Echoes April 2018 by Echoes

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Scav Hunt 2018 by Katie Abrenica

The Shopping Center Fire by Clarice Tee

Cover Story: Ordinary People by Javi Vilchez and Cel Pacana

Ladybird by Bel Bernardo

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Getting My Horns by Yanna Potenciano

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Vanilla With A Side of S&M by Pita Ochave

Beets by Klause Cabanos

Trump 1 or Trump 2 by Martin Suarez

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The Uniqlow-down by LA Manlangit

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Talk About Sex by Benju Evardone

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ECHOE S 60A PUBLICATION E DITOR-IN-CH IEF AS S OCIATE EDITOR NEWS EDITORS FE AT URES EDITORS CU LTURE EDITORS PU BLI C ATION STAF F

Echoes is the official publication of the UP Economics Society (UP Ecosoc), a nonstock, non-profit, student organization based in the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics. Echoes is released two to four times a semester and six times in a year on the months of March, April, August, September, October, and November. It draws its funding from a subsidy from UP Ecosoc, subscription revenue, and small fundraisers. For this semester, 35 subscription copies are produced. This publication is printed by Yza Copy Systems and Trading, located at Katipunan, Quezon City.

COMMUNICATIONS E DI TO R IAL ASSISTANT CR E ATIVE DIRECTOR CO MMU N I C ATIONS STAF F

EVENTS STAF F

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ERRATUM: The article from the March issue entitled “Kendama Workshop” was written by Manuel Luis Sanchez. All errors are corrected when uploaded on issuu.com/echoes. If you spot an error, please email us. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Kelsey Mariano Maxine Capili Glenn Guy Patrick Santos Jego Agabin Jolo Zagala Gail Gibe

EVENTS MAN AGING EDITOR DIRECTORS

upecosoc@gmail.com ecosoc.echoes@gmail.com @echoesph

Bianca Rañola Miguel Balao Javi Vilchez Carlo Albay Benju Evardone Dominic Carreon Celina Pacana Pita Ochave Vim Gayutin Joaquin de Guzman Paul Rondario Ya n n a P o t e n c i a n o Kim Diet

Mayumi Villavicencio Alyanna Basbas Alex Vitasa Bianca Cacnio Mico Fernandez Joseph Marasigan Emil Apostol Danielle Gonzales

C ONT RIBUTORS Awareness X A C L E Te a m Jano Deleña Katrielle Abrenica Isabel Cuevas I c o n Ta g l e C l a r i c e Te e Sean Thakur Cyril Cornelio Lance Cheng J e To m a s Martin Suarez

Andrew Banaag Sabrina Go Olivia Solomon Gab Rivera Jeremy Gemzontan Klause Cabanos Franz Cruz Sofia Padilla Kayla Fabi Bel Bernardo LA Manlangit

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M E SSAGE FR O M T H E EDI TOR

My favorite thing to do in UP is walking alone down the Engg side of the Oval, listening to Eraserheads, and watching life live. I dare the cars to my right to hit me as I take the bike lane like I own it. The air smells like heat, but Ely Buendia’s singing “Huwag Kang Matakot” into my ears, so how could I complain? It sounds like the un-grandest, most normal thing ever, but it does wonders to my soul. It makes me feel like all is alright in the world.

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There is a great number of things that pass us by unnoticed, simply because of their sheer normalcy, and this month we’re here to celebrate them. I challenge you to find yourself in the articles we’ve prepared for you inside. You will go on mundane adventures in vintage cars through ice cream shops with our cover stars, Nic Rosadia and Karla Bulan. It’s amazing how easily we can take the ORDINARY for granted, so let’s all take this time to take a step back and see things with new eyes. It could be by thanking your parents for dropping by to take you out for lunch. It could be by accepting the person you are for all its ORDINARY-ness. It could be by breathing in the hellish aroma of living another day. It could be by noticing that one person who notices you (!!!). You see, life’s not just about the great plot twists, the grand declarations, the thrill of adventure. It’s about finding cause to cheer in the “boring” mundane. It’s about appreciating the wheels that make your day turn. So the next time you see me on one of my Oval walks, think about how at peace I look and consider following me down the road. Here’s to noticing. And here’s to the ORDINARY.

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J E R E M Y G E M Z O N TA N ECOSOC MONTH HELLO ECOSOC!!!!!!!! It’s been another crazy month O.o first ACLE in a while, some great CDC events and lovely initiatives all throughout! I want to give a shoutout to the rest of the Execomm for doing so well! All the great work we’ve been doing has me crazy excited for what’s to come! BUT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE NAGSISIMULA NA ANG PREPS FOR ECOSOC MONTH 60!!!!! BIH!!!!!! We’re preparing to fuck shit up this year and give you the absolutely best EM you guys have ever experienced! Props to my two co-chairs, Kim & Katie for all the great work so far and the many memories to be made moving forward! And i don’t know if may directors na ako by the time this comes out (as of writing wala pa), so if meron na then ILY ALL THANKS FOR STEPPING UP i2 NA!!! If wala pa then AWEW STAY TUNED FOR GR8 UPDATES!!!!

ERIN CHENG SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE Nyello Ecosoc mingming n welcome to my TED talk! charot ! <3333 welcome to the April issue where we celebrate all things ordinary & mundane. and speaking of things that are ordinary, i’m happiest to give u some extra-ordinary (harhar) news - this April 30, two of our four wonderful scholars will finally graduate from senior high school! Micha and Andrea will be taking up education and accountancy respectively, and I’m really excited to see where college life takes them :) It’s also kind of crazy when you realize that we’ve supported these two throughout high school - and now through college - n i only hope that we can continue doing this for the hundreds of brilliant but underprivileged students out there ü kaya magdonate kau sa essf plz hihi I hope you’re all doing okay, though! It’s getting to that point in the sem where everyone starts fading away, so I hope that challenge week and scav hunt breaks the monotony n mundaneness (kachow issue theme *wink*) Last 2 months of the sem so let’s all put our best feet forward! Labyu Ecosoc n congrats again to Echoes for this solid second issue wahuuuu

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I S A B E L C U E VA S ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

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“There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things.” It’s already April, and we all deserve a pat on the back for managing to get through everything that happened since the beginning of the semester. One of the things that Acad has been working on since January is ACDC, and we’re down to the last session this month. All the sessions were definitely memorable and meaningful for all of us. During the much-awaited Challenge Week, we will also be hosting the Jologs Quiz Bee (exciting!!). April means that it’s election season!! I couldn’t be prouder and more grateful for the organizing body who has been exerting their time and effort for UPFront. Lastly, thank you to my Acad wormies for all the support, love and dedication. I appreciate every single one of you :) Remember to celebrate every tiny victory and find joy in the little things.

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ANNYEONGHASEO ~ ! First off, thank you so much to my CDC mems!! Shoutout to Carlos, Karla, Bets, Carlo, Zion, Reena, MJ, Dianne, Shellie, Mikee and Cams!! Grateful also to be working with our CDC apps: Teo, JC, Alexa, Rain and Matt! Thank you Ecosoc for supporting our projects and donating to the institutions in need of supplies! The deeds and actions we do for those in need come from the heart. Our genuine intentions shine when we show willingness and get involved in social action. What makes these events extraordinary is opening yourself, participating and being present in the moment during the events. Looking at it again, we’re all just people trying to feel a connection with others… understanding their being and also expressing something… Ultimately, I think Ecosoc is alive because of these moments – the regular Saturdays, the sociocivic projects and other member oriented events. It’s a manifestation of emotions towards the organization and to the community. With this, I encourage you all… to celebrate life and love – for yourself and for others.

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BIANCA RAÑOLA ECHOES Welcome back to me! Echoes has been dabbling in a little bit of everything this past month. Pub was busy putting this issue together, and my April editors, Javi, Benju, and Cel, did not disappoint! Comm launched an Instagram account and has been working behind the scenes to bring you the quality aesthetics and content you deserve. Litnight is well underway, and I’m quite certain that my 20-strong team is putting together the best one yet. Echoes still has a lot in store for Ecosoc for the rest of the sem; there will never be a shortage of magic and mayhem. (Oh, that rhymed! See, I told you.) Expect the unexpected, but also the expected, because sometimes it’s what resonates with us the most. At the end of the day, it all boils down to letting creativity reveal itself to you, because when it does, there’s no stopping it. Happy April!

JAD CASTILLO EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Hello again, Ecosoc! We’re already almost near the end of the semester, and things start to pile up and add up to our plate. As we do these, we tend to forget the smallest moments and littlest of things - that we can find a heart from them. I would like to thank you all for supporting our ACLE!!!! I hope you all had fun from the shopping spree my amazing team (ily mga paborito kong suki Gelo, Martin, Sheena, Elle and David) + EXTERNALSSS prepared for you all. Also, for supporting our endless Facebook Page and Twittr initiatives, and events of our partner orgs! And they were all because of my amazing and independent VCs Gelo, Andi, Ivan and Bear. Lastly, election season is coming, meaning UPFRONT IS COMING AS WELL. Please continue supporting the hardwork of our amazing BOD and OB cc: Isabel. All those small moments I had with you all, including countless meetings haha, are appreciated hehe. And I hope that we all continue to celebrate and appreciate the simplest of the things we have <3 t

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C A R I N A TA N B I O FINANCE

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I’ve always been looked down upon my whole life both literally and figuratively. I come from a family of academic achievers and have always been surrounded by friends who were in the top of the batch and leaders of the organization as well. I’ve always felt that there was nothing special about me, just simply “average”. We’re always striving to be extraordinary - trying to be a few steps above the rest in work, extra-curricular activities, or acads. Unfortunately, we measure our worth with these baseless standards and sometimes tend to lose what it means to be ourselves in the process. I hope ecosoc can be your safe haven as you continue to learn and grow in journey, but at the same time be the place where you can celebrate who you are. Thank you to my VCs and to the whole Fin! I know that I don’t show it a lot but I am so grateful for each and every one of you! Please continue to support Fin’s initiatives!

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S H A I R A B A LTA Z A R LIAISON Hey Ecosoc!!! How u doin’? :) I hope you are all doing well despite the crazy loads of acad and org work. We sometimes get too preoccupied with a lot of things that we barely see what is really happening in the world we’re in. I hope that we take the time to have a break and appreciate the beauty in the littlest of things. To my mems: Josh, Alec, Maia, Nicole, Harriet, Gabe, Mabel, Hezi, Karla, Nicco, Kim, know that your simple efforts are very much appreciated. I also want to recognize how amazing my VCs are: Maui, Kim, Eryel. You are all wonderful. Thank you also to everyone who went to the P&G Career Talk. Watch out for the new privilege cards and more career talks in the coming weeks! :)

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CHOLO TOLENTINO MEMBERSHIP It’s April and the sem is about to end. The apps go on their second internship after having their gruelling midsem interviews. The results are mixed as there are some apps who were outstanding, while there are some who tumbled along the way. But they shouldn’t fret, as there will be more ways in which they can bounce back and show what they got to be a deserving member. Soon we’ll all be parting ways again. The tambayan is as lively as ever with the constant chatter and laughter within that special space. With the innocent visit of a kitten and its mother, the tambayan does not stop giving us its quirky surprises. We’ll surely miss eating in the tambayan, but then where are the siblings of that kitten? God only knows what happened to them, and where they end up in. In all these things, we take in each moment, gather with our family, which is Ecosoc, and make memories that would last us a thousand years. It is in the simplest things that we can truly find happiness. May we remember this and live on.

RELLA GLORIA SECRETARIAT Hi Ecosoc!!! Commeets at 11:30 W/F, checking the tambs everyday, approving pubs, having Seccom dinner. This has been the life of Seccom for the past four months. It’s these things that make Seccom what it is no matter how ordinary or mundane they may seem. And as a person who prefers having a routine than being spontaneous, I find comfort in these ordinary things. :) Moving on, I’d just like to thank my Log & Events VC, Hazel, for doing a great job on the Watercolor Calligraphy Workshop last month!!! Thank you also to her team: Sam, Louise, Miggy, Alyssa, and Rowell. Of course, thanks also to our speaker, Sheena Dy!!! You guys are amaaazing and i love you all <3 And to everyone who attended, thank you so much!!! It wouldn’t have been successful if it weren’t for you!!!

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ANN GERON SPECIAL EVENTS

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Did you say Scav Hunt? Hello, dearest friends! The busy month has come to a close. Thank you for the active participation and never-ending support for SPEV. Without you, our job will not be as special as it is. As for the SPEV team, we have found in one another a family that all the clues have led to. We wish that coming out of the challenges, you have found people you know you can turn to. Now that our lives can slow down and we can go back to our routines, I hope we remember to embrace the moments of calmness. If you have someone to sit in the silence with, I hope you cherish it. Must you have to search for either unusual objects, your elusive purpose in life, or some comfort, look around you and see the people you’ve gotten to know the past month. They may have been intertwined into the loose fabric of your life, so I hope your eyes can untangle them and weave them to becoming your daily or so-often. Look out for spontaneity, too. It’s just right there. To appreciating the mundane and celebrating one another, may this never be a burden to do. :)

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DINDO RAMOS SPORTS WHATS UP ECOSOC!! Grabe the semester is nearing to an end na, ang bilis lang :(( Anyways, I hope by now you’ve been following sports’ gentle reminders about how to live a healthy life, and that it made a positive impact naman hehehe. Pero how iz sports now ba. Well we are done with majority of our events (WAHUU TAPOS NA ECOSOC CUP++++) pero we still got things in store for you guys <3. Also, everything has been doing so well, though sobrang mahirap talaga mag schedule ng events, and meetings with mems due to the very crazy schedule this semester like WTF bakit may exam every week March to April. Ayun lang naman newz ko for the issue back to you Bianca jk. Because sports cares, pls remember to drink water in this very hot and humid weather and take care of ur skin! Jal-it-ssoe!!!

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Market Market: Choices Made, Choices Paid. Watercolor Calligraphy Workshop. Jologs Quiz Bee. Karaoke Night. Challenge Week & Scav Hunt 2018. Syria. Is Federalism the Right Way to Go? #IStandWithCJ. News by the Numbers. International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. The Shopping Center Fire. Trump 1 or Trump 2?

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M A R K E T M A R K E T: C H O I C E S M A D E , C H O I C E S PA I D by ACLE TEAM

The External Affairs Committee spearheaded this semester’s Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE) of the UP Economics Society last April 22, with the University Student Council’s (USC) theme of Contra Mundum. This semester’s ACLE is entitled, “Market Market: Choices Made, Choices Paid.” It was an interactive ACLE that aimed to expose and introduce basic economic principles to UP students, especially non-economics majors through an interactive game. In addition, it hoped that the attendees had an appreciation for economics and its relevance in different fields of studies, work, and activities. The ACLE had four rounds of game that taught basic economic principles such as demand and supply, shifts in demand, and income and substitution effect. Attendees were given kits which included a primer (a guide to the concepts) and play money. Some of the member of Externals were assigned to act as sellers of the game, holding different sets of goods per round, and were tasked to make rounds in SE 114 and ask the buyers (the audience) to buy their goods at different prices. In the course of every round, there were announcements that caused price fluctuations. After every round, prices at which the buyers and sellers agree were recorded. The buyer who garnered the highest number of points was declared the winner, and it was Gabe Japlos. To wrap things up, Anton Ramon Castillo, an Ecosoc alumnus and currently taking up Law in UP, was invited to be a speaker to explain the game and its relevance to economic concepts and application to our daily choices as consumers.

Photos by Tommy and Jordan Pulmano

WA T E R C O L O R C A L L I G R A P H Y WORKSHOP by JANO DELEÑA

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Photo by Victoria Bilsborough

Last March 21, 2018, the Secretariat Committee organized a watercolor calligraphy workshop for their fellow Ecosocers. The workshop was facilitated by Sheena Dy, who was very much into making calligraphy artworks. In fact, she has an Instagram account that showcases all of her works. Throughout the workshop, each participant was provided materials such as a thin pointed paintbrush, a watercolor palette, worksheets, and two watercolor papers. The program started with Sheena giving an introduction about calligraphy and how she became interested in doing it since childhood. Also, she provided some tips that would be useful for the activity. With that, the participants were given the rest of the time to do the provided worksheets. Throughout the activity, the participants had the time to practice their brush strokes and to practice writing letters in calligraphy. After doing the worksheets, they had the opportunity to create their own artwork by applying it in the watercolor paper. Lastly, as a special treat, Sheena Dy also demonstrated how she does her style in calligraphy. If you wanna see more of her artworks, follow her at Instagram account (@artbysheenady). In the end, the participants had fun and had enjoyed in learning the art of doing calligraphy.

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Sheena also had some words of advice to those who are interested in doing calligraphy. “To all those who want to try out calligraphy, I guess my biggest advice is to simply DO IT. Don’t be afraid to pick up a pen or a brush and create. Don’t let your insecurities or doubts freeze you in place. Let the endless possibilities and the sheer joy of being able to do something different propel you instead. You never know, calligraphy may become your new hobby, your new way of relaxing from life’s stress, or your new career venture. And maybe, the words you get to beautifully put on paper would be able to encourage lives you never expected to touch.” 15

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JOLOGS QUIZ BEE by ISA CUEVAS

We all have our all-time favorite Filipino movie and/or teleserye. There are hugot lines which we will always remember and characters we will always relate to. In this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jologs Quiz Bee, we did not only test your inner jologs, but also your skills ;) More than the competition, we saw how willing the members were to represent their team and how each one supported their teammates. The goal for the Jologs Quiz Bee was to make the event for everyone and not only for those who are very knowledgeable about Philippine media. We hope that this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jologs Quiz Bee was even more fun for Ecosoc because of the mini challenges we have prepared. The Challenge Week was definitely draining, and Acad would really like to thank everyone who attended and actively participated in the Quiz Bee. We hope you enjoyed as much as we did!

K A R AO K E N I G H T by ICON TAGLE

As a new Spev member, one of the most memorable nights Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had was the LUWOW Karaoke and Game Night held on the Friday of March 9, 2018. Though the night was previously postponed, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have to say that when the night finally came, drinks were flowing, songs were playing, tabletop games were ongoing, and everyone was well cared for. Kudos to the organizers for choosing a postponed but rather well-prepared event over a half-finished punctilious one! EE CC H HO O EE SS

Aside from the availability of drinks and games, the stunning venue was certainly the best part of this get-together. Provided for by an Ecosoc applicant, Meira de Luna, the house is nestled inside the Tierra Pura village with all the charm of being both a modern as well as homey place. Upon entry, you will be making your way to the back of the house, where you are greeted by the voice of Daniel Caesar playing in the background, members giggling around a table as they play card games, karaoke music wafting out from inside the house, and the bubbling of a welcome pool in the middle of the venue.

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The event proper began at 8:00pm when member started trickling in. By 8:30, music was playing, people were singing, and tons were doing nothing more than relaxing and toning it down after how hectic it was the past week. The poolside lounge chairs were all occupied by people talking privately to each other as the others were playing card games and other table top games inside. Spev members took it upon themselves to give out shots to everyone to keep the ball rolling for the event. Even the beer pong game was set up on good taste as it was placed on top of the pool as opposed to being simply placed on a table top. The night was a toned down, chill event that was well-earned by each Ecosoc member after a long week of academics and organization work. Great job to Spev and Memcomm at that!

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CHALLENGE WEEK & S C AV H U N T 2 0 1 8 by KATIE ABRENICA

Challenge Week, Ecosoc’s annual weeklong competition, was held last April 9-13 and was capped off by Scav Hunt and Vice night on April 14. Challenge Week has always been a memorable time for the members and applicants, bringing out the best, the craziness, daringness and intelligence of its members, and this year’s Challenge Week was no exception. With many twists and turns, such as the reshuffling of the teams that Spev had been planned out from the start of the semester, and probably the closest fight in recent history, this year’s Challenge Week turned out to be one of the best yet. Many Ecosocers had been looking forward to Challenge Week many weeks ahead, and everyone was ready and bursting with competitive spirit. With the teams reshuffled in line with the Cards theme of Challenge Week as Exte/ Liai/Memcomm (ELM) vs. Jem/Acad/CDC/Seccom ( JACS) vs. Erin/Fin/Echoes/Sports (Utang Clan), everything was set. To kick off the week, Monday challenges were the classic guess-the-Ecosocer online games, coupled with dares and challenges to do at home such as drinking with a parent or shooting someone with a bidet. Monday was then capped off by a DP blast by each of the teams to hype everyone up for the days to come. Tuesday was the Day

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of Hearts, and there were two challenges for the day happening simultaneously. While some members participated in an agawan-style game all over UP, there was a game that required some members to make sure that they had a body part touching a car for several hours, testing their will and patience. Wednesday was the Day of Clubs, which meant that there was going to be a lot of luck involved in the challenges. Thursday was the Day of Spades, which was made of three classic Challenge Week games – dares, Bring Me and a spade hunt, all happening simultaneously. Finally, Friday was the Day of Diamonds, which tested members physically. The most anticipated Scav Hunt happened on Saturday, with the first station being in Paje’s farm in Rizal, requiring teams to be there as early as 6:00 AM. Teams were then tested by a challenge in which they had to find a ribbon tied to a tree amongst many other trees whilst playing a game of Catch the Dragon’s Tail at the same time. Afterwards, a game of Chug-ofWar commenced that was a twist on tug-of-war, except members had to drink proportionally to how many members they wanted to play in the game. After this, teams were made to go to Marikina to do as many dares as they could in the span of a few hours. The next station was at Paje’s house, which was a beer pong game with a twist, where players had a choice of whether to drink really disgusting mixes or do a dare. Teams then went to BGC to play hide-and-seek with Spev members, then finally went to UP CMC field for a classic game of Shameball. The day ended with Vice Night, and at this point all teams were neck-and-neck when it came to points. In the end, the underdogs of Challenge Week, ELM, managed to steadily climb up and take the win, making for a great comeback story. Overall, Challenge Week was a blast for all members participating, and all Spev members who were planning and organizing. It’s always a challenge to make sure that every Challenge Week is better than the last, and Spev definitely reached its goal once again.

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REFUGEE CRISIS IN SYRIA WORSENS AS SYRIA N C I V I L WA R E N T E R S I T S 8 T H Y E A R by LANCE CHENG

Photo from Reuters

In just the past month the refugee crisis in Syria worsened substantially as airstrikes and new conflict fronts have killed, injured and displaced thousands of civilians. Pro-Regime forces bombed Eastern Ghouta again last Saturday killing and injuring several civilians. An estimated 1,100 civilians have been killed since Pro-Regime forces began sending airstrikes on rebel held 20

Eastern Ghouta on February 25. The airstrikes come with the increased ground and air offensives of the Pro-Regime forces in the past month as part of an attempt to seize Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel stronghold near the capital of Damascus. At least 10,000 civilians have fled the town of Hamoriya, Eastern Ghouta last Thursday. More are estimated to have fled since the airstrikes began. Yet

an estimated 300,000 more civilians are still trapped in the region, hesitant to evacuate for fear of airstrikes or detainment by Pro-Regime forces. Rebel groups are also preventing some civilians from leaving the area according to an anonymous local official. Civilians continue to be victims of collateral damage between Pro-Regime and Opposition forces as ceasefires

called for by the international community fall unheard or are executed too late.

Opposition/Rebel Forces : Forces that oppose Syrian President Assad’s Regime: Free Syrian Army, Turkey, US YPG (People’s Protection Units): Mainly Kurdish militia in Syria and primary component of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish Forces: Military of Turkey Government

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Meanwhile towards the North, Turkish forces captured

Afrin, which has not been involved in the past seven years of the Syrian Civil War, became a conflict zone on January 20, when the Turks began their military offensive against USbacked Kurdish YPG militia. The Turks claimed YPG to be an extension of marxist Kurdish militant group, PKK which has

Pro-Regime Forces : Forces that support Syrian President Assad’s Regime: Syrian Arab Republic (enforced by Syrian Military), Russia, Hezbollah

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Conditions in the region have reached inhumane levels as airstrikes on hospitals became more frequent and medical supplies are not allowed in by Pro-Regime forces. Declining stocks of insulin and anesthesia raise the possibility of slow and painful deaths due to renal failure and amputation without anesthesia according to Dr. Hamid, an on-site doctor.

President Recep Erdogan announced that Turkish soldiers along with rebel factions of the Free Syrian Army seized Afrin town center from terrorist YPG militia at 8:30 AM local time. “The Turkish and FSA flag has been raised and mopping operations are underway” said Erdogan.

The Syrian Civil War is in its 8th year. - 12 million Syrians driven from their homes: - At least 6.1 million are internally displaced - Another 5.6 million have fled abroad - More than 400,000 are believed to have been killed or are missing, presumed dead

Humanitarian aid sent by the UN and Red Cross also failed to reach the civilians of Eastern Ghouta as Pro-Regime forces confiscated 70% of the medical supplies for civilians and continued sending air-strikes despite Russia promising a 5 hour daily cease-fire.

been waging an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1980s. The offensive caused YPG militia in Aleppo to be split as a portion were sent to counter Turkish advance in the Kurdish Afrin Canton.

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Last Friday, doctors and civil leaders in Eastern Ghouta sent open letters requesting for the safe passage under the supervision of international guarantors for the immediate and total evacuation of civilians. No public response has been given as of yet.

town center of Afrin from Kurdish YPG fighters on Sunday March 18. The capture of Afrin followed a 2-month long campaign to seize control of Afrin. This campaign by Turkish forces displaced over 50,000 and killed an estimated 500 civilians. Over the course of the campaign the waterworks were bombed according to a Kurdish resident of the city. The hospital was bombed as well killing 9 and damaging emergency facilities according to Arvin Hospital General Manager Dr. Muhammed.

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IS FEDERALISM THE RIGHT WAY T O G O ? by JE TOMAS

Federalism has been the talk of the town recently but the concept of federalism in the Philippines has long been in the shadows even before the creation of our republic our fore fathers Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini suggested dividing the islands into federal states. One of the first proponents to Federalism include UP Professor Jose Abueva and former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. who has advocated for this form of charter change as it is seen to be one of the possible solutions in alleviating the Mindanao crisis. With the election of President Duterte the idea to go federal has once again surfaced but what does a charter change entail? Federalism, from the Latin “foedus” meaning a “compact “ or” agreement, form of government presumes the existence of an agreed upon arrangement between two distinct and co-equal levels of government the national and a sub- national level, whether this is based on regions or provinces neither subordinate to the other as defined by Professor Herman Kraft. Reasons

for

supporting

federalism include the hopes of increased decentralization and accelerated economic development in rural areas as well as to alleviate the Mindanao situation. First the decentralization of power from Metro Manila which in 2015 received a whopping 35% of the national budget while only represents 14% of the population. Along with this Federalism would allow regions or provinces to decide for themselves and keep their locally generated income. Secondly Federalism would expedite economic development by allowing local governments to undertake their own developments without having to rely on the central government. Specialization would greatly increase depending on the resources and opportunities available in different areas. Lastly the long awaited dream of peace might be attained with the creation of the Bangsamoro state which would give more autonomy to our Muslim Brethren. Reasons against Federalism would include the different endowment or resources and disparities in

the provision of the quality of government services due to the different operating procedures. Decentralization of the government will also incur higher operating costs because of the multiple additions to the local government units. Since Federalism will break the country into states this will create a bigger problem when it comes to the national identity because instead of finding a common identity because of regionalist tendencies. Furthermore there will be a greater problem when it comes to the monopoly and the abuse of power of the “Political dynasties”. Will the federal system ensure that these families do not abuse their power or will this further re-enforce their dominance? In the end we always try to look for systems that will be able to solve the problems we are experiencing. Charter change can be the way to go but this should not be done too quickly. We should be keen with what the government does because something with this gravity must not be taken lightly.

# I S TA N D W I T H C J at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Photo from Rappler

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Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) representatives filed an impeachment complaint against CJ Sereno at the House of Representatives (HRep) last August 2017; This was later scrapped by the house because of its lack of “sufficiency in form.” Below is the list of other relevant events to CJ Sereno’s impeachment: Violet; the color that symbolizes the fight for democracy continue to paint the streets during August 30, 2017: Another impeachment case from mobilizations and hearings. All sectors, including Larry Gadon, filed at the HRep. the youth, are invited to express their dissent against the unsubstantial complaints against September 13, 2017: Start of impeachment the Chief Magistrate and #StandWithCJ as she proceedings against CJ Sereno. The House continue to fight threats against the checks and committee on Justice finds Gadon’s complaint balances of the government. “sufficient in form and substance.” “It is when hope seems to be at its dimmest that you January 26, 2018: Non-filing of Statements of must be at your bravest, because the dawn can break at Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) by the any time. You cannot give up, you must fight.” Chief Justice was used by Gadon in his complaint - CJ Sereno

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Now, CJ Sereno is on indefinite leave while she tends to her impeachment complaint. The Office of the Secretary General filed a quo warranto against CJ Sereno, without even considering that it is unconstitutional. Despite all the efforts to monopolize the three branches of government, the #StandWithCJ movement, which started last year, stays at the forefront of fighting for genuine democracy in our country. Various members from all over the country are part of the movement which aims to “defend the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law from the malevolent use of the impeachment process to persecute the CJ.”

The principle of checks and balances is put into praxis by our Constitution through the division of the executive, legistative, and judiciary branches of government. Even though these branches are co-equal, independence is always a key term when discussing the judiciary. Despite all the safeguards to keep democracy, certain individuals (or groups) still try to erode this through impeachment cases against the 24th Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

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by SEAN THAKUR

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NEWS BY THE NUMBERS BY: AWARENESS X

1000

6000

Points lost by the index since February.

Drug lords released by the DOJ who are allegedly Kumpadres of the President

Workers Jollibee Food Corporation has to regularize

5.6 Million

Years that a UP student has to work for the givernment according to the IRR of the Free Tertiary Education Law

Years since the Syrian Civil War started

Syrians who have fled Syria due to the ongoing civil war

14,354 UPCAT passers for 2018

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87 million

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Facebook users affected by the Cambridge Analytica data leak

Photo from BetaNews

Months Boracay has to be closed for rehabilitation

Photo from Philippine Primer

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L W O M E N S ’ D AY by CYRIL CORNELIO March 8 was International Women’s Day. It was marked by many celebrations, discussions and protests all over the world. The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements kept the spotlight this year on improving women’s position in the workplace, pushing for freedom from violence, assault, harassment and objectification, an end to the culture of impunity with abuse. These protests were not just in the United States and Europe, but also in South Korea, where workplace mistreatment and sexual misconduct have come to light in the country. In Spain, protestors launched a 24-hour strike where women have been called on to stop working, whether in the office or at home.

In the Philippines, there were many protests held denouncing President Rodrigo Duterte, rallying against his rape and torture comments, with the SunStar reporting protesters “calling him among the worst violators of women’s rights in Asia.” In the University, there were several events held to commemorate and discuss the women’s rights movement in its successes in the past years, and what can be done to improve women’s standing today. Among them was The Philippine Press Institute, Center for Media Responsibility and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, National Union for Journalists Philippines, with The College of

Mass Communication Student Council, held a forum, “Women in Media: We are Not All Vagina” at the CMC Auditorium. The legacy of women journalists in People Power, and the role of women in media today, were among the issues discussed. Kara David, one of the panelists, talked about how the position of women in media is very much linked to the position of women in society. Women have earned a place equal to men, but the treatment remains different. Overall, International Women’s Day not only served as a day of celebration, but a day of continuing action against the oppression of women in society.

THE SHOPPING CENTER FIRE HO O EE SS EE CC H

by CLARICE TEE

Hopefully, this is the last fire that will scorch our school. Afterall, it has been barely two years since a fire burned down the Faculty Center and the valued works and possessions of professors and students alike. It’s been only three years since CASAA and Fonacier Hall was was destroyed as well. Our school deserves better fire safety protections and as Chancellor Michael Tan said, we should have a fire station in our campus because the nearest one we have is twenty long minutes away.

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The pain may still be very real for the entire UP community, but we can heal this scar. We can and we should come together as a community to help these unbelievably hardworking and self-less owners and employees of the Shopping Center rebuild. To those that plan to help, the Office of the Student Regent and many other organizations are currently collecting food and cash donations.

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Word quickly spread through social media, with generations of UP students were in disbelief and despair. We fondly remember as the place where we first got our blue books, readings and UP merch, the finish line for submitting our requirements and a place to food trip with our friends. We lost was an essential part of our lives in UP, our go- to place for everything Although the loss of these services will hurt us students, the concessionaires and their employees experienced a heartbreaking loss-that of their livelihoods. ‘D Holy Book, Blessings, Enriquez Roma and Charlie Fresh Fruit Shakes, Masshita, the newly renovated Rodic’s, and so many more lost not just the physical store, but their supplies, merchandise and equipment. The damage is said to be around P500,000. Despite all this, a photocopy store employee was heard saying “Sayang ‘yung mga thesis ng mga estudyante. Paano na sila? Sana may kopya pa sila.” Many of the employees worried about us students when they had every right to only think about themselves.

On the morning of March 8, 2018, as the staff, students and professors were just beginning to wake and head to school when the Shopping Center (SC) caught fire. The UP Community watched in horror as this constant fixture since the 1970’s was consumed by the terrible fire from 7 a.m. all the way until 8:53 a.m.

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If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that President Trump is not a person you can count on.

TRUMP1 or TRUMP2 by MARTIN SUAREZ

Since taking office, the USA has seen some radical changes to its system, and social environment. Among the flurry of protests, and sides clashing over one issue or another, the president has made sure that he hasn’t been forgotten. In fact, there is always something new to learn about Trump. Don’t believe me? Just check the international news outlets. CNN and MSNBC will give you plenty; add some Fox for a “multi-perspective” approach, hehe. Better yet, check his daily dose of tweets. You’re sure to have one heck of a day with them. ON CONTROVERSIES Each development has brought out another side of him. And by that, I mean it has revealed new controversies or it has shed some light on the more apparent issues that are currently being investigated. The glaring one is that of Stormy Daniels. Who? For those unaware, the president’s latest scandal has involved a member of the adult film industry in a not-so incognito release of Trump’s one-night stand with the actress. Not long after, she was paid hush money to keep the event under wraps, but has since chosen to come out given threats that have been made to her safety and that of her child. Now this is nothing unique for the US presidents in history. Clinton has had quite a few instances himself. The issue lies with how Trump has handled

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This year, in a high school in Florida, a mass shooting occurred resulting in the deaths of many students. The shooter was a 19 year old student. He wasn’t a terrorist, or illegal immigrant like those blamed by the administration for “bringing in all the problems”, but that didn’t matter to the head of state. What mattered more to him was the lack of access teachers had to guns. In his view, every teacher should be equipped with a gun to defend themselves. Hence, fuel has been added to the flame that is the gun control debate. He paints a picture of a world unsafe and anti-american. The danger, he claims, is outside our borders. If a problem occurs within such, then make sure that Americans have easier access to guns. After all, it’s not like a country has survived without guns. Of course, Australia had a gun ban that stopped mass Handling controversies, shootings, but I guess that wasn’t dangling with promises of safety relevant in their consideration. and playing with the economy of the world are just one of many In the online world, we worry changes and events brought about how easily accessible about by the Trump. Through it our private information is, all, the president has remained especially with the recent news confident that there has been on Cambridge Analaytica. Yet a progression. Now, has he Trump seems not to think Trumped1 as he claims or has he so, as he tweets out all his just Trumped2? You decide. responses, frustrations, and even announcements via Twitter. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson found out that the president had fired him via a casual tweet. Whether

ON THE ECONOMY One of the promises of Trump during his campaign was to stand strong against China, and to protect and provide jobs and industries for the U.S.A. In another hot topic press release, the president announced that the current system of trade between China, and the US is unfair for the country. Given that, the administration will be enforcing higher tariffs and will be reopening steel factories that went out of business due to competition abroad. Political experts have warned that this could be a dangerous move, indicating that a trade war could ensue. The consequences could have a ripple effect as economies around the world that are highly dependent on both China and the US will have to spectate as the two adjust prices in response to the Trump Administration’s decision. Although it is too soon to tell, things do not bode well for the global economy.

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This may be the latest, but it certainly isn’t the most pressing of issues. Following the investigation by Robert Muller into the probable interference by Russian interests into the US Election, Trump and his entourage of lawyers have bumbled their way through proceedings and media appearances in an effort to deny any foreign influence. This became even more of a challenge given the President’s “tweet-trigger” nature, but it was not until Donald Trump Jr. released online incriminating evidence of election tampering via collusion, that the situation went from bad to worse for Trump’s team. To top it off, Trump’s son-in law Jared Kushner is now back in the news outlets’ stories (for the wrong reasons). Amidst the turmoil and the suspicion, the Republicans have done their very best to discredit the “opposition.” Whether it’s in the form of a republican questioning the validity of Robert Muller’s work, or the president himself tweeting about how lame his detractors are and how great of a job he’s been doing, there will never be a shortage of news to report and facepalm after reading/hearing. ON SAFETY “Make America Great again.” That had to be the catchphrase of the year for the Trump administration. It was promised

it’s degrading the worth of another politician, bragging how “profitable” and how “successful” America is under his leadership, or just some plain covfeve, Trump does not chill.

that a wall would be built to keep out “terrorists and illegal immigrants.” The notion that the average American could not be safe with all that’s out there led to many citizens deciding to support Trump. Has he delivered on his promise of safety?

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it. As you may have guessed, the head of state has repeatedly denied any involvement with Daniels; even reaching to say he wasn’t attracted to her. Given the Interviews conducted and broadcasted online and on air of the actress herself, I’d beg to disagree.

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American vs. Korean Skincare. Vanilla With A Side of S&M. Talking Watches. Things I Call My Vagina. The Dick Monologues. Should I Make Her Breakfast Later? Old School Rules: A Musical Guide for You Youngins. Ordinary People. The Not So Ordinary Ordinary Brand Review. Ecosoc Masterchef: The Art and Lifestyle of Cooking. Beets.

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Photo by Tanja Heffner 32

A M E R I CA N V S . KO R E A N S K I N CA R E SABRINA GO

American and Korean beauty products have been recently dominating the beauty market, and yet, they both offer different results and formulas. However, their differences don’t constitute one being better than the other; they just all boil down to personal preference.

American beauty products are known to create a less natural result. They are popular for those who wish for a more dramatic look and to get that plastic Barbie face with poreless and matte skin, overdrawn lips, face contour, intense brows, colorful eyeshadow, and large, sharp winged eyeliner. American make up is more about covering flaws, and sometimes provides an illusion of something that wasn’t really there. Face contour can make someone have high cheekbones to any onlooker. Overdrawn and contoured lips can make someone’s lips look plump and large even if the natural lips are just actually small. American skin care products focus on toning and exfoliating. Toning is known to minimize and clean out pores. Many toning products are alcohol based, which is much harsher than the Korean alternative, which doesn’t use alcohol because it dries out the skin. Exfoliating is also quite harsh because it involves removing the top layer of the skin, which is believed to be full of impurities. Americans don’t value deep hydration as much as the Koreans do because their environment is not as harsh. Many popular moisturizers are actually oil-based rather than the Korean counterparts, which tend to be water-based. Unlike Koreans, Americans prefer tan skin so tanners have also become part of the skin care routine. Spray tans have become a popular alternative to the traditional tanning bed, which is known to quicken the appearance of wrinkles. For Americans, beautiful skin translates into clear, poreless skin and to achieve that goal, toning and exfoliating regualarly are considered to be the most important steps.

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Korean beauty products, however, act as a natural filter. It’s your face but better; more luminous skin, larger eyes, filled in brows, flush cheeks, and tinted lips. They never go for anything dramatic. Korean make up is for enhancing a person’s features. Their lip tints are the color of flushed lips, and their eyeshadows consist of neutral colors to keep the look natural. They also value skin care in their make up. Koreans believe that the secret and the foundation of beauty start with beautiful skin. BB and CC creams and compacts are the most popular products that cover up skin. They usually have SPF and moisturizing agents because the weather in Korea is less forgiving than that in America. They experience extreme temperatures throughout the year and eventually, their famous 10 step skin care was born. They created 10 steps because they use 10 different products for maximum hydration to help their skin fight against the harsh environment. They start with cleansing twice with different cleansers, and after, moisturizing by layering several products. Most Korean skincare consists of water-based products because they focus on gentle hydration. Many skin care companies also use unique ingredients in their skin care such as snail slime, charcoal, and even bee venom to stand out in the sea of competition. The epitome of beautiful skin for Koreans is having soft, bouncy, and light skin and they believe that deep hydration is the way to achieve that standard.

of competition. The epitome of beautiful skin for Koreans is having soft, bouncy, and light skin and they believe that deep hydration is the way to achieve that standard.

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Photos f rom you n gs tar.phil s tar.

VA N I L L A W I T H A S I D E O F S & M

(or how a sex shop became my favorite ice cream place)

PITA OCHAVE There is no other way to say this, except to come completely clean: My favorite ice cream shop is a sex shop. Better, I should say, that a sex shop doubles as my favorite ice cream place, since the aforementioned shop specializes in and is known for its “bedroom accessories” (and I don’t mean the kind they sell at Ikea). My favorite ice cream shop is a small, nondescript sex shop named Ilya, located along the busy Maginhawa food street. If you’ve driven along Maginhawa, chances are you’ve probably passed by this shop and its iconic neon bunny sign without knowing it, or seen Ilya’s aesthetic and teasing R-rated posts on Twitter, which they use to advertise their shop’s rich selection of sex toys and accessories. How—you may 34

ask—did I ever discover this sextoy-icecream-shop hybrid? Let’s just say it was a happy accident. In the first few months of junior year, my roommate and I saw an article on Facebook about a newly opened sex shop in Maginhawa. The shop advertised itself as a haven of “pocket boyfriend” vibrators and even featured an instagrammable wall of dildos. Being graduates of an all girls’ Catholic high school, my roommate and I were intrigued. We knew sex shops existed around the world, but we never thought a conservative and predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines could ever tolerate a business that deals so openly with a topic as taboo as sex. In Catholic school, our

three months of sex education could be compared to Coach Carr’s sex ed class in Mean Girls: Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don’t have sex in the missionary position, don’t have sex standing up, just don’t do it, ok, promise? While our high school teachers did acknowledge that other forms of birth control did exist, our Catholic school—as do many other Catholic schools today—insisted that abstinence was the only acceptable form of birth control and that as women, it was best if we saved sex for making babies after marriage. When my roommate and I arrived in the sex shop, we were greeted by an Ilya employee named Connie*, who as we would later discover, was a fresh

Photo f rom s outm ag.ph

*Not her real name.

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Though the ice cream is definitely delicious in Ilya,

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I learned more information about sex in the twenty minutes I spent in the shop than in my nineteen years of being alive. Connie walked us through everything, and when we apologized for taking up so much of her time, she told us it was no problem and, “I had a doctor come in here once, and she told me that she was so happy we were thorough in explaining the sex toys in our shop because she gets a lot of patients in the ER, who have carrots or cucumbers stuck in places they shouldn’t be, because they didn’t know any better.”

one of the principal reasons I keep coming back—tagging along more and more friends with me to eat ice cream there— is that I enjoy the openness and respect with which people discuss sex in Ilya. The topic of sex still carries a certain amount of shame with it in Philippine society. If you talk about it, you’re a slut. If you don’t, you’re a prude. There are very few safe spaces in the Philippines to talk about sex, and even fewer people we can turn to to ask questions about it. As a result, most college students have to go through a few horrible experiences (i.e. partners who pressure to consent, unsafe practices, etc.) before eventually figuring things out, which sucks if you think about it because (a) we can’t afford to make mistakes when it comes to sex and (b) we don’t have to. If ever you need a break from your academics and crave some good ice cream with a side of real talk, 10/10 I recommend you head to Ilya.

Thankfully, Connie was patient enough to guide us through all of Ilya’s sex toys and accessories, explaining to us the importance of “exercising your vaginal muscles” either through sex or Kegal balls, as well as the inner workings of a vibrator that could vibrate to the beat of your music and connect to Wi-Fi.

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grad from Ateneo. She offered us a tour around the shop and encouraged us to pick up items that looked unfamiliar to us. Before that, however, she offered that we try the shop’s ice cream, which they produce themselves. The flavours they sold included butter beer, margarita, black sesame, and matcha. Being the Harry Potter fans we are, my roommate and I chose to get one scoop each of Ilya’s butter beer ice cream, which was enriched with the flavor of vanilla and a high alcohol content. My roommate and I are ridiculously “low-tol,” so we found ourselves a little dizzy (and very talkative) from the delicious butter beer ice cream. With the aid of alcoholic ice cream, my roommate and I approached the strange objects in the shop as though we were aliens on a foreign planet. Dildos the size of half my leg, masturbatory aids for men shaped and decorated like Easter eggs, and whips and chains filled the store’s shelves. Being the schoolgirls we were, we had a lot of questions. Where does this thing go? How does it work? What’s the point of using it?

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T A L K I N G WA T C H E S JEM GEMZONTAN

WATCHES ARE MORE THAN A FUNCTIONAL TIMEPIECE OR A MUNDANE ACCESSORY. The watch in itself is a symbol of style, and the right one conveys the message of sophistication and professionalism. But beyond that, the watch for me is the perfect complement to anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wardrobe. Be it a serious business meeting or a casual date, there will always be the right watch for any occasion. My interest in watches began in my early teens, when my dad began exposing me to his collection of watches. It was a modest one at the time, with there really only being a few notable timepieces inside of it. I remember him helping me understand fairly early on the value of having a good watch and the amount of time and effort that goes into creating a watch and picking the right one for each occasion. Mind you, my father was not some wristwatch aficionado. However, his impact on my fondness for watches cannot be understated. As of the moment, my personal watch collection is nothing particularly astounding.

I received my first watch at the age of twelve. It was a Nixon Unit 44mm sports watch. It was black and simple and became my everyday accessory from age twelve up until my high school graduation. In between there were dabbles into some G-Shock sports watch models but none in particular that made a distinct impact on me. In my early teens the watches Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d regularly wear were always of the sports watch sort. It was a logical choice as it fit my everyday uniform in high school and matched my generally casual outfits. However, the first time that I was given the opportunity to put on a proper dress watch was in my junior prom. It was the first time that my dad allowed me to put on one of his timepieces. The Ball Fireman Ionosphere completed my outfit that night. With a 43mm case, it was definitely not a small accessory to be hanging on my wrist. However, the sheer size of its user (me!) made it a perfect fit. That night was a particularly stressful one as I remember being very conscious of where my wrist would land

or where I’d place my arm as I was always worried that any mistake could result in a permanent scar on the watch entrusted to me that night by my dad. The night went by without a hitch however and from that evening on, my dad gave me the green light to pull out the Ball (as we call it at home) to use on a regular basis, and it has since become one of my most used accessories.

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“...the watch for me is the perfect complement to anyone’s wardrobe. Be it a serious business meeting ot a casual date, there will always be the right watch for any occasion.”

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Of course, I’m always looking forward to the next piece I’ll have the opportunity of owning. The top of my lists include the IWC Portugieser Automatic as I’ve always been a sucker for neat dress watches with a stylish leather bracelet. Up next would definitely be either a Rolex Explorer or Milgauss. Lauded as one of the smartest purchases any individual can make (as Rolex consistently produces watches that do not depreciate in value), these two models signify the more affordable pieces one can own from the world-renowned brand.

Watches have always been something I’ve been drawn to. Its oftentimes sleek design and sheer functionality has made it a must for me. Watches always and forever will be dear to my heart, and I’ll always be of the opinion that the right watch is the last piece to delivering the strongest impression.

one of the best entry level watches to ever hit the market. At a largely friendlier price, you could “become a watch guy with the best of them” says John Mayer in his article from 2015. The watch itself is reminiscent of the Tudor diving watches of the past, as well as the Rolex Submariner, one of the flagship pieces from Tudor’s parent company. Arguably my favorite thing about this watch is actually in its dial. Sporting a blackface with bronze detailing, it exudes the perfect level of sophistication and style that has this piece going into many watch aficionado’s collections. Beyond this however is the absence of the modern Tudor shield logo. Instead, in its place you find the vintage Tudor rose emblem, the final piece of the puzzle for this timeless classic.

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However, if asked which of my watches were my favorite, it would definitely be the Tudor Heritage Black Bay that my mom got me as a present. With a blackface and a sleek classic design, it was considered to be one of the top watches of 2015. Advertised by John Mayer himself (who is actually low-key a huge watch guy himself), it was coined as

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T H I N G S I C A L L M Y VA G I N A by OLIVIA SOLOMON

VAGINA noun | va · gi · na | \va-’jī-nə\ Love it more. It’s yours. AURORA dawn It doesn’t always come as a gush of crimson on cotton. Sometimes, the beginning is a red-rust that makes you reel. It isn’t a burden. The rebirth that comes every month can sometimes remind you to come closer, you were never the same way you were 28 days ago. EE CC H HO O EE SS

CERYS love When you strip down and bare your soul the first time, no one really ever is sure what it is. When hands touch what you’ve always claimed as only yours, it’s more of feeling the sand in between your toes as the waves lap against you. It comes and goes. The bed won’t always be warm with the heat from someone else but you’ll always be there for yourself. Touch yourself always like it’s the first time.

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COSIMA beauty Not everyone reads labels. What’s inside will be what it wants to be. Sometimes, you are not always the sum of your parts because some parts are missing. The transition is worth every moment. It was never a case of being limited to just blue or pink. It’s just a matter of how light touches you when you’re the most happy.

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Leontine lion When they call you “slut,” it warrants a “thank you.” Screw them for not seeing how you know what you want and deserve. Slut means you’re not afraid to ask for better sex. It doesn’t settle for things that aren’t worthy of it. Pride is not being ashamed of your choices. Whatever you choose to do to your body, don’t apologize. Ramona wise protector When hands brand themselves into what you hold dear the most, it is never your fault. You didn’t ask for it - for the unwanted advances, the burning cold, nor the sinking feeling of losing yourself. Look up. You are surrounded with people who hold gold in their hearts. They’re the ones who will help you stitch the seams back together.

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Vagina. I used to think I can hide it by “pussy,” “snatch,” “flower,” or a billion other names that still refer to the same thing: my vagina. Vaginas come in different shapes and sizes. But in essence, they’re still vaginas. They’re great on anyone in the spectrum. Basically, they’re great in general. So why are we so afraid of the word “vagina?” I’ve always felt that we’ve been conditioned to fear the very thing we should love the most: our vaginas. There is inherent power in how it can spread, clench, and rebirth. It takes time to realize that the power every woman wields is the one that society shames them for. It seems like there is no in-between for my vagina. I can’t underuse it or overuse it. I can’t stand for that bullshit. My vagina isn’t something I should be ashamed of. My vagina goes through a series of vignettes every month and I’m proud of every story that comes out of it. Each vagina has a story. Maybe we’re just not listening to each other’s stories. I’ve come to learn that really owning my vagina means I get to take pride in it with my friends and my sisters. I’ve also come to hope that if each vagina’s story is heard, we make each other stronger. In multitude, there is power. Imagine how many vaginas can take over the world, yours included.

THE DICK MONOLOGUES by GAB RIVERA

Someone once asked me, “Why are you such a big dick?” At first, I asked myself. “What the fuck is this bitch saying? I ain’t ever even done anything bad to him? Da hell.” And then, I realized he was talking about me, the real me.

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I’m the dick. I feel like people might think being a big dick is easy: everyone wants you, everyone wants to suck you, and everyone wants you inside of them. And it’s true: getting a handjob or a blowjob, fucking anal or missionary, eating some truffle butter and cum is fun. But being a big dick is hard work.

First off, you have to carry the weight of your dick EVERYWHERE. It’s that big. Doesn’t matter if I was soft or hard – I’d still be flopping like an elephant’s trunk.

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Second, not everyone can take a big dick. And that sucks especially when deepthroats are literally one of the best things in the world. You’d be lucky enough to meet someone without a gag reflex, but in this day and age, they are a rare breed. So if you find yourself fucking someone that does have a gag reflex, gotta respect that – consent is key. Finally, when you’re a dick as big as I am, it’s hard to find someone who actually cares about you, who’d look past just the fucking. It’s easy to get lost in the ecstasy I can give, and it becomes exceedingly difficult when everyone thinks the only thing they can gain from you is a quick fuck. And though I do enjoy my occasional quick fucks, I think I’m ready to settle down now. I think I’m ready to stop settling for someone new every day, and settle for someone I can be with every day. It’s going to be hard and long, but I know I’m gonna get there. You just wait!

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SHOULD I MAKE HER B R E A K F A S T L AT E R ? ANON-FICTION

firmly

believe

that

the

universe

contains

three

fundamental

truths:

1. Friends is an objectively shitty, unfunny sitcom. 2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is indisputably the best album of the decade. 3. No one actually knows the right way to deal with the aftermath of a hookup. As I write this I am thoroughly intoxicated, and if not for the fact that this article’s deadline is today yesterday, I would probably be puking or passed out or drunk calling. So help me, God. There are certain rules you can’t break, at least according to your preferred YA novel or romcom, when it comes to the dreaded void, the in-betweens of friendship and hooking up and dating and nothing. And while I’m glad that culture is progressing to the point where openness about casual sex is becoming the norm rather than the exception, we need to talk about how millennial romance (or the lack thereof) can blur the connections we almostform (or at least imagine).

RULE # 1: NO PILLOW TALK Perhaps physical and emotional intimacy exist on entirely different planets. Can a person held so close still feel distant? I’m not saying you should fall in love with any stranger you happen to momol¸ but consider how tensed-up our generation is when it comes to dating, the lack of labels, the insistence on detachment. You’ve probably had to, at some point, discuss your options with your friends. Maybe you’ve had to do some research by binging all 5 seasons of MTV’s Awkward to get a better read on the situation. Maybe asking the person whose body parts are in close contact with yours could clear things up a bit, and help you figure just exactly what is going on.

RULE # 2: KNOW YOUR WHY’S There exists, in theory, a sense of control over one’s life when hooking up casually. There’s something empowering about being able to change things up at a moment’s notice, attachment can be shut on and off, and physical cravings satisfied with a swipe or a booty call. But in my (admittedly limited) experience, there is a 95% chance that it isn’t as simple as a oneand-done. We hook up for different reasons – some need it as an ego boost, an expression of freedom, getting over an ex. Be clear from the get go, because, honesty is hookup currency.

RULE # 3: FRIENDS ARE OFF-LIMITS

Actual theory from Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2018). Psychology. Harlow, Essex: Pearson.

What Schachter and Singer call the “misattribution of arousal” is what I believe to be at the heart of hookup misunderstandings. If our brains can’t make sense of Econ graphs half the time, how can it distinguish from one intense emotion to the next? Fear and anxiety can be mistaken for sexual arousal. And isn’t this at the core of hookup culture? Endlessly navigating uncertainty and the blurred lines of love, lust, and longing?

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1. You could possibly (probably) end up permanently detroying your friendship. 2. The resulting awkwardness will leave your social circles confused and having to pick up the pieces aftwerwards. 3. The attachment and confusion will cause you to forego seeing other people. 4. Tiptoeing around the minefield that is your new friendlationship will have you confused, lone;y, unable to distinguish romantic feelings from platonic desires,

Take what you can from this article, lest you end up like me: a drunken hopeless romantic moping about a hookup gone horribly wrong, venting on Echoes. The choice is yours.

This is not a zero-sum game. Familiarity + sex =/= love (in most cases).

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Cons

Pros

This goes without saying and should be common sense to most people. Simply ignore the fact that during sexual contact your body produces high amounts of dopamine (sex feels good, who knew?). Let’s take alook at the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion. (yes, I dug up Psych 101 readings for this)

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All it takes is few drinks and the right mood for the buildup of months and years of mild sexual tension to culminate in an awkwardyet-gratifying friend-fuck. You can toss the entire rulebook out the window. This is uncharted territory, an InglouriousBasterdsbar scene level of intensity. There are few things in life more awkward than showing up to a barkada dinner with matching hickeys. Before getting yourself in such a high-risk + low reward situation, please take a look at this handy pros and cons list I came up with.

RULE # 4: DON’T GET ATTACHED

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OLD SCHOOL RULES: A MUSICAL GUIDE FOR YO U YO U N G I N S FRANZ CRUZ

called “old but gold” and this shows how no matter how old the song is, the song is still as good or at par with the songs of the present.

IN THE FAST PACED, technological world we live in today, everything and everyone seems to updated. New and modern screams we fit in with society. But don’t we ever reflect how we got to this point in time? Some may say old is outdated and cannot compare with what the modern offers. In the case of music however, I beg to differ. Old music can easily be at par with modern music, especially now that we are experiencing a revival of the musical elements used during the 80s. So why listen to old music? Old music allows you to unwind to a world you never experienced. It allows you to feel the culture that the people during that time were accustomed to. Besides this, you also get to interpret the song anyway you want given the creative and well thought out lyrics. An example would be the 1965 single ‘Day Tripper’ by The Beatles. The 60s was an era of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, and ‘Day Tripper’ encapsulates all these in one song. The song may be about how women were drugs and you are never the same again once you “take” them. Another meaning of the song amongst people who talk about it is that the woman only intends to have a brief relationship, hence “Day Tripper”. There’s just something about how artists/ band of the past create their music that is rare in the music industry today. There’s a saying

As a listener of old music, I do not really have a favorite artist since they all ahve their own strengths. I usually choose an era/song based on my mood. If I’m feeling energetic, I would choose the 70s due to the groovy and upbeat music during that time. If I’m feeling chill, I would choose the 40s especially for its jazz music. My favorite era however, would be the 80s because there’s just so many genres that were present during that time. There were love songs, rock ’n’ roll, pop, rap, and most especially, New Wave. For me, New Wave is my favorite genre in the 80s as it really screams 80s for me. Artists like Tears for Fears, Hall & Oates, Wang Chung, David Bowie, and the like just seem to liven up my day. Maybe a factor to me favoring the 80s is because of my parents. In every roadtrip we had, the never ending song by a-ha ‘Take On Me’ always played, and I really found it unique and considerably “modern” even if it was a song from decades ago. Another reason that I favor the 80s is that I see it as a decade that can be compared to the present world. There were technological advances, colorful people, and most especially, diverse music being created by artists of that era. For me, I can compare the 80s to our decade now as 80s music is as diverse as it is today. People have the choice on what kind of music they would want in their playlists. These are only a few reasons why we should keep old music because it gives someone more variety when choosing a song. It is always better to keep an open mind and listen to the music today, but this just shows that people can go back in time and select the music that suits their taste/mood. No matter what our age is, anyone can appreciate old music and reminisce them with the relatives who grew up during those days. I hope as time goes by, more people get to appreciate the music of the past because there’s just so many in store for everyone to hear.

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WA N G C H U N G

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TEARS FOR FEARS

or di na ry 46

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words by JAVI VILCHEZ and CELINA PACANA photos by BENJU EVARDONE

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pe op le

These interviews were conducted online via Facebook messenger due to scheduling conflicts. They have been condensed into interview format a our readers with the consent of the interviewee.

NIC Javi: Hello there, Niccolo. Welcome to this month’s edition of Echoes. How does it feel to be on the cover of the official publication of the UP Economics Society? Niccolo: tae mo wait lang ha, i’m in commute to studio hehe. i’ll get back to you as soon as i get there meng. *three hours later*

*ten minutes later* N: sorry sobrang bagal hehe. well, im not exactly the most active ecosoc mem, and i feel that the opportunity of being featured as cover models should go to those who actually

N: I like to think that I’m hardworking in my own way, but compared to those who are able to juggle things like directorships, attending events, acads, other orgs, and everything in between, it’s an understatement to say that i could step up a bit haha Humble and unassuming to a near fault, Niccolo continues to heap praise on others while downplaying his own achievements. J: You were chosen to represent Ecosoc on the cover of Echoes in line with this month’s theme: “being ordinary.” Do you believe that normalcy is a description that suits you?

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J: ako nga im dropping Accounting 1 nga eh HAHAHAH. Anyway, what do you mean by “deserved the honour”?

J: You don’t see yourself as hardworking and passionate?

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It was clear from these early interactions that Niccolo was a no-nonsense kind of guy. His value of time, his lack of any discernible mema, and his understated humility all contributed to the enigmatic shroud of normalcy that surrounded him. It was dismissable, yet magnetic at the same time. I sought to penetrate his veneer of normality, first with small-talk.

N: From what i’ve seen, people from Ecosoc are passionate, hard working people. They really care about the things they work on and dedicate themselves 110% to deliver above and beyond what is expected.

N: i got here now lang sorry po. it takes mga 2 hours since i left during rush hour like an idiot. anyway “Honestly, modelling for anything was never something that crossed my mind, so of course I was surprised and apprehensive when i was asked to be on the cover of a publication. It felt weird to me because i knew there were a lot of people who deserved the honour more than i did, but overall i’m thankful for the fun experience.” i haven’t even started accounting meng.

J: but what does it mean to be a member of Ecosoc? When you hear that someone is a member of Ecosoc, what is the stereotype that enters your head?

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J: “I’lL gEt bAck To yoU as sOon as i gEt tHeRe meNg.”

put in the work and really embody what it means to be a member of ecosoc.

N: yes I believe that describes me quite well. I consider myself pretty average and try my best to avoid sticking out. J: How do you think that strategy has fared out for you? Could you name any pros? Any cons? N: Overall I can’t complain about my life so far, but I’ll say this. When you live a life avoiding risks, you spare yourself from the lowest of lows, but also miss out on the highest of highs. J: Would you want to experience one of those “highest of highs” if it meant having to go through a “lowest of lows”? N: ay gagi i just realised the thing i forgot to

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When you live a life avoiding risks, you spare yourself from the lowest of lows, but also miss out on the highest of highs. do last friday was get a dp. (Editor’s Note: Buti na lang nanalo tayo sa DP or else tatanggalin kita sa cover. Jk.) I believe that you can’t truly have one without the other. Life isn’t a fairy tale where everything goes your way 24/7, so rather than hoping for things to always go well, I pray for the strength to push through all these lows J: So that’s a yes? You’d go through a “lowest low” for a “highest high”? N: yepepep. J: Take me through a typical 48-hour cycle for Niccolo Rosadia. Specifically, the dual days of Friday and Saturday. As a south kid, I know you usually head home somewhere within this interval. Walk me through what you usually experience from Friday morning to Saturday night of an ordinary two-day routine. N: Fortunately my first class on Friday starts at 10 so I get to catch up on some sleep and wake up late. I usually bring my luggage with me so that I can go straight to the bus at UPTC after my last class ends at 2:30. The commute itself isn’t that bad apart from lugging my laundry and school stuff around Greenbelt. On rare occasions I bump into some of my old HS friends on the bus and get to catch up with them. I get home, greet my dogs, and crash till dinner time. After that I group up with some guys from high school and play some CS, or DOTA till around 2. The next day I wake up and attempt to do some school work, which ultimately ends with me saying I’ll do it tomorrow. I watch some Netflix, read some manga, walk the dog, go for a run, then sleep

till dinner. Dinner’s always delicious and i go to bed happy and content with my completely unproductive day. J: Quick follow-up question to that before we wrap things up: what’s your favorite part of that two-day stretch? N: definitely the moment I get back home and land on my bed. I get to forget about acads and everything else that stressed me out the past week and just sleep in my bed. J: Thanks for your patience so far, Nic. My final question: what’s the most extraordinary dream you currently have? This could be anything: a trip, a hobby, a fantasy, a fetish… whatever! What resides within you that you think is definitely out of the ordinary? N: I wouldn’t say that it’s too extraordinary, but I do have this dream of becoming a private investigator. Like in those old noir films where they profile, study and bust psychopaths. Maybe in another life. J: Thanks for your time, man. It was a pleasure having you. I hope to see you in that other life! Hopefully I’m not one of those psychopaths there HAHAHA

KARLA Cel: What is an ordinary day for Karla Bulan like? Karla: I wake up at around 7 am, and I cook breakfast for my sister. Afterwards, I get ready for the day (tbh mabilis lang to HAHAHHA OY

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My biggest dream is to be able to help as many people as I can, especially those who really need it. CEL YUNG MGA enclosed sa parenthesis SA ATIN LANG AH!) Then i go to school. After, I go home, do my hw, clean the condo, cook dinner and then (DRINK TEA HAHAHAH!!) and then sleep before 10 pm. E C H O E S

C: How nice! What do you look forward to in everyday!! Like what keeps you going?

K: I look forward to the excitement of a new day! Every moment is so different, and what makes it so special is that you always have the choice to be happy or sad. If I let something bother me, then I will forever remember that day as a sad one. But then I remember that every moment gives me chance to start again, so I can choose to be happy! So that’s why every single day is so exciting for me!

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C: Such a sweet answer from our cover star of the month! About that, how does it feel like to be on the cover of Echoes this month? K: At first, when bianca asked me, I thought she was joking! As in natawa ako. But when she kept asking, I realized she was serious. I didn’t want to be on the cover because I wasn’t the type to be on the cover of Echoes. I hate taking pictures, I don’t like selfies, and I’m super awkward. But then, ecosoc eh. Until now, I still can’t believe that there’s going to be an Echoes issue with me on the cover. UNREAL!!!!!! C: What makes you think you’re awkward?? K: Every time I see a picture of myself, especially if it’s a solo picture, I cringe!! LALO NA ITONG ECHOES ISSUE!! Di kaya ng powers ko maging serious and fierce

C: Is it just about being serious and fierce or is it about being put in the spotlight? K: Siguro being put in the spotlight din. Buti na lang ikaw interviewer ko. You know me better than I know myself. C: Awerl! Then what it is it about being in the spotlight? K: i think it’s not that I’m worried or anything. I just don’t like being in the spotlight. I prefer being in the background, but still offering my full support to whoever’s there. But I don’t know, Cel. You gave me something to think about. C: Do you consider that one of your stronger character traits, you know supporting people hehe? K: I hope so!! I try my best to be reliable and trustworthy, especially to the people around me. C: Wow! Now onto the fun questions. What is something most people don’t know about you? K: I don’t have an appendix anymore! I got appendicitis in third year. Okay lang, I got out of PE for the whole year. C: Saya! ‘Eto naman. What is an ideal day for Karla Bulan like?

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K: Going to the beach and not stressing out about anything. C: And what is your biggest dream? it.

K: My biggest dream is to be able to help as many people as I can, especially those who really need C: How do you see yourself doing this? K: Working in the government! Hopefully! C: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re nearing the end of this interview. What makes Karla Bulan extraordinary? K: I always look at the positive side of things, kaya lagi ako masaya.

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THE NOT SO ORDINARY ORDINARY BRAND REVIEW A NDREW BANAAG

The people of this decade love fast. Fast internet speeds, fast dissemination of info, fast food, and, not surprisingly, fast fashion. Fast fashion, in the simplest of senses, is basically what it says: it’s fashion that’s produced quickly and in bulk. Every other week, big names such as Uniqlo, Forever 21, H&M, and Cotton On mass produce their new lines of clothing, with the exceptional release of collaborations (a good example being Uniqlo’s KAWS x Uniqlo line). These clothes also have the characteristic of being relatively cheap, and are very popular in Southeast Asia. Their presence is very apparent too here in the Philippines, as I do encounter (on a daily basis) people wearing these brands just about everywhere I go. I personally do subscribe to just about all the brands I mentioned above, and to be quite honest, it is because everything about them makes them extremely attractive. Let’s first talk about variety in the kinds of clothing styles available. For all archetypes and kinds of people, there exists clothing. Whether you’re very active, very casual, or just like to experiment, these fast fashion brands have it all!Did I mention that these clothes, already being quality and aesthetically pleasing, are relatively cheap to boot? That’s how these brands are able to produce so many of these: because wherever they get their stock, it’s cheap, and therefore to make a profit, they need only to bump up their prices a little more! They say the clothes you wear tell a lot about you, and I like to believe that this is indeed accurate! To me, the clothes I wear represent who I am, my character, and, even to an extent, what I advocate! For example, I wear what I wear because I’m a very outgoing, cheerful person, and advocate the idea of good-looking, comfortable, and affordable clothing. I also can attest to the fact that when I like what I’m wearing, I feel especially good and confident in myself. It’s almost as if what I wear is also what my mood on that particular day is, and I’m certain I’m not the only one to feel strongly about this. A lot of things these days ride on the whole concept of “hype”. Just take a look at brands like Supreme, whose clothing line is extremely expensive despite almost having no design on the shirts other than a red fat “Supreme” slapped on a shirt. I don’t think these so-called “ordinary” brands run on that. Sure, Uniqlo, H&M, Forever 21, and Cotton On are all very trendy and are “fads” in all its sense, but I don’t believe that, like a fad, these will be short-lived. Its attractiveness lies, once again, on the huge variety and price, whereas Supreme is literally just hype. And, in this, lies a big, bright future for ordinary brands such as these. As long as they keep their branding (and, of course, develop them as the tastes and preferences of their customers changes), there appears to be no swift death for fast fashion.

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ECOSOC MASTERCHEF: THE ART AND LIFESTYLE OF COOKING a conversation with SOFIA PADILLA What got you into cooking? • My mom. Ever since my mom had my little brother in her tummy, she would start buying cookbooks and trying out all these recipes out home. I was her “little chef” assistant. I would find so much joy and wonder whenever I saw her make a simple ingredient into something so yummy. My family is such a foodie family and the idea that cooking is like making edible art really gets me hooked. It also brings people today and makes them happy.

Best thing about cooking? • Cooking can get very addicting. It also takes up so much nice. Cooking can relax you because it lets you play chef!

What is the most important cooking lesson you have learned? Worst thing about cooking? • Don’t be pretentious. What my mom • When you start cooking often you end up used to tell me is that don’t try to losing an appetite to eat what you make! overdo your dish by adding so many You just really want to keep cooking and unnecessary sauces. Try to work around cooking nonstop that you make more the base and add only what would bring than what you can chew. justice to the natural flavor of dish. You could be surprised on what a pinch of salt Why everyone should learn how to cook? and pepper can do. • Food brings people together. It’s amazing to see how much smiles you can bring to What is your favourite dish to eat? the table and aside from that appreciate • My favorite dish is honestly sashimi and art in your tongue. Cooking makes you cold soba. I LOVE JAPANESE FOOD. feel like a scientist experimenting with flavors, yet an artist who is creative at the Favourite dish to cook? same time. If you love to eat, you should • I love healthy food, so I make myself definitely learn how to cook! pan seared fish dishes or grilled mediterranean/middle eastern inspired Easy dishes to do/quick tips? lamb/beef dishes. I really love the flavor • Charcoal grilled rib-eye. Super simple. profile spices can bring. Get a cut of ribeye, season with knorr, pepper, olive oil and perrins. Do not salt Ingredient you can’t live without? it. Make sure to massage the sauce into • Salt and pepper. As basic as it sounds, this the steak. Let it rest. Then under a hot is a necessary staple. It’s super simple but charcoal grill, put it under the flame. It’s what I like about it is that it can bring out super simple but it’s super good. Trim of the natural flavor of the dish. It also is the the fats and make it into steak fried rice. most versatile since it is present in almost Make sure to toast the fats and don’t use all cuisines. oil/butter anymore to make it less sinful.

BEETS

KLAUSE CABANOS When this car rolled out of the factory, The God Father 2 was in cinemas, so was The Great Gatsby, post-it notes were invented and the rubik’s cube was just made.

The best experience I’ve had with Beets is that every once in a while, people come up to me and ask about the car. I’ve had tricycle drivers talk to me while in traffic, pedestrians coming up as i’m gassing up telling me how they used to own one and your occasional motorhead just admiring and asking the car. Another thing that I really enjoy about driving this car is that Beetle drivers seem to have an unspoken agreement. Whenever you see another beetle on the road, you honk and smile at the driver and I guarantee that you that they will honk as well. I’ve had this happen to me multiple times and it always brings a smile to my face.

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I remember the first time I experienced Beets’ untimely breakdown. It was his first night out of the mechanic’s shop and I took him around the village with my sister for a few laps. After my fifth lap of roaring down the road, beets came to a stop. Initially, i thought that i just miscalculated the clutch pedal, but my car wouldn’t start anymore after. I panicked a lot as I was at the opposite end of my house in the village and my phone had died out already. Then it started to rain. Not just any rain. It felt like Ondoy part two. We tried to wait it out but it wouldn’t stop. After what seemed like hours, I told my sister wait in the car and I went out in the rain to look for help. I walked for about 5 mins to the guardhouse and called home. My cousin turned up and we pushed the car in the rain, while my sister was inside Beets, making car noises. Turns out the gas gauge was broken and while it showed that I still had half the gas, i really had none!

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A grey 1974 Super Beetle. Modified with an electric starter, exhaust, fog lights and those cool meters that makes you feel like you’re in a race car ready for a racetrack. 17 inch mags and a lowered rear. This is my dad’s project and my everyday car. This is my Beetle or as my friends and I would call him, Beets. He started out as an old rusted Beetle that my uncle started restoring. After a few years of trying, he got tired since the parts were difficult to find. Thus my dad and I continued the restoration. After around 5 years and 3 different mechanics, Beets finally roars on the road on a daily basis. Once in a while he may need a new part renewed, a fair price to pay for parading daily a 44 year-old car.

This car has always been a dream of mine. I’ve been admiring it ever since I saw its rusted frame and become this gorgeous car that we see now. Another dream of mine might even come true as we might enter the car to a car show this April 15, at the Rev Up event in UP Town which would feature old, but gold cars. We hope to see you there!

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Getting My Horns. Ladybird and the Case of the AllGirls School. When Musical Theater Feels Real. Artist in Focus. Holy Week Instatravel Log. The Uniqlow Down. Staff Picks. Let’s Talk About Sex. Tweetable Tweets. Basic Fashion. What’s in Ecosocers’ Everyday Make-up Bags? Sexual Practices in Pre-Hispanic Philippine Society.

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GETTING MY HORNS by YANNA POTENCIANO

There are only a few things in this world that I am sure of. I’m sure that my parents love me, that the world is round, and that Kanye West is a genius (to name a few). Other than that, I generally have a hard time being truly sure about things. I also have a bad habit of never being able to finish things, whether it be a meal or an unfinished poem or that pile of books sitting next to my bed. In addition, I am an A+ flaker. If we make plans to go out, don’t be surprised if I end up ditching to sleep at home. So how in the world then did someone as fickle with me decide to get a permanent tattoo? Getting a tattoo was low-key something I have wanted to do since I was about 17, however I wasn’t sure when I would get it, what design to get, or where to put it. Fast forward to my 4th year in college and three really close friends of mine all got tattoos in a span of a few months. If this wasn’t the sign I needed to get my tattoo, then I don’t know what would be. I finally made the decision that I was going to get a tattoo, and I had to get it soon. The pressure suddenly came when I was thinking of what design to get. Things I kept in mind were that it had to be something small and dainty but it also had to be something I could relate to and give meaning to me for the rest of my life. No big deal. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but I thought of the Taurus symbol and I knew that it was exactly what I needed. I greatly associate myself to the Taurus personality, with all the love, pride, tenderness, and sass that we come with. When it came to deciding where to put it, which was a much easier task to do, I simply wanted it to be in a place where I could hide it without effort, but also where I could easily show it off to people if I wanted to. Putting it behind my ear seemed like the logical thing to

do because it could do just that. Now that things were starting to feel more legit, I felt like I had to tell my parents that I was going to do it. Both of my older sisters, who also have their own tattoos, never asked permission from my parents to get theirs done nor did they inform them when they got them. However, being the favorite youngest child that I am, I knew I would have an easier time getting away with telling them about it. After assuring my mom that my design was not a devil goat but actually just the Taurus symbol, she said yes. I scheduled to get my tattoo a few weeks after UP Fair was over. Then comes the day that I was finally going to

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get it. My appointment was scheduled in the afternoon, but I did not shut up the entire morning talking about how excited I was. The shop I went to was small but cozy and also pretty clean. I brought a few friends with me for support and documentation purposes. First my artist stenciled my design to the size that I wanted then transferred it to my skin to check if the positioning was how I wanted it. We did this a few times until I was sure it was in the right place. He then pulled out a small stool with a cushion for me to rest my face on. At this point, my palms started sweating and my heart was pounding. After 20 minutes of angling my head in an odd position and squeezing my own hands through the pain, I was done. I came into getting the tattoo expecting excruciating, burning pain, although I consider my pain tolerance to be pretty high. My tattoo artist assured me it wouldn’t hurt as bad as I was imagining, which I guess helped me psych myself up for the worst. And to my surprise, it really didn’t hurt that bad! I would describe the feeling as a needle being dragged along your skin slowly with just enough pressure to not puncture you (trust me, doesn’t hurt as bad as it sounds). It only hurt more than usual in the areas that were on the bone (e.g. the horns of the taurus), but everything else was 100% bearable. After a while, the buzzing sound and the vibrations actually felt pretty fun. To be honest, I think it was also a lot of the adrenaline that was going through me that got me through it. The soreness comes almost instantly, but I barely paid attention to it. I finally did it. I was riding off the high of the experience and I couldn’t stop smiling. I took a few photos and stared at it in the mirror for a good 5 minutes. When it was done, all I could think of was how proud I am of myself for making such a big decision. I suddenly had a newfound confidence about me; even my artist said I looked like a new woman. As simple and small as this might seem to someone, this experience really encouraged me to be confident and more sure about the decisions I make in life, as long as I stay grounded to who I am. Now that I have been branded like the bull I know I am, I am ready to take life by the horns and face it head on. To anyone who is thinking about getting a tattoo, do it. It is truly an experience you need to feel for yourself. Whatever you might be going through in life or what story you would want to tell, this might actually be the release you are looking for. No ragrets.

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L A DY B I R D A N D T H E CA S E O F T H E A L L - G I R L S SCHOOL by BEL BERNARDO

Many of life’s questions remain unanswered. Many wonder what came first, the chicken or the egg. Many wonder why Math 17 was so goddamn difficult (cos tbh, same). But a lot of these questions that we find difficult to answer are those that dig deep— those that strike a nerve, those that are unflinchingly honest. Lady Bird (the Academy Award nominated movie, and highest rated film of Rotten Tomatoes for a while) poses such a question. “I want you to be the very best version of yourself that you can be.” “What if this is the best version?” The problem with coming-of- age movies are that more often then not, they’re unrelatable. I mean, yes their characters are dealing with change, and yes, they’re going through puberty like you, but their personas are inseparable from the roles they play. It’s obvious that they’re way too good-looking to be nerdy high school students (it’s unnerving that literally nobody on screen has acne), and tell stories that just don’t accurately portray what it’s like being a teenager today. Lady Bird is a welcome departure from exactly that— the overused tropes and the downright bad acting. Watching the film, you instantly feel a connection towards all the characters. From the theatre geek, to the emo kid, to the character just trying to make her way through high school, you realize exactly how close their stories hit home. It’s awkward, cringey and laughable, but it’s authentic. Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut mixes the quirkiness of a Bratpack movie with modern day sensibilities— making it the most relatable film I’ve seen in a while. As a 19 year old who graduated from an uptight Catholic school, I never thought I’d be able to see stories like mine on the big screen. Christine McPherson, who renames herself “Lady Bird”, is a graduating high school student wanting to leave her family and small town for of a more interesting life in the big city. She’s figuring out what it means to grow up, coming to terms with her own identity, and seriously deciding what she wants to do with her life.

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One of the great things about this film is that you get a sense of how all these seemingly smaller narratives of friends and people in her life impact her own. The film is evidence of very careful observation of characters and places, compelling you to pay close attention to truly understand what’s happening. Gerwig writes these characters with such care and detail that it highlights how much Lady Bird fails to notice about everything else. She’s so caught up in her problems and self-absorbed in what’s going on in her life, that it doesn’t register that the people around her are going through their own personal tragedies. It’s a tricky time in life— you push people away, yet want their attention at the same time. And like every angsty adolescent teenager, family was just stress you didn’t want to come home to after a long day of school. It was creepy how scenes between Lady Bird and her mother could have easily been a reenactment of me and my mom at home. There were so many parallels— fighting over the most absurd things and yet going shopping as if these arguments never happened. The portrayal of this sort of relationship on screen has become a startling realization of how exactly I’ve been as a daughter in real life. Growing up in a Catholic girls school has been a somewhat interesting experience. I think that it’s pretty hard to explain or understand unless you’ve gone through it yourself. There were the itchy uniforms, the ban on ankle socks, and moments spent laying on the classroom floor with friends, talking and wondering what lie ahead. I remember questioning my faith in God as Christian Living classes droned in the background, and the conflicting feeling of wanting to stay in a place you’ve called home for so long despite the excitement of finally leaving for somewhere better. There’s a scene where Lady Bird and her best friend Julie are laying down on the floor after mass, eating unblessed communion bread by the bag. They just look up at the ceiling, staring at nothing; just talking about life and plans for the future. Watching that moment on screen had transported me back in to that exact point in high school. I think what I loved about this movie the most is how they breeze through the experience of truly growing up. You see her growth as you watch these milestones in her life. From first crushes, to after school activities, to sending out college applications, and prom— all these moments have happened at some point in your life. Those 2 hours on screen transoprted me into some strange universe where once again, I was reliving all these snapshots in my life. Strangely, I ran for student council in the hopes of doing something worthwhile. I’ve also liked a cute boy who turned out to be an asshole. And of course, prom was incredibly awkward but otherwise memorable. Saoirse Ronan puts so much heart and depth into her character that you can’t help but develop a fondness for her. Lady Bird has so many dreams for herself, yet is filled with doubt about her capabilities to fulfill them. She’s smart, but not incredibly so, unique, but not really. She is everyone who’s dreamed bigger than possible, and who have wanted more than they deserved. In one line, she even says “I’m sorry I wanted more,”. It really hit home. It makes you wonder, how would my life look on the big screen? Am I the only one going through these things? Are these feelings valid? As a college student still trying to navigate her way through life, I have become Lady Bird towards the end of the movie. She’s driving away from Sacramento in her boxy old car, leaving her comfortable life behind. There’s a palpable anxiousness in the air, and yet there’s an undeniable excitement in its wake. If this movie has left me anything, it’s that I’m figuring shit out. And that’s okay, because everyone else is too. All the things that Lady Bird has been searching for, are things that I have been looking for myself. Like an old song that plays on the radio, I’ll remember what it felt like. I’ll remember the uniforms, the Sunday mass, and the friends I’ve made. I’ll remember when the world felt like it was closing in, from all the pressure and stress, terrified of things I couldn’t understand. I’m leaving Sacramento behind for something better— leaving high school behind to become the best version of myself in college, now. When things get tough, I’ll just replay that old song on the radio. There are so many more things I wish I could say about this film, but it’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself as you watch it. It’s a gentle reminder that sometimes, the only way to find home is to leave it.

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W H E N M U S I C A L T H E AT E R F E E L S R E A L by CELINA PACANA

The term “theatrical” is often associated with something flamboyant: a person with an animated personality, an event that exudes grandeur or even an an experience that feels exaggerated. Suffice to say, we’ve all somewhat grown up with the misconception that theater is always grandiose and hardly ever relatable. There’s something about the overwhelming stage size, bright lights and unsparing use of costume and make-up that makes it tricky for us to link theater with well, ourselves. Nowadays, however, with groundbreaking musicals such as “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen” so evidently geared towards a millennial audience, there’s been a general perspective shift. Our generation is starting to see theater, musical theater to be more specific, as a reflection of the human experience. And while we aren’t witches who set off to meet the wizard (Wicked), or poor bar girls in war-stricken Vietnam (Miss Saigon), we do have a lot in common with the famous characters we see take center stage. Here’s my top 5 list of musical theater numbers that resonate with our common experiences. 1) “Will I” — Rent Unlike all the thoughtfully structured, extravagant numbers we usually witness in musical theater, “Will I” takes the shape of a four-lined, one verse round song. This anthem, sung at a Life Support meeting with a group of AIDS victims and junkies, could not be any more succinct. And I guess that’s what makes it so excruciatingly painful—how raw and honestit is. The thing is, one doesn’t need to be cursed by a chronic illness to grasp the sheer weight of this song. The use of a round song revolving around a single verse, with all the Life Support members coming in song and clashing so beautifully against each other makes astrong statement in itself. When we are plagued with problems that only seem to concern us —whether it be a physical illness like the one in the play, a mental health problem or even an insecurity or frustration towards oneself, oftentimes we feel

like we will never see the end of it. And when the going gets rough and we are losing our minds, we all really want to feel like we are cared about. And this painful display of human vulnerability in the worst of times can easily hit hard to absolutely anyone. Life Support Members: Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare? 2) “Helpless” — Hamilton One of the most profound and characteristic human experiences is that of falling in love. Musical theater has its vast share of numbers relaying just that, but this one holds a special place on this list because of how it strays away from the flowery declarations of love we usually see, and gets down to the wa-poise surrender we find ourselves in when we start to develop a crush. Elizabeth Schuyler: Helpless! Look into your eyes, And the sky’s the limit I’m helpless! Down for the count, and I’m drownin’ in em Then you walked in, and my heart went “Boom!” My personal favorite feature of this song is the clever employment of R&B bops from women who talked about love as well. Eliza Schuyler, the title character Hamilton’s love interest in the musical, subtly includes references to Beyonce’s “Countdown”, Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine” and Tamia’s “So Into You” in her song. This works quite effectively because we all

know nothing feels quite like being foolishly and helplessly in love like an R&B love song. 3) “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” — The Book of Mormon

Elder Cunningham: On a slightly smaller plate! Perhaps our personalities are much less extreme than theirs, but such a friendship is not rare amongst us. It’s normal to find ourselves standing in the shadows of our friends, and submitting instead of being challenged by it. In

Jamie: Some people stall when they can’t see the trail Some people freeze out of fear that they’ll fail But I keep rollin’ on I dreamed of writing like the high and mighty Now I’m the subject of a bidding war! I met my personal Aphrodite I’m doing things I never dreamed of before! It’s hard not to be sure I’m spinning out of control!

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Elder Price: Every hero needs a sidekick Every captain needs a mate Every dinner needs a side dish

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Elder Cunningham: And I can stand next to you and watch!

Elder Price: You and me - but mostly me Are gonna change the world forever ‘Cause I can do most anything

4) “Moving Too Fast” — The Last Five Years Before I start on my commentary, I IMPLORE you all to get into The Last Five Years. It’s a very personal, no-nonsense narrative about falling in and out of a great love. What amazes me the most about it is its minimal need for a largescale production especially as it just features two characters: the couple, Jamie and Cathy. The most gut-wrenching twist about this musical is the fact that Jamie and Cathy are narrating their side of the experience in what appears to be a monologue. More importantly, Cathy narrates from the end to the beginning, and Jamie narrates in chronological order. Save for their wedding in “The Next Ten Minutes”, the two never meet, and you’re left with fragments of a heartbreak that makes it difficult to pinpoint who was to blame for the demise of such a fantastic love. While the culprit changes throughout the play, it’s generally a lot easier to take Cathy’s side. The reason being is that Jamie is a gifted writer who quickly rose to success, which often made him neglect their marriage and leave struggling actress Cathy alone to fend for herself. That being said, Jamie is painted to be proud and selfish. This is exemplified in this song, where he unsparingly boasts about his climb to acclaim along with his fiery romance with his wife. A stark contrast to Hamilton’s “Helpless”, where vulnerability is described, this song relays an emotion we are too ashamed to admit we all get: feeling invincible.

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I’m just going to go on a whim and say The Book of Mormon is one of the stupidest, most gago pieces of art I’ve ever seen in my life. The entire musical revolves around characters that are so unbelievably silly that it’s hard to take the Latter Day Saints missionary-experience plot seriously. The musical is almost offensively funny, but still so brilliantly coherent. Like all the other numbers in this musical, “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” is outrageous and hilarious. It sets up the two main characters, missionaries Elder Price and Elder Cunningham so well—the former being a repulsively arrogant, narcissistic Ken-doll type, and the later being an extremely geeky and insecure compulsive liar. The unlikely pair find themselves challenged by their assignment to turbulent and impoverished Uganda, and so they resolve to delineating their roles. Elder Price would take the lead, and Elder Cunningham would simply “stay out of his way.”

hindsight, there’s great challenge in competing with peers we love and respect so much, so this song is an easy relate for me.

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5) “Waving Through a Window” — Dear Evan Hansen It would be an absolute disservice to the world of musical theater to not include this masterpiece of a song from the latest Tony hit. A fresh, new musical deliberately created to encapsulate the millennial growing up experience, “Dear Evan Hansen” is racked with the most awkward, cringeworthy and painstakingly real tracks. If there are moments throughout the musical that you don’t feel like the song was specifically written about and for you, you’ll definitely feel like it was written about someone you know. That’s right, because the title character, Evan Hansen was that kid. We’ve all probably been Evan Hansens in our lives, feeling like we could fade away in a crowd because nobody really notices us. If you’re one of the lucky ones that has never felt that way, then I’m sure you had a classmate or a friend that like Evan, was crippled with youthful insecurity and anxiety. Need I say more? Let the lyrics speak for itself. Evan Hansen: I’ve learned to slam on the brake Before I even turn the key Before I make the mistake Before I lead with the worst of me I try to speak, but nobody can hear So I wait around for an answer to appear While I’m watch, watch, watching people pass I’m waving through a window Can anybody see? When you’re falling in a forest, And there’s nobody around Do you ever really crash Or even make a sound?

ARTIST IN FOCUS: Sheena Dy

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You can find more of Sheenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work on her Instagram account, @artbysheenady. Sheena is also open for digital and calligraphy commissions. 69

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HOLY WEEK INSTATRAVEL LOG

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T H E U N I Q LOW- D OW N : The Story of My Uniqlo Exploits by LA MANLANGIT

First of all, I apologize for that corny ass title. Please read my article, pretty please? It’s August 2015, and freshman LA Manlangit walks into the first month of his college life. He’s dressed in some tight ass graphic shirt that he bought off the sale rack in some random ass corner of the SM Department Store, and some shorts his mom picked out for him from some random stall in Greenhills. He attends all his classes, goes home right after his last class and sulks down on his bed, still wondering how college life will be different from high school, and still trying to figure out this thing called “talking to girls”. He then opens his closet and asks himself, “Well, what sad outfit am I going to wear tomorrow?” Fast forward to 2018, and junior LA Manlangit, having taken another nap in an attempt to procrastinate and delay studying for a Sociology exam, wakes up dazed and confused. He realizes he fell asleep at around 10:30 PM because he made the stupid decision of studying on his bed. It is now 5 AM. In an attempt to jeopardize his health and sleep, he further attempts to procrastinate by picking out his outfit for the next day. “Ok, what am I wearing today?” he asks himself as he tries to pick out a shirt while still groggy from his nap turned actual sleep for the night. As you can see, through the years I still hate myself, but just a tad less now. I also stopped hating on my clothes. I didn’t really have a sense of style when I was a freshman, I just wore the clothes that I had plus the clothes my parents picked out for me. Three years later, I have a multitude of great clothes (at least in my opinion), and honestly I’m proud of the progress my wardrobe, and my sense of style in general, has made over the years. And about 90% of that progress can be attributed to one brand: Uniqlo.

My Uniqlo story started right before college, when my mom bought me my first Uniqlo shirt. It was a ¾ sleeve, grey and yellow baseball tee. At that time, I was still consistently hopping between H&M and Uniqlo, and I decided on Uniqlo because they had clothes that fit my small frame better, and they were relatively cheaper. SECOND BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE (next to going on exchange with AIESEC #ShamelessPlug). Anyway, I got 3 more colors of that same t-shirt, and literally, that was all I wore that entire summer. Go ahead and ask my classmates from my college entrance exam review center, I was always seen in one of those 4 shirts. It got so bad at one point my sister started asking me: “You’re wearing that again? Don’t you have other shirts?”, and I’d always say “Yeah, but these fit me nice.” Of course when I got into UP, I had to start wearing other shirts, but when it came time to really bring out the best outfit possible, I always went back to those shirts. Today, those shirts are with some guy I sold them to on Carousell to make a quick profit because I was broke, and yah boi needed his nightly fix of MiniStop Chicken. Nevertheless, they signified the start of my Uniqlo journey.

Eventually, 90% of my wardrobe was Uniqlo. I started realizing people liked the brand as much I do. You might’ve heard me tell someone “That’s from Uniqlo, isn’t it?” while pointing to their clothes. Every single time I bought an item and liked it, I always ended buying more of (if not all) the colors of the same shirt. You know those packaged pique shirts they sell for 290? Yeah, I have all the colors. You know that new pique striped shirt they came out with at 390 pesos? Yep, all 4 colors, owned by this guy. As for the polos? Yeah, got like, 5 of them. Special shout out to the striped shirt gang. Uniqlo wasn’t my favorite brand because they were the only ones that had clothes that fit me anymore;

Uniqlo was now my favorite brand because, hell, their clothes are FREAKING AMAZING. It’s like a damn carnival every time I go there. I mean, come on, nowadays who doesn’t like Uniqlo? The brand is an amazing combination of trendy and basic. It’s relatively affordable, given that they basically sell the same stuff as brands like Giordano, Lacoste and Polo, except there’s no branding and the price is 10 times cheaper. It’s varied, catering to sporty, casual, smart casual and even formal looks. The store itself looks so aesthetically pleasing you’d wish you actually live there. Their jackets keep you warm, and they even sell winter gear. And come on, being basic is great, trends can suck it. I think it’s kind of cool, the fact that you can matchy-matchy with a lot of people.

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The years passed and I found myself more and more entrenched in the brand. I’d always come back to see what they had on the shelves, even though I didn’t have the money to buy anything. Back then my allowance was really small, so buying a Uniqlo shirt that cost 290 pesos gave me all the joy in the world. Hell, whenever I was there with my parents I practically begged them to buy me something new. Of course now, I barely flinch at spending 790 on a cotton striped shirt, but that’s a story for another time. They had everything: sweat shorts, plain shirts, graphic tees, bomber jackets, chinos and denim, you name it. I wanted everything. Soon, about half of my wardrobe was Uniqlo. Take this into perspective: the last time I actually bought something from H&M, Uniqlo’s direct competition, was 2015. Back then, it was a fact that I wasn’t proud of. But then, something happened: Uniqlo became mainstream. I really don’t know how it happened, but sometime between late 2016 and early 2017 (honestly this time frame might be wrong) I started realizing that indeed my favorite brand had become mainstream. It was like a miracle for me, probably the second time in my life I became a fan of something before it went mainstream (the first time being when I became a Warriors fan in 2013, and yes that’s before they were winning championships, but again, a story for another time). Being the pseudo-hype beast that I am, I started buying more. And more. And more. I started becoming more and more confident because the clothes I was picking looked good, fit me, and could be worn with a variety of outfits. As soon as I realized that mixing and matching was the key, bam, game over sirs. Slowly but surely, isolated freshman LA evolved into loud boy current LA.

That brings us to today, where my love for Uniqlo knows no bounds. The brand is such an integral part of me that to be honest I don’t even know what I would look like today without it. I really have no other words to describe the brand, it’s just plain awesome, and if you don’t like it, well insert the Zoidberg “Your opinion is wrong, and you should feel bad” meme. Kidding aside, if you haven’t hopped on the Uniqlo bandwagon, I suggest you hop on it ASAP! It truly is an amazing brand, and I sincerely hope it changes your perspective of style the way it changed mine. If not, well, at least you got some great clothes from it.

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STAFF PICKS W H AT A N H O N O R TO BE MEDIOCRE Damon Kirchmeier is a normal, everyday guy. He just happens to beextraordinarily skilled at kendama. “What an honor to be mediocre” captures this, with his kendama play being set against mundane backgrounds and highlighted by animation. It’s something that you must see to believe, and it shows how extraordinary talent can be found in the mediocre.

No movie glorifies the simple and mundane like About Time does. A young man blessed with the ability to travel through time, Tim Lake discovers that no life can compare to the one we’re given. The ending monologue sums it up perfectly, “In the end I think I’ve learned the final lesson from my travels in time; and I’ve even gone one step further than my father did. The truth is I now don’t travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live every day as if I’ve deliberately comeback to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.”

ABOUT TIME

Los Angeles’ highways, boulevards, and street lights become jarring reminders of a failed relationship in John Mayer’s In Your Atmosphere. You’ll feel the jab in your heart right when he sings, “I dont think I’m gonna go to LA anymore. I get lost on the boulevard at night. Without your voice to tell me I love you, take a right. The ten and the two is the loneliest sight.”

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Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), an employee at Life magazine, spends day after monotonous day developing photos for the publication. To escape the tedium, Walter inhabits a world of exciting daydreams in which he is the undeniable hero. Walter fancies a fellow employee named Cheryl and would love to date her, but he feels unworthy. However, he gets a chance to have a real adventure when Life’s new owners send him on a mission to obtain the perfect photo for the final print issue.

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A semi-historical TV series that takes you inside palace doors and into the life of a decorated monarchy isn’t precisely what you’d consider mundane, which is why I love it so damn much. It reminds you that such grandeur does exist beyond the fairy tales and Disney movies, and it doesn’t always come with sparkle and sunshine. Being a monarch means a heavily imposed responsibility, lots of dirty politics and even the worst of scandals. And it’s so bloody interesting to pick at what really happened.

THE CROWN MOON RIVER by HENRY MANCINI This classic song dates way back in the 1960’s and was sung by Audrey Hepburn in her movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The purpose of the song may have been romantic in nature given the fact that it was made for a movie in the romantic genre but looking at the lyrics, the composer had taken inspiration from his youth back when he lived in a farm and had wanted to expand his horizons just like anyone else would. Furthermore, any ordinary person possesses dreams and aspirations. 75

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I don’t know how to stop liking you, but I think it’s finally time I learn. It won’t come easy, and it won’t come soon, but I’ll get there.

No one’s at fault, I know that. But I spoke and thought unfairly of you in the hopes of directing my anger at something. Anything. It was easier to cope if I blamed someone. I hope you forgive me.

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Submitted by qzxx to Dear Echoes 77

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L E T ’ S TA L K A B O U T S E X BENJU EVARDONE

LE’TS TALK ABOUT SEX. Chance is, that the last time you spoke about sex is to talk about someone else’s experience rather than your own. Or maybe you were talking about it in a context of a joke. We have even come up with the catchphrase, “basta may alak, may balak,” to associate intoxication with sexual desires— indicating how we find sex as a “special” topic best locked within the confines of certain social situations. I argue that sex and all its forms, despite being a normal part of life, has eluded our normal conversations because we are afraid of the perceptions that might become associated with us. We tend to fear awkward situations that come with it, and we avoid the dangers of offending others. There are a number of reasons I could think of to answer why people don’t talk about sex and it begins with the cyclic characteristic of the culture of talking about sex. People won’t talk about sex simply because no one talks about sex,

and bringing up the topic exposes individuals to the risk of creating awkward situations should the party being spoken to feel unpleasant talking about sex. Not to mention how, today, it is also difficult to gauge who is open to the topic and who is not. It is becoming of less and less consequence how a person dresses, who they surround themselves with, and how they speak to be determinant of who they are and what they are comfortable with. So the tendency is that when we are more often unsure about what we can and cannot do, we will try to avoid the risk altogether. Another reason lies in the labels and impressions that talking about sex creates. People who talk about sex are often labelled as indecent. More often than not, it is only either of two perceptions. When boys talk about sex among themselves, it is seen as vile and equated to objectification—talking about sex as a goal and women as trophies. And when girls talk about sex

nonconformists among us will say no, and that we should break free from the helms of arbitrary social rules; whereas the conservatives will say that liberalism is merely defiance of longstanding moral values. In any case, the process to change this might be too cumbersome to exact any real change. We have to change the basis of how we judge, how we think, and where our morals lie. Needless to say, it is largely up to each and every person to develop a sense of solidarity for any change to happen. In the meantime, if you want to talk about sex, let me know.

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Sex is a topic often spoken about in humour but rarely in seriousness. And so it evokes the question, “Should it be this way?” Perhaps, the

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Furthermore, sex, especially in relation to patriarchy and morals, may not only cause awkwardness but also offence and so people tend to avoid these remarks. For one, individuals often consider their sex life intimate and personal (at least in the Filipino context) and so asking about it may put people in spots they don’t want to be in. Another way by which talking about sex can be offensive is when people talk about virginity. Some people take offence when others ask about virginity. Again, our culture tells us to keep these matters personal, and when you think about it through the lens of our culture with the increasing disregard towards reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, there is not really a time when sex would be of a matter of consequence.

among themselves, it is seen as unattractive and improper. It is interesting to analyse how these associated perceptions are problematic not only in matters of conversation but also in talks of equality, but nonetheless people naturally tend to avoid these negative impressions. This stems back to entrenched patriarchy, and religious morals deeply embedded in the Filipino culture—creating unwritten social rules to dictate our actions.

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T W E E TA B L E T W E E T S

Compiled by CELINA PACANA and ALEX VITASA

@julliaq_ 1st pic: yay cutting down our plastic waste 2nd pic: “ay mukhang chess board” “LARO TAYO DAMA” Gahahahah ADVENTURES!!!!!!

@david_balmes I’m surrounded by coursemates and friends who have stacked resumes + elaborately planned career paths and then there’s me

@marANNAthaa so i went to sm to buy bras and my moms mastercard wins P100,000 worth of a shopping spree

@_belbernardo level of unproductivity: compiling japanese emoticons for future use AHAHAHA

@carloscbarreiro Can someone tell my professor to stop teaching now?

@_beabalbacal after God’s grace, I think Korean siopao babies are the next best thing to happen to humanity HUHU I AM CRYING

@rapplerdotcom BREAKING NEWS: Malacañang suspends classes at all levels in Metro Manila starting March 20 due to Piston transport strike.

@diannesibayan *finds out crush is running for elections*

@AndrewsonPaak Days of UPSE past

me: panalo ka na... sa puso ko @booyanca KUNG ALAM MO LANG @_davidbass Buti pa yung stress, kahit saan ako mapunta hinahabol ako ice ice water

edi alam mo na

@ivanasnchz “Hey can I get your sig” “What’s my name?” “I don’t know. What’s your name?” HAHAHAHA SHUR KA BA JAN MENG

@kencognito Panic At The Desk Ko Exam in an hour but i know only a few somethings

@miguelpaje Special Events, special people. Here’s to the best (and my last huhu) EcoSoc SCAVHUNT yet.

@sadtiel [M’Baku voice] it’s challenge week

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@ivanasnchz 4 days ko nang iniisip school works ko pero never ko ginalaw.

Seeing everyone’s smiles and ~blood, sweat, and tears~ is what reminds why I chose to spend my 4 years in Ecosoc with this comm. ily @spevecosoc, ily @upecosoc

It’s the thought that counts.

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@harrietnineteen TV show idea: A Big Bang Theory-like sitcom but with economists...

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@iRellaDenisse ang sarap matulog bakit kailagan pa gumising

@maizconcielo az my #1 supporter this scav hunt,,,nilabhan ni papa lahat ng red shirts na ginamit ko this week para madala ko tom :(((

@CHUcolatebar Guess who just SHOOKT @ edsheeran ‘s hand?!?

@_solball Good night

@JoloGarcia_ Uy tumatakbo palang councilor yung walang kwenta kong group mate

GAME THEORY

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BA S I C FA S H I O N KAYLA FABI

I’VE NEVER DESCRIBED MYSELF AS FASHION FORWARD. In fact, I have quite a predictable fashion sense. The two things I value are coordination and comfort. FOR COORDINATION

• I have a plenty of blue shirts, dresses,

shorts, etc. They’re easy to pair with everything. • Black bottoms go with everything1!111!!11!!!!! • I only have green tops because I’m required to attend Econ events. • I have also recently accumulated a lot of maroon tops because I enjoy attending UAAP games.

FOR COMFORT

• I’m also a huge believer in “if something

works for you, get it in all available colors”. In other words—quite basic. • I love wearing dresses (kung hindi halata LOL) because it looks like I took time to get ready but actually I just threw the outfit on and left the house • I am more comfortable wearing flats than I am wearing sneakers. I can just step into them and slip out.

Typical Kayla Outfit #1: Uniqlo Jeggings, Cotton On Tank Top, Abercrombie Hoodie, Payless Ballet Flats

Typical Kayla Outfit #2: Forever 21 High Waisted Shorts, Uniqlo Polo Top, Payless Ballet Flats

Typical Kayla Outfit #3: Cotton On Dress, H&M Hoodie, Havaianas Flip Flops EE CC H HO O EE SS || AA PP RR II LL 22 00 11 88 Are you basic too? Basic is having the exact same Uniqlo Reversible parka as three other people in your class. It’s knowing what brand that girl’s dress is because you have the exact same thing in a different color. It’s having the same nude Payless ballet flats as your friend. It’s taking numerous pictures of you and your friend twinning.

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On most days it is painful - I experience actual, physical pain - to see you from afar. I find myself wondering where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been, how youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been. And then I stop. Because it gets even more painful, knowing you have no idea how much I care.

Submitted by 220317 to Dear Echoes

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Photo by Tyler Nix

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W H A T ’ S I N E C O S O C E R S ’ E V E R Y D AY M A K E - U P B AG S? by CELINA PACANA

Ever wonder what it takes for your classmate to stay fresh amidst the sweltering summer heat and the inevitable sweat? Ever spot a girl from a distance just by her blinding cheek highlight? Ever just want to know what keeps our Ecosoc women looking so damn on fleek? Maybe she was born with it. Maybe it was Maybelline. Maybe it was both. Here in Echoes, we’re all about girl power, and the emancipating feeling of choosing whether you want to wear make-up or not. Gone are the days of “Men prefer women with/without make-up,” and regardless of what anyone else has to say, nothing is keeping us from treating ourselves with a fly face of make-up. Yes, even everyday. Especially everyday. And while many of you may not realize it, it does take a village. I mean literally, even just a fresh, clean, natural-looking everyday face sometimes requires a bazillion products. It’s not easy to make ourselves look like we aren’t running on two hours of sleep. So no shame to our women who prefer a bare face everyday, (Y’all are sogorgeous), but today we’ll be do ing an exposé on the effort (and the money) some of our Ecosocer women put into feeling like their best, most beautiful selves with make-up. Here’s a rundown of what’s in selected Ecosocer’s make-up bags!

HANNA GONZALES

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NIKKI LIU

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KELSEY MARIANO

KARLA TUPLANO

REENA RELLOSA

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SABRINA GO

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S E XUA L P R AC T I C E S I N P R E - H I S PA N I C P H I L I P P I N E S O C I E T Y PITA OCHAVE

The great British novelist LP Hartley once wrote, “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” Prior to the systematic Christianization of the Philippine islands in the sixteenth century, the inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago shared a common pattern of social and political organization with the rest of Southeast Asia. Accounts of these pre-colonial Southeast Asian societies have come down to us primarily through accounts written by European missionaries and foreign travelers, as well as from the few surviving indigenous sources transmitted from generation to generation either orally or in writing. What these sources reveal to us is a society vastly different from the conservative, pre-dominantly Catholic Philippines we know today. Scholars such as William Henry Scott and Anthony Reid provide us with rich reconstructions of the Philippine past, and as such, I have chosen to use some of their works in this article. Both authors describe in great detail the culture and social organization of pre-Hispanic Philippine society, as well as the norms or practices that governed the relationship between the sexes. Both Reid and Scott make mention of the indigenous practice of wearing the tugbuk or penis pin among the Tagalogs and certain Visayan peoples, while Reid makes mention of a few other notable practices such as the practice of divorce, the ritual devirginizing of women, and abortion in preHispanic Philippine society. In the 21st century, we may consider many of the sexual practices common to pre-Hispanic Philippine society as preeminently “feminist”. It is important to note, however, that our ancestors did not view their practices as being inherently feminist in any way, which is why some practices ring as both progressive and backward in our

modern context. Pre-Hispanic Filipinos operated within a context and time period vastly different from our own, and they had sets of beliefs that guided and gave form to their rituals and practices prior to their Christianization. These ideas would eventually come into conflict with other more organized world religions such as Christianity and Islam. Some cultures would do away with their old practices while others adopted these world religions while still maintaining their old customs. Before I delve into the details of these practices, it is important to remember that these practices conformed to their worldview and as such, it would be unfair to judge their practices based wholly on our standards of propriety. What we understand about their worldview is

In Southeast Asian societies, divorce was a legal action that could be taken up by both men and women. The reasons for divorce varied: from failure to meet marital obligations to too long a time away at sea. If the woman was seen as the one to blame for the divorce, she was forced to repay the dowry her husband had paid to her parents before marriage. If the man was at fault, the wife was allowed to keep the dowry her husband had paid. Children were typically divided equally between the wife and husband after divorce. 3. Female virginity was seen as an “impediment” rather than a prerequisite to marriage.

4. Abortion was practiced in pre-colonial Philippine society Southeast Asian women exercised far more control over their fertility than their counterparts did in Europe. The low birthrates in Southeast Asia in the 17th century could perhaps be attributed to the fact that Southeast Asian women breastfed longer than their European counterparts and practiced abortion. In cases where women conceived a child before marriage, they were either forced to marry the father of their child or an abortion was induced.

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In Antonio de Morga’s account of the Philippine islands, he wrote about a group of specialists whose responsibility was to deflower virgins. Furthermore, accounts of the ports of Burma and Siam tell of foreign traders being asked to initiate brides before marriage. This widespread practice of deflowering virgins before marriage is perhaps due to the widely held view that hymenal blood was seen as polluting to men and sexual experience was generally preferred by Southeast Asian men.

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This practice was viewed by European missionaries as Satanic as it inflicted a great deal of pain on those who were made to undergo the procedure. The penis pin was called a tugbuk and was usually inserted into the penis in childhood. Anchored onto the tugbuk is a ring called the sakra, which made it difficult and nearly impossible for men to pull out during sex. The tugbuk and the penis could only be pulled out after the penis has relaxed, which is a condition referred to as kinamakawing in the Visayas. When asked by a European missionary as to why these men would choose to agree to such a painful practice, the men explained that if they did not have their penises pierced with the tugbuk, women would refuse them. Besides the tugbuk, pellets were also

2. Divorce was common and could be instigated by either party.

1. Men wore penis pins for the primary purpose of pleasuring women.

known to have been inserted into both Tagalog and Visayan men. Pegu men from present-day Myanmar were said to have penises that jingled when moving, which made them a great deal more attractive to women.

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disparate and fragmentary at best, but based on anthropological studies on gender in Indonesia, “a variety of expressions of the complementary opposition of male and female” can be found in Indonesian society and perhaps by extension, Southeast Asian societies. While men are associated with warmth and the sky, women are associated with coolness and the earth. According to Reid, these theoretical distinctions, which permeated even everyday life, can perhaps explain the strong delineation of roles between men and women in Southeast Asian society. Reid explains further that the freedom and financial power women wielded in pre-colonial Southeast Asian society was not because men and women were necessarily seen as equals per se, but because they had a clear delineation of roles, and both roles were respected. Both men and women exercised a great deal of influence and responsibility in their specific areas of control: Women were given responsibilities in the field, pottery-making, and in religious rituals while men were given the responsibilities that involved heavy lifting and statecraft. However, according to Reid, women also played a prominent role in diplomacy, serving as emissaries to foreign kingdoms, whereas men—who were described as being sensitive to slights to their honor and therefore prone to fighting—were seen as unfit for diplomacy. Given all of this, here are four of the most surprising common sexual practices in pre-Hispanic Philippine society.

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Photo by Patrick Santos

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