Echoes October 2013

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 1

THANK YOU, ECOSOC 2 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

02 03 60

PREVIOUS ISSUE EDITORIAL Chasing Catharsis

04 16 78

Olivia Solomon

62

Methods of SelfUndestanding

Living in Fear

80

The Life of a Dreamer

82

88

84

Alfonso Roces Micaela Que

90

#REMEMBERLIV Marte Caronongan

The Lord of the Friends

Home, Where I Slowly Cease...

96

Ecosoc Heroes, Villains Luigi Montalbo

100

Wall of Secrets Derek Parreñas

Jude Geron

Arsenio Lukban GJ Agregado

CULTURE

Kristina Viray

Why I Didn't Enjoy LIV

CONTRIBUTORS

FEATURES

Fashown Fashownan

Marte Caronongan

Derek Parreñas

Eric Sto. Domingo Martin Consing Luigi Montalbo

You're Not Going to Be Execom

Timmy Jacob

Lerizze Tan

74

NEWS

30 86

Sam Gonzales

Justine Nuque

70

COMMITTEE NEWS

32

Kenneth Reyes H. Cimafranca

Kristina Viray Joshua Siat

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 1

Previous Issue

Editors FEDERICO GERARD PARREÑAS Editor-in-Chief LERIZZE ANGELA TAN Associate Editor

TIMOTHY JACOB Managing Editor

JO BEATRIZ GUERRERO News Editor

MARGARITA “SAM” GONZALES Features Editor

OLIVIA SOLOMON Culture Editor

JUDE BENEDICT GERON Creatives Editor

RAMON JOSE “VITO” CASTAÑEDA Webmaster

CARA GABRIELLE LATINAZO Photos Editor

FRANCES CAMILLE QUEZON Digital Content Editor

ARTHEL “MARTE” CAROÑONGAN Echoes TV Producer

JOAQUIN FERRER Logistics Director

JUSTINE VICTORIA NUQUE Echoes TV Director

Staff LISANNE GABORNI

ALFONSO ROCES

BRYAN DOMINGO

MICAELA QUE

MARTIN CONSING

ERIC STO. DOMINGO

VICO UBALDO

Errata

Our mistakes in the September issue Grammatical errors and incompleted captions, corrected in the online edition of the September issue.

Echoes is the official publication of the UP Economics Society (UP Ecosoc), a non-stock, non-profit, student organization based in the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics.

Since the 2nd semester of the academic year 2012-2013, Echoes is released four times in a sem and nine times in a year, on the months of February, March, April, June, July, August, September, October, and December.

It draws its funding from a subsidy from UP Ecosoc, sponsorships, subscription revenue, and other small funraisers. For this semester, 33 subscription copies, 3 tambayan copies, 1 archive copy, and a complimentary copy for each of our sponsors, featured members, and featured alumni are produced.

This publication is printed by Yza Copy Systems and Trading, located at Stall 22 at the Shopping Center, UP Diliman, Quezon City. contact us

upecosoc@gmail.com upecosoc.echoes@gmail.com visit for more information

All errors are corrected when posted on issuu.com/echoes. If you spot any errors, do not hesitate to tell us by emailing us at upecosoc.echoes@gmail.com 2 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

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No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

FROM THE EDITOR THERE WAS A DREAM CALLED ECOSOC. IT WAS A TREAT. It was beautiful. It was called "Freedom". It was a place where you could go to be yourself. To be who you wanted to be. To do the things you wanted to do. Anything that you could possibly dream about.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. I was a freshman at the time, but I stumbled upon a picturesque utopia in the School of Economics. Everyone seemed to be friends. A girl could just suddenly interact with this other girl that seemed so different from her. Everybody smiled during genmeets. Laughter was always present in room 121. And there was always a pulsing energy that came from within the membership that exploded into incandescent bright beaming lights as they all gathered together.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. There was a committee solely devoted to being the official publication of the organization. It was autonomous. It was freedom. It was Echoes.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. It was trampled to death in front of my eyes by selfishness. By unnecessary competition. By hubris. By greed. The dream was wrung in front of me as the notions I once held began to shatter. A plethora of unspoken politics revealed itself to me. That girl that spoke to the other girl that seemed so different from her only spoke because she wanted the position. Everybody didn't smile at genmeets—they smirked, waiting for a blunder. That laughter that was present in Rm 121, that was sardonic laughter, laughing at the expense of another Ecosocer's misfortune. And that pulsing energy? That was merely light from another room.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. It died. But it was reborn. It burned, but it transformed.

It was transfigured. And those façades? They weren't merely deceptions. They were genuine.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. It was brimming with life. It made you proud to be a part of it. That dream paved the way for Foodgasm, a food competition that was wildly successful that it's on its third run, for the 2nd year in a row. That dream paved the way for the Rundown, where GT Toyota Auditorium was so packed that people would bump into someone when they'd walk around. That dream paved the way for LIV, a party still fresh with paint in my mind that I can still remember how I shot everyone who attempted to do the same. That dream paved the way for Musikapella, and you'd never know it was organized by college students. It's just

that good.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. That dream paved the way for a spectacular Litnight that was so magical and stellar you wouldn't think you were free from the influence. That dream paved the way for a YouTube channel that would be regularly updated with videos from Ecosoc. That dream paved the way for a website that involves its members. That dream paved the way for LARP, an event so out of this world but it was exciting and best of all, it worked.

That dream paved the way for a spectacular close in a fire that reminded us of home. That dream paved the way for nine beautiful issue releases, each with their own melody.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. That dream became a nightmare, fraught with crises.

Where was that dream? Was it even real? People just find ways to screw you over, no matter how charitable you are. A whipping boy, but a whipping boy no longer. I split odds and ends for an organization that would merely be a line on my resume.

I split odds and ends to fix what needs fixing. There seemed to be no reward. Not any that I can see. What is Ecosoc, really?

Freedom? Freedom to do what?

Freedom to achieve your wildest dreams and build an even bigger dream.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. It was called "Freedom". That dream eventually became clear. That dream was realized. The dream to do whatever you wanted as long as you had put in the effort materialized. As long as you had the will, the dream will be there. As long as you had the passion, the dream will be there. As long as you burned so brightly that each road you took was lit, the dream will be there. Stars burn brightest before they die.

There was a dream called Ecosoc. It was a treat. It was beautiful. It was called "Freedom". It was a place where you could go to be yourself. To be who you wanted to be. To do the things you wanted to do. Anything that you could possible dream about. Back then that dream was trampled because people just couldn't fully understand how integral they really were to the whole process. I helped trample that dream, that is true. But I also helped resurrect that dream. I resurrected that dream with you all, and you all took the chances. You all strove, sought, fought, and burned. And look where we are now, my friends. For that, you only have yourself to thank. Thank you.

After nine issues, three events, a revived website, and an active YouTube channel, I bid you all a farewell as your Editor-inChief. This is my final issue. It's a treat. It's beautiful. And there still is a dream called Ecosoc.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 3

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

So I have a lot of things to say but not a lot of space to say it. A lot of you know me and I’m sure you’ve realized I’m not the emotional type of guy. I may not express a lot of things in person, but believe me when I say that I’m extremely happy with the way things have turned out this past year. All of that happened not cause of us in the Execom, but because YOU ECOSOCERS made it happen for yourselves! Right now, I’m gonna take this chance to show my gratitude to a lot of people.

Scholcom! Thank you for all the time and effort you gave into guiding our scholars. I know it could be a thankless job, but just remember that nothing could be more gratifying than being able to help mould the leaders of tomorrow. Botan, you're an inspiration to a lot of people so don't let them down! Take care of Trisha and make her lola proud!; Migs, I’m pretty sure Micha’s mom thinks you’re her BF by now, but thank you so much for always taking care of her like an older brother! Jena, thank you for taking care of Andrea all the time! Make sure she can dance as well as you by the end of HS k? haha; Janeen, thank you for listening to Kim despite the distance! Ang active mo kahit tapos ka na sa Execom! Thank you so much!!!; Telle, I’m never gonna forget that day you accepted the guardian position so willingly. I’m sure Christine will miss you a lot! Always be as open and friendly as you are today and I’m sure Liai will have a great future ahead!; Joby, thank you for being so motherly to Eduard and all our other scholars. Your genuine care for others inspires a lot of people to do good!; Vico, Thank you for listening to Kristian with extra care! People may not know it, but your actions speak 100x louder than your words. Never lose that k?

EM!!! As we’ve said and always will say, you guys are the most versatile, passionate, talented group of people I’ve ever seen put together. I may have seemed annoyed every GA time whenever we’d tell you to KEEP QUIET, but honestly it made me glad to see that you guys were enjoying, and I think that’s exactly what fueled our ambitions to keep going despite the rains (figuratively and literally, as Sam said).

To all of you: Lyon, keep that energy coming! Just text me if you need a ride southbound; Kath, it amazes me how you still got that many people from Adamson; Kristina, from Ecosoc saleswoman to ER lady to natural radio DJ.. what’s next?; Ines, I’m never gonna forget our Ayala adventures! Can’t wait to see next year’s NES! Loice, I don’t know why but I always think of Ninja when I see you.. haha thank you so much for all your LIV ideas!; Matt, you were always one to express yourself very well during GAs hahaha but I only know it’s cause you really care about the things you do! Keep it up!; Cara, stay ferocious!; Ayi, you were outstanding! You have quite the future ahead of you!; Angela (Anjjjjj), you sing so well pala!; Pam, *beef beef* hehe thanks for laughing at all my corny jokes; Jomac, flip top tayo!; Nikki, easy lang sa alcohol.. joke!; Carmel, from freshie block to mommy to President! Just always remember to be as motherly as you are now and I'm sure Ecosoc will be in good hands; Pau, I still remember when we were elected app officers! Haha what a long way we’ve gone; Adriel, keep posting ‘em vids and I’m pretty sure the sponsors will start calling YOU; Steph, thank you for choosing EM kahit new mem! Hope you learned a lot; Iya (not Dia), it’s amazing how you keep smiling despite all the work you do; Cyril, you did a great job for NES! Mr. NES Marking director ka nga! Haha; MigRayRam, you better live on the legacy of taking your girls to UAAP games next year!; Justine, tara GST tayo! I am still eternally grateful for that btw!; Rich, if I need to get in touch with Lucio Tan I’ll be sure to give you a call; Andee, keep singing your heart out, I swear I stop everything I’m doing when I hear you sing; Mark, ingay mo, but go lang I know you’re listening very well haha; Jus I learned a lot from our talks on the existential, great job with the Joysey (Jersey) accent btw!; Dana, I’m sure that dream boy you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner! Or meron na ba? OH!; Romano, I’ll still owe you for the water jug. Actually I owe you for many things. Thanks for always listening J; Mel, yourrrr weirdddd! Next time you see me I’m pretty sure my baon will still be the same; Flora, you external goddess! Mabel, next time you share kwento in the barkada circle! May kwento ka no uyyy; Jude, I’m pretty sure you understand how tough it is to go around looking the way we do, but just embrace the compliments and things start getting better. (Joke lang guys…); Mon, the first time you posted for Sam’s workshop thingy in our creative group was the day I began to praise your every work. Ang galinggg L(; Alvar, govnah! Sotp playin’ ‘em magic cards and come eat some burgahs with me!; Kyla, super duper good job with CDC pubs! Made me want to cry; Olivia, I hope that you one day return to your African homeland and find your true parents; Uy Timmy! We have yet to go pants shopping; Leri, we will continue our talk about life soon!; Vito, may the force be with you; Stef, thank you for being such a hard worker and for leading your team superbly well! PauBau, yes.. your tardiness annoyed me at times, but hey you have no idea how proud I am with the things you accomplished despite everything. Let’s talk finance soon!; Topy, dinner tayo? With… haha joke Good luck with next sem! Let’s talk again soon!; Justin, all those phone calls finally paid off! Now go get rid of that sorci poster haha; La(u)ra, our ideas became a reality because of you and your team! And tell ArchiBoy that I still owe

4 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

GJ|President

him our talent fee!; Marte, my father, thank you for taking care of me since we were still taking our baby Ecosoc steps. And thanks for being co-pres for all EM events!

HAHA keep up the passion! Sam, so… how did we get here? Haha thank you for being supportive from the very beginning. I hope your ideas continue to change the world.

Of course to V5. We went through all the difficulties together in the past year, the challenges, the frustrations, the arguments, the laughter, the love and the hate, and I’m glad to say that after all that, you guys really do mean a lot to me. Bea, Quek, Geli, Ars, Neil, XP, Derek, Jing, Anon, Ria, Ryna and even Yasmin: I honestly could not have asked for any other group of people, cause heck when I realized I didn’t have a real college barkada, it hit me that I didn’t have to find one anymore cause I just had to look at you guys. I expect you to make your (once every two or three) Fridays available for lunch! Don’t worry expect your individual messages soon enough J And to Ria, thank you for bearing with all my nonsense. It made all the difference in the world. (Editor's Note: WOOOOSHOOOOOOOOOO W3W) As I always say, keep the fire burning Ecosocers! Fuel that fire with your selfless love, of putting others always ahead of the self. Immerse yourself not just with the org, but immerse yourself with the people that make the org what it is. Embrace all personalities, all backgrounds, and all styles of work. Never judge on face value but seek to understand. Do this and I guarantee we’ll be able to accomplish much more than we’d ever think of doing!

This is GJ Agregado, President of Ecosoc 55. Thank you for riding the journey with me. God bless!

COMMNEWS

If anyone had walked up to me back when I was a freshman and told me about present-day me and Ecosoc, I would not have believed them at all. I arrived in the School of Economics literally friendless and alone – to top it all off, I was one of those fortunate enough to be blockless. This made me sign up for VolCorps there and then, and during our orientation, I distinctly remember Henry Tan scaring us that if we didn’t join an organization back then, our social lives would be nothing. There I also remember meeting Janine who seemed to be as equally lost as I was. True enough, we belatedly grabbed application forms for Ecosoc (many thanks to Angel and Hannah by the way) and started the long, wild, and extremely fulfilling journey.

To my Echoes commheads Paolo Tamase, Kenneth Reyes, Horace Cimafranca, thank you for adopting me into this little committee which has grown so much, and I am admittedly sad that I couldn’t be part of it these last couple of semesters. Thank you for all the fun and crazy commeets, the long threads on Facebook, You showed me how to see Ecosoc critically, appreciating it for what it is, but remaining vigilant as to what it can become.

To my Task Force chairpersons Sel Ortiga, Jeremae Soliman, and Hannah Alipio, and my co-chairs and former bosses Von Benavidez, Kevin Estopace, and Dhiren Karnani, I owe you my love for Task Force. I jumped into TF not knowing, really, what it was, but your passion inspired me to give the same and more. My first foray into this committee was as a volunteer photographer for Musikapella, and I got hooked. There was something seriously life-changing about seeing a group of college students – people my age – making something as big as Musikapella happen. I look up to all of you because you loved Task Force.

To my guardians, I hope I made you proud. I wasn’t the best applicant back then (remember how it took me so long to get my sigsheet, for one), but despite our fragmented family, thank you for showing me the best of what Ecosoc had to offer. I probably wouldn’t have pushed through with Ecosoc if it you hadn’t been examples of how great this organization is, in all aspects.

To Ecosoc, thank you for being a home. I really can’t imagine that my college life would have been this eventful and exciting without you. My parents weren’t very keen on letting me join an org so soon, and neither were my friends so appreciative when I started spending so much time in Ecosoc, but nevertheless, thank you for the friendship. Here is where my roots have taken place, where I have grown and learned so, so much. You showed me the fun side of college. You have taught me kindness beyond belief. I tried my very best to serve this org throughout the seven semesters of my stay. I apologize for all the shortcomings, and I thank all of you for the support. It has been my utmost honor to serve you as your vice-president.

To Task Force, you are the sweetest. You pulled through with this quiet brilliance, this warm glow that envelops in a comforting embrace. It was always you who had held steady the fort, valiant in this battle. Thank you for all the sleepless nights, for the missed deadlines, for the skipped dates, everything you gave up for Task Force. I know it’s not an easy sacrifice and a lot of times it seemed like a thankless job, but you grit your teeth anyway and did it. Your letters seem to have a common theme, where most of you have discovered the fulfillment of being in Task Force despite the huge levels of stress, despite everything. My happiness at your discoveries is immeasurable; more than anything, I had wanted you to find this, because I believe this is the best form of service that Ecosoc will ever teach you. There is always greatness in wanting and working for others. You thanked me for a lot of things, but know that I was merely a tool in all of this. You are the ones who made it happen. It is in your collective strength that we were all able to mount this huge event, all toil and trouble, but all heart. It’s not love at first sight, but you stick with it anyway.

Love accrues, in the form of an increasing number of text messages and calls, of things to do, of deadlines. There are nights where I haven’t slept at all, merely thinking and worrying about what would happen. I’m very, very sure that you have experienced that as well. This semester we culminated all of this hard work into one wonderful Musikapella. The tragedy of being in Task Force is never getting to fully watch it, but I hope all of you had at least one glance at the audience, or talked to kids, or the choirmasters. I hope you had that moment

BB|Vice-President

of clarity, seeing everything you have worked for fall right into place. Part of the joy is seeing their faces light up with excitement, and knowing that you give them an experience worth remembering is fulfillment enough. It wasn’t perfect, but it was amazing. To all of you TF members, keep that Musikapella magic alive, and spread that Task Force love. To my interns, you couldn’t have picked a better sem to apply for Ecosoc and intern in Task Force. You have been very impressive! Congratulations for being members. Enjoy Ecosoc, and bring it to greater heights. More than the events, you are part of my legacy, and I am so proud of all of you. To my directors Gelo, Dea, Brian, Botan, Miguel, Patty, Ramm, and Shanica, you’re a raggedy bunch, but your enthusiasm didn’t wane.

To my co-chair, Chello, it has been a wild ride throughout the sem, and I am overwhelmed by your greatness. Admittedly, it will be a while until I can fully compartmentalize and catalog all my emotions, because really, how do I easily detach from something I have loved so much? I am grateful and humbled to have been your friend, co-worker, and chairperson. I love you all!

To the future execom, I am sure that right now you are all caught up in this whirlwind of things to do. Savor it. It’s going to be a wild and wicked journey, and you’re sure to come out as a different person. Be the better you, and while you may not recognize yourself anymore, you will love this stranger whom you had become. To Mike, Task Force is now in your hands. All I ask is that you love it as much as I, and everyone else before me, did, and more. Anchor yourself, but move relentlessly onward. I wish you only the very best, and should you need me, I will be here.

To V5, I write this and all the memories come rushing back. For the many late night conversations, the long phone calls, the marathon text messages (many of those strange in nature), thank you. For the unending support, thank you.

I know that many times I have complained that your faces are all I ever see, but I’m sure you know it was said with much affection. I am very blessed to have worked with all of you, perhaps the most dedicated group of people I have known. Here, we witness the end of our triumph, but our descent does not mean downfall at all, but rest. I will ache at the absence of your excellence, and your friendship. Thank you, and I love you. My heart is very, very full.

Always, and forever, Beatriz Bayudan

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 5

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

I’d like to tell a story.

Unfortunately with this one, nothing extraordinarily epic happened. No wars were fought and (to my disappointment) no dragons were slayed. Just a girl, her insecurities, her ambitions, her journey. Soe supporting cast members, breaking points, turning points. And an organization that changed the road she was travelling on.

It’s ironic, really. The stark difference between how I entered this organization, the confused applicant who no one recognized and conveniently had a brother’s birthday celebration she had to go to on the dates of almost every required event. To how I am now- a retiring Finance chairperson hanging up her cash box after one hell of a year. But much more than that- a member who has grown to love Ecosoc in every aspect and in more ways that she could ever imagine.

I often wonder how I ever passed the application process to begin with.

Experiencing the deliberations for myself for two semesters and hearing XP tut at her 5 execom signatures (I only had two) and listening to Quek question his contributions to the org (I had….few), I’m still baffled. But for some reason, I did. And so the first people I’d like to thank are actually the Execom members of my time. I don’t know if it was a miscalculation on your part or the slightest wonder of “Hey, maybe she can be of some use one day” that saved me, but thank you for allowing me to experience some of the best four years of my life.

I like to think that I became somewhat active after that. In my final interview as an applicant, I remember Paolo Tamase asking me why I should pass and I remember telling him that it was because I knew I had a lot more to offer and to prove. I told him that I had a feeling the organization would mean more to me one day. I like to think that I held onto my word after that.

When I say that I never wanted and imagined myself as a Chairperson for anything, I mean that even a week before the deadline for filing, I still believed that it was never in the cards for me. But then three people changed everything. To Jess, GJ and Dhiren, thank you for planting the idea and nurturing it with encouragements and compliments I never thought I deserved. Thank you for still looking at me seriously, with a deadpanned expression when I laughed at the absurdity of your suggestion. Enough to make me realize that in fact you weren’t joking and in fact I could do it. I wanted to do it. I would do it. The past whirlwind of a year would not have happened if you had left me laughing at the corner.

Now let you tell me about Finance. Here’s where it gets tricky because really, how do you give justice to such an amazing group of individuals who together formed the family you never anticipated? Though I know my words will fail to encapsulate the enormity of my feelings in the end, I’ll do my best. This bunch of 20-something gorgeous misfits deserve at least that.

Finance is like a melting pot of different personalities, some of the most extremes in the organization. I have the boys whose attention spans are shorter than Kamille Manuel. I have undiscovered computer programming geeks and certified ladies men.

I have Kristina Viray. But for some reason, everything works. All the ragged edges and misshapen corners we’re made of fit into each other and make one fine painting.

Some cracks and spaces exist in between, but they’re disregarded. They don’t matter as much when you take a step back and realize everything’s beautiful.

At this point, I’d like to get the thank you’s out in the open before they’re barraged with even more feelings. The work we do and the accomplishments we’ve had as a committee were no easy feat. Coming in with less than twenty thousand in the bank and leaving with more than a hundred wasn’t a walk in the park. But then how amazing is it that this was all achieved by 30 individuals? Pretty damn amazing. It wasn’t easy all the time. I was hard on you, sometimes pushed you to your limits. I’m always told that my expectations are too high. They’re only high because I knew you were capable enough to exceed them and I knew that you wanted it as much as I did.

Which is why I am so thankful to have worked with each one of you. Nothing makes me more proud than seeing you grow, seeing you bounce back from failures, crack a joke, persevere through obstacles and then seeing you revel in your victories.

One of you wrote in your tribute messages that maybe I had no idea the effect I had on you in leading the team and in bonding the members. Whatever that effect was, I can only hope it was positive. But let me tell you that it’s probably you who have no idea the effect you had on ME. The truth is, I never thought that it would get as good as this with you guys. I never expected to care so much and love so much and be invested in so much. But somewhere along the line, I fell for it. And it was a great feeling.

To Angela, Kamille, Pam, MigReyRam, Migs, Kaye, JYA, Patmen, Kristina, Jamby, Steph, Monty, Justine, Ken, Aeron, Pammy, Nikki, Alyssa, Andreana, Botan, Brian, Ica, Francine, Cara, Ana, Bea T, Bea L, Monje, Miggy, Kijmie, Dani, Josen, thank you for giving me 30 more reasons to fall in love with Ecosoc.

Now, I leave you to the capable hands of Brian. Don’t worry, his leadership skills are better than his dancing abilities and his love for Finance is deeper than his voice.

To Brian, take care of Finance. More than the money and more than the legacy, take

6 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

GELI|Treasurer

care of the people. Because at the end of the day, they’re what makes everything worth it.

So now let me tell you about V5- 11 people who are just too much of everything to describe. GJ, BB, Neil, XP, Derek, Quek, Jing, Anon, Ars, Ria and Ryna, you guys have no idea how much I love you. And I don’t love a lot of people. But then your places in my heart are rightly deserved. Thank you for every minute of that year we spent together. From realizing the deterioration of our social lives during calendaring to sleeping on cardboards and posters of “Ting-Ting” Cojuanco to celebrating on stage after the success of UPFront. I couldn’t have asked for better people to spend those moments with.

What I love about this organization is that it continues to surprise you. Sure, there are some bad ones- a failed event, a minor loss, a fallen deal. But those you just have to stick out, there will always be people willing to do it with you. You have to stick them out because when it’s good (and it’s bound to be) it’s fucking amazing. You realize that there are 200 people out there, interesting in their own rights whom you can connect with. You realize that you are capable of so much more and that Ecosoc can nurture you. You realize that an unassuming and unknown little applicant can change and be better.

That was my story. Like I said, just a girl, her insecurities, her ambitions, her journey. And the supporting cast that made the lead into a star and made the story worth reading. No wars were fought and (to my disappointment), no dragons were slayed. Nothing extraordinarily epic happened. But yet, along the way, something did.

COMMNEWS

This commnews is all about my sincerest gratitude to the members of the UP ECONOMICS SOCIETY. Without each and every one of you, I would not have been pushed to grow as much as I have today. From the first poster I made to the latest ECOSOC month gallery and even the photography experience, I have realized that though each and every hour of labor I have given were “free” I, in fact, have been paid. It wasn’t through pesos but through the friendships I have made, experiences I have gained and the family I have come to be a part of. And for that I would like to say thank you: Sam G. Thank you for teaching me how to make a poster and more importantly being really patient with me, without you I would probably have SUCKED wayyy more. Angela M. and Iya M. Thank you for listening to me and cheering me on whenever I’d doubt myself during my first few weeks as secretary. Those table tennis days are going to be with me forever. Kamille M. Thank you for listening to me whenever I feel down, talking to you always makes me smile. To my first VC’s Shelly and Janina Thank you for being there to work with me during my first sem as secretary. I would not have been able to keep Seccom alive without you. Asejo, Lumipat ka man, sobrang laki ng tulong mo nung seccom mem ka. I remember when we made the Foodgasm poster, our first taste of success! Jena, thank you for being really supportive even if you didn’t want Seccom back then. Getting to know you through that sem is something I’ll hold on to. Monina Thank you for being my go to person whenever I needed a 2nd,3rd or 4th opinion on posters. Good luck on becoming the best ACAD chair.

Carmel, thank you for being happy whenever I’d see you. Your cheerful attitude has always made see the positive side of things. JudeG. Thank you for letting me work with you! Jus, Thank you for smiling all the time and reminding me of the good I have done. I really appreciate you smiling at me. Mabel, thank you for being very helpful during apps or prod work! I really appreciate it when you randomly help out. Matt M, thank you for all the support and advice you have given me. Those words really helped me accomplish what I have done Andres, thank you for helping out during cleaning and idea generation when it comes to the gallery and other prod work. I have learned a lot from you. Eina, thank you for caring and asking how I am. Jomac, cuz, thank you for being very respectful and thoughtful and asking how I was. I really appreciate it. Lara, Thank you for trusting me in making things. The trust you gave me, made me feel important.

Andee, thank you for all the hugs. They make me smile. Cara, thank you for all the HUGS and smiles. They’re timed so right that bad days turn better. Boz and Mike, thank you for the help whenever I could not do a job alone. Cheska, Maan, Josh, thank you for keeping the Hustla feeling alive. Lyon, thank you for making me feel like a close friend. Zo, thank you for being honest and insightful. I have learned a lot from you Angel, Thank you for being there during my desperate times when I needed a skilled Seccom person. Nikki K. Thank you for being a great friend that I can open up to whenever I feel sad about ECOSOC or happy about the most random of things. The times we went to long island which made me forget about the stress, is something I am really grateful for. You’re an awesome best friend. Migs de la Cruz, thank you for helping in Seccom.

Whether it is sweeping, cleaning or stacking you are truly an honorary Seccom member! I could not have done it without you. Plus thank you for helping in tribute genmeet :> My Pulse APPS: Denise Maroon thank you for being nice to me and caring who the next Seccom chair was going to be. Jamby, thank you for being very verse in programming and inputting a lot of ideas. Sam C. thank you for having a LOT of initiative. Riel, thank you for being present and dependable. I am so proud of all 4 of you! One trivia: did you know pinag aagawan kayo nung delibs this sem! It made me cry when they said I was able to bring out your potentials.

ARS|Secretary

and responsible. A lot of what you have doe has greatly contributed to this committee. I am very proud of you Riel. I know you’ll be a great secretary and a leader!

My Cadets: Anton thank you for your deep insights and great contribution.

Your different way of thinking is a plus. Jecs thank you for being really kulit.

Your letter and energy keeps me smiling. Dale thank you for the sigsheet and your patience. Audrey and Geneby thank you for being open to learning new things and doing more than you’re required. Alysson thank you for always being there and helping in every way you can. Yen Cruz thank you for wanting to learn more and doing more. I am really proud of all of you. Ana B. thank you for helping out even if you’re not a Seccom app. My apps, I have to admit that you guys acted like real members this sem. Thank you for allowing me to teach you.

I am just really proud and happy to have had you as my apps.

Execom: GJ thank you for being very calm and trusting. BB, thank you for always being so happy all the time that I get hawa. Quek, thank you for being critical. Geli, thank you for handling the budget really well and being reasonable. XP buddy! Thank you for becoming a close friend who I can ask for help when ever I have execom problems. Derek thank you for being my cobrain-storm-er of ideas and telling me to create a Seccom culture. Neil thank you for being so organized and easy to talk to. Anon thank you for being tolerant and befriending me. Jing thank you for inspiring me to be organized and professional. Ryna, thank you for showing me the purpose of Spev. Ria, thank you for dragging me in to sports events that I really miss. I have learned a lot from all of you, from cursing less to becoming more respectful. I thank each and every one of you. Execom, I am really truly happy about what we have achieved together. Personally, I think that we have gotten ECOSOC together and showed them that they are indispensable. ECOSOC is more united now.

Be proud guys!!

Again, THANK YOU ECOSOC! There are really no other words to describe how grateful I am to have served all of you.

Seccom 2012-2013: Vico thank you for being really present and suggesting a lot of ideas. Commeets and genmeet were better when I see you because I wouldn’t feel alone representing Seccom. Paubau, thank you for doing great in EM. Nepo thank you for completing the locker collection. Sam C. Thank you for taking care of a lot of responsibilities and being reliable. Your initiative wows me. You have really made my job easier. Ria thank you for going to genmeet and going to meetings when your busy schedule permits you. AnaG., thank you for staying happy whenever I see you and telling me when I am too mean to my mems. You keep me in check. Riel, thank you for being very trustworthy

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 7

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

Who would have thought that a “patapon app” would become “Ecosoc’s Queen”?

Looking back on the recruitment week 3 years ago, there was no sign I would end up at this situation. Everyone knows that I joined this organization due to peer pressure and I barely passed the application process with a “star” mark.

I stayed in Externals with no intention of getting a higher position rather just to give back what the committee has given me. I had classes during commeets and rarely attended genmeets. I did what is asked from me. I prepared the logistics for Eventology. I contacted partner organizations. I shared the pubmats for UPfront. No more, no less. But just when I thought that what I have done is barely minimum, Reg Reinoso, my committee head called me that I should go to the Culminight because I was one of her Outstanding Members that semester. From that night, I knew that Ecosoc is not just about work. Ecosoc is not just about having a home in School of Economics. Ecosoc is a family that will accept you despite your flaws and will always appreciate you no matter how big or small your contribution is. It is up to you how you will show your love back.

The following semester, I reaff-ed in Externals, this time with the right reason which is to serve Ecosoc and I also joined Task Force to explore a new ground. This was the time I realized that I love communicating to people and ER is for me. I even reached the point that as if my phone is “Ecosoc phone” that the conversations I had with the partner orgs and school choirs are longer than what I had with my family. I continued serving the organization as Vice Chairperson for one year at the same time as Logistics Assistant Director for National Youth Congress and School Relations Officer for Musikapella. But just like any other individual, I have my own limits and Madame Q was unleashed.

However; despite seeing the worst part of me, Ecosoc gave me the opportunity to lead. Moreover, Ecosoc gave me the chance to mold its future and its members.

It was not an easy task. Every event was a battle. Every meeting was a test of character. Every day I had to prove that I deserved this position. It was tiring. It was draining. It was stressful. But just like the cliché line tells, “if you love what you are doing, you will sacrifice anything” even your financial assets or academic standing.

And if you think it is too much don’t worry because it is worth it.

Just by thinking how from an “apathetic party org”, Ecosoc turned to be the home of the most anticipated events and holistic people, I could say that all my sacrifice has been used in good cause. How much more whenever I hear people say that “Ecosoc is the best org in UP”?

But where Ecosoc is today is not just because of me. It is the fruit of all the effort of the members the best External Affairs Committee Ecosoc ever had. These are the people who gave me the strength to keep holding on. They are the ones who made Rundown, UPFront, NES 2013 and the Symposium not just possible but successful.

Denise, Camille, Kath, Rachelle and Aila, I call you as my “silent but efficient workers”. I knew that whenever I assign tasks to you, you would be able to deliver at A+ standard. Chello, Ben, Kevin G and Hannah, you served as my advisory council. I appreciate all the encouragement you have given me. Porn and Shanica, I could say that I did a right decision to get you from Liaison Committee. I am so proud that both of you excelled this semester both in Externals or TF. Gio, I always appreciate your small ways of showing concern to the committee in spite of the academic stress you’re dealing with. Red, thank you for supporting me until the very end despite your other commitments. David and Erica, when you were applicants I knew you had potential and I am so glad to see how you learned to love the organization and enjoy our ER tasks.

Dana and Cyril, you performed much better from what I expected. It is so rare to find non-Econ majors to prioritize Ecosoc compared to their other organizations.

Externals is lucky to have you. Bryan, you are not just my taxi buddy but a brother to me. You don’t know how much I treasure our late night bonding journeys. Thank you very much.

To my applicants, Sel, Mio, Daryl, Apa, Annika, Kristian and Chesca. You don’t how how much I am proud to have you. I know you will become great Ecosoc members as much as how great Externals “members” you are.

Chila, you have the biggest role in my journey as a member and as Execom. You

8 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

QUEK|PRO

never left my side even after you graduate and I am so grateful to have you as my mentor.

Of course, I will not forget my Vice-Chairpersons, Dia and Jo, you are the reason behind the Rundown and UPfront “full house” achievement. I am so proud to see that the applicants I once handled are the people who made Ecosoc had a back-toback successful event last February. Ramm, you are the man behind the “Gawad Chancellor” and “Most Holistic Org” awards of Ecosoc. I can’t wish for a better Brand Management VC than you. Flora, you made NES national and by doing so you made the dream of 3 externals chairperson come true and for that Ecosoc will always be grateful to you. Ines, I may not always say it but among all External members you are the reason why I did not unleashed Madam Q during NES. I never doubted your love for Externals and I am lucky have you as my successor because I know Externals is in good hands.

Aside from Externals, I can’t survive this roller-coaster –execom-life without V5.

They are the people who had first-hand experience of my 90% Madame Q moments yet accepted me and made me feel that it is alright to commit mistakes because I always have them at my back. I may not always express it but I REALLY LOVE YOU ALL. Last but not the least, the people who never get tired of my rants and loved me to the bits of my katarayan and kabaliwan, thank you Mariel, Ramm, Justin, Lara, Shirra, Janina, Cathy, Ria and Nikki aka CHICHI. I look forward for YOLO moments next sem.

Now that my term is over, I can’t imagine how I would spend my lunch breaks without having arguments with V5. I don’t have an idea who I can send my “Good morning” text brigs. I don’t know who I can share my chichi during my long breaks.

This is the reason why every time I remember the Nescafe commercial, “Para kanina ka bumabangon?” I can’t help but say “Maliban sa pamilya ko, para sa Ecosoc”.

(MAYBE I SHOULD REALLY FIND LOVE LIFE.) My mother asked me during NES, “Bakit ba baliw na baliw ka sa Ecosoc, eh ang dami mo ng binibigay?” and I answered, “Kulang pa yan sa lahat ng binigay ng Ecosoc sakin” and this will always be true. Ecosoc gave me my break as ER queen.

Ecosoc gave me Boscorale. Ecosoc gave me Externals. Ecosoc gave me V5. Ecosoc gave me Chichi. (Ecosoc gave me my mabango and malinis boys.) Ecosoc gave me a colorful college life.

After 10 or 15 years, I doubt if anyone would remember about Quek or Madame Q neither the girl who first organized Rundown and the first National NES. But despite this, Ecosoc will always have a special place in my heart not just as the organization that made me its Externals Affairs Chairperson but the family that helped me become a better person.

COMMNEWS

Dear Ecosoc: I am finally moving on.

I have been in Ecosoc for the longest time, 7 semesters in fact, and I spent one as an applicant. I came here because my block was unbelievably excited about joining the org that had just turned 50 the year before that they just pulled everyone else in to join. You know them: Jing, JR, Kiele, Sam, and the rest of E4.

I knew nothing about Ecosoc. My only knowledge about UP and Ecosoc was from my cousin who was from Engineering and had by then already graduated and had notions that Econ was full of conyo people – which by the way is 50% true. And amusingly, I turned into one somewhere along the way. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. It was a new thing for me to experience, and I was scared, just like how I spent my first hours in UP sitting along one of the oval benches alone, eventually finding my first friend and classmate whom I am genuinely lucky to have met – Romano.

Right after Sicat’s Econ 11 lecture class three years ago my block mates and I knocked at the door where the ‘UP Economics Society’ sign hung, and there came out excited-looking people with application forms inviting us to apply. A few days after, our block submitted our application forms together, and there my journey started. xxx I would never have considered myself a good applicant, although some would argue otherwise. I tried my best to get in, studying for my midsem and final interviews and attending the events I could get away with under my then existing unbelievable curfew. Back then, after class I had to commute home or else my mom would call me up asking me why I wasn’t on my way home yet – which kind of explains why I never went to Musikapella or any Ad Hoc or SPEV event before I was in third year. (I love her nevertheless.) Since being an app, I made sure that my daily classes ended at 4 or 5:30, so I at least could have time to spend with my friends. My sigsheet had only 4 execom signatures, and I somewhat owe them all to my guardians who had just before that - helped me switch to another committee internship because there was simply no way I would be able to attend Vice Night. I had no idea what was going on with myself and the organization until the very end of the application process. Ecosoc felt like a really big org with a lot of personalities, and I was never entirely sure I belonged to any group inside the org, except that I knew Dean wanted me to belong inside Acad.

But by some miracle, I passed. And by some greater miracle, I wasn’t under probation. It awakened something inside of me.

No, not really. But, it eventually did. xxx Two years and countless events and projects after, this is me, now ending my term in Acad, where I have spent all 7 semesters of my Ecosoc life in, and by next semester, all 8 of it. I have had countless priceless memories inside this organization, from when I was a nobody and had absolutely no one to talk to, to now where I have people I know I could run to when it’s all gone bad.

And finally- like an old man living into his final years, I can finally say I am happy about all that has happened.

Ecosoc has taught me a lot of things about life: how to work inside a team and build good relationships, how to play bridge, how to understand people when the going gets tough, how to never give up when there’s still a way, and most importantly, how to not look like a nerd all the time. It’s been a great three and a half years. xxx So you may be asking now: what’s the point of all this storytelling? Well, here.

Looking back, none of this would probably have ever happened without me belonging in that Sicat E4 block when what I really wanted was to take Solita Monsod for Econ 11, none of it without me meeting my first friend who would eventually become my TP, and none of it without me getting that push from Ecosoc’s diverse set of members (both a good and a bad) and my loving guardians. I was fortunate to have such brilliant people around me, and I am thankful for all that. So thankful in fact - that few words are apt.

If there’s a realization I made over the process of reflecting on what happened throughout my college life, maybe it’s this.

Life is full of small accidents, good and bad. We just have to make the best out of all of them. And, for those who can make those little things happen for

NEIL|Academic Affairs

the people who are just starting, extend yourself and be something for them because you will never know what mark you will leave inside them.

It’s never an easy thing to leave, but there is always an end to anything.

As much as I want to stay in this privileged position and keep everything that comes with it sans the stress, I realize, that maybe it’s time for others to experience what has made me and many others before me become who we are today, that it’s time for others to go through what I have, and live the experience as well. So, yes. I am finally moving on.

To Acad, thank you for having me as your Chair for a year and for sticking with me throughout my college life. You are my first love in Ecosoc. In my stay in Ecosoc, I have seen this committee grow and have seen its members love the committee more and more, and I’m glad to see it all happen. To all its members now, I wish you’d all stay. I’m pretty excited for an even better year ahead. Nina, I know you’ll do great.

To the future of Ecosoc, make Ecosoc your place. Love it, kahit nakakapagod minsan – actually, nakakapagod talaga, and it will love you too. It will be worth it. There are going to be many times when you would say to yourself when the going gets really tough, “I wish this didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

But, do what you have to do and move on with life and its troubles and later on you’ll realize that maybe in the end things worked out for the best, and you realize that you grew stronger and more mature as an individual and as a part of a bigger family. You’ll just know.

Finally, to V5: there is something about you people that I will never forget. Is it love? Is it trust? Maybe something else? I will never know. But, know that this one year that I spent with all of you is something I will always remember. When we first started out, I never imagined we would become this close that we wish we’d never part at the end of it. I have so much wonderful memories with you guys, and I hope to make even more wonderful ones in the future. This year was really special. I love you beautiful people.

Yours sincerely, Neil Adrian Ong

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 9

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

It was roughly 2 years ago. It was a rainy afternoon. I was walking to Pook Ricarte with then CDC Chair, Faye Ferrer. I don’t remember what we were talking about but it got to a point where she asked me if I had any plans of being CDC Chair. I said no.

She laughed.

It was the 2nd day of NYC 8. My awesome Chinese boss asked me to pick up the food we ordered from LB and no other car was available except for Paolo Tamase’s, then President of Ecosoc. On our way back, Kuya Pao asked me if I had any plans of running for CDC Chair. Again, I said no. It was a hard no, to be honest. He said he couldn’t blame me because from his point of view, it was one of the most demanding positions in the Execom.

So the question you probably have in your mind right now (and the same question I ask myself) is: ANYARE? And to that one-word question, I have a one-word answer: ECOSOC. Ecosoc happened. This organization has its way of getting into you. It will catch you off guard. And when you least expect it, when you feel like you’re over the omg-I-love this-org-so-much-Imma-be-so-active phase, it brings you right back in. And in my case, it brought me back in quite deep. But that’s the beauty of this organization, I guess. You never stop loving it. You may not like it, but deep down, way down, you know you still love it.

Of course, it’s never easy as that. Even for me. Ecosoc pushed me to my limits. It brought me disappointments that made me want to quit. It rejected me despite my efforts. It made me feel that I wasn’t good enough - that I will never be good enough.

But I stayed. I took the chance. And never will I regret taking that leap of faith.

When I ran for CDC Chair, after two semesters of denying, I now admit, I knew that I was going to win. But don’t ever think that it was easier for me than it was for the other execommers. To be honest, winning the elections was, and I bet V5 would agree with me on this, the easiest part. What came after was what made it a roller coaster of emotions. I thought that having been through 3 generations of execoms would condition me for the work. I thought that I knew what I was signing-up for. But the truth is, (hello new execom and all aspiring execommers in the future) you will never be prepared enough for what will come to you. You’ll hate the job but you’ll love it so much that hating it will be the least of your worries.

It all went by so fast. Saturday CDCs, Medical Missions, Caravans, and Eco-Brick Seshes were what I thought and breathed for an entire year. It humbles me everytime I hear someone saying something good about the projects. However, like what I pointed out during last commeet, my biggest achievement as your CDC chair was not all of these CDC activities, but the people behind it. To Ecosoc’s heart that will always have my heart, CDC, words and actions cannot express how much I love all of you. Recently, I’ve been saying that it’s really going to be difficult for me to move on and a lot of people may think that it’s the whole experience I’m referring to, but they’re wrong. I know that’s what you guys were thinking, too, and you’re wrong. The work and the stress will be very easy to let go, trust me, but God knows how hard it is for me to let go of you. (Now I’m starting to type this with tears.) I never thought I’d be this attached but you guys made it so easy, so fast. I could never thank you enough for always being there, for always giving your absolute best, for never giving up on me, for pushing me when I needed a push, for pulling me back when I’m about to mess up, for having my back no matter what, for dreaming big, for hitting it big, and for simply being the committee who loves me so much that you actually hate me. Working with such an amazing group of people, full of passion and dedication for Ecosoc, assures me that CDC is in good hands after my term. I know that some of you will be leaving and all I ask is for you to never forget the things that you learned in CDC, not just the skills, but most importantly, the values and qualities that I tried to instil to you for two semesters. I am overwhelmed with happiness whenever an EM or TF Director or any execommer tells me how good you are performing in your other positions in your other committees. To make you grow and realize your full potential in the organization was my main goal since Day 1 of being your CDC Chair and you guys did not fail to deliver. You are my pride and joy. You are my legacy. So to any other committee that claims to be the best committee in Ecosoc, with all due respect, SUCK IT. Carlo, I was gonna tell you that it’s all on you now but how can I say such a thing when you’ve got the entire CDC backing you up. I know you can do this. All heart! If anyone can put that UGH in swUGHg, it’s you. I’ll be here when you need me!

September 30, 2012 - I was in the backstage of Aliw Theater when I got a text. I do not remember exactly what it said but I clearly remember the line “Eggzekom, assemble...” And I thought to myself, this is going to be a fun year. A year later, I

10 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

XP|Community Development

realized that fun is such an understatement. V5, the best execom this society has ever had, I only have, in BB’s terms, intense positive feelings for all of you. If there is something unexpectedly good that I got from the experience, it’s meeting and getting to know twelve of the best people in the world. Thank you for being the rock that kept me standing when the worst became worse. I will miss every single moment, from meetings, events, texts, and FB posts to the smell of Anon’s armpits, Jing’s baked goodies during execommeet, GJ’s and Neil’s videos, Quek’s madam and Ria’s eevee moments, Geli’s extra rice budget, BB’s innate kinkiness, Ars’ handyman skills, Ryna’s cursing, Yasmin’s sleeping position, and Derek’s valuable presence.

Neil, Derek, Quek, Geli, Jing, Anon, Ars, Yasmin, Ryna, Ria, BB, GJ – twelve names, twelve amazing people. We did it! And we did it so damn well. Let’s still have Friday lunch outs, okay!

PI 100 and Thesis, g this Clingy!!! It’s our last sem and I’m looking forward to spending it with you. Let’s bring back our non-Ecosoc event Friday nights! Anj, Geli, Janine, Kyla, Shelly, Tong – wala lang. Alam ko namang gusto niyo lumabas mga pangalan niyo.

I’m not really sure if you’ll be able to read this, but to my parents, thank you for always being so supportive of everything I do. I told you that I would disappear for one year and you didn’t have any second thoughts in asking me what you can do to help. I may not say this much, but I love you Mama and Papa! You’ll be seeing more of my face now.

Let me end my very last commnews the same way I started my very first commnews. 11 words that sum up my whole college life.

LOVE ECOSOC AND IT WILL LOVE YOU A MILLION TIMES BACK.

COMMNEWS

A long time ago, before I met all of you, I once told someone in anguish about how I keep writing poetry about people, yet no one ever wrote about me. Since then, I wished that someone would write a poem about me. Not because I was egoistic, no, but because I longed for people who treasure words as much as I do. As I wrote in the foreword of the literary folio back in February, "Words hold great power, strength that could stop tanks or let two find their hearts." Each of you know this best. You are part of Echoes, a long lineage of great Ecosocers who have know what it takes to be the best. And here, as I am reading the fifteen poems you made, I will reply to each of your poems in order. You guys have fulfilled a wish I longed to have. (Wax, see you in the future, trusty pal from first year, when all I hold now were simply dreams!)

Eric, your poem encapsulates the relationship we've had for the entire time we have known each other. It is a friendship built on humor, the stupidity of youth, and the jubilation in self-deprecation. I'm sure we shall have many more laughs and wonderful memories together.

Vito, thank you for the pedestal you placed me on in your poem. I dunno if this is BS, but what it is good BS. The secret in your poem brings quite a bittersweet note in my heart though, regardless of the humor it contains. Regret is a painful thing to hold in your heart—I know you shall live out your dreams and the friendship we forged back way when will lead to better opportunities.

Joby, you've apologized so many times to me, and each time you still do, it pains me really. I see the effort you make to run News to where it is now, and for each time you've apologized, I must thank you twice. We've been in Echoes the longest compared to these kids. I do also look forward to working more because I see the passion that burns in you, the silent passion that goes unnoticed, but worthy of sheer adoration.

Poncho, please. Your poem is funny because of all the references, but I know how much it really means to you. I'm glad that you love it as much as you do, kid. Keep loving Ecosoc.

Jus, your poem... I shall keep it burning, that fire. Because when I see you and how much zeal you have for the things you do, I get inspired. Inspired to do greater things and feel how pathetic it is when I don't show the same amount or even greater amount of zeal.

Mix, that oversized smile you mentioned in the poem and described in the tribute video as "a smile that seemed to know something about you, something you might not even know yourself" actually is a description I've gotten from before. And, as I have made the past 12 weeks of your life unforgettable, you have also made my final semester as EIC the same and more colorful.

Sam, you are a poet. Reading your poem, I find it funny that I, too, see your passion, your dreams, and your thoughts and I am also moved the same way you are. You have been a wonderful VC in my first semester, and without you, we would probably not be anywhere good right now. I have reached far, and without you to reach far with me, I would have fallen.

Timmy, regardless of how many times you flake or how I feel your laziness becomes my laziness, I believe in the potential for leadership you have. Look at what we have accomplished this semester. We are merely standing on the shoulders of giants.

Cara, our only-child experiences bring such great walls above ourselves.

But I am sure that properly dismantling them at the right time would not only bring about greater happiness, but also a better reach than with those walls up.

Because I believe that when we can actually open to others what truly makes us weak, and become absolutely comfortable with it, we lose all our weaknesses.

Martin, even if you copied the poem Ithaka, I understand how this poem applies to me, my protege. I've always been a firm believer that it's the journey, and not simply the destination that makes something worthwhile. I hope we find the journeys that make us fulfilled with the human experience we can gather.

Frances, we're batchmates but it's humbling to read all the adjectives you have written out in your poem. You make it seem as if I'm wiser beyond our years, and maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What is sure though is that if you ever need a friend or a secret to be kept, I shall always be available. By the way, the web is so lively now!

Olivia, I love your poem. It outlines the thoughts we face and the challenges besmirched upon us. I find the second movement to be most poignant. "I am solace but solace is not in me." I am sure that the happiness we once talked about, the kind that is not reliant on anything but simply is, shall come soon.

Marte, the only Filipino poem in the whole folio. It took me numerous visits

DEREK|Echoes

to my Filipino-English dictionary. Joke. I must say that I know our friendship will last even after college, good friend. Ayon nga sa sinabi mo, "magkaibigan" o "magka-ibigan", tatagal ang ating samahan. Continue to do great, unsung hero of this organization!

Jude, I don't understand what your poem means, but I shall work with what I understand. You are entering this same position with the same circumstances I entered it a year back. With only youth as the weapon you wield, as did I. But I tell you, it is not the only weapon you wield. You wield the collective wisdom of EICs past in these papers filled with their souls. I stood on the shoulders of giants, and you shall too. I know you will do well: Ecosocers do not disappoint.

Lerizze, I still don't understand what your poem means. You won't explain it and it's different for apparently being the only poem about yourself in the set. I'm sure you'll have fun getting wherever there is slowly and quietly, remembering the first day you met yourself, and continuing to talk to yourself past midnight. My favorite poem of the whole bunch.

I may not have been the best commhead and sometimes I push you all hard, and I apologize for that. And I give you my sincerest thanks for your patience, your obedience, your passion, and your love. Because look at where we are right now, all of you. Because the view amazing. Thank you.

V5, we have reached heights previously unattained. Bask in the glory. Also, guys, I am no longer the child in the execom!!! Now rest.

Kenneth and Horace, I could not have done all these things if I weren't inspired by you both. Thank you for showing me all that Echoes could be. Which is all that it is now.

Do I love Ecosoc? Do I love Echoes? Yes, I do. I love it when they make me happy, when they make me feel the exuberance in a new release—be it an event, a video, a web release, and, especially, an issue, when they make me feel proud to attach my name to such an honorable organization, full of rich histories and amazing people. I love it when they make me sad, when they make me feel the heavy weight of frustration and disappointment, when they make me feel ashamed to be associated with people who conveniently love what we are and what we do. I love it even when I don’t love it. And let me tell you, that makes all the difference in the world. Because when you stick to something or someone, through good times and most especially the bad times, that is love. Love is not a feeling, happiness is and sadness is. Love is work. Love is sacrifice. Love is the choice to stay with someone even after the glory days have passed. Love is the amount of time you spend with your rose. And I’ve spent so much time with this rose and I have given it my odes, through all the work we have put through.

I have bared out a great deal of myself in these odes to the organization. Love it as well, and your dreams shall be realized. All the effort, the sweat, the tears, the fears, the ideas, and the dreams I've given to this were all gifted from my soul. I have bared my soul in these issues, even if it was just for a year. You are reading this and even though I may not be with you anymore, if I have fallen out of your lives, if I am merely a memory in your minds, if I am merely a flicker in your spirits, I am with you. If you see me, even if I don't know who you are and you are reading this, even if I don't remember who you are and you are reading this, greet me. We may find each other anywhere. And if you greet me, I will muster all effort to greet you with all the warmth of an old friend.

Good bye.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 11

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

LAST COMMNEWS GUYS, EXPECT A LOT OF CHEESE. Sometime along August, I remember telling myself I couldn’t wait for this day to come – for all the projects to be accomplished, for work stress to be over, for our execom term to culminate. I longed for decent rest and some breather. That finally, I wouldn’t have to cram for my exams after a weekend of meetings and events, that the luxury of sleep would be more affordable. But I guess it’s true what they say, be careful what you wish for.

“Too many times people don’t realize what they have because they are out there looking for something better. The problem is that when they do realize it, they will come crawling back.”

Now that we’re here at a beginning of an end – instead of letting out a sigh of relief, I find my self struggling to find a pause button. Ang hirap pala talagang mag let go! I started this term with OVERWHELMING MIXED FEELS and I am ending it on the same note – only that now coupled with fulfillment, gratefulness, joy and a better sense of purpose.

JING|Liaison

From the bottom of my heart, Ecosoc, I am more than blessed for having been given such an insightful, heartwarming, and humbling experience. I cannot thank you enough for giving me this chance. Especially to you, LIAISON.

keep coming back to that, especially in times of difficulties you are to face. That love, should renew your passion with no fail. It’s not going to be a smooth ride, I can tell you that – but it will be one worth remembering, it will be one worth enduring.

I can only imagine how skeptical you may have been when Mark Matibag/ Comelec announced that I am succeeding as the next chairperson of your committee.

I have never had experience as a Liai mem. Golly, I don’t even show up in the tambayan! I was one of those rare finds that apps had to especially track down just to complete their sigsheet. Some of you didn’t even know who I was until I showed up in our first commeet or until you found out about my chairpersonship. (EHEM HELLO ERWIN MATE). But I don’t blame you. Honestly, I would have had the same doubt.

To my Liai mems – Sel, Briana, Nicolle, Christine, Catrice, Ida, Dea, Miggy, JM, Iya, Trisha, Gel, Cheska, Anj, Patty, Justine, you are all no less my source of hope.

Thank you for choosing to be with Liai, thank you for giving me the chance to work with such a skillful set of people. You all, in your own ways, made Liaison a special place to be in. I will forever treasure all the moments we bonded over – GT, Apprentice, the kwentuhan, food trip, marketing, everything. Of all things that I will miss, it is this team.

But the fact that I’m here writing my final commnews culminating a full year of being your Liaison chairperson – I can only be so thankful for how you welcomed me with open arms and for casting aside whatever doubts; for giving me the chance to work with each and every one of you. I am so overwhelmed that I was blessed with a wonderful, talented, and thoughtful team. Liaison wouldn’t have accomplished any of the great things it did over the year if it weren’t for you. More than the title or any of the prestige posited from being in the executive committee of this organization, I was privileged to have led a team so full of promise.

To my Liai apps, now mems – Paolo, Ado, Lora, Eduard, Gio, Raffy, Lean, I am so proud of you. Congratulations once again! I know we made the right choice in fully welcoming you to this family. I hope that you keep seeing the joy and inspiration in this organization. I am so proud to have had the privilege to call you my liai apps.

FEELS AND HEARTS.

I know we encountered a number struggles along the way, yet nonetheless I hold no regrets. For really, I think that those problems allowed us to be even better than how we were at the start. In those challenges I saw how each one rose above stress, growing to be more mature in character and abilities. But more importantly, in those moments of panic, I felt our bond grow stronger. They made our success more overwhelming and joyful. They humbled us, realizing that we can’t do it by our own individual efforts, not even by the collective – but that each great ending that we witnessed was through the direction of a higher power. In those struggles, I grew to be more grateful of you – and of Him. Liaison, both mems and apps, you did it. You proved to everyone that you are not JUST LIAI; but that you are an equally pivotal element to this organization.

Now that you are on such stance, there is no other way but to keep on. Always remind yourself that things can only get better from here. Never leave room for doubts about what you can achieve. As a primary witness, I know that you can make it happen if you will it.

To my VCs – Erwin, Eina and Telle, I’m not just thankful for having the best VCs I could ever ask for and more but I also find it worth mentioning that with you I was privileged to forge good friendships, friendships that I am sure to carry in my heart even after the work is over, even after we part ways. You guys taught me so many things! I apologize for the moments of stress outbursts and panic. I apologize if I pushed you too hard at times or if my presence would waver. But if there’s anything that I want to leave with you, that I want to remember, it is this: I truly, truly believe that you will play a great part to moving Ecosoc forward. You guys are so talented and so full of promise – you don’t give up when things get tough but you rise above every difficulty with a stronger spirit.

Telle, your chance is now. Show them what you got! Never doubt yourself. You are amazing, and I can attest to that. I’m glad to be leaving Liai unto good hands – with no anxieties, no worries. I saw and felt how much you love this committee. Just

12 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

Now to V5 – If only I could put my FEELS on this paper. I AM LOST FOR WORDS. I don’t know how to adequately express how blessed, how privileged, how overwhelmed I am for having the chance to be a part of this little family of 12. You have no idea how much of a great impact each one of you has imprinted in my life – and in my heart :’) You were my ray of sunshine when things look glum; I would not have survived that year without you.

It makes me teary eyed, remembering the moments we shared listening to each other’s plights, being each other’s comfort, pushing each other to keep going, reminding each other that everything will be okay – na kaya yan. I will miss the bickering, the inside jokes and of course, our collective bullying of GJ. The little things really – from Ryna’s resounding presence to Anon’s “WEH” to Quek’s intense madam feels to Geli & Neil’s “friends-only” PDA to the potential of the Derek-Bea love team to GJ’s “Okay guys! Focus!” to Ria’s eevee moments to Ars’ “unique” (poster) ideas. That despite our quirkiness and differences, there’s that kind sincerity and understanding that bonds us – the kind that runs deep, the kind that is real. We weren’t just a team – we were a family.

I secretly wish I could still see you every Friday lunch and deliberate with you every end of the sem and meet with you over the break – but even the good things come to an end. Nonetheless, I know we have a friendship to go back to anytime, at any circumstance.

Thank you again, Ecosoc. A part of who I am today, is credited to you.

You will always have a special place in my heart.

With lots of love, Jing

COMMNEWS

Sup ecosoc?

Final commnews already, i'm amazed at how fast time is. It's like everything happened in the span of a week. the campaign, the induction, the first semester, the culminight, the second semester, grand trad. So many memories that will never be forgotten, events that i wish would have never ended. I look back at everything that has happened, the highs and lows, and i realize that what really got me through these times were the people that i shared them with. If there's one thing that i can be sure of regarding my term, it's that it was far from being a lonely one. Please allow me to thank you guys for the company: Memcom 12-13! Thanks for the patience. All of us were still adjusting, but nevertheless, we did a good job. Thank you for helping me learn as a leader.

Memcom 13! Couldn't have asked for a better team. Thank you for this sem. We accomplished all our plans and even more, and i couldn't have done it without you guys. We were all friends before this, but i think after this sem, what we all have is something more, i can't even put it into words.

To my active seniors, thank you for giving me your time. There are many other things that you could have spent your time on; salamat na 'di niyo ako iniwan. Alan, sobrang nalunod ka sa video editing buong time, salamat sa patience at sa ideas na binibigay mo, kahit medyo sabaw yung iba. Angel, salamat sa pagvovolunteer mo lagi to do pubmats. Alam kong busy ka with BA and with CAP, i appreciate that you always find time to help out, even in small ways. Miguel, salamat sa pagtulong lagi sa pag-isip ng ideas for memcom.

Sobrang laking tulong mo sa event planning and finding contacts, pati na rin sa pag-oorganize nung reveal for culminight at intro ng grand trad (shout out to carlo, botan, timmy, adriel, jude, ken, migs de la cruz for also helping!). JR, salamat sa inspiration, ikaw talaga dahilan bakit ako tumakbo for memcom chair in the first place. Salamat din sa support bro, alam kong lagi mong tinatry puntahan lahat ng events natin at commeets. May utang pa ako sayong turnover gift.

To my batchmates, thanks for the support. Josh, i got to know you more when you took the challenge of being app head for Pulse. I've seen your dedication as a leader and as a member of memcom, i know you'll continue to be a great asset of memcom. Aris, salamat sa suporta. Medyo busy ka sa council and other stuff, pero lagi ka pa rin nagpapakita kung kelan mo kaya. Carmel, since apps tayo alam ko nang you were destined for something great. I'm glad i got the chance to work with you because it only supported the fact that you are the best person that can lead our organization for the following 2 sems. Good luck!

Alam kong kayang-kaya mo yan. Cel H, natuwa ako nung sinabi mo nung start ng sem na gusto mo mag active sa ecosoc. We need more people like you. I hope you continue to find happiness inside and outside of the org. Cel C, medyo rare kitang nakita buong sem, but i'm still thankful for all the ideas that you pitched in and the contribution you gave throughout the sem. Pau, i rarely get to talk to you now, but i hope you know that i'm still here for you. Thanks for helping with grand trad even though stressed ka na rin with EM stuff. Looking forward to catching up with you soon. Lance, bro since naging co-VCs tayo sa Sports alam ko nang sobrang bagay sayo yung committee na yun. The sports committee is lucky to have found a dedicated and passionate sports chair for the following 2 sems. Good luck bro, you supported me during my term, know that i'll also support you in yours.

To the sophomores, thanks for providing a fresh perspective for the committee. Lisanne, thanks for all the effort you put into those pubmats, even though at times they seemed to pile up with your other responsibilities. My only wish is for you to find your true calling in the organization, where your skill and potential can be maximized. Jena, we rarely talked before this sem, i'm glad i got to know you more because of memcom. Thanks for being so patient with the dance choreography of grand trad. I really appreciate the help, and of course, your company. Lyon, i see so much potential in you, i'm excited for what's in store for you in the coming sems. All i can say is, you are well-suited for the job, don't even hesitate to take it. Good luck, you have my support!

To my interns, kevin, nikuo, trysh, raffy, gino: thanks for choosing memcom!

In the short time that you guys spent in the committee, i hope you learned a lot and enjoyed the work. You guys truly deserve the high internship grades i gave you. Good luck with your ecosoc life!

My VCs! Mel, I felt that i always had your support in anything, i appreciate that. Also, lagi kitang binubully, hope you know that despite those, i'm thankful that you decided to go to memcom. Mabel, thanks for the happiness that you

PAOLO|Membership

provided throughout the sem. You always had a way of making things more interesting, making stress go away. Salamat nang sobra! Matt, what else can i say. We both know how hard you worked this sem. Grand trad was your event as much as it was mine. Thanks bro, and like what i keep on telling you, never lose that drive. Good thing about you is that you're young, you have all the time in the world. Use it wisely. Jomac, thanks for the loyalty. I can only imagine the horror of being my VC for 2 straight sems, thanks for sticking it out. You have a bigger responsibility ahead of you, but i'm sure you're well-prepared and capable of handling it. Good luck boss!

Thanks guys! Memcom stronggg.

Pulse and Platoon 55! My pride and joy. I look forward to the time when you guys will start running this organization. I hope ecosoc does for you what it did for me, which is to give me a purpose. Love ecosoc and it will love you back.

There are no truer words than these. Enjoy your stay here!

V5! Got nothing but love for you guys. We're finally done! Neil, i've always looked up to you and i learned a lot just by watching you work. Xp, i was really impressed with your dedication and hardwork. Thanks for showing that mediocrity is never an option. Derek, i'm really happy with what you've done with echoes. This is the best i've seen it, and it's all because of you, good job.

Quek, thanks for all the support and for being that anchor that the execom needed. I know that you supported each one of us throughout our term, know that i'll always supprt you too in everything. Geli, i'm happy that we became closer near the end of this sem (take note: closER, since i always believed we were close from the start). If you need someone to talk to, you know i'm always here. Jing, thanks for being our mommy. You always made us feel that we were cared for. Ars, thanks for the passion that you showed. You were really wellequipped for this job, literally and figuratively. Ryna, my buddy, thanks for the company. I enjoyed our kwentuhans and i look forward to more of them. Ria, you're so sabaw but then we really needed that. You knew when to be serious and when to be fun, and i'm glad we were able to see both sides of you. BB, i always felt like you were always on my side, thank you for that. Please know that even if i tease you a lot, i'm on your side too, always. GJ, thanks for being the one in charge. I can imagine how hard it is to lead an organization. I can only hope of being half the leader that you are. Good luck with everything!

Lastly, thank you ecosoc for having me as your Membership Committee Chairperson. It was a fun ride, something i will never regret on doing. Know that even without the position, i will always be willing to serve you guys. Thank you for everything.

Fly high, Ecosoc! Cheers!

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 13

COMMITTEE ECHOES NEWS

HELLO ECOSOC!! Or should I say goodbye…..

I can’t believe this is the last commnews that I will be writing as your Spev Chair. I can’t believe that it’s already been 1 year since I took upon myself to serve such an amazing organization that is the UP Economics Society. I just can’t believe that we’ve already made it this far. I can’t believe that I am still in disbelief right now.

I just want to thank every single ecosocer for the amazing run we’ve had. To all the people who believed in me, thank you and I hope I did not let you down. To all the people who did not believe in me, you can kiss my ass. Kidding! I’d still like to thank you because without your doubts and qualms about me, I would have never wanted to prove myself worthy of this position.

TO MY BELOVED COMMITTEE, I love you beyond the stars in the sky. I could not ask for a better set of members. Thank you for making every commeet/genmeet not feel like work. It feels so good to be surrounded by people who make work feel like play. Thank you Zo and Josh for picking up where I left off when I go MIA and leave the work to you guys. Thank you Abby and Hazel for resurfacing and being of such great help to this committee. Thank you Ayi, Adriel, Andee for being my pseudo-VCs and helping out in whatever way SPEV needs help. Thank you Bruno for always being present in whatever shit I needed you to be in. Thank you Loice for always waiting till egress (kasi sumasabay ka but nonetheless hehe). Thank you Kiele, Issa, and Risa for being there when I needed you guys. Thank you Mark and Romano for being super supportive with my SPEV chair dreams and always being there from day one. Lastly, Andee I know I’ll be leaving SPEV in good hands. Please love and cherish it the same way I did. THANK YOU SPEV. TO MY BELOVED EXECOM, THANK YOU ALL FOR A GOOD RUN. I can’t believe we’ve gone through so much shit together and yet here we are solid as a rock. I know we’ve had our differences and squabbles along the way, but what family doesn’t go through a little fighting right? Thank you for being my family in this journey. I love you all beyond words and I cherish all our moments. Especially ganging up on El Presidente.

Thank you Ecosoc. This is your Special Events Chairperson, Ryna Claro, signing out!

14 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

RYNA|Special Events

COMMNEWS

About a year ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life: I chose to run for this position. It was a decision that changed my life. Yes, it may sound exaggerated, but all of my co-V5 execommers would probably agree with me.

We all learned so much from the past year, and we have ECOSOC to thank for these priceless life lessons. Now that I am about to let go of my position, I want to share these lessons I that have learned with all of you ecosocers. I hope all ecosocers will encounter these within their ecosoc lives.

ECOSOC, let me thank you for teaching me: TO SPEAK UP. Personally, this is really first on my list. When our term started, I remember people being concerned about how quiet and shy I was. To be honest, learning how to talk to a big group of people was one of the biggest challenges I had this year. Struggle talaga. Back when I was an applicant and even when I was a VC, I was the most silent person in our commeets. I remember constantly being told that I had to learn how to talk more. I remember thinking, “Wait lang guys. Baby steps muna” but there really wasn’t time for baby steps.

I worked hard on my “talking skills.” Ecosoc gave me confidence to speak and let my voice be heard.

TO DREAM BIG. We wouldn’t be where we are right now if we hadn’t dreamed big. It’s scary when you think about all of the risks that come with dreaming big, but Ecosoc has showed us that we need to overcome our fears if we want to succeed.

THAT LOVING ECOSOC IS DIFFICULT, BUT IT’S WORTH IT. Never give up. Loving Ecosoc may sometimes be difficult. It requires a lot of effort and sacrifices, but at the end of the day it’s worth it.

THAT ECOSOC IS A FAMILY THAT WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU. I applied to be part of an organization. I ended up being part of a family.

To my committee and family, the SPORTS COMMITTEE, I remember back when I was a freshman, I was amazed (and curious) upon hearing that Ecosoc had its own sports committee. I thought to myself, “Wow this organization has everything.” Teamwork, camaraderie, unity, love, discipline, and passion may just seem like overused cheesy terms for a lot of people, but I’ve witnessed these words in action, and I have truly been touched by the true meaning of these words. I fell in love with this committee from the moment I applied for Ecosoc. This committee took care of me as an applicant, allowed me to step up as a Vice Chairperson, and eventually gave me the chance to lead it as a Chairperson. It’s crazy thinking about how much this committee has changed me. When I was an applicant, I would always just be there in commeets and the most I’d probably say in commeets would be “Yes” or “Okay.” Then I became a VC, and my number of words in commeets increased by probably 5 words. Then I eventually became the Sports Chairperson (after a very awkward 2 weeks of campaigning), and I had to learn to talk in commeets, genmeets, and in general.

Sports, you have definitely changed me. Being your chairperson has been such an amazing experience. The bond that this committee has is just extremely overwhelming. You have all been such amazing friends/brothers/sisters to me throughout this experience.

RIA|Sports

Your ideas and creativity have always fueled this committee. Thank you for not giving up despite having a lot of load this semester. Joseph, my “rebel child,” I am so proud of how much you’ve grown as an ecosocer. We’ve talked about this countless times, and I’m probably starting to look like a stage mother but I’m just so proud of you. Keep it up. I’m sure that you’ll grow and learn even more in ecosoc. To the next chairperson, Lance, I’m excited to see your plans in action.

If you ever need help with sports, I’ll always be willing to help out! Take good care of the Sports family! Always remember to enjoy your term as well! Love Sports and Ecosoc with all your heart! To my applicants turned members, Astin, Orion, Miguel, Angel, Daryl, EJ, Emira, Gino, I hope you will all continue to be/become active members of this organization. As they say, Love Ecosoc, and it’ll love you back. Make me proud, my sports “children”!

To my awesome group of friends (you know who you are), thank you for being so supportive ever since we started campaigning last year. Thank you for always being there for me! I owe you guys a lot!

V5 family, I can’t believe our term is over. It has been such a crazy year with you crazy people. Thank you for being like brothers and sisters to me for the past year. I feel honored to have been able to work with you guys. We have all gotten to know each other better this year, and I feel really blessed for that.

Thank you for being a caring and loving family. I will definitely miss this. I love you all!

ECOSOC, thank you for such a fulfilling experience.

To all of my members for the past 2 semesters, Adri, AK, Astin, Bing, Boz, Cesca, Cheska, Cheska, CV, Cyvil, Darrell, Dustin, Erol, God, Janeen, Jed, Joc, Joseph, Justin, Luis, Miguel, Mik, Mike, Nathan, Orion, Raya, Rino, Sarah, Tikay, Topy, thank you for this amazing and fulfilling experience.

Leading this committee has been such an honor. You will always be my family within a family, Sports. To Janeen, thank you for starting off my Ecosoc journey.

If it weren’t for you, I would have never have gotten here. You were right when you told me that I would learn a lot from this experience. To my VC’s: Mike, I am so proud of you for getting to where you are now. You may be leaving this committee, but I’m sure sports will always have your back. Good luck with taskforce! Erol, thank you for being one of the “Kuyas” in Sports. I saw how you guided a lot of our younger members into being more active and having more passion for the committee. Boz, I know how much passion and dedication you had for sports. I was really in awe when I saw your VC application back then.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 15

INSIDE ECOSOC

LIV:

EXTRAVAGANT, COLORFUL AND UNFORGETTABLE

LAST SEPTEMBER 21, ONE GREAT HIGHLIGHT OF THE ECOSOC MONTH, THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY LIV TOOK PLACE AT BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY IN MAKATI CITY.

Before LIV took place, Ecosoc members, lead by Ecosoc Month Chair GJ Agregado and Co-chair Sam Gonzales, painstakingly took numerous meetings in order to plan this event and on the day itself, many of them went to the venue as early as 4am to set-up the party.

As LIV started, many of the attendees shot paint at each other 16 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

by Alfonso Roces

with their free water guns. People also tried the numerous alcoholic drinks provided by our sponsors. Some even substituted the paint in their water guns with alcohol.

People danced the night away and all were pumped up to enjoy the evening. At 12:00 a.m, a midnight reveal took place. Even when the rain came, it did not stop the party and everyone came home satisfied (and some, drunk).

It is truly a colorful and unforgettable event Ecosoc has produced.

NEWS

UP ECOSOC HAILS MISS GRAND TRADITION 2013 IN PRIMERA

by Lissane Gaborni

THE TRADITION LIVES ON AS ECOSOC CELEBRATED ITS ANNUAL GRAND TRAD EVENT LAST SEPTEMBER 20.

AS PART OF THE MONTH-LONG ECOSOC ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE ORGANIZED PRIMERA, WHICH SHOWCASES CHARACTERS FROM PRIME TIME TELEVISION SHOWS.

dres, Botan Belen, Jude Geron and Carlo Fernandez gave their own rendition of the song Valerie.

Ecosoc alumni Enzo Clemente, Hannah Alipio, Cocoy Vargas, Camille Juco and MykNarciso, as well as former UP Pep member Jan Mayo were invited to judge the contest.

Each candidate had an individual performance. Video interview clips with each candidate, where they were asked three questions, were also shown as part of the judging criteria. A second The candidates for each committee were as follows: Aaron runway was held afterwards, followed by the question and anGalano as Eva Fonda (Academics), Gino Gerodias as Alwina swer portion.

(CDC), Eric Sto. Domingo as Nita Negrita (Echoes-Seccom-TF), Before the final runway, Miss Grand Trad 2012 Aaron Cruz, Apa Regondola as Darna (Externals), Earl Dumalaog as Reyna dressed as Audrey Hepburn, danced with the boys of the execuMinea (Finance), Gio Perez as Yaya Maya (Liaison),Nicodela tive committee.

The winners were awarded after, with Gino Gerodias hailed as Paz as Agua (SPEV) and Mike Saulo as Marina (Sports).

The event was held in the School of Economics Auditorium Miss Grand Trad 2013. Gio Perez and Mike Saulo came in 2nd and started at 6:00 PM. It was hosted by Ecosoc alumni Andre and 1st runners up, respectively. Special awards were also given to Gino for Ms. Talent, People’s Choice and Best in Character.

Sarmiento and Faye Ferrer.

The candidates opened the program with a dance number as Apa was also awarded for Ms.Talent, Aaron awarded for Ms. PhoEcosoc members Timmy Jacob, Adriel Arguelles, Miguel An- togenic and Mike for Ms. Congeniality.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 17

NEWS

TOP ECONOMICS STUDENTS ADVOCATE PEACE IN NATIONAL ECONOMICS SUMMIT OVER 90 ECONOMICS STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES JOINED THE NATIONAL ECONOMICS SUMMIT (NES) ORGANIZED BY THE UNIVERISTY OF THE PHILIPPINES ECONOMICS SOCIETY (UP ECOSOC) AT THE UNILAB BAYANIHAN CENTER LAST SEPTEMBER 13-15. by Bryan Domingo Dubbed “NES 2013: The Economics of Conflict”, the summit focused on conflict economics, an unconventional branch of the said field, where delegates discussed the impacts of disputes on the country’s economy and social welfare.

Delegates consolidated their views on the pressing national affairs such as the recent events in Zamboanga and the Bangsamoro framework. They also drafted their own statements showing their stand on such matters and how the Filipino youth can participate in achieving conflict resolution.

Moreover, the delegates interacted with fellow top economics students from all over the Philippines through small group discussions and a case study on policy recommendations for economic corridors.

On the last day, the official statement was finalized and put into the final reading by selected representatives. Each delegate signed the official statement to

18 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

agree on the advocacy of peace and the “participation of youth in the national discourse toward nation-building.”

The summit’s speakers included Prof. Dennis Quilala from UP Department ofPolitical Science, Prof. Toby Monsod and Dr. Raul Fabella of UP School of Economics (UPSE), and Prof. Ramon Clarete, the Dean of UPSE. They shared their knowledge in economics and conflict resolution to the delegates, ranging from local struggles to international disputes.

This year, the organizers only invited the top 3 economics students from participating universities in order to streamline the screening of delegates and to further substantiate the summit’s output.

NES was organized UP Ecosoc, in celebration of the Ecosoc Month and representation of the Society’s thrust of excellence. It was also in line with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process’s (OPAPP) National Peace Consciousness Month.

NEWS

A RELAXING AND CHILL BONFIRE

by Alfonso Roces

THE LAST MAJOR ECOSOC EVENT FOR THE FIRST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL YEAR 2013-2014, IS A BONFIRE WHICH IS A NEW EVENT ECHOES, SPEV AND THE ECOSOC MONTH HAVE ORGANIZED. THE BONFIRE WAS ENTITLED HOME IS A FIRE. IT WAS HELD FROM 5:00PM UNTIL 10:00PM ON OCTOBER 4 IN AN OPEN FIELD LOCATED IN CAPITOL HILLS GREEN STREET.

The event was opened with the lighting of the bonfire of the September Council. It was then followed by an inspiring poem from Sam Gonzales. Afterwards, songs were performed by Andee Aguila, Miguel Andres and Migs dela Cruz. This was then followed by a duet by Adriel Arguelles and Angela Mantes. Next stop was a series of short films and during this, soup, sandwiches, hot chocolate and beer were served. Some members had fun trying to make smores with the bonfire.

The event was ended with the song "Valerie", performed by the Ecosoc Star band composed of different male Ecosoc members.

It was truly a night wherein members, including those who just recently passed, of the organization could socialize and relax.

PLANNING THE FUTURE ON ACAD-EXTERNALS CAREER TALK

by Bryan Domingo

LAST SEPTEMBER 25, OVER 180 STUDENTS FROM THE FIELD OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ATTENDED THE CAREER TALK ON DEVELOPMENTAL PLANNING HOSTED BY UP PLANNERS ORGANIZATION (UP PLANO), IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UP ECONOMICS SOCIETY (UP ECOSOC), HELD IN THE SE AUDITORIUM. Entitled "Plan The Future," the talk highlighted urban and regional planning as a post-graduate career for students specializing in economics, architecture, geography and other social science courses. Moreover, it emphasized the country's need for planners in "creating better spaces".

Professor David Garcia from the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) gave a three-series lecture

about the current state of the country and how the attendees, coming from different fields, may contribute to achieving the Philippines' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Students were given the opportunity to speak with UP PLANO through an open forum, covering questions from the nature and rates of their work to the current issues on certain establishments.

The said event was the last installment of the symposium series by the UP Ecosoc 55's Academics Affairs and External Affairs committees, replacing the indefinitely-postponed Sabah symposium.

UP PLANO also partnered with Geographical Society of the University of the Philippines (GSUP), UP Kalipunan para sa Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiyang Pilipino (UP KAPPP), Junior Philippine Geographical Society (JPGS), UP Task Force Arki, and UP Circle of Landscape Architecture Students (UP CLAS).

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 19

NEWS

MUSIKAPELLA: HIMIG NG BAGONG HENERASYON

by Vico Ubaldo

NOW ON ITS 8TH YEAR, MUSIKAPELLA WAS HELD ON SEPTEMBER 28 AT THE ALIW THEATRE IN PASAY CITY. THIS EVENT IS ECOSOC’S YEARLY FUNDRAISER FOR THE ECONOMICS SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP FUND WHICH WILL HELP FUND THE SCHOOL FEES OF THE ORGANIZATION’S SEVEN SCHOLARS. IT IS ORGANIZED BY TASK FORCE HEADED BY VICE PRESIDENT BEA BAYUDAN AND CHELLO CALIWAN. Musikapella brought 14 high school choirs from around Metro Manila to compete in a chorale competition. This year’s theme is Himig ng Bagong Henerasyon where the chorale groups performed classic Filipino rock songs including Limang Dipang Tao and Adik Sa’yo. Overall, Musikapella was a great success!

Each choir performed their best to the cheers of more than 2,400 students, parents, and other supporters who filled up the Aliw Theatre.

20 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

This year’s champion is Don Bosco Technical Institute Makati. 1st runner-up is St. Paul College Pasig and 2nd runner-up is PAREF Woodrose. People’s Choice goes to St. Scholastica’s College Manila. For Best Interpretation of Contest Piece, PAREF Woodrose wins in the all-girls group category, Don Bosco Technical Institute Makati wins in the all-boys group category, and Diliman Preparatory School wins in the mixed choir category.

The Grand Tradition

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 21

NEWS HOME IS A FIRE Members of the Execom celebrate their final event. Home is a Fire is a tie-up between SPEV and Echoes.

• Photo by Cara Latinazo

22 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

NEWS

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 23

NEWS NES Professor Raul Fabella delivers a lecture on Conflict Economics at this year's National Economics Summit.

• Photo by Cara Latinazo

24 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 25

NEWS

SENATOR PANFILIO LACSON confirmed to have given senators “incentive” when they voted for the conviction of the former Chief Justice Renato Corona 26 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

NEWS

NEWS

111

BY

NUMBERS

imigrants were killed due to a shipwreck that happened in the island of Lampedusa, Italy. The boat that capsized were carrying asylum seekers from North Africa.

BY JOBY GUERRERO

1,000,000

amount in US Dollars that was inside a white bag that was tossed from a plane in Bolivia. The plane that flew low is believed to be flown by a drug trafficking syndicate.

2.7

in percent is the annual inflation rate of the Philippines for September. This is higher than August’s 2.1% but still below the government’s target of 3-5%

30,000

amount in Philippine Pesos is the budget that was allotted for the controversial foot bridge at Philcoa, Quezon City. The bridge was believed to be very hazardous because of its unusual height and the power cables that pass through its steps.

81

people inside a Protestant church in Peshawar, Pakistan have died due to explosions caused by 2 suicide bombers. Among the killed were choir members and children who were attending Sunday school.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 27

NEWS

50,000,000

amount in Philippine Pesos Senator Panfilo Lacson confirmed to be given to senators as “incentive” when they voted for the conviction of the former Chief Justice Renato Corona. 20 senators voted to convict then Chief Justice.

229

members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who were part of the bloody 3 week confrontation in Zamboanga city, are now under Department of Justice’s care. They will be transferred and detained at a Manila Camp soon.

42

people in China have already died due to Asian Giant Hornet sting. 1,675 people have also been injured by the Hornet’s sting in the three cities in Shaanxi province.

4

the number of days gunmen seized an upmarket mall in Kenya. Heavy explosions and fierce exchange of bullets caused the demise of the mall with 67 people dead.

560

the word count of the blog post Tesla CEO Elon Musk published to diffuse Tesla’s model S car accident. Tesl (TSLA) stock became higher by half percent minutes after the CEO’s post.

28 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

NEWS

UP Economics Society

NEWS BY

NUMBERS

BY JOBY GUERRERO

14 3

schools have competed in this year’s Musikapella. Boscorale won this year’s competition.

the number of days the National Economics Summit was held at Bayanihan Center in Pasig city. The conference tackled about conflict economics.

3

the number of lectures given during the urban and regional planning talk,”Plan the Future.” 180 students from different social science courses have attended the event.

11

the number of the newly elected members of the Executive Committee of Ecosoc. 1 position, the Secretary/Secretariat Committee Chairperson, was filled through appointment by the new Execom.

650

the number people who had fun in the most colorful event of the year LIV. Heavy rain didn’t stop the attendees from having an unforgettable night.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 29

F E ATUR ES

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ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 31

NEARING T

FEATURED PHOTOS BY J

32 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

THE MIDDLE

D ALUMNI JUDE GERON

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 33

ECHOES FURY He's looking at you in condecenscion

KENNETH REYES: THE MYTH

BY HORACE CIMAFRANCA

HAVING TO DEAL WITH KENNETH WAS

something I didn’t realize I would have to constantly do. I used to think we were complete opposites, as Lil Wayne and proper hygiene. He’s not the type who would go gaga over Jologs Quiz Bee or free buffets. He thought lawyers were a bane to society.

34 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

I cringe when I thought those slit eyes stare at me with condescension. It took me a while to realize they weren’t. They were just slit eyes and it’s an Asian thing.

I remember the time when all I can talk about with Kenneth was Photoshop or making videos. He was great at making videos. By that I meant doing the whole process of crafting a storyboard, pulling in some actors gratis and editing for nights on end. He wanted a Palme d’Or. He wasn’t meant to be in Econ, I thought. His voice seemed like a lost

FEATURES

echo in the shabby brutalist hallways of Encarnación Hall. Learning Slutsky won’t make him a filmmaker. Yet it all turned out to be one big misconception.

Later conversations involved not just quips about a hodgepodge of pop culture, Aaron Sorkin and why The Social Network should’ve won Best Picture, these became discussions on political ideologies, the Republicans, the Tea Party and South American economic policy. He wasn’t going to be an artsypartsy bespectacled hipster wearing a

beanie. He was just right where he was, certain to be an economist. I thought I’d never live my brief Econ life to see one.

Kenneth’s life prior to college is like the vast plains of Serengeti. I haven’t been to Serengeti. His formative years were a topic I never inquired about because I find that awkward. What I know is that Kenneth comes from Xavier School. He was a member of the school’s debate team. One can infer that he may have celebrated Chinese New Year for some time. He used to be a believer but

he couldn’t possibly escape the claws of religion, especially since pious PAREF kids and Korean missionaries lurk in his midst.

Strange enough, I can vividly remember the first time I met Kenneth.

I didn’t have those qualms against East Asians then. Kenneth was just an innocent Asian boy. It was in a theater and patrons, mostly Ecosoc friends and apps, were moving up and about finding their seats. Kenneth was one of the apps. Rumors used to spread about his divine conception or how he was found ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 35

ECHOES THE TRUTH They're acting like there's an interview

in a basket by his Filipino parents. By most accounts, Kenneth was said to be a descendant of the Japanese god Amaterasu.

The most believable one tells of how Amaterasu thought that offering her only Chinese son to save the Filipinos made a good reparation collateral for all the wrongs of World War II. Here Kenneth was, caught in a stream of humanity, waiting to see the worst Transformers film ever made. Yes, Kenneth was once an app like many of us. Yes, Ecosoc used to milk him for cash through at least one of the following methods of extortion: guardian bidding, overpriced movie tickets and through other onerous means guised as fundraisers.

I’m sure Kenneth had paid a hard-earned P200 for a decent seat that night. He ended up sitting on the carpeted floor, which would’ve been excellent under normal circumstances in Bangladesh considering how lavish carpeted flooring is in that part of the world. Ostentatious even. But this isn’t Bangladesh and Kenneth knew that for sure. So while a combined air and naval assault on extraterrestrial robots in a geographically erroneous CGI of the Pyramids of Giza glared on the silverscreen, Kenneth was engrossed in the injustice.

Just maybe, that was when he thought of ending poverty. You read that right. This thin Chinaman is out to end poverty.

Praise Amaterasu!

36 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

Between that and a zero poverty rate, a lot more were bound to happen. Kenneth became publicity director of Task Force. That was when I really got to work with Kenneth.

We were both editors in Echoes that semester, but the work relationship was more direct in the former. In Task Force, the seatless Chinaman had turned into my boss. He wasn’t assertive like a typical maverick Chinaman titan and that worked well to the advantage of a dilatory subordinate like me. Yet Kenneth’s silent passion for creative work was something that grew on the team. From laboriously shooting a miniseries for Musikapella to crafting the logos of Taskforce and Musikapella (both are still in use today), Kenneth’s creative zeal was at that time unsurpassed by anyone in the school. One cannot help but be carried away by the dash of inventiveness zooming in on you from his person. Now try to imagine that. Nobody knew then, not even ourselves, how much of that contributed to our personal growth in Ecosoc.

The entire team went on to make prominent careers in Ecosoc and the SE Student Council. Of course Kenneth himself was not to be outshined. After the success of Musikapella V, it made sense that Kenneth may well be the frontrunner for Ecosoc veep. But his sensibilities led to him to a more obvious fate: Editor-in-Chief of Echoes.

FEATURES

I

choose to believe that Kenneth had set his sights on Echoes early on. It was to be his Normandy, and the accession to EIC his D-Day, the victory to start all victories. Echoes as we all know it today is the brainchild of Kenneth. You will only see fading vestiges of the former Echoes in the one you’re reading now.

His term was so pivotal in the history of the publication that I’m even compelled to go as far as calling it the Kennian Era. I know Kennian sounds too African, but Kenneth’s term in Echoes deserves a title akin to the nomenclature afforded to eras defined by a single personality.

Think about how Gotye was on top of the music charts for a few weeks in the summer of 2012. I would call that the Gotyan Era. Remember the Willow Smith Era? I don’t either. Anyway, Echoes under Kenneth underwent a substantial content and image overhaul.

To call it major is an affront to the drastic nature of the changes. Gone were the theme covers, the dizzying layout and most of the trivial articles.

No EIC ever did that much of a change ever since Echoes acquired the present magazine format. It was that much of a risk. What Kenneth proffered was a cleaner and evidently more compelling publication. Compelling to a point that it brought a very prominent BA (or CSVBSALKJ, whatever BA is called now) org on defense with a hurting ego... twice. The new layout was patterned after Time. The headings were uniform and every page was maximized using the right kerning and all the proper editing shiznit. Ads were relegated to the back covers. No way were they going to get the centerfold! A font version of ethnic cleansing ensued. Comic Sans and Papyrus were the first to be chopped off. Pictures won’t do. They have to be Leibovitz photographs! And articles would have to be just that, not drafts. Content-wise, the new Echoes didn’t simply publish a random piece on national affairs or some Ecosoc trivia everyone already knew. Each piece had to be value-adding. There was simply

HETERO Walking hand-inhand

no room for after-thought or the tacky. Kenneth knows what I wrote is crap.

So kids, whenever you see a thin Standards were raised and Echoes played along the lines of quality over Chinaman, make sure you remember Kenneth and what a great man he is. The promptness.

You probably have seen Kenneth world needs more of the profundity and once or twice. He remains in Econ ambition that only people like Kenneth to stock up on intellectual artillery. can imbibe. While we all slump in our Ending poverty is a battle of principles. desk chairs going over a stack of work Any warrior has to stand ground, ready reports or exam reviewers, oblivious to to fire and resist the invading forces the rest of the world, it’s comforting to of the opposite’s interests. Knowledge know that there is a Kenneth out there bounds the warrior’s feet to the ground. ending poverty.

Horace Cimafranca is the former EIC After the smoke clears, that is when a warrior fights back. His weapons are during the publication's 49th year. He his principles. Kenneth knows that, and enjoys cocoa farming.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 37

FOUR EICS You just have to put this ECHOES

38 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

FEATURES

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 39

ECHOES

HORACE CIMFRANCA: THE LORE

BY KENNETH REYES

THE ORIGINS OF MR. Cimafranca are shrouded in mystery. I offer the following account of the first eighteen years of his life based on old documents, anecdotes, and my imagination.

40 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

H

orace Virgil Marcus A. Cimafranca was born in the jungles of Peru on August 4, year unknown. He was raised by an academy of hyper-intelligent anthropomorphic feral creatures who founded the Peruvian Feral Society for Intuitionist Mathematics in 1987, publishing in the inaugural issue of the Feline Intuitionist Review a famous proof of the Mean Value Theorem that consists largely of diagrams and paw prints. Horace was a child prodigy: it is said that he learned to construct bordered Hessians before learning the alphabet (although it must be said that the feline alphabet is much harder than the English one), and he mastered all the Adobe programs before mastering the litter box.

There is a story told of how Horace was once abducted by a band of traveling gypsies—his panther uncle saved him by devouring the pesky gypsies whole. Interest-

FEATURES PONDERING Horace is thinking about lunch

ingly, this story was later co-opted into Adam Smith’s biogra- 2,467 languages and dialects, both man and animal. On one phy, presumably to spice up his incredibly boring life. As for island, he managed to successfully negotiate a truce between Horace’s life however, things were just getting started. suave terrorists and bungling policemen. This went on to inIt dawned on Horace early on that he may not actually be spire the film Die Hard. On another, he translated Hamlet as genetically related to his feral guardians, and upon the age of a favor to King Julio the Lion, paving the way for the true 12, he decided to embark on a journey to discover his true par- events that inspired The Lion King. To this day, the savanents. Speaking the tongue of wildcats, he managed to coerce nas of Africa are divided over the political legitimacy of Mr. a turtle, bribe a pelican, and seduce a killer shark in order to U. Scar’s coup d’état, as well as the soundness of the Mufasa travel across the Seven Seas. On each island he reached, his “Circle of Life” party program that justified the routine masprodigious mind was able to pick up the local language in a sacre of antelopes. short span of time, which is why Horace today is a polyglot of Eventually, Horace settled into the decrepit archipelago ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 41

WALK WITH ME Into the light

ECHOES

known as the Philippines, taking up in the University of the Philippines an undergraduate course in Journo–economics, a hybrid of journalism and economics that involves getting kicked in the groin midway by a ferocious femme fatale named Navaro (a French name, pronounced na-VAH). It was during his second year in UP when I met him, I as a freshman, he as the sophomore batch representative. Little did I know then, but what I perceived to be an eager desire to serve the student body was actually the façade of a multi–billion– peso scam that supplied Horace and his cronies with Ate Leony siomai at a 10% discount. To this day, justice eludes this criminal mastermind, which is why I urge everyone to sign my petition at change.org/siomaiscam.

Chinese dumpling conspiracies aside, there are plenty of things to admire about Horace. As an app in Ecosoc, I vividly recall the horror shows that were the publicity videos. The recipe during those dark days was simple: set some pictures and stationary text to a random song from the Top 40, be sure to include the title and date of your event somewhere at the end, and voila, upload directly to Facebook. Videos then were akin to campaign paraphernalia—disposable regurgitations by pubheads in a rush. Horace, with his feral training in Adobe, slowly but surely revolutionized the publicity video, turning it from an instrument to an art form, creating videos that lived past the events they were made to publicize. The texts become animated, the music became non-random, the content became worth the YouTube loading time. This is why, when then-VP Laurence Go secured the virgin sacrifice that my then-boss Paolo Tamase demanded in order to appoint me Musikapella 2010 pub director, I made sure to enlist Horace in my roster.

However, when I was elected into the position of Echoes EIC, Horace simply disappeared. Except for a sensational stint as Renegade pub director, Horace was nowhere to be found in Ecosoc.

Many thought he had finally found his 42 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

parents and was living off his siomai income somewhere in East Timor, teaching street kids the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. No one knows for sure. What I do know is how he came back.

On a cold and rainy day, October 2011, a crisis gripped the Echoes committee. No one had filed for candidacy, and my term was to end that midnight.

The Ecosoc constitution stipulated that

any committee without a ready successor upon the expiration of the current chairperson’s term was to be totally dissolved, dismembered, and disemboweled. There I sat in the empty tambayan, alone, thunder ringing around me, wondering whether all I’ve worked for would go to waste, when suddenly, as if in a dream, the door banged open, and in rode Horace on a great and terrible jaguar.

FEATURES

THE LAST THREE

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 43

ECHOES

“I heard you need an EIC,” he said.

I stared in wonder as the clock chimed twelve times.

home. And a home it has been for many weird and wonderful oddballs over the past few semesters. Not only that, succession to the EIC post has also stopped being a problem ever The era of Horace Cimafranca in Echoes is hazy to me, for I since Horace discovered a swarm of literary types living in myself took a break from Ecosoc for a time. From what I heard the South; this should provide a steady supply of EICs for the though, Echoes remained universally recognized as the top next few years. publication in the UP School of Economics. One Horacian inThese days, you can find Horace crawling about in the novation I witnessed was the creation of the Notes Page. In College of Law, hoping to become the soul-depraved moneydays past, one had to make sure that the total number of pages chasing devil incarnate known as a “lawyer.” Horace has is divisible by four; with the Notes Page however, one simply doubts about actually becoming one however. When I asked labeled any extra blank page as a “notes page,” and instantly, him what he wants to do with his life, he looked wistfully to excess pagination looks like a deliberate maneuver. Another the horizon and muttered something about becoming a cocoa milestone in his reign as EIC was the explosive issue How farmer in Peru. I guess we all yearn to go back home, and HorBad Is It?, an exposé on the financial black hole that lurked ace Cimafranca is no different. in the Ecosoc accounts before it started receiving funds from Napoles.

Kenneth Reyes was the former EIC during the publication's Echoes today is alive and well thanks to Horace. I focused 48th year and also during the UP Economics Society's 53rd too much on making Echoes great. He focused on making it a year. He has never left Echoes.

44 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

FEATURES

MAYBE I'M NOT SO CRAZY AFTER ALL

BY ANONYMOUS “I am sad and I am crazy”. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear anyone say but it is the truth and it is who I am.

STUDIES SAY THAT SOCIOPATHS AREN’T THAT RARE IN SOCIETY. IT’S SAID THAT ABOUT ONE IN

a hundred people are sociopaths. In a world of 7 billion people, 1 in 100 is actually pretty common. But for someone who’s been diagnosed with the condition, feeling alone has never been easier. To be fair, I’m pretty normal for a sociopath. I don’t go around planning on how to stage the murders of people (only when I’m in class) but it’s not easy to be around people when you’ve been told that the only thing you’re good at is hurting those around you. I know doctors are supposed to help people but after spending years hearing a stranger talk about everything that’s wrong with you, it’s pretty hard to think that anything you do can be right.

Most sociopaths wouldn’t even care. But that’s what makes me different even from people like me.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 45

ECHOES

Doctors tell me that I am a “moral sociopath” because despite my natural tendencies for violence, I was controlled as kid and didn’t have as much freedom to be able to act out on my true nature. It’s a blessing and a curse on my part. Having overly protective parents is probably why I’m not a raging serial killer but at the same time, it’s what makes me even more different than I already am. Around the same time of my diagnosis, I found writing. Being around other people involves talking with them and having actually conversations—something I’m not fond of, ironically. Writing, however, was the easy way out. It gave me a chance to be able to express myself freely. People judge you and they react to things. Paper and pen, however, do not. For the longest time, writing had been my solitude. I had no one and I liked it that way. It was safe, after all. I couldn’t hurt other people and they couldn’t hurt me either. At one point of my life, that was enough. To watch others interact and build relationships that I could never have was enough. But after a while, I wanted more. I wanted to be able to have what other people had. Friends, relationships, drunken encounters at parties—I wanted to be normal.

I grew up hearing that once you leave high school, you leave all the drama behind you. They said that college was an entirely different ball game and for the longest time, I thought they were right. There are a lot of big changes going into college but there are still things that have remained the same: the awkward first meetings trying to remember everyone’s name, finding someone to eat with during lunch, the constant desire to fit in with the “cool kids”. Most people would probably get over all the awkward situations after a couple weeks, give or take, but the thing is, I’m not like most people. Most people don’t have to walk around thinking about how to control their temper because science says they have a natural tendency to want to hurt people. That coupled with the “condition” that every angsty writer-wannabe teenager who so desperately proclaims to be born in to the wrong generation has: depression. So basically, I’m an outcast of society because I’m crazy and I’m outcast of the crazy society because I’m depressed. That being said I wasn’t exactly excited to go to college but it had to be done.

46 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

FRIENDS Boz, whatta face dood.

When I first walked the halls of the School of Economics, never did I imagine that I would fall in love with the place much less love the group of hyperactive and overly friendly weirdos who wore gray shirts to OrSem. They told me that college would be different and they were right. It is different and it’s exactly what I needed.

When I chose to sign up for Ecosoc, I didn’t really know what to expect. All of the orgs I’d applied for boasted about one thing: family. I laughed it all off, of course. That’s what everyone claims to offer, I thought. I entered this organization not knowing what to expect. I remember people I’ve never met being extremely friendly and for the first few weeks, people I didn’t know would say hi to me and know my name. It was an odd experience, applying for Ecosoc, but it’s definitely one of my better choices in life. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I made a good choice choosing Ecosoc and an even better one choosing Echoes. We’re all pretty weird in our own right here in Ecosoc but it’s in Echoes where I learned that as weird and crazy as I am, there are other people out there who are just as crazy and weird (although they aren’t my kind of crazy). Echoes is made up of different kinds of people and I mean it. There’s an entire spectrum of personalities that make up this committee and somehow, it works perfectly—they work perfectly together. I consider myself lucky to have been given a chance to work with them this early on. As cheesy as this might sound, I’ve spent so much time alone that I’ve literally forgotten what it feels like to just be around other people and enjoy their company.

The doctors told me that finding somewhere I belong would be hard. They said people these days don’t have the heart to put up with people like me, as if I’m some sort of freak of nature. “They don’t do well with crazy,” they said. But as I write this article going through the faces of the people I’ve met in Ecosoc in my head, I think that he was right about one thing. I am crazy. But he was wrong about everyone else. See, even if I am crazy and depressed, I’m also lucky. Lucky enough to have found a place where crazy and depressed is more than okay and after spending over three months with these people, it’s got me thinking that maybe I’m not crazy after all.

FEATURES WOW Ako yung Associate Editor dito tapos wala ako?!

WHY I STAYED IN ECHOES IT WAS THE 1ST SEMESTER OF 2011-12 AND I JUST

shifted from Chemistry. I had a 5-hour break and I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. My best friend from high school, Mhela Calugay, saw my predicament and urged me to apply for her org, Ecosoc. Reminding her how my parents hated it when I go home late, I brushed her words away with “as if, papayagan ako!” The 1st semester continued with me having my own little world. By Joby Guerrero

2nd semester came and I was faced with the same dilemma. I had long breaks with basically nothing to do. My “blockmates,” people who shifted to econ at the same time as I did, were applying to various orgs and I felt left out. So even if I knew it was like shooting for the moon, I asked my parents if they would allow me to join an org. Lo and behold, they said yes as soon as I mentioned Mhela’s name. Now decided that I would apply for Ecosoc, I asked her what were the different things ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 47

ECHOES LAST SEM That's more like it.

Memories.

an applicant would do. She then enumerated each committee and what it usually does. Intrigued with new information I have gathered, I was excited for the Applicants’ Orientation.

During AppsOr, I was really torn between two committees, Echoes and CDC. Echoes piqued my interest because writing had already been a part of my life. Ever since I was in grade school, I have been part of the school paper. But since I stepped into college, I wasn’t able to write for anyone. I actually miss the deadlines and reminders from the editor. I thought it would be nice to be back on the writing track.

On the other hand, here comes CDC. CDC tugged my heart strings since service has always been my passion. I felt the need to give back and to help people in need. I always thought that if we were given the chance to help other people we should grab it without reconsideration.

Torn between the two, I really didn’t know what to do. I was not sure what weighed more.

But after much pondering, I chose Echoes because I really want to go back writing. Also, since Mhela was the CDC chair 48 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

then, I didn’t want anyone to say that I joined Ecosoc only because of her. I then decided to put Echoes as my first choice and try to see if it was the place where I might fit in the organization.

I have always been a quiet person. I’m an awkward person who doesn’t know how to interact with other people. Thus, I didn’t know what to say during my 1st ever Echoes commeet.

Most of them were already close friends and I really didn’t know who or what they were talking about most of the time. We once had a commeet where they gushed about Tobie Reynes, and I had no idea who he was. Basically, I was a lost girl, not really sure if she belonged.

Amidst my committee related identity crisis, Horace Cimafranca, then Editor-in-Chief, assigned me to cover for the app events. I was so happy that I was delegated to do something I was really interested in. Since I have been a news writer ever since I was young, it was such a lucky streak that I was assigned to do what I liked to do.

As the semester went by, I was known to be this shy girl who religiously attended commeets and genmeets. The timid

FEATURES

girl who observed what was happening around. Though apprehensive most of the time, I was able to gain a lot of friends and I learned a lot. I enjoyed Saturday CDCs and I got new skills when I interned for Acad for UPFront. The application process ended without us noticing it and our app batch was inducted as the new members.

Horace, still the appointed EIC for the next semester, asked me if I wanted to stay in Echoes. At this point, I was not 100% sure if I would stay. Some of my friends were urging me to go to CDC because they saw how I loved the kids and how I enjoy helping others. In addition to that, I was really tempted to transfer because my best friend was there. To tell you the truth, it has always been a close fight between Echoes and CDC. But in the end, I chose Echoes. I chose it because I wanted to take up the challenge of being a news editor. I really enjoyed reading and writing news so I wanted to try how the work of an editor was like. Also, Echoes stood out because it was a committee where I met my first friends and at the same time I was already familiar how it works. So taking a big step, I decided to stay. But being a first time editor, the idea really scared me. I knew everyone in Echoes was a great writer. Who am I, a newbie, to be part of this committee?

During our first commeet for that semester, Echoes talked about how we will handle the committee. We all hoped that Echoes will be more organized than the semester before. The previous semester

left Echoes quite unstable and we felt the need of pumping it up. Kenneth Reyes specifically recommended that the News section to have a pool of writers. This germ of an idea started what is now known to be the News Team. The team composed of members and applicants who would write for news.

Being with 3 great sets of News Team so far, I believe it has been a successful experiment. News has been stable and we are able to cover the events that are needed to be covered. Fast forward a year later, here I am still the news editor. Horace has stepped down and has already graduated. It’s been a great year with Derek and Jude is now taking over.

So, why stay in Echoes for that long, you ask? I stayed in Echoes because of two reasons: the work and the people.

First, I loved the work that I was doing. I loved watching and hearing the news to look for viable sources for News

by Numbers. I loved all the News Teams that I was able to work with. I enjoyed meeting them at least twice a month and talk about what we were supposed to do.

I’m proud I have been able to stabilize the team and I was able prove to myself that I can be a good editor.

Second, and I think the more profound reason why I stayed is the love I feel for the people of Echoes. I may not be as vocal as most of them are, but I really do care a lot about them. I love the fact that all of us are passionate with our work and I like how everyone is a vital part of the group.

Echoes is a team. Each of us has a part

and we will never be whole if one didn’t do his or her job properly. I think all of us did our jobs well because we love what we do. It is also great that no one in the team likes mediocrity - that’s why the things we deliver are usually the best.

Echoes is a family. A family where we have learned to share our likes and dislikes and even our deepest secrets. A family where we had laughed and cried together in accomplishing the things we need to do inside or outside Ecosoc.

Being one of the staple members of Echoes, I’ve seen the ups and downs of the committee for the past recent years.

From a committee composed of inactive seniors to a committee where everyone does his or her job excellently. I am very happy that I have been under great EICs, from whom I have learned a lot. From Horace, who introduced me to Echoes and who has always been there to help and to Derek who has grown a lot through the process and has made the best Echoes issues so far. I’m so thankful to have worked with them. I have been blessed that I have worked with such great people.

To sum it all up, I stayed in Echoes not because I was hip nor cool as most of the members are. I admit I’m not well versed with movies and I’m pretty sure a few will appreciate my taste in music.

I stayed in Echoes because I love Echoes. I love the work and I love the people.

So, to the best committee ever, THANK YOU. I’m looking forward to your future.

Joby Guerrero has been the News Editor ever since she became a member.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 49

A HALF-CENTURY

WORDS BY J PHOTOS BY MARTIN CONSING, CA

50 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

Y OF EXPRESSION

JOSHUA SIAT ARA LATINAZO, AND JUDE GERON

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 51

ECHOES WEIRD That's why they keep away from us. JK.

THIS IS ALREADY MY EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE ARTICLE FOR ECHOES. As of this writing, (and including this article), I have mind-numbingly poured in 10,576 words for this publication since becoming a member. I could have better used that time writing articles elsewhere, maybe to actually study. I could have always declined Derek’s and Sam’s offers to write another article, but I didn’t, despite the (crap)load of stuff I needed to do. When I was an app, I remembered the July 2012 issue (under Horace Cimafranca) as my first exposure to Echoes. It was full of journalistic and opinion pieces, as well as the occasional humor piece. It gave me a look into that often-referred to “dreaded sem” of Ecosoc, and told me that this org I was applying in wasn’t all that pretty and nice all the time. It was real, it was honest, and it was brilliant. Other things about it, like its design and feel, just instantly grabbed my curiosity, as someone who loved to write, and I scoured Issuu reading all the back issues up to the very first one uploaded, which I believe at some point, helped me get through my app process without much trouble. Reading through its pages got me thinking, “Wow, was my high school paper really that crappy compared to this?” More than a year and many articles later, my ward tells me the same things about this publication, and it’s funny how things seem to have come full circle.

52 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

FEATURES READY To take over the world You see dog-eared and stained issues of it in the tambayan, scattered about on the table fenced by the leather black couches. You read it. You put it down.

Another member reads it. He or she puts it down. You talk about its contents. You laugh, debate, discuss and laugh again about the things written within its pages. Another member picks up the issue.

He or she puts it down. The cycle continues.

Echoes isn’t just a publication, or a committee, or some section in the constitution. Within its pages, are the stories of hundreds of Ecosocers, spread out through the 50 or so years of its existence. It is the material embodiment of everything that is within Ecosoc, and in Derek’s words, “an instrument for visionaries”.

Deep, profound and a lot of big words in those preceding sentences, but have we really asked ourselves, what is Echoes? Is it really just that nice magazine everyone likes to read?

ECHOES THE COMMITTEE

The first GA for Bonfire was actually the first opportunity I got to work faceto-face with most of the members of Echoes. It was in one of the small, humid discussion rooms in the third floor of the library. Spev was pretty much subdued for some reason throughout the meeting, as Echoes did most of the talking. After the meeting, I said to myself “What a bunch of weirdly amusing people, at least, when they’re all together”.

Echoes has always had this unspoken uniqueness from the other committees in Ecosoc, particularly because they’re a smaller committee than most, the fact that all of them have pictures on the sigsheet, and most importantly, is populated by some of the most fascinating individuals in the organization. When I asked other people what they think about Echoes, they seem to (pardon the pun) echo the general consensus of what people think about Echoes, “the so-called creative types, the weird ones, the people who argue about typefaces, the writing folk,” and at some point, “as cliquish as Spev”.

Echoes, to some degree, may be guilty of all these things, but as a committee, it is like other committees in the sense that they are a collection of individuals who share the same passion and ideals their committee represents (which is why they are there in the first place).

There is no clear-cut definition of an Echoes member. It is as flexible as the

publication it produces, ever-changing, ever-shifting. There is a more defined structure, a more defined hierarchy to the committee unlike others, but in reality, feels more like a loose collection of people wonderfully cobbled together.

ECHOES THE PUBLICATION

Echoes for the most part, has remain unchanged. Only how it’s “packaged” ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 53

ECHOES

changes from time to time, according to Derek Parrenas, outgoing EIC. Echoes, for most of its history, was a weekly newsletter, then a bi-weekly broadsheet during the late 90’s, then back to a newsletter format, but released monthly. In 2006, former EIC Czar Carbonel changed the format to the very familiar incarnation of Echoes we know today, the monthly magazine format, and thus, the Modern Era of Echoes was set into motion.

In fact, if you take one of the last few newsletterformat Echoes issues and place it side by side with the more recent ones, it really feels like a whole different time and era, despite only being published not too long ago. Derek notes and details the visual progression of Echoes; how that era started with the use of word-art, and other technologically limited tools at the time. During Lucy Lopez’s, Leslie Octaviano’s, and Paolo Tamase’s runs as EIC, the covers were very much in the way of graphics and illustrations. But start-

“

"We are Ecosoc's official publication and we have to keep the magazine interesting to who we are responsible to."

WHAT ARE THEY DRINKING? Eric is a connoisseur of the Red Horse 54 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

ing with Kenneth Reyes’ run, the covers got more personal, as Echoes started featuring individual members. It also had a journalistic approach to its articles, and as Horace’s term rolled in, Echoes became more opinionated in nature, which is summarized by Derek in a quote from Horace himself, "In a society as small and intimate as Ecosoc, opinions should matter almost as much as facts.” Today, Echoes is a healthy mix of journalistic, opinionated and Ecosoc-centric pieces.

Derek believes that being an EIC is actually one of the biggest and most important roles in Ecosoc, because Echoes in its essence is a form of media, and media, like it or not, helps form “public sentiment.” Just as Echoes is shaped by the culture of the membership, through its words it also helps reshape the culture and makeup of the membership as well. Derek says that Echoes is simply “expression in the freest sense”; an expression in the freest sense that members’ criti-

FEATURES

cisms, praises, thoughts, musings, ideas, love, and hate make the transition from mere intangible thoughts to letters and words of black and white that reach a greater audience. Ultimately, he muses, “We are Ecosoc's official publication and we have to keep the magazine interesting to who we are responsible to.”

From its 50th EIC, we move on to the individual who will start to carry the torch for the next half-century and beyond, EIC-elect Jude Geron. Jude talks about Echoes in a more personal manner, how it helped him to challenge himself to improve, on what he himself calls his “first creative love,” writing. Jude believes Echoes will continue its adaptive nature, embracing new trends and technological advances not only for the duration of his term, but even for the next fifty years of Echoes. He believes Echoes will continue to present itself through new means and avenues, just as it did a few years ago when it switched formats, introduced a website, intro-

as writing. After consistently contributing for Derek’s first semester as EIC, I decided to write and submit an article to the PDI, my creative juices refreshed by those writing assignments for Echoes.

Lo and behold, three weeks after sending my article, it gets published! It was a damn good feeling, and I (sentimentally) thank Echoes for giving me that external “push,” a push that has made some members find their own places in Ecosoc.

When this issue comes out, members will again be probably poring over the pages, looking for their names (or pictures), laughing at the pictures, speculating over Derek’s Wall of Secrets or whatever iteration of it, looking for their BEYOND We all have our own personal Ech- tweets in Tweetable Tweets, reading the oes stories. For me, it brought back a story of whoever the featured member love for writing, a passion I left behind is, complaining why they’re not the feain cobwebs for the pursuit of academic tured member, begging Echoes to feagratification and the initial pressures of ture them, complaining about an article getting into a good university after high that seems to be targeting them, praisschool, which in all honesty, isn’t as fun ing an article that seems to be praising duced Echoes TV, and so on. Like Derek, he believes that Echoes in essence will remain unchanged for years to come, only continuing to present itself in new ways, in what Jude likes to call “a spirit of constant improvement.” If you think about it, Echoes is more than just a magazine, it has now become a multimedia outlet for the membership, spanning various forms. Most importantly, Jude says that a lot of what Echoes is every year very much depends on what the membership makes of it. Members do determine directly and indirectly what goes into the publication, hence the name of the publication, Echoes, quite literally and figuratively.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 55

ECHOES

them, criticizing/praising font choices (for all the design types out there), checking out the commnews, debating about the more serious articles, and so on and so forth. Echoes is many things, journalistic, opinionated, hilarious, controversial and Ecosoc-centric, but stagnant it will never be. Eventually, when the time comes, it will reformat itself again, change its formula and adapt to its time, but its essence will remain the same: an all-encompassing snapshot of Ecosoc culture.

It seems fitting that at its 50th year, old and ancient issues of 56 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

Echoes propped up in the tambayan. I remember Jude, Silva, Vito, and I (yes), laughing about how the big, newsletter type Echoes of seven-to eight years ago, along with the bad fonts, layout and such (obviously due to technological limitations at the time), used plenty of cringe worthy lines like “trunk-busting event” and “the program ended with a PowerPoint presentation…” It’s fascinating to think, that maybe, during that time, those things were considered normal. Maybe 10 years from now they’ll look back at current issues of Echoes and say

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TOO MANY I couldn't not use them.

“What the f*** is this s***?”

It is also then at this point I guess I fully realized why Echoes is named as it is. An echo, by its simplest definition, is the reflection of sound. Echoes is a reflection as well, of all the ideas, culture, members and values of Ecosoc and, as Derek, in profundity, says, “is neither a means nor an end, but both.”

Yes, Echoes is an end, a product of the culture at a certain point in time in Ecosoc. On the other hand, it is also a means, a means to act as a binding “glue” for the membership, along

with the other internal committees, and a means to voice out, and bring about, change even in the most mundane facets of the society. Echoes is an institution that may change how it looks from time to time, but will remain an institution in Ecosoc, like it or not, as the most influential entity in Ecosoc that isn’t a living, breathing, member. For better or worse, Echoes is here to stay; On to the next fifty.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 57

DOING WHAT WE DO

BEST Being weird.

58 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 59

ECHOES

CHASING

CATHARSIS (WHEREVER IT MAY BE)

IT ALL STARTED WITH WANTING TO READ IN BETWEEN THE LINES AND EVENTUALLY, READING BEYOND THEM. That was what I wanted: to

fully understand words and make meaning out of them so that I can map out my own universes and create new people with lives far more interesting than mine. But because reality consisted of budget constraints and the possible future as a struggling writer, I am stuck in Econ.

These two horrible things drove me to always tell myself that even though I liked to write, I did not want to do it for the rest of my life. I needed a day job and writing could just be something that I did on the side. And due to some over-analyzed reasoning (read: I did not get into BAA), I am here in Econ, the land where I sought to bloom because I had no choice but to plant myself here.

Recently, though, I’ve been feeling more like a frail misplaced weed instead of an over-achieving sunflower along University Avenue during the summer. I am struggling. And the only thing I was really good at this semester was failing. I was drowning with 20 units of academic inferno and my GEs were the only things that were keeping me afloat and oftentimes, alive.

My only consolation in life nowadays is that somewhere in another universe, there is one version of myself that is not stuck in Econ. Sometimes, I push my luck and imagine that version of myself was happily taking up English or a Creative Writing course but har-dee-har no matter how much I wish or imagine, I am still here.

There is a part of me that is afraid to leave Econ because how on earth am I supposed to bathe in a tub of money if I give up a nine-to-five job and pursue the

60 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

BY OLIVIA SOLOMON

dream of having my own novel published or tour around the country to perform my poems? Being in Econ has been a security blanket, as long as I make sure that I am not going to fall into the evil clutches of a probation status, my future is somewhat sealed to ensure that I am not jobless.

Of course, a big chunk of my misery is my fault because I should have kept my head buried in whatever academic wisdom Varian and Mankiw had to say.

It was probably bad that the only thing I remember from Varian is his joke about kinks in the economy. But maybe since I understood a lame Econ joke, it was a sign that I should stay here.

But there is a part of me who wants to chase my dreams.

I grew up with books. My parents’ system of reward-and-punishment consisted of buying me a book whenever I did something worthwhile with my life.

PHOTOS BY THE INTERNET

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It was also convenient that the nearest bookstore was five minutes away from our house so by the time I was seven, I had made friends with the people working there.

I know most people find reading as a form of leisure activity boring but there was this thing with the printed word and how it danced on the pages and led me to places that I would have never dreamed of. Every book was a beautiful escape so I had a dream to write my own versions of escape. By fifth grade, I had won my very first award in an essay writing contest in both Asia and Oceania and that was when I had an idea that I could do it, that I could write.

I kept on reading and reading, discovering Austen, Lewis, Rowling, Riordan, Hugo, Hemingway, Yeats, Vizzini, L’Engle, and countless other great men and women who made blank pages into palaces of truth and adventure. Somehow, they figured out the most important things in life. That was the scary part of wanting to be a writer: I had to figure out life and how to live so that I may make people understand it. That was the conflict of all conflicts. I had to figure out how to understand people, how to write them, how to know how they feel, how their aches and pains could be mine, too, and how to celebrate with them. How does one create something out of nothing?

And because I liked to do things perfectly and failing was not an option, I quietly kept my passion in writing stored in some cupboard in my brain.

But life had other plans.

By my fourth year in high school, I had my fair share of teenage drama and whatever YA-novel worthy life things. I ended up finding a long-forgotten diary and turned it into my word vomit notebook. I wrote and wrote and wrote because I felt that reality was something I could erase with every brush of my pen. I wrote and wrote because there was definitely a better way to live than the way I was living. I wrote because I was afraid that my life would be a waste if I did not anchor myself in something that I loved.

So the very first time I performed an angry and depressing poem for my club in school, I felt that I had emancipated myself. I was able to detach myself from a cookie-cutter clean version of myself and present myself with all my edges and the broken hinges and the cracks that I live with. I had found release in honesty. Writing had somehow made me put down my walls into picket fences. It was the only way for me to tell

people how I felt.

By the time I entered university, I was already writing in my second word vomit notebook. But there was something missing.

The mornings of my first year in college were spent browsing through books on creative writing and poetry in the CAL Library.

Since I wasn’t taking up either courses, I figured that I could teach myself. So I pored over the greatness of those that have figured out how to write the truth and I kept pushing myself to try to be as honest as possible with what I wrote because I never gave up the hope that I could discover the same greatness in my life.

By second semester, the stars aligned or some human sacrifice was given because I ended up applying here in Ecosoc and I ended up in Echoes. And what a beautiful place I had ended up in. Finding the people who shared the same passion and struggle with life and its crazy plot twists was like stepping into Narnia for the first time or catching the golden snitch, only it was better.

I had found my home.

I may still be stuck in Econ but I have the most wonderful privilege to have my words printed on paper on a regular basis.

It may be self-indulgent but seeing my name on Echoes feels like Christmas morning every time.

My stay in Echoes has brought me back to the thing I love and somehow, I don’t want to bottle it up anymore or hide it in a cupboard. I want to share whatever I have to give in the best way I possibly could. I learned not to hide under pseudonyms or be shamed because I wrote about this or that. I learned enough that I won’t stop writing whether I am in Econ or not, whether I get as rich as Jay Gatsby or not. I will write because it’s the one thing that truly makes me happy. I will write because it has set me free.

I have decided that I will not write myself to be a tragic hero. I do not want to live and die not achieving what I must (whatever that may be). I want to live and know that where I am is where I am supposed to be. I am sure that a dream worth pursuing will not be a dream lost. I want to chase whatever Great Perhaps I am supposed to chase. I want to write and in the end, I will gain my catharsis. My happy ending may or may not be here but I will live. I will write.

Olivia Solomon can also be referred to as Esmeralda although she was born in South Africa. She grew up travelling various deserts and randomly found herself in the Philippines where she discovered the wonders of Panda ballpen and thus started to write.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 61

ECHOES

METHODS OF SELF-UNDERSTANDING From the REAL Resident Mystic, Jussip G (Sorry, Madame Arting.)

I am a PISCES. According to Astrology, I am sensitive, feminine, shy, and dependent.

I have a LIFE PATH NUMBER 1. According to Numerology, I am individualistic, ambitious, goal-oriented, and courageous.

I am an ENNEAGRAM TYPE 3. According to the Enneagram Institute, I am the success-oriented, pragmatic type. I am self-assured, attractive, and charming. (Woah, sila nagsabi niyan.)

I am an ENFJ. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I am The Giver. I am sensitive, and I am concerned about how others think and feel.

I can't seem to get an accurate grasp of who I am based on these four self-understanding techniques. On one end of the spectrum, I’m a strong, independent woman who don’t need no man, and on the other, I’m a shy and sensitive female.

WTF? The facts I shared with you involve two ancient forms of wisdom (Astrology and Numerology) and two psychological exams (Enneagram of Personality and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). Mind you, these are only four out of the many selfunderstanding methods available. For all the skeptics out there, there's a reason why I continue to read all this New Age Voodoo despite all the contradictions. Astrology and Numerology can tell you a lot more about yourself than you think – and you don’t need to take any tests. It’s fast and easy – that’s why I am going to force you to join me on a journey to knowing yourself more, and to knowing who you are romantically compatible with.

Now, let’s make this article a bit more interactive.

1. OBTAIN YOUR DATE OF BIRTH Let’s use Jomac’s birthday as an example. He was born on March 19, 1994.

2. LOOK FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY AND CORRESPONDING SUN SIGN ON THIS CHART FIRE

EARTH

AIR

WATER

ARIES Mar 21 – Apr 19

TAURUS Apr 20 - May 20

GEMINI May 21 – June 20

CANCER June 21 - July 22

Independent, Enthusiastic, Courageous | Short-tempered, Self-involved, Impatient

Dependable, Loyal, Patient | Stubborn, Possessive, Selfindulging

Energetic, Witty, Adaptable | Superficial, Impulsive, Restless

Caring, Adaptable, Responsive | Moody, Clingy, Selfabsorbed

62 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

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FIRE

EARTH

AIR

WATER

LEO July 23 - Aug 22

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sept 22

LIBRA Sept 23 - Oct 22

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

Confident, Ambitious, Encouraging | Pretentious, Domineering, Melodramatic

Analytical, Observant, Reliable | Skeptical, Inflexible, Cold

Diplomatic, Peaceful, Idealistic | Superficial, Vain, Indecisive

Passionate, Observant, Dynamic | Jealous, Obsessive, Manipulative

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22- Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 19

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18

PISCES Feb 19-Mar 20

Optimistic, Straightforward, Philosophical | Careless, Unemotional, Restless

Responsible, Ambitious, Resourceful | Dictatorial, Conceited, Distrusting

Clever, Inventive, Original | Sarcastic, Rebellious, Aloof

Sensitive, Accepting, Imaginative |Oversensitive, Indecisive, Escapist

Jomac is also a Pisces.

3. FIND OUT YOUR CRUSHIE’S BIRTHDAY Fire is compatible with Air, and Earth is compatible with Water. Fire does not go with Water, and Earth does not go with Air. Each element is compatible with itself. For other combinations, they’re just meh.

For example: Jomac (Pisces) is compatible with Ryna Claro (Earth). He has meh compatibility with Bruno Santos (Libra) and is incompatible with Carmel Baquilod (Sagittarius).

4. OBTAIN YOUR LIFE PATH NUMBER This is done by adding the digits of your date of birth.

For Example: Jomac was born on 3/19/1994. Now add those digits: 3 + 1 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 9 + 4 = 35. Since you will most probably end up with a two-number, add those up until you end up with a single digit: 3 + 5 = 8. Therefore, Jomac’s Life Path number is an 8.

WATER NUMBER

1 2 3

DESCRIPTION Initiator of action, a pioneering spirit, inventive ideas, strong leadership skills, independent, drives to attain, individualistic style, executive abilities, extraordinary will and determination, courageous.

Cooperation, adaptability, considerate of others, sensitive to the needs of others, partnering, an arbiter or mediator, modest, sincere, spiritually influenced, a diplomat.

Self-expressive in many ways, verbalization, inspiration and keen imagination, artistic gifts, accurate impressions and insights, never-ending optimism, happy and fun-loving, enjoys life fully.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 63

ECHOES

WATER NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

4

Strong sense of order and values, struggle against limits, steady growth, highly practical, scientific mind, attention to detail, foundation for achievement, a genius for organization, fine management skills.

5

Expansiveness, new and visionary ideas, quick thinking, versatile and ever-changing, action oriented, curious and exploring, promoting, resourceful in using freedom constructively.

6

A strong sense of responsibility, artistic, a nurturing disposition, community oriented, balanced, sympathy for others, a humanitarian, unselfishness, love of home and domestic affairs, freely renders service to others.

7

Skilled at analysis and research, an intelligent seeker of knowledge, scientific and inventive, studious, meditating, charming personality and demeanor, love of solitude and peace, a perfectionist.

8

Executive character and abilities, political skills, expert handling of power and authority, working for a cause, achieving recognition, exercising sound judgment, decisive and commanding.

9

Heartily friendly and congenial, a hail-fellow, humanitarian instincts, a giving nature, selflessness, obligations, creative expression, readily influenced to do good works, artistic and writing talents.

5. OBTAIN YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE & MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. (IGMG) IF YOU’VE DONE ALL THE STEPS ABOVE (FINE, UNTIL STEP 4), YOU MIGHT HAVE ALREADY NOTICED SOME INCONSISTENCIES. ON ONE END, ASTROLOGY MAY SAY YOU’RE THIS, OR YOU’RE THAT – BUT NUMEROLOGY JUST BEGS TO DIFFER. Together with your psychological results, everything just becomes topsy-turvy. To clarify things, I shall discuss a little something called ECHOZ: Everyday Conflicts Hidden in Occult shiZ (Note: Not ECHOES, but ECHOZ. It’s CHOZ, but with an E.) and how it correlates with what most people deem as rational and scientific.

ECHOZ #1: "ASTROLOGY AND NUMEROLOGY? WTF, THERE'S NO SCIENTIFIC PROOF BEHIND THEM."

astrology and numerology can be compared to scientifically proving religion - it cannot be done very effectively. However, in my opinion, science cannot prove everything, so, YOLO.

Astrology merely claims that the our birth occurs at a given moment and place, which have qualities of the year and season in which we are born. Numerology, on the other hand, is the study of the mystical properties of numbers and how they reflect certain aptitudes and character tendencies. Scientifically proving

ECHOZ #2: “MY BOYFIE IS AN EARTH TYPE AND I'M AN AIR. WE’RE “INCOMPATIBLE” BUT HAPPILY IN LOVE!”

64 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

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Compatibility depends on many factors, not just the sun sign.

The information above just states the general idea of who's compatible with who. Astrology only tells you what your basic qualities are, but it doesn't determine your path in love. There are other signs involved during your time of birth (such as your Mars sign and Venus sign), which say a lot about how you act when it comes to love! Knowing those signs require more research, but they can certainly tell you more about yourself.

But we probably have it all wrong. Men go with women, and women go with men (Or man-man, woman-woman... or whatever else floats your boat). Love is love, and that's that. Though if astrology/numerology says I'm compatible with my crushie, then by all means, I shall accept. (Hypocrite alert)

ECHOZ #3: "MY SUN SIGN/LIFE PATH NUMBER IS SO NOT ME." That's because your sun sign/life path number doesn't tell you everything about yourself. If you think about it, it's quite odd how there are only 12 signs to classify 7 billion people in the world.

That's why it's almost always the general idea. For astrology, you need to get the rest of your birth chart to see the bigger picture.

Everyone has complicated personalities, none that are exactly the same. We are not just our sun sign (most commonly referred to as the "zodiac" sign). It is just 1 out of the 9 (yes 9) other planets in the birth chart that contributes to your personality.

For numerology, the life path number is not who you are, but a life skill that you must learn in order to achieve your heart and soul's desires during your lifetime. There are also other numbers

involved, not just taken from your birthdate, but even from your full birth name!

ECHOZ #4: “MY PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST RESULTS ARE SO NOT ME.” That, I cannot help you with. Those tests are (most likely) legit.

ECHOZ #5: “WHAT DO I BELIEVE?!”

Your birthday is telling you yes, but your psychological exam is telling you NOPE. Your astrology and numerology results are different from one another. Your enneagram type differs from your Myers-Briggs. Self-understanding methods provide information that may open our eyes to blind spots – or it may draw attention to things about ourselves that we were completely unaware of. In this world of discord, all you have to remember is that nothing should ever replace sound reasoning judgment. Don’t let these things dictate who you are. Go out and have fun – just don’t forget to ask your crushies for their birthdays.

But if you and I are alike, often finding yourself at a loss for words when someone asks you, “Who are you?”, you have to remember that only you can answer that question.

Jus Nuque is the Student Council Media and Pub councilor and she works for Echoes TV (AMAZING!) She's also our EIC's best friend.....or are they really just friends?

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 65

ECHOES

THE PITFALLS OF COMMUTING TO ANTIPOLO

BY FRANCES QUEZON

C

ommuting to Antipolo is really hard. Let us describe in excruciating detail the process. First, let us assume that the clock has chimed 5:30 pm. You have finally been dismissed from your last class. Shaking your wallet, you realize that you only have 34 pesos left, 8 pesos for a Katipunan jeepney and 26 pesos for an Antipolo jeepney with no money left over. You shake your head and sigh; things are looking gloomy. After riding the Katipunan jeep, you cross the overpass and notice that there are no more jeepneys going to Antipolo waiting in line like usual. There is a crowd of around 45 people waiting at the back, for a jeepney to arrive. Glancing at your watch, you notice that it is already 6:15 and you have to go home soon. 15 minutes later, a jeepney still has not arrived and you are getting desperate. Doing the math in your head, only about 1 in 3 of the people in the crowd can get in a jeepney, thus you start doing stretches. You see an empty jeepney in the distance, but unfortunately, everyone else has seen it too.

Before it has even turned the corner, everyone is rushing to it. The jeepney does not stop. You start running. A crowd has blocked the entrance but you try to squeeze your way through.

But once you managed to grab a hold of the handle, someone yanks you back. You stumble but you still try to push through.

Trying to shove your way in, you do not notice how you are pushed, elbowed, pinched, yanked, and hit as you have zeroedin on the last remaining space. You managed to get in, but there is no more space. Going back down is not an option, especially as the jeepney is already speeding along Marikina. You end up 66 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

squatting on the floor, waiting for the first set of people to get down. Looking around you notice how cramped it is, you see men, perhaps construction workers sitting in the seats, students probably from Miriam, and other young people. You settle yourself in whatever most comfortable position you can manage, it is going to be a long ride home.

Commuting to Antipolo is often no arduous task. There are numerous jeepneys, taxis and FXs around. The pitfalls arise after 5 in the afternoon. It is at this time, after all, that most of the labor force get off from work and are excited to get home.

Thus, it is at this time, that most of the taxis start disappearing and jeepneys start lacking space for one to sit. Providing a statistic, from an 80% rate of successfully commuting, the moment the clock hits five, it significantly decreases to 10% (Editor’s note: these figures may be fictional but that’s okay as long as they’re figurative). Everyone is desperate to get home, and the image of a corporate zombie is never truer than in this case. Desperation changes people and sometimes not for the better, the trauma itself can make you harder and colder. The very root of this dangerous endeavor is because not everyone can afford to be driven to school. Jeepneys are the cheapest with a flat rate of 8 pesos and it usually costs only 26 pesos from Katipunan station to Antipolo. So really, jeepneys are pretty much the way to go. But what makes it a dangerous endeavor is when, as mentioned earlier, you have to go home late. Not everyone has class that ends early, the ideal time would be 2:30 while 4:00 is already cutting it close. But when

FEATURES you have a 5:30 class, you better be prepared. After all, it is all then immediately get to their seat. about survival, where only the fittest survive. You need to be truly mentally, emotionally, spiritually and most especially STEP 4: THE WARRIOR’S ENEMIES. physically prepared for the task. Demons abound everywhere, Do not be fooled by what you see, in a crowd of 40, start it is a matter of whether or not you get a ride home, a matter a assessing the danger level of each person. At this point, you little too close to maybe life or death? have no friends, everyone is out to get you. This is not the time to be helping old women ride the jeep. Rather, this is the time to The remedy can sometimes be quite simple. Something take advantage of whatever chivalry is left of men has to offer. called a Warrior Mode. Since having to take the jeepney home a. The old lady. The old ladies you will encounter in this cannot be avoided, the best way would be facing the challenge situation are a far cry from the sweet old ladies you see in head on. Be strong, be brave, be one step ahead of everyone else. television who need help to cross the street. The ones you shall Plan out in advance. Here is where the phrase “sink or swim” meet here are kung-fu masters, manipulative devils with sharp truly applies. nails and even sharper tongues. They will fight you tooth and nail for a spot in the jeep, literally. The 45% of the total injuries STEP 1: THE WARRIOR ATTIRE. you might have will come from these people.

What you wear defines who you are but in this case, what b.The sissy. Women are not allowed to hitch outside the jeep, you wear can help can give you the advantage you need. Wear thus tend to be more desperate in getting a seat but often there comfortable clothes because not only will you be running is that 5% of males who would take up a lot of seating space in them, but in the unfortunate case that you do not get a inside the jeep. They will be the first ones running trying to good seat, you shall need to find some comfort in whichever grab a seat and tend to have the strongest grip in pulling one unnatural position you will be stuck in. However, comfortable away from the door. should not equate to loose and/or thin clothes. Shirts that are c.The adventurers. These are the first timers and all the other long and loose are easy to grab and yank so try to avoid these. students or weaklings who have no idea what they are doing.

In bringing a bag, try to keep it small. If a backpack is necessary, They are very dangerous. Making way for these people will carry it in front of you instead of hanging it at your back as cause you to lose your ride. Another term for these people is people will take advantage of pulling it and you along with it, Moon-Walkers since they move so slow that they tend to hold and nothing bulky as much as possible since having multiple up the line in riding the jeep. Moreover, since they travel in carry-ons will make it difficult to squeeze through the crowd. packs, they are especially noisy and fond of saving seats for their friends, which is rarely accomplished anyway.

STEP 2: THE WARRIOR MINDSET. d.The hams. In no form appearing to be discriminatory, but If you remain weak in the mind, you would never get a ride. really, being large in size is a definite disadvantage in this You should mentally prepare yourself, you might see things that venture. Being small allows you to squeeze through the crowd. might traumatize or do things you never thought you would do Avoid large people. Large people take up twice the space in the first place. It is necessary to get the right attitude working, necessary for one person to sit comfortably. the attitude of a warrior. You must be brave and do whatever it e.The zombies. These are the truly desperate young takes for you to get a seat on that jeep. professionals on their way home. Have you watched World War Z? Have you seen the scene where the pack of zombies STEP 3: THE WARRIOR STANCE. were trying to climb up the great wall surrounding Jerusalem?

Position is everything. When mingling in the crowd, make That is exactly how they will appear in this situation. They are sure that you are situated near in not in the front of everyone mindless and powerful but often one of the most successful. In else. Do not be behind a child, an old person, or a woman. Men a way, it can be good to try to copy their style, but really, there is who appear as if they would hitch a ride would be preferred. only so much room when everyone is that frantic.

This is because when the jeep arrives and everyone is running, you do not want to be slowed down by all the other unprepared Therefore, we have reached the end. There is no perfect victims. Also, situate yourself near where the jeep enters, but formula that will ensure a peaceful trip back to Antipolo because not too near but just where you believe the jeep will slow down a for sure, the current system will not be changing anytime soon, bit to alight passengers in order to minimize your running time but at least I have shown you the warrior way. Commuting home and to get to the jeep before everyone else. Once you manage past 5 pm is way of life for most people, the trip is not easy but to get inside the jeep, grab and seat and plant yourself there. everyone has found a way to deal with it. We all have to go home People will try to push and squeeze in whatever space they see after all, and sometimes, no matter how difficult it would be so you should avoid getting man-handled. If you do not manage we push through. I ride the jeepney going home to Antipolo a seat but do not get to go down in time, try to appeal to the everyday, as do other people in Ecosoc, and we have made due. chivalry of the men seated inside, if you are lucky, one might offer their seat to you. If not, well, wait for a person to go down Frances is Echoes' MVP in basketball. She enjoys wagging her finger at people.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 67

ECHOES

ENCYCLOPEDIA SUPERFICIA:

BY VITO CASTANEDA MIGUEL SILVA

WASTING TIME ON TRIVIA AND GEEKERY ENCYCLOPEDIA SUPERFICIA:

WASTING TIME ON TRIVIA AND GEEKERY

ORIGINS

Every now and then, a small gathering of individuals appears out of nowhere, near the Ecosoc tambayan. Like a society within a society, this circle of like-minded individuals comes together on a regular basis, to debate on strange things and plan epic quests. In the olden days, such as the Middle Ages (or possibly the 90s), they would have walked around in robes or suits of armor. Nowadays, they dress up in the garb of the regular people, to blend in more effectively. They are more likely to be found at high noon each day, or close to sunset. Between those times, they disappear back into the crowd, never to be seen again (well, except for that one guy that people look at in a weird way). Oh yeah, and one of them was Execom or something.

This group of people went nameless for nearly two semesters, until an article in a post-Litnight Echoes issue dubbed them, “Jedi-Masterforce Galactica.” It was a name worthy of their epic nerdiness and geekery, but it really didn’t matter because no one used it anyway, not even them. Still, they continued to meet as a real-life LAN party, even after three of their members graduated and turned back into normal people. One guy was even elected to the Execom. This left the Order with only three permanent members. Thank god they all have the same lunch breaks.

68 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

THE REMAINING PILGRIMS

L – This man took his moniker from the anime character of the same name. Aside from the intelligence, they are nothing alike.

L from Death Note is a sickly thin man with hollow eyes and anti-social tendencies. The real L has the physique of a WWE wrestler and the skills to match. He has a heart of gold, and magically appears where small children are in need of help.

Legend has it that he descended from wolves and bears living on Mount Albo, which explains the manly beard. (He doesn’t shave because the hairs blunt razors). Other sources say that he was simply a former employee of “Mont Albo Massage Hut” (that’s a real place; google it). He has about dozen Metal Gears in his basement Silva Surfer – Deciding on his Twitter name, S.S. thought that “Silva Samurai” was slightly less cool, because he could kick the Samurai’s behind any day of the week. The resident warrior of J.M.G. is a master of Eskrima, as well as moderately competent in a dozen other fighting styles. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of firearms and military vehicles, and has probably used all of them too. Some say he was the org head of his high school martial arts club. According to legend, he joined Odysseus on the journey to Ithaca, where he met the Moon Spirit.

This encounter made him realize that his life wasn’t awesome enough, so he trained and studied harder than ever to become the smartest, toughest mofo around. It is said that he is training to vanquish an arab prince who took everything from him.

He also uses a Green Elf Deck.

FEATURES

Footnote: There are reports that S.S. can actually run faster than Luis Partosa. The two have adamantly refused to hold a footrace, because attempting to outrun each other will accelerate them to the speed of light, causing them to time-travel 30,000 years into the future.

Cracked.com – Take the entire “ThoughtCatalog.com,” toss it into a blender alongside a shit-ton of weapons, laughing gas, moustaches, penises, and the continent of Australia, and you get this website.

This comedic website has list-based articles on the most random topics known to man, from animal sex lives to the most offensive things found in Vatican City.

There is enough in here to entice even the most casual visitor. Beware though, the site is also addicting. Advocate Saint first encountered Cracked one school night in 3rd Year high school, and he read it for eight straight hours.

Advocate Saint - Back in Grade 7, he anagrammed his name into the title, and thought it was the coolest shit ever. That was the same year he got very very fat, so he retreated to a Buddhist temple and ate nothing but mangoes until he became thin again. In first year high school, he became affiliated with a pseudo-sex cult.

Using his knowledge of the 7 Lightsaber Tvtropes.com – This archive is the media Forms, he helped them develop a fighting analyst’s wet dream. Who would have style for use against rapists. He has spent known that every single TV show, book, time in every mental institution known to movie, comic, song, and historic event man, and is believed to have visited the could be broken down into the most bamagical land of Equestria. He once tried sic storytelling elements. Think Darth to cross the Great Wall of China, but Vader was a unique villain? Look at the failed miserably. His Patronus is Twilight 7,000 other villains who rank alongside Sparkle, and he is trying to learn Magic him. After 30 minutes on this site, every before the sem ends and everybody stops anime will look the same to you, your playing it. favorite movies will seem more brilliant, and your ears will perk up every time you hear the Wilhelm Scream. Just type THE ENCHIRIDION Being huge geeks (nerds?), J.M.G will in the title of ANYTHING in the search probably never run out of things to talk bar to get started. Use caution: this site is about. After spending years wandering possibly the most addictive of the three. the endless Multiverse of the Internet, they returned from the void with vast Didyouknowblog.com – If you do not knowledge that is completely useless to have time to sift through the jungles of anybody but them. Some of the realms Wiki, Crack, and Tropes, look no further than 9gag’s intellectual older brother. Sit they have frequented are: back and read through box after box of irWikipedia – When it isn’t helping peo- resistible trivia as you fight the relentless ple cram research papers, the largest urge to go to the next page. repository of human knowledge acts as a bottomless spring of information. The Science-y part of Youtube – Why In this world, an article on “Bagel” is read when you can watch? In between longer than Chiz Escudero’s entire biog- papers and exams, take time to watch the raphy. You can learn just about anything educational videos of Henry Reich, Derek about everything, but be warned: click- Muller, Victoria Hart, Brady Haran, John ing on too many links will cause you to and Hank Green, CGP Grey, V Sauce and go into “Wikipedia Freefall,” where you Emily Graslie. You’ll never see the world keep jumping from article to article until in the same way again. you’ve run out of time to get your acads These are only the tip of the iceberg when done. it comes to harvesting random geek-nerd

wisdom from the internet. When used properly, you will never, ever run out of interesting things to talk about ever again. Abuse it, and you will see your acads enter a death spiral from which it is very, very difficult to return from. Tread lightly, young Padawan.

MEETING POINT

So that’s about all the randomness J.M.G. have to share with you so far. If you ever see them around, feel free to walk up to them and tell them something. Anything.

Surprise them. After that, you can either walk away, or risk being trapped in the strangest conversation of your life.

Before we go, let us close this last chapter of the sem by sharing some random facts with you all.

Mindblowing facts, collected from the interwebs by Jedi Masterforce Galactica 1.) In terms of scale, the Sun within the Milky Way is similar to a white blood cell inside the United States (http://tinyurl. com/FactstreamWBC) 2.) A duck’s penis length can reach up to 9 inches. (http://tinyurl.com/DuckPeen9) 3.) The largest, most expansive “single” organism ever found is a mushroom colony than spans over 3000 acres. (http:// tinyurl.com/mushroom3000) 4.) Even if every tree on earth died, earth’s billions of people will still have enough oxygen to last for thousands of years. (http://tinyurl.com/NoTreesO2) 5.) The deadliest animal on earth, in terms of number of humans killed: the mosquito (saw this on Animal Planet) Vito and Silva are best friends, but they're not just best friends, they're super friends from the intergalactic society of special friends.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 69

ECHOES

By Vito Castaneda Miguel Silva

LIVING ENCYCLOPEDIA SUPERFICIA: IN FEAR

WASTING TIME ON TRIVIA AND GEEKERY

BY LERIZZE TAN

I

’VE SAID YES TO PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING

that I was asked to do. I spent nights doing things I don’t really have to do. I gave up sleep, accepted illness for things that aren’t that necessary. I spent hours researching on how I could make things great. I’ve gotten to the point where I would just want to stop and breathe for a moment and ask myself how I got here. People have been telling me to rest. People have been telling me to sleep. People have been telling me to calm down and for some strange reason, the world just hates me and I can’t. When everything was poured to me and I felt like everything was crashing onto my feet, they were like waves that came and went, came and went but never stopped. They were like waves that seemed to get nearer and nearer and I couldn’t do anything. I felt like running. When everything was right there, at the peak and I had the choice to step back, I didn’t because I was afraid. Instead I just stood there, and let everything come to me. It took a while for me to realize that fear was the actual reason I allowed myself to get wet, or should I say soaked, despite my fear of drowning. Fear was the reason I took leaps, fear was the reason I did everything without stopping. Fear kept me going.

“What if, what if, what if?” The number of questions don’t cease to increase and your head just gets more and more crowded. You thoughts are getting redundant and you could no longer stop yourself from thinking. You breathe faster, your 70 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

heart races you and you try to shut your eyes because you can no longer escape. You are afraid. You’re afraid of what’s happening. You’re afraid of what might happen. You’re afraid of what happened and how they could affect what’s bound to happen.

It might be an understatement for me to say that I’ve lived most of my life in fear. There are things that I’m constantly afraid of and on top of that there are new things that come to frighten me.

For one, I’m afraid of the past and well, the present and future too. I’m afraid of strings being tied, of ends meeting.

I’m afraid of things being unearthed. I’m afraid of now. Of not knowing what to do, of knowing what to do but not doing. Of not delivering, and of not being enough. Of not doing enough.

I’m afraid of failing, of falling. Of letting people down, of letting people go. I’m afraid of not doing the right thing, of not producing the right outcome. I’m afraid of misunderstanding and being misunderstood. I’m afraid of not making the right decisions. I’m afraid of growing up, and of growing old. I’m afraid of losing sight, of losing things, of losing others and of losing myself. Lastly, I’m afraid of being afraid, and of fear because I don’t know exactly know what it truly means to be afraid. What this fear actually means to me, and what it could PHOTOS BY CARA LATINAZO

FEATURES

actually do to me.

I’m not sure where this fear is stemming from. I’m not sure where this fear is bringing me, or if it even is going to get me anywhere. They say you need faith to stop being afraid. “Tiwala.” That’s what they always tell me. Maybe it’s true during the brief moments that people cheer me on that I become unafraid, I become brave. But then after a while I have to go back to the harsh reality that the world is a scary place. Faith, I have it, but I just don’t think it’s enough. I still find myself afraid and unsure. Maybe that’s why I see myself as a child. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid of too many things and too many people. Maybe it’s because I lack the ability to be constantly brave when I have to. Yes, I am a child who’s afraid and needs to crawl back to people.

I’m a child that’s so afraid and ends up needing to hide in a corner. To isolate herself and not speak because she’s too scared to hurt people. She’s too scared that she might say the wrong words and do the wrong things. I know I’m growing up, and my spirit needs to grow too, but for some reason the fear in me seems to

grow as well.

Fear is such a consuming emotion. It hinders us from doing what we want to do.

It hinders us from doing what we could do. Quite possibly, I’m just constantly striving for perfection that I end up being afraid of messing up. Maybe the single thing I’m actually afraid of is messing up because I know I did a couple of times and I don’t want it to happen again. I don’t want to mess things up anymore.

I don’t ever want to mess people up and I don’t want to mess myself or my emotions up. Maybe fear isn’t that bad.

For some reason it’s because of this fear that I kept moving. It’s because of this fear that I never gave up, and never let go.

It’s because of this fear that I hold on to everyone and everything that I have. It’s because of this fear that I’m still alive.

While I was standing on the shoreline, on the edge of fear, I watched the sunrise and daybreak and sunset and everything in between. I stood there firmly. I stood there strong. It didn’t matter that I was

still afraid. I let the waves hit me, and they hit me hard. I realized I was not a sandcastle, I was not a word etched in the sand. Saltwater can’t wash me away.

Saltwater can’t wipe me off the face of the earth.

Then I felt the cold breeze creep through my skin and whisper to my ears as I was starting to dry. It was a glorious feeling. I could just keep going and going, I could just soak myself even more. No, I didn’t magically become a brave person.

No, this sem didn’t change me to become a rock and I’m not any more courageous than I used to be. I’m the same girl, shrouded in fear, standing at the edge of the shore.

Now, go on, the water’s fine.

Lerizze Tan is the Associate Editor of Echoes. She enjoys wasting time and being distracted.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 71

ECHOES

WHY I SHIFTED AND STILL WANT TO SHIFT I'd like to dedicate this to Professor Alma Bamero, who recently lost her fight against breast cancer.

Thank you for being the best professor I've ever had, and for making Kas 100 an enjoyable experience.

NEGLECT This picture makes me sad for some reason.

CHOOSING A DEGREE PROGRAM TO ENTER IN A UNIVERSITY IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SURPRISINGLY

regretful experiences someone can have. For some, it was a no-brainer. Little Miggy had dreamt of becoming a doctor his whole life and had no second thoughts of writing down BS Biology or whatever BS leads to his career on his application form. For others, like me, it was a nerve-wracking hell complete with bouts of existential crises and regret. Back when I was a high school senior, I wasn't the least bit confident about my future. I wanted to be so many things, but was bombarded by ideas and stories of my degree determining my future by my classmates, family members, friends, and even teachers. I attended talks where speakers would stress which degree would best suit my future. I was scared of being stuck with a "useless" major. by Eric Sto. Domingo

It made me unsure of what to take. I had to choose between what was socially acceptable and career suicide. In the end, for UP, I chose to write down computer science as my first choice and business administration as my second. I couldn't bear to disappoint my parents, especially my mother by writing down "BS History" or "BS Theatre Arts". I had to accept reality and make sure I had a secure future. By picking computer science, I thought I had found a common ground between one of my interests and 72 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

FEATURES

a smart career choice. I was excited at the thought of creating video games to earn money.

Fast-forward a year and I'm battered and deflated by my original course. I couldn't wait to get out of computer science. All I wanted was to learn how to make video games, and I was introduced into a world full of algorithms and lines of code that I knew, half-way through the semester, wasn't for me. My dream of creating the next Super Mario wouldn't happen in UP. It was a humbling experience because I'm pretty sure I've never gotten a 0 out of 300 on an exam before. I jumped at the first opportunity to shift, and got myself out of engineering as quickly as possible. My parents were supportive of my decision at least. I convinced myself to go with the popular choice, and try for BA, and Economics as a back-up, since they were the two easiest courses to get into with my lowly GWA. I also thought that they were more like Political Science with numbers, which in hindsight, was extremely naive. I didn't make the cut for BA, but I got into Business Economics at least, and was happy that I had a new beginning. At that time, I didn't know that I was going to regret it.

Now I'm here in SE, a third year BS BE student, barely passing my economics subjects, and entertaining ideas of shifting. I often learn more from GEs and electives rather than from my majors. I can't help but put more effort and value into my other classes and subjects because they interest me more. In fact, there are probably many reasons as to why I enjoy and do better in courses like Political Science, and Kasaysayan, but the main thing is that I'm able to use and apply the things I learn there more than in Economics. It honestly makes me miss taking up Computer Science, because back then, I was learning how to create something that I felt was useful. Even though it was hard for me, I was learning a craft. It was so satisfying to submit my projects because I made them through my honest effort. On the other hand, Economics feels more like I'm shoving

information and vague theories down my throat just to get by. Some classes I've enjoyed and learned from, but the others I mostly forget. Don't get me wrong though. Economics is a worthy degree if you appreciate the subject matter. I am impressed with what economists can do and achieve like Professors Ben Diokno, and Solita Monsod, but it just isn't relevant for me.

Some fields aren't for everybody. I'd be ecstatic to have the chance to become a history major and take up history courses like Kas 151 and 142. I know most people rant about how boring kas 1 and 2 are, and what more if they have to take the majors? In fact, I took up Kas 100 last semester and the first thing people asked me was "Why?" or variations of it. I enjoyed it immensely, and I learned a lot from it. I looked forward to having class and tried my best not to cut. I took down notes, listened, participated, and was even excited to write a required paper, and give a presentation on it. I loved all of it. I didn't get the best of grades, but I was happy that I took it. I found pleasure in learning and analyzing the Etruscans and the life of Temujin. For me, it doesn't matter what you want to take, and how well you do in your classes, as long as you learn from them.

I realize that back when I was a senior in high school, I never really understood why I was going to college in the first place. Sure, society dictated that it was the next step in my life, but I never really asked why. Yes, it's for a future with better job opportunities, and consequently a better standard of living. With the right college diploma, students can find themselves in a high paying job right after they graduate. But I forgot another reason - education. I was too focused with what I would become, rather than how and what I would learn. UP was a chance for me to prepare myself for the reality of the outside world and help me determine what I could be. At that time, and even when I first shifted, I settled for what was safe and known. I had rid myself of the possibility to pursue what I truly wanted.

Yes, I understand that some people don't

have the luxury of choice. Some are caged into a degree that immediately equates to money and status, whether due to familial or societal pressures, but for people like me, who have a choice, I had robbed myself of the precious chance to pursue a dream.

After five semesters, including this one, and two summers in UP, some might say that it's a bit late for me to shift again.

Am I not too old to shift? Why risk going somewhere else, when I can just keep on crawling through three more semesters and then finally graduate? Can my unimpressive GWA even take it? Forever questioning myself will never help, especially since my parents gave me their green light to choose what degree I want, as long as I graduate. Wallowing in regret will never help. It's a dangerous thing to be consumed by. To the possibilities that I've let go, I can still run and try to catch them. I might even get a chance to find new ones.

In the end though, whatever situation you're in, there will most definitely be ways of being able to take the classes that you want, if you don't know of them already. BS Economics students for instance have a wonderful 10 free electives to choose whatever they would like. It's a great way to discover what other things out there might interest you, and help light your unfounded passions.

Don't be afraid of the possibilities that you are given, and to fight for the ones that are held away from you.

As for me, I know that I can't go after every degree that interests me. I can only stay a student for so long before I am forcibly thrust into a world full of responsibility and independence that I'm afraid of. Despite this, the hunger for learning is still in me. It is the soul and passion of a student trying to find his proper place in the University. I refuse to graduate and learn nothing. I still want to shift, because sooner or later, reality will slap me in the face.

Eric Sto. Domingo is a new Echoes member and a junior in the School of Economics. He is also a connoisseur of the Red Horse.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 73

ECHOES

THE LIFE OF A DREAMER

BY DEREK PARREÑAS

SPONGEBOB Or Spongemigs

EVER SINCE I COULD REMEMBER, I'D SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF MY LIFE IN MY IMAGINATION.

All children, I suppose, dreamt during the day. But I was lost in my imagination. No, not lost—you cannot get lost if you choose to roam: I wandered in my imagination. Everything that happened in my dreams seemed to be greater than anything I would experience. The television, video games, music, and people could only do so much. I had so much free time on my hands that I could see their grains of sand run through my fingers. I'd daydream about what would happen in my favorite cartoons. That, in Dragon Ball Z, my favorite character, Trunks would end up the strongest among all the other humanoid creatures/aliens.

That I'd actually have my hands on an actual Krabby Patty (I even memorized the recipe when I was a child). I'd daydream about the what-if's of the movies I watched. That dinosaurs were actually cloned and that they lived in the world we were currently experiencing (the horror of it all escaped my immature mind). That there would be an actual Pixar film recounting Buzz Lightyear's struggles against Zerg. I'd daydream about my family. That my grandfather would actually give me a helicopter for my birthday. That I'd go see America with all of them together, even my grandfather. I'd daydream about what I'd be in the future. That maybe, I'd go digging up dinosaurs in the dirt, my pants caked up with soil and sweat rolling down my forehead.

That maybe, the happiness of childhood would last.

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I

grew older, but my dreams did not stop. I still didn't have anything more to do with my time. I spent a considerable amount of my time in my early adolescence dreaming when I was "studying". My parents knew that when I sit down with a book meant for school, it was time meant for my dreams.

New feelings entered my imagination, feelings brought on by adolescence. No, not just love or lust, but also feelings of acceptance, of prestige, of glory. I’d daydream of what would happen in the upcoming days of my life. I’d daydream about the what-if’s in all my experiences.

I’d still daydream about my family, both the existing ones and the ones held in the future. I’d daydream about what I want my future to be. I'd dream of the heroic antics that my friends and I could be capable of. I'd dream of the warmth of that first girl that would change how I'd look at things. I'd dream of the energy in a heavy metal concert, the songs all sung in unison. I'd dream of adventure, all the wonderful little things the world would deliver to me, because I knew that each time I saw the sun rising, it would rise for me and only me. As it did for every person who watched it rise. The dreams within my imagination changed in spectrum, but they remained the same in nature. They always promised escape. Sometimes, they came true. But more often than not, they didn't happen exactly as I imagined or they didn't happen at all.

During all that time spent on dreaming, I experienced things I never even dreamed about, as everyone does.

Things that never occurred to me as I was wandering all those years in the universe of my imagination. Sometimes those experiences were better than my dreams. But they were the dreams of someone else. Some people would be immensely jubilated if their realized dreams—some of my experiences— would become their reality. Realizing

other people’s dreams are good, as long risk failure know what the world could as you don’t forget your own dreams. Of be. Being an idealist and being a course, I’m grateful I experienced them dreamer are two different things, the too. Yet they still weren't my dreams. difference being an idealist believes Eventually, my dream world gave the world would behave in a certain into the real world. I ended up becoming manner and a dreamer believes that the more and more busy that I could not world has the potential to behave in a return to my dreaming. I'd remember certain manner. What the idealist sees, my father used to tell me about his the dreamer transforms. The dream is classmate who would always tell them not the end, but a mean. People work about his dreams. And he stayed just for their dreams. People die for their that, a dreamer. But now my world dreams. Steve Jobs was a dreamer. Kurt became so full that my dreams could Cobain was a dreamer. Tupac Shakur not fit into it anymore. I hardly dreamt. was a dreamer. Princess Diana was a All my dreams were still there, and I dreamer. Martin Luther King Jr. was a can still remember them, but I could dreamer. Che Guevarra was a dreamer. not dream anew. Dreaming turned into Mohandas Gandhi was a dreamer. remembering. My life seemed to be Hitler was a dreamer. Pope Gregory lacking, as if a gaping hole stretched on the Great was a dreamer. Muhammad the very thread of my soul was getting the Prophet was a dreamer. Julius larger. The sweetness of living seemed Caesar was a dreamer. Alexander the to have been milked out of my very Great was a dreamer. Jesus Christ was person. a dreamer. All the people who made a You can map out a person through difference in the world were dreamers. their dreams—not the ones you get And when a dreamer transforms the when they sleep, but the ones you world according to their imagination, I choose to visit in your imagination. You tell you, the universe affirms the beauty can understand them through what of that dream. That is what all dreamers they imagine. That is why, when you strive towards—they dream because are devoid of dreams, you are devoid their dreams are sunrises that go on for of aspiration. You are devoid of desire. days and they truly wish for the rest of You are devoid of wanting to find the the world to share in that happiness. greatness in life, the pleasant futility in I have returned to my dreams. I wish loving, the happiness from experience. to transform. To change. To make anew.

Broken dreams are painful fragments And I will stay in my dreams. I will of glass to keep in your chest, yes, but dream of the childhood happiness that that is a source of strength. Because would last. I will dream of experiences only those who choose to dream and that veer into impossibility. I will dream of a world that could be. I will dream of a world full of dreamers, for I only live for the ones that dream big. And I will keep And when a dreamer on dreaming until the world becomes a place that is as good as my dreams, or transforms the world even better. Then I would become an idealist, instead of a dreamer. according to their Dream on. imagination, I tell you, Derek Parreñas is the outgoing Editorthe universe affirms the in-Chief of this publication. This is his final issue and he has never been in any beauty of that dream. other committee except Echoes.

“

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 75

ECHOES

INTOXICATION?

SLEEP DEPRIVATION, INTOXICATION, AND THE MONKEYSPHERE WHEN IT COMES TO DARKNESS, MAN IS A BAFFLING CREATURE.

Evolution has taught us to have a natural fear of the dark, and that fear is ingrained so deeply in our psyche that we have gradually integrated that fear into the rules of our society. We are the only creatures in the world who forbid our offspring to be out past sunset—to be out past midnight was unthinkable as children. It’s become almost taboo in that everyone does it, but no one proudly admits to having done it.

Trivia: When I was seven years old, my bedtime was 8:00 PM on a school night. However, my favorite TV show (Popeye) was on at that time, so I’d secretly stay up until 8:30 PM to watch it. I was pretty hardcore back then.

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BY MARTIN CONSING

It was never the dark itself though that we feared; it was the implication.

We’ve come to associate the dark with ideas. It’s become a byword for uncertainty, for the hidden and the unknown, for unexplored and potentially risky ventures. The dark represented that which light does not naturally destroy unless we take it upon ourselves to do PHOTOS BY THE INTERNET

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so. For a creature whose business and no one else’s is the truth, the darkness was our very natural enemy.

So why is it that as we get older and more confident in our ability to survive in this world, we find ourselves more and more frequently deep in the realm of our most natural enemy?

I have two theories.

Did you ever notice how the most interesting conversations only happen late at night or early in the morning?

How the best part of a conversation is towards the end when you need to say goodbye or you're feeling exhausted?

Ever notice how some of your most brilliant or creative ideas come at these late or early hours?

The first thing that shuts down when you're sleepy and the last thing to start up after sleeping is the logic center of your brain. This is the reason why dreams, no matter how absurd, fantastic, or nightmarish they are, seem so real that it's only when we're awake that we realize something was actually wrong.

And so comes my first theory--we're most creative at these hours because we worry less about sounding stupid at these hours. As the logic center shuts down, our minds become more receptive to ideas that we otherwise may have felt too silly to consider at any other time. Most of the time, our instincts are correct, and we really do come up with the stupidest things in the middle of the night--I've cringed more than once reading conversations I've had the night before, or things I've written down the night before.

But once in a while an idea comes, an

idea perhaps that no one else had, an idea that at any other time might have never come. That idea--whether it's the idea for the perfect joke, the solution to an impossible thesis, or the greatest TV show ever (Friends)--which comes like a thief in the night, may be the one vindicating act of a usually self-destructive habit such as depriving oneself of sleep.

Did you ever notice how your new best friend is just one beer bottle away?

How your dad’s best memories are his stupid moments with his own best friends?

Secrets are made after midnight—but they’re also shared at that time. Intoxication acts a lot like sleep deprivation: your inhibitions are removed, and you become more open to acts and ideas you might have dismissed otherwise. With the logic center on the verge of shutting down, the ability to feel shame and guilt, the bodyguards of secrecy if nothing else, diminishes with each passing minute; secrets don’t seem so bad after 2:00 AM. So we get to my second theory: people bond more in the dark because it becomes easier to get into each other’s monkeysphere.

But what is the monkeysphere?

The “monkeysphere” refers to a social theory by anthropologist Robin Dunbar stating that every person has this metaphorical sphere in their lives.

This sphere is populated by people you recognize fully as human beings with their own hopes and dreams, such as friends and family.

People gradually will get into your monkeysphere as you learn more about them and get closer to them. So, gradu-

ally, you recognize these people more fully as individuals with their own aspirations, lives, experiences, and beliefs.

It is because of this sphere that you can mourn the death of a friend with tears, but you can't do the same for, say, the 300,000 people killed in an earthquake in a country thousands of miles away.

This is the reason why you get that surreal feeling when you see your teacher at the mall, on a date; you begin to process that this person has a life beyond your daily interactions with them (such as only in school).

That teacher moves closer to your monkeysphere.

So back to the second theory.

It’s almost evolutionary in retrospect: if the dark represents an unknown danger, an individual faced with such will search for security, especially in those immediately around him. To establish that security, he will act to gain the trust of these people.

People naturally get closer as they do things together, yet awkwardness and shyness are curses perhaps most felt in the modern age. For centuries, societal standards have inhibited the interactions between people of different status, from gender to class to complete strangers.

What sleep deprivation and alcohol achieve, then, is the eradication of these inhibitions.

So now the point stands: the darkness and intoxication are both given usually negative connotations, and yet man has exposed himself to both with positive results. The common man defines himself by the society he lives in, and so must define himself by the societal standards he abides by, and yet as he ages and gains wisdom, he commonly disregards these standards and uninhibits himself for good cause. He becomes a paradox to himself.

The question poses itself: does the lack of inhibition clarify or muddy the human condition further?

Martin Consing is a new Echoes Member. He is an outstanding applicant.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 77

ECHOES

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE EXECOM “Your future employers will not care about your VC or Officer positions. What are those anyway?”

YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE EXECOM. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE YOUR CLIQUISH, OR FRAWESOME, OR RENEGADES,

or V5, or The Repuliq of Carmel1. You’re not going to have badly-written commnews in Echoes with a different photo for every issue. Your future employers will not care about your VC or Officer positions. What are those anyway? You’re not going to have a committee to handle on your own, which means that you’re not going to get a tribute at the end of the semester. Your contributions, your ideas, and that piece of your soul that you’ve reluctantly offered are not going to be attributed to you. You’re not going to get to stand up with eleven other people in front of the other two hundred and think, “We’ve done something good today.” by Samantha Gonzales You begin to question if the work you’re doing is worth it when no one sees the good things that you do and everybody berates you for the mistakes you’ve made. Classic. You grow weary of working day in and day out and never getting your name announced on the metaphoric stage. No MOA or MOM, not even for the month. Does your commhead even know what you do for him?! Don’t the other Ecosocers know how much time you’ve spent working on that floor plan, or that flawless program, or those 5 org partners, or that god damned vector?! You worry that you’ve been endlessly offering yourself to something that doesn’t even know you exist. You doubt that what you’re doing matters to anyone at all. And soon you wonder why you’re even where you are.

Service, helping out, Excellence, accomplishing your tasks to the best of your abilities, Tradition, participating, being there, does not matter less when you’re not Execom - without the title, the fame, and the praise. And if you do what you do to get one or all of those, you will be sorely disappointed.

Of course it is highly possible that one’s motivation to be part of the Executive Committee is more than all of those.

It could be other reasons like wanting to be the Ecosoc Overlord, or to reroute the organization’s history, or to make fresh78 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

men do whatever you want. Or quite possibly, it could be the very cliché reasons – service and love.

Ah, “service.” I hate that word. I hate it not because of its meaning but because of the way it is used. Many an Ecosocer have used ‘service’ in their platforms, to convince the people that they do what they do out of the goodness of their hearts.

They will tell you that they want to “give back” to the entity that taught them so much. They will tell you what you want to hear. They may even want it to be true.

And then there’s “love.” Tricky little thing. Again, many will say that it is because of their great fiery love that they continue to do their jobs. And then there’s my favorite, “Love Ecosoc and it will love you back.” They believe this and so some people do make the effort to love what they do in the hopes that some form of love will be returned to them. Many overlook the fact that love isn’t just about the “loving,” but the pain - the pain from the work and the commitment to love.

Therein lies the problem. Service and love, they make you feel good. They make you feel fulfilled. For the lucky ones, Ecosoc might love them back. But what happens then when you don’t feel like serving anymore? What happens when you love but you aren’t loved back? What happens when the work doesn’t make you

feel good anymore? We’ve seen it before (and we’ll see it again) – the people who stay because they feel good about what they’re doing leave when the feelings are gone. And what’s worse is the success from the service and/or the love is addictive. When the org is in a losing streak (and historically, Ecosoc can be quite prone to failure), they can’t handle the withdrawal and they leave. No, not leave – abandon. No addiction ends well after all.

So who are the ones who stay when everything crumbles into ashes? When the recognition and praise are gone? When the feelings are gone? When the love is gone? Who stays when everyone else seems to have abandoned their posts? It’s the people who understand that it takes more than all of those to keep them going.

It is the people who understand that the motivation they need doesn’t come from things like fame or awards or success. It could be the people who are the Execom.

It could be the editors or the officers or the volunteers. Or it could be you.

We do things excellently, we push ourselves to the very edge (sometimes we fall), and we let them take a piece of our souls because when we do, we create.

You create something – anything – for yourself, for someone else, for the world, for the creation itself. And when you do what you do, your creation speaks to 1Consider this name, new Execom.

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MARTE THE EXECOMMER Marte, you're execom in my heart

“

“Creation is the greatest privilege we could ever have. When you create something, all your efforts will never be for naught. ”

someone else. It could be someone who’s looking for it, or someone who needed it, or someone who didn’t ask for it at all, but in the end your creation still speaks to them; and if you’re lucky, it can move them, as much as creating it has moved you. Creation is the greatest privilege we could ever have. When you create something, all your efforts will never be for naught. When you strive to make something happen, the late nights you spend making that excel file of all the things you need, the load you spend for contacting sponsors, the invitations you print out for the participants of your talk, they will all be worth it because you just know it will be for your creation. The good feeling, the recognition, the awards, the positions, they’re just bonuses.

What you get out of everything else you’ve done simply weighs so much more.

You’re not going to be Execom. In fact, you might never be Execom – and you don’t need to be.

Samantha Gonzales has been the Culture Editor, the Features Editor, and the Associate Editor of this publication. She has also been the Ad Hoc Publicity Assistant Director and Director and the Ecosoc Month Co-Chairperson. Dami niyang ginawa pls.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 79

ECHOES

WHY I DIDN'T ENJOY LIV PARTIES Timmy gives the finger to them.

PICTURE IT AGAIN. GO BACK TO THE EVENING OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2013, A FEW MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

Go back to being in the middle of the sea of excited (intoxicated) partygoers lifting their arms and waterguns to the sky and jumping around carefree and ecstatic . Amongst the crowd that night, you could find me on the sideline by the barriers – sober, pissed off, covered in paint and mud, freezing from the rain, and lonely. I really don’t like parties. by Timmy Jacob I don’t enjoy at parties, and I didn’t enjoy at LIV (well, most of it – I’ll clarify that later), but it wasn’t because of anything in relation to the quality of the event; I could tell it was a unique and great party and everyone seemed to enjoy (I actually never really know when a party is a good one, but everyone gave positive feedback). My inability to enjoy parties dates back to high school and I won’t delve too much into that, but I have noticed that there’s a list of things about or included in parties that makes me incapable of enjoying while everyone else is having the time of their lives.

The first barrier I encounter in enjoying parties would be the fact that I am a straight edge (meaning I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs), and this makes me miss out on an essential factor in parties – the drinking. Ever since high school I would be left out at a lot of parties because of not having drinking buddies, and this hasn’t really changed. Most would argue that you didn’t have to 80 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

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drink in LIV or even in parties in general to have fun, but that doesn’t seem to be the case (throw a party without alcohol and see if anyone will find it as fun as one with alcohol) . I can’t help but feel left out when my friends are drinking. “Dude, why don’t you just drink!” would be the first thought on anyone’s mind after hearing me complain about that. Simple solution, right? Nope – not that easy. I don’t drink for a reason. I don’t like what alcohol does to people and I don’t like watching my friends drink more than they should. Sure, it’s fun to laugh at the ridiculous things people under the influence of alcohol say or do, but it’s all a little disgusting to me, personally. Of course everyone has their own opinions on this and I won’t stress my own view on it, but the fact of the matter is alcohol is a reason that I am left out at parties but as far as I’m concerned, alcohol is party fuel which means I run on empty. When everyone’s all loose or busy playing drinking games, I can join the crowd and watch, but I really can’t relate.

This leaves me with nothing to do, and unattended boredom can eventually turn into a little sadness.

Along with having virtually nothing to do at parties (again, I don’t drink, so I find it hard to interact with the rest of the crowd), another hindrance to me enjoying is the fact that it seems like douche bags are prerequisites to a party being “good”.

You know what I’m talking about. There are always at least one bunch of dudes in either fit tees or polo shirts who think they’re the badassest badasses in the world and do whatever the hell they want just because they’re bigger than everyone. It seems as if they come on party checklists – “Drinks, check. Cups, check. Ice, check. Sound system, being set up. Douche bags, oh, they’re arriving

at 10. I think we’re set!” I have no clue as to how these douche bags seem to all have germinated the idea that they could do whatever they want, and I hate that they’re at every party making their presence felt. I hate how these dudes are the ones jumping the barriers in LIV just because they can – just because they’re bigger than the dude asking him whether him and his buddies and girls have tickets or not. Call it an out-of-moviestereotype if you want, but it also annoys me that a good number of girls flock to these douche bags, and a good number too end up either sleeping with these guys or dating them and then sleeping with them later on.

Another thing I don’t get about parties is how crowds of hundreds of people decide to congregate in some dark room (or open field in LIV) with loud music and just drink, grind and get loose with total strangers. That’s something I could never comprehend – it’s a personal thing for sure. Maybe it’s just not in me to have that sort of confidence (or recklessness in my eyes) and get “turn’t up” with people I don’t know at all. It was entertaining to watch, but I honestly couldn’t figure out how those dudes in tank tops at LIV ended up spending the evening with total strangers (not making fun of them;

“

"Amongst the crowd that night, you could find me on the sideline by the barriers – sober, pissed off, covered in paint and mud, freezing from the rain, and lonely."

just giving an example). Maybe it’s my being awkward or fear of being judge, but it’s something I could never figure out since high school – how I could never be like my friends and approach a group of strangers and introduce myself and meet new people. How does that conversation even go? “Hey, I’m Timmy. Do you guys wanna ‘party’?”

With no drinking buddies, partyomnipresent douche bags and their flocks of buddies and girls or complete strangers to hang with, I am left alone.

It’s not that I’m a loner – it’s that I can’t relate and feel left out around my friends who are drinking and partying and the rest of the party population are douche bags or strangers that I wouldn’t dare approach. It’s sad (and sometimes funny to imagine actually) but you can find me wandering through a party looking for friends who don’t fall under those categories to talk to and have a good time and decent conversation with. Of course everyone has their own idea of what their ideal party is, and maybe you guys think that what I was saying in the previous paragraphs was just ridiculous whining or you guys have your own reasons as to why those stuff are essential to parties, but I just can’t comprehend them. That’s honestly what I look for in parties, and that’s why enjoyed the first two hours or so of LIV – the people who were there were my friends from Ecosoc. There weren’t any douche bags – well, maybe some of my friends are douche bags (I’m just playing!) – or strangers. The people around me were my friends, still sober, still themselves and just looking to have a good time, and I don’t understand why parties can’t be just that.

Timmy Jacob is the Managing Editor of this publication. He loves poetry.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 81

ECHOES

THE LORD OF THE FRIENDS

BY MARTE CARONOÑGAN

I WANT TO BE A FRIEND LORD. I WANT EVERY SINGLE PERSON I PASS by to know me, and vice-versa. I want to hear my name every few seconds in a crowded place. I want to be popular, in the loosest term, because socialization and social status are two principles I hold dear to me. There’s nothing to be ashamed of with my claim. In this country where the padrino system reigns supreme, who you know will probably get you a better job compared to what you know. But we can talk about that in a different day. Or maybe you should take up Polsc 14 next sem.

I love making friends. I consider myself shy, but sociable. I may not have that vibe but believe me when I say that I am more scared of you than you should be scared of me. I am through with letting everyone in my life, it makes me vulnerable to more pain and suffering. (Woah.)

However, this past semester I was given a chance to power trip apps by making them do requirements for my Echoes signature. I initially chose to make 82 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

them do a rather lame task: make a Vine video. It felt like a really decent job to do given that I was the Echoes TV Producer, but was that what I really wanted them to do? Instead, I put my powers to good use: I made the apps tell me something about themselves. It was a very smart move, and my secondary job as Sales Director gave me authority to have makapal na mukha.

One of my biggest regrets as an Ecosocer was not knowing the Barrio app batch

PAPA A 12 years ko nang kilala si Aris. Sawa na ako sa kaniya jk

well. Other than Matt (Mercado), I never really knew anyone else. It was only until the next sem when I got to know more of the Barrio members better. But back then, it made me feel empty. I vowed to change things once given the chance.

My requirement was quite simple: ask the apps about their dream significant other, and then anything goes afterwards.

Usually I’d ask a few personal questions here and there (short confession: most of the questions I asked came from my personal experiences) while sometimes I’d ask for a little enumeration or explanation (“How bad is ‘medyo bad boy?’”) I have always been intrigued by a people’s preferences, mainly because no two preferences are ever equal. (Thank

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APPS Epal ni Bea Lejano pls you, dear applicants, for being my lab rats.) Everyone has a story to tell and I want to listen to all of them.

It’s always nice to make new friends, especially in this college setting where graduation and the real world change our social network drastically. And this is especially true when you have friends in different batches. People we used to see everyday in the tambayan now only make sporadic appearances in events (hello Ecosoc alumni in general… not you Ayla.)

New friends mean new experiences, new lessons to be learned, new adventures.

Everyone is built differently. Everyone has his strengths and weaknesses. Think of life as one big Pokemon adventure where the friends you make are the Pokemon you catch…. which doesn’t sound flattering (depending on whose perspective you’re on) but you get the point.

I love my friends. They are the pillars which keep me strong. They enlighten me with philosophical discussions. They keep me grounded to remember the harsh realities of life. They make me happy. They make me sad. They make me human. As my friends scratch my back, I make sure I return the favour. I am overly-protective of my friends, as some of you might have experienced. Last LIV, the intense downpour and lack of shelter drenched

THE MEMCOM CHAIR I <3 Jomac and his big mac everyone at egress and exposed everyone to sub-zero temperatures (exaggerated to make it sound more dramatic.) The Sales team was selling shirts that night, and the sight of my shivering friends froze my heart. Spurning profits (sorry Sam and GJ), I started handing out shirts to everyone I saw: apps, Ecosocers, and of course my beloved EM family. The sea of yellow that chilly Sunday morning was enough to make my heart melt. Let me rephrase what I said: I love my friends to death.

In the end, being a friend lord isn’t as simple as it sounds. Be prepared to handle rejection, humiliation, and maybe even cast doubt on yourself. Making friends is a learning process, a risk. Parang pagibig.

To end this wonderfully-written article (and to reach the 1000-word quota set by the EIC), a few acknowledgements are in order because this is my article and I get to write what I want to write: First and foremost, to my Physics buddies/YOLO Knights Cel Hilario, Reg, and Loice (ikaw na rin Cel Crisanto for joining us in our last day). Literally very 1-2:30 TTh is an adventure to us and I thank you for the awesome sem! WE ARE SURVIVORS! To the apps who I’ve had memorable interviews with: Trysh and her self-

proclaimed boring life, Ana Buban and our 50-minute conversation, JP Monje and your dilemma with your politicallyactive girlfriend, to name a few. BASTA LAHAT KAYO MEMORABLE!! Walang mainggit pls To Nico and Emira, who actually insisted that I interview them despite me insisting otherwise. Thank you for entertaining me with your lives!

To Dana Dee, the only member who also insisted on being interviewed just because she wanted to be interviewed. I enjoyed our talks and deep conversations!!

More soon pls!! (+ our GH adventure!!!)

To Marte’s Angels, Annika, Bea T, and Andres, even though it’s been a while since we’ve been complete I still remember our conversations like it was yesterday!! Or baka kasi secretly tumatagos sa akin mga napag-usapan natin HAHA Finally, to the Echoes comm bitch, Poncho Roces, for letting himself be the butt of everyone’s jokes. I enjoy all of our random conversations and outbursts of racism/sexism/elitism. I hope you don’t die inside my car the next time I bring you and other people on a roadtrip!

Marte Caronoñgan is a Power Member and the amazing Echoes TV Producer. He loves Echoes. Not Liaison.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 83

ECHOES

HOME, WHERE I SLOWLY CEASE TO BELONG

BY JUDE GERON

WEDNESDAYS Many bodies in one room, but where are their minds?

THE VIEW There's nothing new

LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW, I BEHOLD WHAT LITERALLY IS A VAST EXPANSE. I CAN DETAIL IT OUT AS FAR AS

my eyes, the limits of my humanity, can go (our eyes are said to be one of the weaker points of our intellectually advanced race). On some days, when the weather is clear, I can see a part of Mt. Arayat, in Pampanga, a pleasant quirk of living high-rise. But other than that, and the amount of traffic, the view really has not changed this past year. I step outside, and little else has changed either. Only a number of establishments have, so as u-turn slot placements, and little additions to buildings decades old. Any new buildings are refreshing in this busy little nook of what is the biggest urban center in the Philippines. Any new places to eat would certainly be most welcome. (UP Town Center!)

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FEATURES

A

ll is well, to an extent. I've been in this area long enough to have been absorbed by it; to call it home. But is it really? Sometimes, I forget.

Where then is home? Around 2 hours away. It used to be close to 4; we put great value in all the road developments there have been, most recent of all being Star Tollway being connected to the South Luzon Expressway. I kid not when I say how convenient that has been. It's clear given all the to-and-from I've done throughout my life.

I remember having a hard time telling people that I was from Batangas when I was chatting on Philippine Ragnarok Online (it was probably the Iris or Loki server). Why? The in-game censor would always block out “Batangas” because it contained “tanga” in it. But I would make the effort to spell it out nonetheless, with spaces. Back in grade school, it was really the only chance I could let out some semblance of pride in being from there, my only “regular” communication with people outside my small community. There were no strong, romantic feelings to it then, though. It was just merely said as a matter of fact.

I would, however, have more opportunities to do so later on in high school, in Loyola Heights. It became something I could really feel pride in, being the only student in my class of 43 having grown up there, let alone coming from a school in the province. It was something I could share in soirees... which I don't remember actually doing (the things I did and did not do in those soirees deserve a place in some far-flung burial ground). It was one of the many manifestations of a big disparity in culture, so to speak, with my peers. It was not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but something you had to make adjustments for. The group of people I belonged in had subtly different attitudes from the folks back at home that you just could not describe totally in words. It was more of a personal experience. Looking back, if I'd enter that phase again, I would approach the whole experience with a deep sense of my roots, not letting the trees get uprooted by some cultural wave, or some other metaphor you could think of.

But the trees went, new ones grew, and I am here now in Diliman, not anymore known as a clueless boy from another province, but as one of the men who donned blue and khaki 5 days a week for 4 years, right across the street, coming to terms with

his “new” identity. It's clear that I've become one of them (which also is not necessarily a bad thing); it has been since I realized how many surprised responses I've gotten the over the past year when I revealed I spent my pre-school and grade school years all in Batangas.

And the manifestations don't end there, as they sadly go deeper. There was this one time I got to visit my former school, after a really long time away, and see my friends of more than a decade. One of my closest friends pointed out that I was dressed differently compared to before. I made my own observation in the way I spoke, and it was indeed slightly different. But what was saddest of all, however, was when it hit me that I could not seem to relate to the very people who made my childhood what it was, as much as I expected to. This did not even end at my friends from school, but extended to almost all the people I've spent more than half of my life with, including my family. Minutes of silence added up. The observations added up.

All I really had to do was come home more often.

That return was one of very few over the course of the 4 years in high school. It would then hit me, that though I still knew everyone's names, and everyone's faces, I barely knew any of them any further, anywhere near the way I used to. I did not find enough time, and the results came accordingly. All I had were my memories, ones that were with specific people and places. I have thus slowly lost grips with being a son of the south: all in the name of, essentially, the pursuit of knowledge, and greater opportunities.

In terms of breadth and variety of self-actualization, my life back in my true home would not come close to life now. Though I would never have realized this without actually moving, I still nevertheless evaluate myself on a purely individual as a much better off person. But it is, ironically, here, where the heights of buildings exceed 10 floors, where reaching the sky is more realistic in every sense of the word, where I have realized that there is more to life than doing just that. I thus pay the price for the premium that is my family and my homeland, and am pretty sure I will continue to do so.

These comparisons do, however, provide a perspective for development. The knowledge I have and will continue to acquire, together with a comparative viewpoint, will provide chances to take the world I've been in and my experience of it back home, to where more people, in the long run, can experience as well. I am sure that a lot of us who come from around the country have similar far-off dreams. But if there's something that I am sure will be key to making things happen, to closing the gap between the capital region and all other areas, it has to be a firm grasp of one's roots, of the people you actually want to help. Letting this completely go, I believe, will reduce any efforts of coming back with lofty dreams into ones that are, ultimately, shallow.

COME HOME MORE OFTEN.

Jude Geron is the outgoing Creatives Editor and the incoming Editor-in-Chief of this publication. Make us proud.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 85

VICE-NIGHT Look at these group of Seniors, Juniors, and a Freshman app. This is culture in Ecosoc. By SPEV.

The top two Echoes covers as decided by Ecosoc. The February 2013 issue during Derek's time and the August 2012 issue during Horace's time.

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CULTURE

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 87

ECHOES

FASHOWN FASHOWNAN: MUSIC FESTIVALS

by Kristina Viray

NOW THAT THE SEMESTER IS OUT OF THE WAY, IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE! DECEMBER IS FAST

approaching. Besides the obvious, it also means that it is almost music festival season. With so many good acts coming up, you better stock up on clothes that can take you from afternoon to morning. Here is a checklist of your music festival essentials.

ANYTHING FRINGE:

One of the quintessential items in a music festival is anything with fringe. People go fringe-crazy with tops, bottoms, bags, belts, you name it! Just stick to one fringe item and you will be fine. Don’t go overboard unless you want to look like your whole closet was shredded.

BOOTS:

Boots can look so effortless and chill without compromising comfort, so they are great for outdoor music festivals. If you want a more feminine spin, you can go for booties. I suggest you invest in a good pair now.

CAPS / HATS:

Do not neglect your hair. For protection, use a cap or a hat.

Snapbacks are gaining popularity, but a fedora will always look chic. Try a wide-brim hat for better protection. Be careful, though. Caps and hats tend to get misplaced in the middle of the festival.

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BAGS:

Shoulder bags and crossbody bags are popular choices, since they tend to be light and easy to carry. Bring only the essentials such as lip balm and blotting film to avoid losses.

CROP TOPS:

Another music festival mainstay is the crop top. Who can blame wearers when it’s so comfortable and light? Lately, the trend has been veering towards fitted and frame-hugging styles. You can keep it classy and relatively conservative by pairing your crop top with a high-waisted bottom. (Note: If you feel more daring, you can always go for a bikini top. I don’t recommend that for everybody, but if you think you can pull it off, go ahead.)

DRESSES:

Dresses can make you look ready in an instant, even for a music festival. From a boho maxi to a denim sundress, they are perfect for prancing around. Just make sure that you stick to looser silhouettes and lighter fabrics so that you have more freedom to move.

CULTURE DENIM JACKETS:

When you start feeling chilly, whip out your denim jacket. You can also go for the army variety, since both are versatile. Denim jackets are also good for layering with crop tops, bikini tops and bandeaus in case you want to cover up more skin.

ROMPERS:

For those of you who are still confused, a romper is a one-piece garment which already serves as a top and shorts. Modern styles are more forgiving and come in different patterns. A romper is a great alternative for a dress. It is instant without the possibility of flashing someone. (You can also opt for a jumpsuit, the romper’s older sister which serves as a top and pants.)

SHORT DENIM OVERALLS:

Overalls are what some might call jumpers. Channel your inner kid and resort to a short denim overall. You can style it with a basic top so as not to look like you went back to the 90s.

SKIRTS:

There’s no need to stick to just the typical denim cutoffs. So many options such as leather, embroidered, printed are available. Of course you don’t have to forgo the classic, but it’s good to switch things up a bit.

SUNGLASSES:

Do not forget to protect your eyes when the glaring sun is still out. More than a flattering pair, it is important that you choose based on quality and UV protection. When it comes to sunglasses, bigger is better.

JEANS:

If you’re someone who’s more comfortable with jeans, fret not.

Different brands are coming up with different washes and prints, so jeans no longer look dull. They are also getting more comfortable, so you can be sure that you can move with the crowd.

SANDALS:

Sandals go with the whole vibe of the music festival, but there is a big chance for your feet to get extremely dirty when wearing them. Plus, they do not offer a lot of protection especially with the unpredictable weather. Wear them with caution.

SHORTS:

There’s no need to stick to just the typical denim cutoffs. So many options such as leather, embroidered, printed are available. Of course you don’t have to forgo the classic, but it’s good to switch things up a bit.

SNEAKERS:

Whenever comfort is needed, you can be sure that sneakers can be used. Additional height wouldn’t hurt, so wedge sneakers would be a good idea. They do not have to be dull. Go for printed or studded ones for a little added attitude.

TANK TOPS / MUSCLE TEES

Tank tops and muscle tees are default tops. Not only do they keep you cool when the temperature is rising but they also come in different patterns and designs. You can never go wrong with them. For a personalized touch, you can even paint yours to support your favorite act (or just buy one if you’re feeling lazy).

Comfort is still the key because you will be dancing and singing for hours on end. Enjoy the atmosphere and the music because by sunrise, you will probably look like shit anyway.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 89

ECHOES

#REMEMBERLIV

by Marte Caroñongan

FIVE MONTHS OF PLANNING FOR 6 EVENTS FOR 55 YEARS OF SERVICE, EXCELLENCE, AND TRADITION.

Twelve committees, one Ecosoc. It all culminated on September 21, on the second instalment of LIV. Some remember that night for the paint, for the booze, for the fun. Other people, however, remember LIV in other ways…

“Random girl 1 tries to momol random girl 2. 2 says "GIRL WAIT, KAKASUKA KO LANG." (egress time) HAHA” – Andee “Guy to guy momol for around 2-3mins? Huhuu my eyes” – Kyla “Dad with 2 grade school kids tries to enter#LIV kasi naiinggit siya with all the fun we're having” - Marte “2 sophies in black sandos with 2 random girls” – Jus “The x number of strangers who decided to shoot at my camera when they saw me raising it high... target practice??? f u all” – Jude “3 guys approached the entrance of the party. When they got to the bouncer, they were trying to show their wrist or something na wala namang ticket. Tapos si Romano Alonzo sabi, "Where's your ticket?" tapos nagpapakita ata sila ng "stamp" to enter tapos ang taray eh, sabi ni Romanz "Di kami stamp."

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"Yup may gusto mag sneak in sa party natin” – Jus “Geli: i'm not drunk, i still know 1+1...

Jo Lim (sinigaw nya): ANG INGAY MO” – Kyla “Geli rapping "My name is Geli, it's not Kelly.."” – Andee “3 girls who went over the barricade na squinirt niLyon Leus tapos nag slutty dance and nilandi si Kuya bouncer. Sobrang lala pls” – Romano “May guy na nagspike ng beach ball pero mali yung tapon niya, tawa ako ng tawa nashoot tuloy yung paa ko sa isang hole...” – Monina ” Olivia and I changed together in the bathroom of bonchon because it was almost 7 pm. While changing her earring flew in the toilet bowl and she didn't know how to get it back so she got her ziploc wore it on her hand then put her hand in the bowl.

She was still wearing two earrings during the party HAHAHAHAHA” – Lerizze “ Yung nagmamakaawa na yung mga tao na makakuha ng beer can.” – Cyril

“may sumipa ng beach ball sa labas ng venue tapos sumama yung shoe niya.... tapos naglakad siya paalis” – Marte “Yung mga random ass drunk people jumping inside the fricking ecobins with paint and begging the firefighters/guards to hose them.

Natulala yung apps okay, di nila alam gagawin nila...” – Adriel “Yung water gun ni porn, mud laman :((“ – Cara Ignacio “Yung planting equipment ni Derek and Josh” – Migrey “Miguel Juico: tignan mo gumagalaw yung clouds.” – Mabel “Imbis na itapon yung paint sa loob ng timba sa crowd, natapon yung timba mismo HAHAHA” – Gio “(Possibly baked) girl who I think climbed from the barricades on the side was repeatedly asking for drinks... at the paint refill station” – Timmy “ Sinampal ako ng random chic, tumakbo siya then nadapa......... Yup, sarap” – Pam “Also I liked shouting "Go home,

CULTURE GOOD GIRL

Gone Bad

you drunk motherfuckers!" whilst waving my middle finger like a baton at them. Obviously being too drunk, they would reply with a "YEEEAAAAAH!"” – Timmy

SALES TEAM

Fresh na fresh

purity before marriage HAHAHAHA sabi niya dadami daw yung blessings namin kung magdonate kami tapos wala kong barya so binigyan ko siya ng 50 pesos huhu alam niyo na kung bakit humina yung ulan :>“ – Lerizze

“WAIT HAHA NGAYON KO LANG NAALALA L O L. Sa harap ng stage. May linapitan akong guy na akala ko EM intern, sobrang labo na ng glasses ko dahil sa “JUST NOW Diba I tweeted "I was watergunnin' those paint and rain and whatnot. VERBATIM TALAGA TO who were momollin' last night" And then JUST NOW PROMISE. Me: "Tignan mo si Josh at Nico, sando life *CENSORED* favorite-ed my tweet.... IM SO SCARED sila eh." Guy in front: "(mga 5 second pause) .... AH HAHA” – Monina OO NGA SIR EH." (taga-dynatek pala siya... huhu) creys tumawa-tawa nalang ako awkwardly while walk- “Nung nasa balde area kami, ing away...” – Adriel Porn : (sumisigaw) Simula ngayon, tawagin nyo na ako magsasaka dahil puno na ako ng putik “Random girl hit me in the head and said: "YOU HIT Me: ah okay MY IN THE EYE [WITH PAINT]!!!" (it wasnt me) Tas gusto pa nya magtago sa gallery kasi nilalamig sya” – Carmel I showered her with more paint. Bitchpls” – Sam “ Tas when Ars arrived, ako ata yung una nyang na“May guy na kumuha ng paint sa beer tower....... Tapos kausap tas kinuwento ko sa kanya lahat nangyari ininom niya. before the party, yung all the situation wit dynatek an everything tas sabi lang nya sakin: 'Wtf?! What Di ko siya pinigilan #sorry #notsorry” – Pam happened to the gallery?! Sobrang sira na' Yan gusto ko kay Ars eh, consistent “ – Carmel “May 2 foreigners na nag inquire about LIV nung 3pm aka ingress. Tapos they asked if garbage ba raw yung “Paghahakot ng tubig sa ground... The best” – Mabel beer towers kasi nasa eco bin...” – Romano “Dumating yung 2 guys from red bull nung mga mid“After going to red kimono with Olivia Solomon a ran- night to deliver the parasols diba. Then pagkaalis dom girl approached us and tried to sell a 100 peso nila, they texted me and asked for my name, so I ballpen to us to support their cause which was sexual didnt reply. Then they texted lara. "ganda, what is your name?" Then she didnt reply then the red bull ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 91

ECHOES THE LOOK

delivery guy texted again saying "ang suplada naman." HAHA. nagattempt pa lumandi si koya eh.” – Angela Mantes “Ung release video na ginawa ko for hours tapos un pala nasira LED huhuhuhu” – Paubau “ang linis ni jena the whole time” – Carlo F

Of victory

“Noong wala nang paint, mga 11 ata ito, naisip ng boyfriend ni Stef (Go) na maglagay ng putik sa baril.

Di gumana tapos nalaglag yung baril sa putik tapos pinapatalsik nalang niya sa tao.” – Derek “i was at my beer shift then adriel specifically told me to not give out cans so i patiently poured beer onto cups one by one then sobrang irritated lang ako kasi impatient mga tao then this dude suddenly came up and got one can from my hand tapos i yelled at him like a crazy person "excuse me, excuse meee!!!" lol so he came back and gave me back the can. i felt so weird. feeling ko najudge na ko ng mga tao kasi *ang babaw* ko lol but diba it makes sense naman kasi what if other people would copy him and get cans nalang right off my hand!!! ugh =)) rude people” – Jena “May sobrang wasted na umihi sa loob ng kotse ko wew” – Jack O. Lero

Me: (trying to call his attention) Uy, Porn! Porn!

Porn: .....RAAWWRRRGGHHHHHH. (walks away)” – Josh M “Nasa drums kami ng ibang log b sa labas waiting for the firetruck. Dating si Porn. Giving us the beer thing na hawak niya... kaya pala. Tastes yucky... BAHAHA Bisita ako kay patmen and andee sa front, Porn sitting on the table "Oi Andee may exam tayo sa Wed" and starts mentioning BA terms..... i walk away.” – Pau A “Isa ako (ata) sa mga nagtry mag shoot sa camera ni Jude huhu sorry Jude” - Monina

“Nakita ko si Porn, medyo basag na, naglalakad magisa at may hawak na water gun.

DARYL YU

Has struck gold

MARTETE’S TOP 5 #LIV STORIES: 5. SM Aura visits before #LIV: 0. SM Aura visits after #LIV: 3 4. Everyone (EM and non-EM) wearing yellow shirts during egress. Carebest ang peg.

3. May hot guy na pumasok sa venue tapos bumalik sa ticket booth after 5 minutes….. topless 2. The most nerve-wracking 10 minutes ever 1. We Can’t Stop. It’s our party, we can do what we want!

And the rest, as they say, is history.

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CULTURE

HOW TO DRESS UP AS YOUR FAVORITE ECOSOCER FOR HALLOWEEN

by Don Alfonso

HALLOWEEN: THAT TIME OF THE MONTH WHEREIN YOU GO TO NATIONAL BOOKSTORE TO BUY THOSE

mediocre-looking pre-made costumes (usually a stereotypical pirate or a witch) and go around the village to annoy your neighbors who didn't want to waste money on candy in the first place. (Oh well, it's your revenge for them not letting you study because they won't stop singing "My Way" on the Karaoke even though they have sh*tty a** voices). Or maybe you don't care for Halloween at all because you're too scared of fake skeletons and blood around. But, anyway, if you're part of the first set of people, you no longer need to spend a single centavo (okay, maybe a few) on your costume because all you need to do is gather a bunch of stuff from your closet and draw inspiration from the people closest to you - your fellow Ecosoc members. Well, it may be true people might actually not notice you are wearing a costume at all but it MAY work if you're doing trick-or-treating in the School of Economics (which might actually happen now because it has been so dark there the past month). And, maybe you can even do it even when it's not Halloween at all, maybe if you just admire these people too much and want to be like them. Or... if you just want to annoy them.

SAM GONZALES A word of caution - this outfit may take an hour of preparation (I don't know how she does it every school day; she either must have a lot of talent and creativity or a lot of time).

But, despite this, if you choose to wear her outfit, it will be worth all the effort because what she wears is something unique and everybody knows her; 100% of the time people will be sure who you really are trying to wear.

Hair: Short (or at least make your hair look short). Now, one crucial part - color the front part either red, purple, green or blue (or whichever is your favorite color) Make up: Eye liner, black lipstick (crucial) Top: Anything really, preferably black.

Bottom: Skirt with any really bright monotone shade.

Shoes: Black leather boots (ex: Doc Martens) ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 93

ECHOES

KRISTINA VIRAY Fairly easy if you have a ton of party clothes (party party as in party in a club, notâ&#x20AC;Ś a Halloween party). But if not, this outfit will cost you some money and some time (yep, I don't know too how Kristina manages to do it every single day too). And yes, after wearing this, don't change yet as you can go straight to a real party with this outfit on.

Hair: Long, wavy and dyed light brown Make up: All natural + eyeliner Top: a black, grey or white off the shoulders shirt Bottom: Black skirt or black/jean short shorts Shoes: black or white high heels Accessories: silver/gold bangles or leather spiked wristbands + a black leather handbag + a necklace + a watch + anything else that you want to add that's matching

ZO CANARIA This is easy as what he wears most probably also is found in your closet. You're going to need to have some sense of "fashion" (pronounced faSHUGHN) though in order to get this correctly.

Hair: short, just comb it to the right Top: light-colored sleeveless shirt and a sweater jacket (yep, because you'll never know if it's either too hot or too cold in the different classrooms of UP) or a light-colored collared shirt with long sleeves Bottom: yellow shorts (which you can borrow from Poncho Roces, Earl Viray or from Lance Lim) Shoes: boat shoes, keds or anything similar to those (basically preppy shoes) Accessories: square eyeglasses

GJ AGREGADO So you want to feel powerful and dress like the president, eh?

Well, this is another easy outfit as many people have some stuff similar to his.

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CULTURE

Hair: Short, curly Top: Plaid long sleeves (CRUCIAL) Bottom: Fairly fit blue jeans (CRUCIAL - I have never seen GJ wear shorts and I haven't seen him wearing something that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t not jeans on a normal day) Shoes: the usual preppy casual shoes (boat shoes or the occasional brown loafer) Accessories: square eyeglasses, roasry ring, iPhone 5

RINO LAMARCA/BOTAN BELEN I lumped these two together because if you choose to dress up like one of them, you'll most likely still end up looking like the other. Well, I don't know if it is because they come from the same school, but they really dress the same. Anyways, this is fairly easy too as they were some stuff easily found in your closet.

Hair: Short, straight Top: Plain polo shirt (this part doesn't really matter as much) Bottom: Khaki shorts that are cuffed (CRUCIAL - if those aren't cuffed they're not the same) Shoes: Brown boat shoes or brown leather loafers (CRUCIAL) Accessories: A tan.

Additional tips: if you really wanna differentiate yourself from Botan and be Rino, try hanging out in the bench by the Econ Lobby while you have your costume on)

LANCE LIM

Easy. Wear something from the Cotton On catalogue. Then, just be pogi, Chinese and gayot. That is all.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 95

ECHOES

ECOSOC HEROES, ANTIHEROES, AND VILLAINS

by Luigi Montalbo

WHEN YOU READ COMIC BOOKS, YOU OFTEN WONDER HOW THINGS WOULD BE IF PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAD

supernatural gifts. Well, you don’t have to look far, these people exist in our very own tambayan. Here is a list of some of these supernatural beings.

MARK:

First off we have Mark. He may not look like it, but he is actually the long lost distant cousin of Superman. He is Kryptonian. You can prove this just by looking at the last letter of his first name.

It’s letter K for Krypton. Woah! Though he once had the powers of a Kryptonian, Lex Luthor saw him as too big of a threat (even bigger than Superman) that when he was a baby, Luthor put Kryptonite in his milk. Luthor made sure to put food colouring as well so that it won’t look suspicious.

Now instead of being able to carry buildings, he can only carry people. He can, however, carry people the size of building but that’s beside the point. If you need to be carried like a child and rocked back to sleep, Mark is your man. Actually, even if you don’t want to be carried, he’ll carry anyway just ‘cause he can and you’ll end up laughing hysterically because you’ve been rocked hard (woah there).

ADRIEL:

Adriel is not human, unsurprisingly enough. He is actually an angel who has descended to bring happiness and joy to all mankind. His guitar was made from the Tree of Songs located at center of the Forest of Heaven.

You see, other than his gentle fingers that weave intricate fabrics of soothing compositions, the guitar itself has the power to make the angel wielding it desirable to others. It makes no difference if you’re a guy or a girl.

Notice how you become strangely attracted to Adriel whenever he’s performing; that is actually the guitar’s power over you. But the inner peace, joy, happiness, and love that you feel is rooted mainly in Adriel’s angelic God-given talent.

MONTY:

The Viper. He has earned is name rightfully so as he has lured countless prey (women) into his lair. With his venom of a love potion, he has trapped females into an incurable trance. Yes, he is the epitome of a lady killer. Though he doesn’t really kill them, death would still be a kinder alternative as the ladies he has victimized become irretrievably in love with him. It is cruel yet he does not do actual harm to them. He is a kind predator but a predator, nonetheless. He does not use the girls he has to do anything evil. He is simply neutral. After all it’s not his fault that he’s irresistible. It is just nature taking its course; laws of nature, as it were, such as what comes up must come down. In this case, if you’re a girl, you’re Monty’s girl.

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CULTURE SILVA:

This guy has practiced martial arts ever since he was in his mother’s womb.

Whenever his mother would say, “Umf I felt a kick,” that was actually Silva performing a roundhouse kick. He has been a constant defender of bullied people all throughout his grade school life. One account even talked about is how he beat up five people at the same time when four bullies were picking on some nerdy guy with glasses. He ended up beating up the nerdy kid as well ‘cause he got carried away. You see, Silva does not seek to protect. He simply looks for a reason to fight which is why he is sometimes mistaken to be a hero. But his true goal in life is to be the best he can be at everything he does just as Wolverine is to killing, except in Silva’s case it’s irreparably brutalizing people.

VITO:

You would often see Vito walk around by himself, muttering something inaudible. When you do, do not look into his eyes for he will catch you staring and will include you in his list of victims. At first glance, one would think he is just planning out his day or solving a math problem in his head. You would be correct in thinking that but what you don’t know is that what he’s planning is actually EVIL and the math problem in his head is an optimization problem where he’s maximizing the number of victims he would victimize given the labor and capital in his victimizing firm. Vito, you see, is a scientist, a graduate of AB Chemistry and BS Death and is currently taking up economics to improve his business skills in his business of Death. He doesn’t have any particular superpowers but in its place is an insatiable lust for destruction and chaos. Armed with the knowledge imparted unto him by his mentor Dr. Doom, Vito is a force to be reckoned with.

JUDE:

You know him as that photographer guy, taking your picture requests spawned out of your intolerable vanity. Jude is fed up with it. He plans on taking revenge because for every photo he takes, it becomes another selfie opportunity lost. One day, Jude took it upon himself to visit the evil merchant shop down at Shopping Center to buy an evil camera. This camera has the power to imprison the souls of those whose picture it takes. No one notices the emptied bodies of people wandering about because the camera replaces the original soul with a demonic soul that has the ability to replicate anyone’s personality. Now you know the reason why Jude smiles whenever he takes pictures. Do you think it’s because he thinks the picture is nice and that the people in it are beautiful? No… He laughs maniacally on the inside because he knows that the he has trapped another unsuspecting victim in his gallery/prison.

These are not the only supernatural beings in Ecosoc, of course. A census reveals that over 90% of the people in Ecosoc have strange powers and abilities. The other 10% are what we know of as inactive members. So if you have a power and you know you’re hot, do not use it for selfish things like the villains mentioned a while ago. Use it for good, or else GJ All-Father (position originally by Odin) will take it away and you will end up powerless and useless.

ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 97

ECHOES

#TWEETABLETWEETS BY @MARTETEKOMALIIT DI NIYO NAMAN ITO BINABASA EH

@botanbelen Wow I was reading the word 'emerged' and it read as 'emer ged' in my head @martetekomaliit Ijujudge niyo ba ako if sabihin ko na nakaka-adik gumamit ng Google Drive @mikoandres That snooze actually meant 1 more hour of sleep HAHA @inespagdanganan @MMDA hi MMDA you lied naman eh! katipunan isn't L-M it's M-H :-( @MMDA @inespagdanganan naglabasan na po kasi yung mga nag exam kaya bumigat yung traffic po #mmda @THEnepothethird i suk ur cuk #WordsAfterMomol @mynameistimothy Everyone in Ecosoc on FB today was probably like "Fuck, no more EM event...

Actual-profile-pic-of-myself time."

98 â&#x20AC;˘ OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

@lyonceknowles sana balakang ka nalang ni Shakira para di ka sinungaling (i love the word balakang can i just say) @oreomcfLERI Watching a movie at 240p medyo nakakalungkot @AnnaSunchez 1st Runner up ang SPCP... dahil ba wala ako.. @Musikapella :-( Mom bat di mo ako pinayagan today :((((( joke joke pero aww SPCP its ok >:)< @jryambao what a solid semester for @upecosoc @alanorqui Just realized, walang letter "i" sa names ng months. #whowouldhavethought #whowouldhavecared @MSilvaSurfer @alanorqui April... @bitchyrich04 may rehab ba for manyak people? gusto ko magpaadmit. ayoko na pls

@jussipgirl Yay I'm still growing!!!!!!!! horizontally @PB_andGeli hello lychee jelly ace, asaan yung nata de coco mo?!?! what is the point of your existence without it??? @beetriz hahaha lance lim liked my comment about f4 huhuhu he is a real fan :(( @beetriz twice i tried to use the bathroom last night at aliw and twice i accidentally walked in on a guy using the toilet. AM I GOOD OR WHAT... @AnnaSunchez nAre you gonna stay the night? #Econ131 @AnnaSunchez Thinking of using screen caps of The Conjuring as my desktop background.

Iwas laptop rin @upecosoc "thrusts of ecosoc: Service, Excellence & Honor" - app #ExecomDecides #Platoon55

CULTURE

@PORNettto chem1, all sem kitang minomol pero di na ko aasa sa ... u no

@onionuevo @MarteteKoMaliit ito na tweetable tweet ko #confidence

@MarteteKoMaliit Josh Motherang and Martatay #bestGWfam #shurriken

@onionuevo michael v: pare san ba entrance namin?

Me: ....bitoy???

@upecosoc "Di ko siya pinerfect pero perfect siya."

- @onionuevo #ExecomDecides #Platoon55

@MarteteKoMaliit Hi guys sino gusto tumulong sa akin gumawa ng Filipino version ng @ ThoughtCatalog?? We shall call it

@brumaybe_pluto Oh watta *noun* !!!!

Thought Catagalog

@AnnaSunchez Bringing my feelings to Bonfire this Friday. :) ...HATRED #ThatClass @brumaybe_pluto GE-Classmate-zoned @mikoandres No more banana huhu naka 7 yata ako lol @famamfa saksakin mo sa neknek mo yang take home exam!

@AnnaSunchez I was watergunnin' those who were momollin' last night #LIV @_CArLCULUS sana nag #LIV na lang profs ko para maintindihan nila kung ba't ayaw ko gumalaw ngayon huhu @MarteteKoMaliit Wait di ako makaget-over may dad last night who seriously wanted to enter #LIV with his 2 grade school kids in tow.

Looks fun daw kasi HAHA

@famamfa "I'm going to listen to Death Cab to make myself feel better!"

HahahahahHHhhahahHaAhaAhA @_Derelicte Really, was there ever another choice for greatest committee in the world? Nope.

We got the coolest name anyway. @_Derelicte Wag niyo ako tanungin.......................

WALA RIN AKONG ALAM :((( @famamfa GJ: <spews a bunch of sexist jokes> Sam: ipapatapon ko yung tribute mo. @ChickenBaquilod mej nasasad ako na di na ako updated sa got to believe :( #shameless @Camille_Cruz So I casually held a compact powder in Watsons only to find out it was UNDERARM MAKEUP.. How awkward/ gross never knew such a thing existed.. @_CArLCULUS triny ko pa breast feed ung brother ko and nagfreak out buong family :D =) #weird ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 99

ECHOES

WALL OF SECRETS

Compiled by Derek Parreñas, Mix Que, & Olivia Solomon

NAWALA SI JUSSIP G. MASYADO ATANG BUSY. BUT ANYWAY, WE GOT A WONDERFUL SET OF SECRETS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE NEW MEMBERS!

1

7

2 3 4

8

Luna made out with Duckface, Male: "I one of her classmates once gave a guy his under a pillow during their first kiss (and mine as well) class retreat in high school. just so I could mess with him.

Who was a girl.

He got so pissed he almost Lemon Girl secretly beat me up. But at that time wants to join Sports I thought that the prank was committee because of worth it so I just kept on laughing while he was hitting Lance me" Girlaloo fell for Andres Hearper peed on his at umaasa. dad and mom's faces when he was 15 just to spite Jarter makes friends with girls because he them for telling him to break likes checking their up with his girlfriend. He boobs and ass out and then didn't break up with her and enjoys imagining them as he she became pregnant. masturbates Janet had sex with two Star enjoys thinking boys (at different times, about the guys she but one day after another). knows and how they would She said she was confused fuck her in her bed. As in the and didn't know who to like. bed is a must.

So when she had sex with one Urania once had an of them, she felt like she had orgy with her friends. to have sex with the other to According to her, it was a make up for it. She says that it really cold night and they was her first time to ever have sex. And it was twice. Wow. were out in Tagaytay.

5

6

9

10

Garreth was with this girl at a park one night. They started to make out and then she proceeded to go down on him. As she was giving him a service, one of his girl friends saw them and then proceeded to help the girl. He didn't say what happened next.

11

Calvin has killed someone. He and his friends hid the body and haven't owned up to it ever since.

12 13 14 15

Ubas has a crush on Vito. Ubas is a man.

Walt once took a dump in the streets. He had diarrhea. More like TIDNTK.

Jane has made out with someone in the Econ back-parking. That someone was a girl.

Ranola took a bunch of drugs all at the same time and she almost died. She said she met God that day.

THIS HAS BEEN THE ONLY WALL OF SECRETS THAT DOESN'T HAVE ONE OF MY SECRETS. NOW THAT MEANS YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE OLDER WALLS AND GUESS WHICH ONES. THIS IS DEREK, AND THIS HAS BEEN MY FINAL WALL OF SECRETS. 100 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH

50 YEARS OF ECHOES ECHOES | OCTOBER 2013 • 101

102 • OCTOBER 2013 | ECHOES.PH