in CPU

Welcome to Central Philippine University! If you feel a little lost within the 24 hectares of land that our school has, don’t you worry, for the Central Echo is here to give you information on the most notable landmarks in the campus. With our guide, you will surely be able to navigate the campus all by yourself.

Administration Building

As soon as you get your ID checked, you’ll be greeted by one of our guards at the main gate. They’ll check your ID and let you through to the university. And once inside, the first thing you’ll see is the Dr. Rex D. Drillon Hall or the Administration building of CPU—the office of the President and the Vice Presidents! The Central spirit is here to welcome you with open arms!

Old Valentine Hall

If you’re looking for a valentine, we have just the spot for you! A quick jog across Halfmoon Drive would lead you to where the Old Valentine Hall stands. (Its not the valentine that you’d expected, right?) The Old Valentine Hall, now home to all students in the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education, was named for Rev. Dr. William O. Valentine, who was the first principal of the school.

New Valentine Hall

Right next to the Old Valentine Hall is the New Valentine Hall, which houses the College of Business and Accountancy and the School of Graduate Studies. So if you’re looking for a class in accounting or finance, try taking it in New Valentine Hall. And if you want to take a class in marketing or management? That’s where they’re held too!

Roblee Science Hall

You probably have heard of horror stories involving Roblee Science Hall. Students claim to have experienced paranormal activity while studying in the building. Some say they saw shadows flittering around corners, while others claim to have heard dangling chains around the second floor. Be it true or not, Roblee is a conducive learning environment for the practice of sciences and has classrooms and laboratories to cater to the educational needs of students.

Student Union Building

A short walk past the Roble Science Hall will lead you to the four-storey Dr. Alfonso Uy Student Union Building. The building’s first and second floors are dedicated to a food court, food kiosks, and supplies stores, while the third floor is where you can find the offices of Guidance Services and Student Development and Programs among others. The third floor also nests the Central Echo, the official student media of CPU!

SHS Building

The latest addition to our campus is the Senior High School building, which is the newest and tallest building in the university. Homeground of the Steelhawks, it is a five-storey building that houses numerous classrooms and administrative offices, for Senior High School students.

BRANDY MUSEUM

If beverages are more your thing, pay a visit to the Brandy Museum. Located at Iloilo Business Park’s Festive Walk Parade within Casa Emperador, this museum will make it’s visitors feel as if they stepped into a wine cellar. The exhibitions tell the history and origin of the liquor and the museum also serves drinks for those who want to sample the different cocktails. There is also a showroom and a bar where one can try their coffee drinks laced with liquor. Additionally, the museum also offers a brandy appreciation lesson to learn more about various brandy from renowned Spanish brewers. Admission to the museum is free and it is open from Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 7 pm C

Engineering Building

The first thing that catches your eye, perhaps, is the large signage containing the text “College of Engineering” in gold print. The Engineering Building prides itself on being one of the largest buildings on campus. Home to the future Centralian engineers, it has all resources needed by all students taking different engineering degrees.

BY KJETIL JOSTH ACIELO * Names witheld for confidentiality

It was an ordinary night for Stephan*, but darkness began falling as books started disappearing. He had grown concerned over the spate of recent news flashing on his social media feed. Gazing to his right, he quivered over the fate of his collection. On May 12, 2022, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Alex Paul Monteagudo, decried Adarna House’s efforts in selling Martial Law books for children under the #NeverAgain bundle as subversive acts. Ten days later, a bookstore in Quezon City selling progressive political literature was vandalized. The corrugated metal roll-up door was scratched in red streaks, the graffiti spelling out “terrorista.” Stephan determined that he needed to act fast, for the light of knowledge would soon be snuffed out by censorship. He, however, is not fearful alone. There were others like him who seek solace in pages unfettered by the humdrumness of life. Their only crimes would be to read, and no one would bat an eye, save for a few onlookers beguiled by them resigning to corners with noses stuck in books. Connected by stories and ideas, their desire to read and freedom to think would intimidate the powers that be. It was only a matter of months before the end of every finished chapter worth their time may add years to a sentence sealed. But they will never yield.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU Stephan*, a 20-year-old AB History major and budding author, is like most bookworms. Drawn to reading books that are challenged, banned, or underread, he was taken aback by the news of books being confiscated in droves and barred from libraries. He had long feared a future where information was restricted and the truth kept in the dark, like in his favorite dystopian novel, George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The book follows Winston Smith, who works in a records department, erasing and sometimes revising historical documents for the Ministry of Truth. It is one of four government ministries that control the postapocalyptic world of Oceania, where every citizen is surveilled via telescreen.

The world had slowly become the terrifying place Orwell had prophesied. Several months before, the Commission on Higher Education of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CHEDCAR) issued a memo on October 21, 2021, urging higher educational institutions to cull books from their libraries and online platforms deemed to be subversive. The resulting backlash was swift and mounting. Academics, librarians, and students rallied to denounce the order, alluding to the Nazi book burnings. The Book Development Association of the Philippines echoed a similar sentiment, stating that the memo stifles critical thinking and “will raise a future generation that is ignorant and subservient.” Stephan feared that, much like in Oceania, his collection might one day fall from his shelf and into the hands of state censors. His, however, wouldn’t be the only casualty, but every library in the country would meet a similar fate.

“Knowledge today is becoming heavily guarded and suppressed for stupid reasons. The purpose of book bans is to enforce a certain kind of order. It demands unwavering control and influence over everyone, and suppresses diverse viewpoints in conversations regarding critical social issues,” attests Stephan, who decided to take up reading as a civic duty to counter disinformation and keep discourse alive, which banned books can only ignite.

Incensed and driven by the lessons he had learned while journeying in Smith’s shoes, he joined an organization through a mutual friend during his freshman year. Here, like-minded folks would gather and discuss their devotion to literature, invigorating their collective urgency to read and preserve the books society forbids them to.

THE GATHERING

Lancelot*, a 23-year-old BS Occupational Therapy alumnus, has an affinity for scifi and queer literature. He had struck up a kinship with Stephan, as they consider Nineteen Eighty-Four a mutual favorite. “It is a commentary on state control, authority, and how much autonomy citizens have over themselves. Any banned book has ideas worth exploring or knowing a bit about,” Lancelot comments.

Another friend, Darko*, a 31-yearold electronics engineer, says that his favorite banned book is Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five,” which tells the story of a man who becomes unstuck in time. “The book teaches us the value of free will. It is also a fun novel. It was banned for its profanities and dark humor. Curiosity also made me read it. I read these kinds of books because of the insight I can attain from them.”

Originally created during the pandemic to while away the hours connecting to fellow bookworms, this banned book club meets monthly to discuss themes and societal implications of their chosen book. Themes such as religion, politics, economics, social commentary, race, discrimination, feminism, and LGBTQI+ rights are often at the heart of many banned books.

In the United States, school boards began banning books that challenge notions of critical social issues en masse. In 2021, the American Library Association recorded about 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, the most since the organization began tracking banning attempts in 2000. Among those recalled from shelves are classics such as: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Fahrenheit 451,” and “Lord of the Flies,” as well as contemporary works like Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give,” a novel about a young black girl who contends with racism and police brutality, Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” a graphic novel illustrating the experiences of the author’s parents during the Holocaust, or any book that openly discusses LGBTQI+ topics such as Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” and George M. Johnson’s “Not All Boys Are Blue.”

Lancelot says that reading books like these would give people coherent ideas about topics that are ignored or considered taboo in society. “If we have a society of readers and critical thinkers, it would lead to a more informed, discernable public and would lead to social changes in every aspect.”

RESISTANCE

FROM PAGE 28

Onesiforo Berina Jr., a Masters of Divinity student, expresses that people must continue to read, especially those that are becoming banned, because “reading and asking questions leads to freedom, especially from the social, political, and structural ignorance corrupting our humanity.” He foresees a future where systematic changes will commence. Historical negation and societal inequalities will cease when citizens become readers and critical thinkers. According to him, this guarantees progress. His favorite banned books are Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.”

Even with thousands of books shortlisted for censorship, librarians and readers have fought to preserve them by highlighting the books or keeping free copies online. Some were even inspired to form banned book clubs to keep discourse on the books’ message alive. In 2021, the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Organization, and the National Council of Teachers of English sponsored Banned Books Week, an annual celebration safeguarding the freedom to read. The theme centers around the dangers of censorship and the boundary-breaking power of reading, highlighting the significance of stories to unite and transpire change in communities.

When asked how people can be encouraged to start reading banned books, Stephan suggests keeping an open mind. “Engage in active discussion. These books sometimes deal with sensitive matters and will challenge your worldview. Steel your resolve and expect to come out more enlightened. Ponder upon essential questions and throw them out there for the world to ponder along with you.”

“If people would make any conscious effort to read widely and compare sources, then I trust that we will be on the right track—not as subservient sheep, but as freethinkers unafraid to confront those in power with the truth they have hidden from us. As for the lessons, a few of them come to mind—mainly that we should commit to conscious action in a world on the brink of dystopia,” Stephan argues. Readers like them are everywhere and nowhere, under bedsheets poring over words illumed by flashlight or huddled together in spirited conversation animating characters to life. But in an age where the very crucible of human progress is up for the flames or into obscurity, the ideas written will never die when read upon and touched a life. In the face of book bans and threats of censorship, the power of reading becomes an imminent force to be reckoned with, capable of challenging the status quo and bringing forth meaningful change, for it has always been the carrier of civilization and humanity in print. While books that challenge are continually purged from the public consciousness, there will always be those who pick up the pages for reading is resistance, and resistance is duty. C

University Church

It’s a beautiful day at CPU and we’re nearing the University Church (UC); one of the most prominent architectural figures and perhaps the heart of the university. A stand-out in the campus landscape due to it’s unique architecture that seems to emulate the balangay of our malay ancestors. UC is a place of worship for students, faculty, staff and community members alike.

Rose Memorial Auditorium

Judging from the loudest cheers and yells of students across different departments and year levels, you are in front of the Rose Memorial Auditorium. This is where big events in the university are held and a sure popular spot for both students and faculty.

Henry Luce III Library

Looking for the hustle and bustle of library life? We’ve got you. Another short walk from the auditorium is the largest academic library in Western Visayas, Henry Luce III Library. Bragging by its brutalist design, it has always been one of the most remarkable buildings on campus and a beautiful addition to the diversity of buildings in CPU. It’s the library that has it all: the Graduate Studies Section, Theology Library, Law Library, Special Collections, and American Corner.

Loreto D. Tupaz Hall

Located right next door is Loreto D. Tupaz Hall which was named after Iloilo’s very own Florence Nightingale. It hosts all health-related undergraduate and postgraduate students from the College of Nursing, College of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Pharmacy, and College of Medicine. It has a distinctive semi-circle facade that draws you in like a magnet, and once inside, you’ll find the classrooms, seminar halls, laboratories, and other facilities necessary to prime our future Centralian healthcare providers.

Anna V. Johnson Memorial Hall

Following the Acacia Drive, you are to see the Anna V. Johnson Memorial Hall which is the cradle of the Religion and Ethics Department. It is one of the oldest buildings on campus and was built in memory of Anna V. Johnson, whose legacy lives on through this beautiful building that now houses many classrooms and offices for faculty members of the department.