Feature

4 Feature

The Marikina Chronicles

July 9, 2021

Students Behind the Screens and Papers

Filipino students marching down the streets with placards saying “Academic Break Now!” and “No Student Left Behind” while following safety health protocols. A ton of trending hashtags spreading through different social media platforms as they spread awareness and their thoughts and opinions about the catastrophe that is going around. The Filipino students calling out to the officials that are seated at higher places for help in schooling during the COVID-19 crisis but no one answers as if they were loudly screaming in silence. As all students are not the same, everybody has to adapt to the new normal schooling such as online and modular learning.

During the midst of the pandemic in the Philippines, online and modular classes were pushed and promoted in different grade levels, in both public and private schools. As this has been approved, students

have been expressing dissatisfaction

by: Julia Funtalva

with the given fclasses and looding school works and requirements. Learners have been calling for the approval of academic freeze or cancellation of schooling during the COVID-19 fiasco.

A lot of things happened to various students for the sake of passing requirements. A 20- yearold criminology student from the province of Capiz was found dead in a motorcycle accident while she was on her way looking for a stable internet connection just to submit her finished report online to her teacher. Another 20-yearold student in Burias Island, Masbate climbed a mountain as she was also looking for a good connection to submit her school works. "I am just one of those Filipino students trying to learn despite these present adversities. Despite the difficulties I will continue to comply and learn, regardless of how hard it is. ” the learner stated. Those were just some of the current cases of Filipino students while implementing distance learning. During this time and fiasco, enacting an academic freeze is the most essential way since gadgets such as laptops, desktops and mobile phones and materials for school are not are available to all of the students in online learning. Although printed modules are obtainable, they still have to pay courier fees to the one who delivered or pick up the printed papers from their schools and go back to submit or they would still need to have signaled to pass their works. Not every student has a stable internet connection and the Philippines is included in the countries that have the slowest internet in the world which they should also consider. schooling since the probability of risks that the students and other people catching the virus might double. Although students may be safe inside their homes and may get a lower risk of being physically sick, as some students say, they are already mentally and emotionally ill. Problems at home, stress, pressure, anxiety and depression are some of the psychological consequences that the students are currently experiencing. As these problems happen, some young people gets to lead themselves to the point where taking their own lives feels more necessary for them and thinks that it would be more better if they were gone, in which some did and took the risk.

Some people even have to go to computer shops for weeks which takes a lot of money. Paying for the internet bills are also quite pricey too. All for the sake of schooling, students and families keep on finding ways even if it’s hard or not. Even if it costs a lot and some have nothing else to eat and keep thinking on how can they survive each and every day.

Other people said that it would be better to stay home Every student has been facing different situations behind their screens and papers. Everyone, even teachers are facing a hard time in this crisis. Thousands of students are left behind as they have not enrolled in their schools. Some have to babysit younger ones while studying, some have to do house chores while in class. As far as we know that education is a big thing in our lives, but during this crisis, we should also value human lives.

July 9, 2021 Feature

Animal Testing: The sad cruelty cases on Animals

There are reports of animal cruelty everywhere. Animal experimentation is prevalent in today ’s world. In which 56% of cases are for basic research, while 75,000 animals die because of just one testing company. The death of these creatures can affect us negatively. We need to stop animal cruelty for the better of our animals and for our future.

It's easy to overlook what occurs behind the shut entryways of labs and appreciate the items, prescription, and beauty care products from this exploration. Tragically, we don't realize, because of the absence of straightforwardness and the offbase includes of the creatures utilized in labs. Indeed, even the small extent of creatures being experimented on is all that could possibly be needed to make us halt abruptly and consider the items we use every day.

They grieve in torment, experience the ill effects of outrageous disappointment, hurt with depression, and long to be free. All things considered, nothing remains at this point but to sit and stand by in dread of the following unnerving and difficult technique that will be performed on them. The total absence of ecological surroundings and the pressure of their day-to-day environment cause a few creatures to foster fearful sorts of behavior—for example, unremittingly spinning, shaking, pulling out their own hide, and surprisingly gnawing themselves. Subsequent to persevering through an existence

by: Lorin del Rosario

fatalities around the world.

of torment and dread, practically every one of them will be slaughtered. Instances of creature tests incorporate forcing mice and rodents to breathe in poisonous chemicals and pouring toxic synthetics into bunnies' delicate eyes. Regardless of whether an item hurts a creature, it can, in any case, be advertised to buyers. On the other hand, that an item was demonstrated to be safe in creatures doesn't ensure that it will be safe to use in people

Animals are not only experimented on in makeup companies but also in different research facilities for finding a cure for certain diseases. The hurtful utilization of creatures in tests isn't just cold-blooded yet, in addition, frequently incapable.

Creatures don't get a large number of the human infections that individuals do—like significant kinds of coronary illness, numerous sorts of malignant growth, or HIV. All things considered, indications of these illnesses are falsely induced in creatures in research facilities trying to imitate human sickness.

However, such investigations deprecate the intricacy of human conditions, which are influenced by wide-going factors like genetics and profoundly established mental issues, and diverse human encounters. creatures rarely work with people

The time, cash, and animals' lives being wasted with an immense measure of torment. However, medicines that are effective are being discarded while harmful medicine is being used.

In spite of numerous times of considering conditions like malignancy, Alzheimer's, infection, and stroke in creatures, we don't yet have a dependable and completely powerful cure.

Animal testing is questionable and can be dangerous. Animals are different from humans: 90% of medications come up short in human preliminaries, despite the fact that they breezed through preclinical tests also counting creature tests – regardless of whether or not they work.

A medication used to treat joint pain and arthritis called Vioxx was discovered to be safe when tried in monkeys, however, has been assessed to have caused around 320,000 cardiovascular failures and strokes and 140,000 There are other alternatives to using, rather than using animals as experimental units. Replacing animals won’t affect the progress of medicine. Nonetheless, improve the quality of it without harming animals or the economy.

The advancement of computer technology can be used to replicate one's body. Computer models from several organs and organ systems have already been created.

Cell studies show that almost everyone can be remade and grown into miniature organs that can actually work and is effective. Accurately replicating the body ’s organs and functions.

Maybe if humans didn’t experiment on animals, they wouldn’t have to live in constant fear. Protect the animals for the environmental

future of generations.

6 Editorial

Gender Discrimination: Awareness for the Society

The Philippines is considered a developing country. However, the country still has a backward approach regarding issues about equality, particularly gender discrimination. Gender discrimination or sexism is a type of discrimination that discriminates an individual or a group based on their gender. Sexism is experienced by women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community by treating them differently through the belief that men are superior.

The backward approach of the country is supported by its conservative stance regarding religion, abortion, gender equality, and LGBTQIA+ rights. The nation falls well short of the indicators in being classified as a developed country in terms of the human development index, which revolves around the “freedom of choice” . The current nation’s leader also doesn’t help this case since he upholds a patriarchal society that empowers the privilege of men and the rampant sexism in the country.

Gender discrimination perpetuates a lot of crimes from being the brunt of jokes, harassment, abuse, and even killing. An example of this is the spike of the number of domestic violence and other types of violence against women since the start of the pandemic and the implementation of lockdown or Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). Based on the reports, a total of 1,945 cases of domestic violence against women was recorded on the 4th of June, 2020. Most of these cases against women were done by men, particularly their husbands or partners. Research cites that being trapped or exposed more with their abusers due to ECQ caused the sudden increase of cases of violence against women.

Another example is the arrest of at least 20 people protesting about issues about society. Though it is already legislated, it’s implementation should be tightened through continuous education of its beneficiaries and its implementers and proper handling of the cases to give victims the justice they deserve.

Philippines as a conservative country heeds to the belief that men and women have certain gender stereotypes and roles to fulfill, such as how one is supposed to act, speak, and dress. Women are expected to be submissive, passive, verbal, tactful, and gentle. They 're supposed to be wearing dresses and usually stays at home, cooking and cleaning. Meanwhile, men are the ones that should be busy with work and usually seen as tough, dominant, active, and blunt. Members of LGBTQIA+, though tolerated, are not yet fully accepted in the country.

Continuous conformation in these gender stereotypes and roles and without having to express oneself without the fear of backlash or abuse hinders not only the development of an individual but the whole country. Conformation to such outdated traps people from discovering their potential since such society dictates how one must present themselves. It also perpetuates gender discrimination which leads to harassment and even killing. Such society also frowns upon women who leads since they are expected to be submissive and not suitable as leaders. When in fact, there are women leaders who are much more effective than men leaders, especially if one looks at the response against COVID-19. Examples of these are the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-Wen, and the prime-minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

Addressing the solution against gender discrimination is a long journey since it starts from one’s own internalized conception and the old-age beliefs of the society. Change must be supported by every individual and community. Changing one’s mindset starts through education and openness to the changing world that roles aren’t set to stone. In return, the community must uphold these new values and information by advocating for the SOGIE lessons and passing laws against discrimination. There’s a saying that “it takes a village to raise a child” and just like that, it also takes a whole country to abandon its harmful beliefs and make a safe community where everyone is treated equally.

anti-terrorism law, jeepney phaseout, and mass testing at a pride rally in Manila last June 26, 2020. Police caught the protestors due to the violation of R.A. 1132, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, despite following the health protocols. Members of LGBTQIA+ community are also victims of gender discrimination like women. This is not the first time they suffered unfair treatment from the law as it happened before to Jennifer Laude. Jennifer is a trans woman killed by the U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal, Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was granted an absolute pardon by the president in 2020.

The above examples solidify the fact that Philippines needs law against gender discrimination that will especially protect women and members of LGBTQIA+ community. Currently, there is the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, also known as Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB), which aims to prevent various economic and public accommodation-related acts of discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. However, this bill has been denied and filed continuously in the congress despite the citizens’ call for its urgent certification. There is also the RA 9710: Magna Carta of Women that seeks to eliminate discrimination through the recognition, protection, fulfillment, and promotion of the rights of Filipino women, especially those belonging

in the marginalized sectors of the

The Marikina Chronicles

July 9, 2021

The Marikina Chronicles July 9, 2021

by: CJ Barredo

Technically speaking

Toxicity of Social Medias

Numerous of our society have social media to express their feelings, thoughts, enjoyment, or to talk about the events that constantly happen in their lives. Social media is usually taken over by kids or teenagers that use it for entertainment or to meet new people for friendship or even a relationship. But because of this, some apps have gotten very toxic and unstable. Social media can be a great way to connect with friends while the pandemic has you keep-ing your distance. Some people have quit the use of social media due to its toxicity. The internet is very dangerous because of manipulators,

Trauma dumpers, scammers, and haters who use their platform to comment on selfish and cruel things on people who just use the app for entertainment and enjoyment. Manipulating is to control or influence someone unfairly into doing something mean or hateful. Many manipulators on the internet use their skills to have someone lose hope or affects their mental and physical health. Manipulating can also happen in real life. Some manipulation tactics are to control people through fear, we can have fears that are common or rare, and whenever we tell it to other people, exploiters can use it against us to do harmful things to others and even ourselves. Manipulating usually ends with gossip about

by: Marielle Orbong

StandPoint

Distance Learning: The Challenging New Normal of Education

We are all aware that several countries in the world, including our own nation, the Philippines, are currently experiencing a pandemic due to the spread of the CoronaVirus (COVID-19). As a result, we are going through a lot of changes. Community quarantine implementations, having age limits to go outside, social distancing, and other health protocols. Furthermore, distance learning, which has become the new standard in education. Because there are no face-to-face classes this year, so instead, DepEd suggested having distance learning, where students may only take online or modular modes.

After the Department of Education (DepEd) announced that students would continue their education in the midst of a pandemic, a wide range of reactions erupted across the country. Some agree, while on the other hand, more citizens disagree because they are certain that they will encounter problems along the way. And, as a student, I can tell you that adapting to this new normal is not easy. "Students enroll not because they want to learn, but because they don’t want to be left behind.", they said. I'm conscious that many students are having difficulties in terms of this.

Firstly, we can't resist not having devices in the present, particularly considering that we have a new normal. These are among the most significant and necessary for students. However, we can’t deny the fact that not all people in our country can afford gadgets. This is particularly the case considering that they have high costs. This was one of the first challenges the students faced. In addition, the internet is also one of the obstacles that we, as students, face. Like gadgets, the internet is not a cheap thing that you can simply acquire. There are also some occasions when there are connection issues that may disrupt your study, and could cause you to be unable to attend your class and miss lessons. Even though you can use mobile data as an alternative to the internet, it is still costly, especially when synchronous classes consume a large amount of data. Just imagine the situation of those students that have a low social standing and those who are only relying on their education by being a scholar. Speaking of the internet, sad to say, there are some suicide cases of students because of this. One of them is a Filipino named “Makoy”, a 21year-old third-year college student. According to the news reports, ‘it is confirmed that he committed suicide by hanging himself after he failed to submit his activities and modules on time. And as I read further, I discovered other cases that were identical to this one. Many students suffer from a lack of self-motivation, anxiety, depression, stress, panic, and other mental health problems as a result of the overwhelming number of modules and due dates. I know that having mental health problems is a serious case and not a laughing matter because they may leave a significant impact on a person’s state of mind. As the day proceeded, a few months have passed since the opening of classes for this school year. Students are more stable and used to distance learning compared to before. I feel that some of them improved their time management and can now explore through their gadgets easily. The suicide cases also dropped and mental health issues decreased. However, I believe that the public still has unanswered concerns. One frequently asked question is, "Are we certain that the students are learning from this new normal?"

I personally think that there are still disadvantages when having this distance learning. Including the possibility that some students tend to cheat on answering quizzes by just searching up the questions on google and other sites because compared to face-to-face, students are not totally being observed by their teachers in online classes. They only take a few hours of synchronous sessions and then after that, they are completely on their own and their time is in their hands. Also, as I stated above, connectivity is one of the main factors that can affect you. Meaning, when this factor is ignored, this can leave a big impact on your study.

I understand that having distance learning like online classes is the ideal option and the best way that we can do to continue the education in the midst of a pandemic. I can also say that selflearning is not a joke because it requires absolute concentration and management skills in order to fully understand the contents of each module. I do believe that it is still better and preferable to have face-to-face classes rather than this. I am hoping that the world will soon recover from this virus, so everything will return to normal, including not just the system of schooling, but also the pleasant and colorful world that we once had.

Opinion

people’s weak spots. This usually includes sexuality, religion, or even family issues. Guilttripping is another tactic to using manipulation. Guilt-tripping is to make you feel guilty about something you did in the past without knowing it was wrong. It can also happen with something you didn’t do. Trauma dumping is to express your trauma over someone’s happiness. This situation is very common to happen in our society right now, people express their feelings more instead of listening to the other’s story who talked about it first. Getting emotional consent is a must when it comes to sharing your problems, asking for emotional consent means checking in before you emotionally dump. It doesn't have to feel forced, and it will make sure your relationships stay balanced. "Because of the pandemic and our restriction of face-to-face contact, we're,,,

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