

Another setback, according to Ms. Chua is the insufficiency of new ideas or programs to conduct.

An organization is not just made to exist, unfortunately, that’s the reality for some. It is evident that there is a difficulty of mobilizing activities either because there is not enough brainstorming or if there is, the next thing one has to stress about are the resources (especially financial), and labor.

Just thinking about these struggles makes one not want to reaccredit one’s club for the next school year. Having to comply with the requirements - from the constitution and by-laws, calendar of activities, accomplishment and financial reports, organization logo, to the list of officers is such a tedious task. You might ask yourself where the supposed solace from being part of an organization is now. Sadly, there are clubs that did not re-accredit themselves this school year.

With everything said and done, Ms. Chua has two points that each struggling club should ponder on. First, she advised to “go back to your why.” Indeed, it is vital to reassess the drive of the club’s existence. Be filled with the same passion and motivation that one had back in the days. Second, one should benchmark with other organizations in and out of the university. Collating ideas based from the performances of other active organizations opens the door for far better strategies that can be applied for the growth of one’s own.

Author’s note: We have been discouraged from revealing the identities of the struggling or unaccredited organizations to avoid negative feedback from their members and/or moderators.

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