109 years TOWARDS A PROGRESSIVE CAMPUS PRESS | VOL. LXXXV NO. 07 | FRIDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2012
ECO-FRIENDLY RIDE. Sillimanians may soon enjoy travelling around campus on this horse-drawn carriage provided by SMART Communications. PHOTO BY Melissa Pal
SU promotes ‘powered by grass not gas’ transport by Samantha L. Colinco
DUMAGUETE CITY WILL soon hear the clickety clack of horses pulling Silliman’s very own four-wheel carriages.
TOURISM MARCH. A parade jumpstarts the week-long celebration of NegOr’s Tourism Week last Sept 16 to showcase that the province does not only have a beautiful place but also beautiful people. PHOTO BY Alexandra Iso
Silliman University (SU) recently launched the tartanilya or horsedrawn project, conceptualized by University President Ben S. Malayang III, with Smart Communications Inc. to set an example for environmentfriendly practices. “The tartanilya is one of the innovative projects of the university that would address environmental problems such as air pollution. It is a very friendly mode of transportation because it is powered by grass – as (Malayang) describes it – and not by gas,” said Mark Garcia, information
AVID seeks for volunteers by Roselle Louise L. Publico
HOPING TO GET more volunteers for children with disabilities, the Association of Volunteers for Inclusion in Dumaguete (AVID) held an orientation workshop last Sept. 13 at the Silliman University Main Library. AVID is a month-old organization which advocates the inclusion of persons with disabilities into the society. “We are into inclusive education, a philosophy which exemplifies the right of all learners regardless of religion, status, gender, or disability to be enrolled in general education classes…Simply speaking, it is the right of children with disabilities to learn together with the regular children of their age,” said Mr. Rolando Villamero, Jr., chairperson of the AVID Executive Committee. The KAALAM Project, one of the three projects of AVID, aims
to extend assistance to children with disabilities enrolled in regular classes. It is mostly in this project that AVID needs volunteers who are willing to do hands-on teaching to these children for two hours during weekends. “A lot of children with disabilities in schools have concerns in reading and writing, so they need support to address this concern,” Villamero said. The Dumaguete Inclusion Caravan for Education (DICE), another project of AVID, is a series of workshops for all Bachelor of Science in Education students enrolled in the different colleges in the city. Villamero, who is also a Coordinator from the Great Physician Rehabilitation Center (GPRehab), said that the students will be taught how to handle children with disabilities enrolled in general education classes. Students will be having their classes
either at the Silliman University Knowledge for Development Center (KDC) and the American Studies Resource Center or at the GPRehab. The organization will also be writing a proposal to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Philippine Association of Professional Teacher Educators (PAFTE), to include at least six units of Special Education to all students taking up BS Education. AVID will be having an orientation caravan open to all students and faculty on Sept. 20 at the SU World Bank Knowledge Development Center, Silliman Library. AVID was founded by GPRehab and the Colleges of Education of Silliman University, Negros Oriental State University, Foundation University and St. Paul University Dumaguete. ~
the OIP in sending announcements to students, especially after the earthquake and typhoon incidents. Students who are already Smart subscribers and would like to register may go to the Silliman website’s student online services, click subscribe to updates, then click via info board. After which, a set of instructions will then be provided, said OIP Director Mark Raygan Garcia. Garcia added: “I really hope that the students would avail of the SIM cards ‘cause when there was an earthquake...[and] when there was a typhoon, we sent out announcements [of no classes] and some students learned it from their classmates who
are subscribers of the info board.” He also added that the info board is now also linked with the university website, making Info Board registered SIM cards receive updates of the news and announcements posted on the website. “It’s our office’s way of utilizing new media - the way of using mobile technologies, social networking sites - to reach out to students, ‘cause we know how students resort to new media on how to access information,” Garcia said. Announcements sent by the university are free while messages for checking records will be charged one peso per message. ~
Accessing records made easy by OIP
by Kriztja Marae G. Labrador
FREE INFO BOARD registered Smart SIM cards will be given by the Office of Information and Publication (OIP) to students on the second semester so that non-Smart users can also access information through their mobile phones. A project that was launched about four years ago, Info Board system, when registered in Smart SIMs, allows students to receive announcements, check their grades and account balances. Because it is exclusive for Smart subscribers, OIP will give away free SIM cards on the second semester of the school year. This system was found helpful by
officer. He added that they chose the tartanilya among many other ecofriendly projects as a way to also promote tourism in Dumaguete City. “We know how the tartanilyas were part of the Dumagueteños’ life and culture before but now there’s hardly one tartanilya going around. So this is also our way to promote something traditional that would boost the tourism in the city,” Garcia said. In a news report on inquirer.net, Malayang said that even though the tartanilya mode of transportation is a step back into the past, the “romantic aspect” of it would attract the tourists. Hoping to “inspire the city” to have its own tartanilyas, the university, Garcia said, would be “very willing” to manufacture horse-drawn carts for Dumaguete.
“I would like to believe that the city is as environmental friendly and as much as an environment advocate as the university,” he said. Not new as a partner to Silliman, Smart Communications “has been very supportive of the environmental initiatives of SU.” Garcia said that “Smart came in to reimburse the university of the amount it has spent for making the tartanilya and the amount that the university would shell out to buy a horse for one carriage. So Smart gave P150,000.” Although the carriage is now ready, the tartanilya is still not complete because the horses have to “undergo training” for six months before the carts can be attached to them. With notes from inquirer.net~
Poet tackles fate and reality by Samantha L. Colinco
“NO ONE CAN ever be sure about anything because everyone is at the mercy of the elements,” renowned poet Cesar Ruiz Aquino said in a lecture last Sept. 11. Dr. Aquino, Silliman English and literature instructor and award-winning author said that even with knowledge of both science and technology, no one has power over nature because everything happens by chance. “Even if we unlock the secret of the atom, even if we might be able to clone ourselves or talk eternal life in scientific terms, i.e. cryogenics, the fact is we are still not able to eliminate the common cold or stop the rain or defy gravity with some high-tech device to elude quakes which we can’t control either,” he said. Aquino added that although fate or the element of chance is something that “doesn’t make sense and is incomprehensible and irrational,” epics and the Bible recognize that “fate will often enough spare a man through his courage.” He cited the epic “Beowulf ” and how Beowulf, a strong believer in fate, is ruled by his belief that whatever will happen is meant to be. Leaving everything to fate, Beowulf fights and eventually defeats Grendel, the monster. He also quoted a verse from the Bible, Ecclesiastes 9:11, “Neither to the strong nor to the swift is the race planteth, but time and chance happeneth to all.” Noting an “amazing
coincidence,” Aquino pointed out to 180 students and teachers at the Dioscoro Rabor Lecture Hall that his lecture day happens to be on 9/11 (Sept. 11) – the same chapter and verse of Ecclesiastes which he quoted and the same date of the 2001 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City. “Neither to the strong nor to the swift – the United States – is the race planteth but time and chance happeneth to all . . . Nothing will last, not empires . . . All manmade structures cannot defy time,” he added. Furthermore, Aquino said that in literature, before anything can be a symbol, it must first be understood at the literal level. “A figure in any writing must not be so much as an allegory as a real thing. It is as such that it exerts its solidity and strength as the theme among other things in the imagined world. Before anything can be read at the metaphorical level, it must succeed from – what Ma’am Edith (Tiempo) called – the physical level,” he added. A four-time Palanca awardee, Aquino received the SEAWRITE award from the Prince of Thailand in 2004 for Chekmeta, a personal anthology of poems and prose pieces in both fiction and nonfiction. His other books include Chronicles of Suspicion, World Without End and In Samarkand. Dubbed as the “disciple” of the Tiempos, Aquino is the fourth lecturer of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center authors lecture series. ~
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the weekly sillimanian 21 september 2012
Horse power
The launching of the Silliman University (SU) tartanilya project, in partnership with Smart Communications, caught the attention of the national media and later on landed in the pages of Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and Yahoo! News Philippines. SU President Ben Malayang III said in the PDI article that the project shows “that there is a possibility for a more sustainable, environment friendly alternative transportation for the city.” Horse power aims to kick air pollution out of the picture. the Weekly Sillimanian commends the intention behind this project. We believe that it does not only promote environmental sustainability but it also boosts the city’s tourism. With the rhythmic clickety clock of horses dominating the streets, the tartanilyas somehow make the whole “City of Gentle People” concept stronger. However, like any other news, netizens had mixed reactions regarding the project. Many expressed their appreciation of the rationale behind it while a number of people raised their concerns. Their main concern touches on the horses. This ‘powered by grass, not gas’ project relies on the strength of the horses to pull the carriages and lead it to its destination. The question then is about the droppings of the horses and their urine. The Yahoo! News Philippines article states, “…they (the university administrators) need to find methods to collect the animal’s droppings.” The university heads MUST find these “methods” before they let the first carriage operate officially. If they can’t, it would be ironic to see something which advocates the termination of air pollution leaving its very own dirt in “inappropriate places”. A netizen also called for animal rights group to give their take on the matter since the horses energy “fuel” the tartanilyas. One person commented: I’ll give my sympathy to the horse! How can this one horse power be allowed to pull carriage loaded with 5 persons, especially in uphill road? This is tantamount to abused and cruelty to animal! In early stages of western civilization, they have carriages with the same capacity of 5 including the driver, pulled by 4 horses! In the same Yahoo! News article, Malayang noted that “the welfare of the horses is also considered” in the use of the tartanilya. “For one, they have to provide veterinary support to ensure that the horses are in good physical condition when they are used to pull the carriages.” In history, we can see that horses have been the partners of knights in wars. Their stamina is the “engine” that kept wagons and carriages going. Most of them, of course, have died for something that their riders fought for. We will not allow these horses to suffer in exchange for one advocacy. As long as the university takes care of them, we would not have a problem with that. As long as the university to balances the capacity of the tartanilya to that of the horse’s weight, we will support this project. On the other hand, a couple of netizens also remarked that “promoting the primitiveness of the tartanilya concept does not make us move forward.” We beg to disagree. Sometimes, taking a step backward is actually moving forward. The tartanilya project, aside from its environmental advocacy, is indeed one of the means by which today’s generation can peek through the window of our past. Ride on. ~
editorial
sillimaniansspeak Compiled by John Lee D. Limbaga
“Are you satisfied with the ‘output’ of your tuition and miscellaneous fees? Why or why not?” With the improvements around, I can say that I am satisfied with the current outputs. However, one of my friends, who is an athlete said that they don’t feel the maximum support that is supposed to be given to them. Junabeth Marie B. Tamparong, BBA MGT IV No, with the increase in tuition and miscellaneous fees, I don’t really see any improvement of outputs. It was more likely the same as they were before the increase. Voysen T. Balneg, BSED Eng III Not really, because we can’t see and notice much improvements around the campus and some facilities for both academic and non-curricular. More development must be done. Natalie Aimee Dedel, BS Bio II No, they’re not being practical, they keep on constructing buildings while there are buildings which need to be renovated because it’s already centuries old, next is that even if it’s cold weather outside we still use aircon which is in great addition to misc. fees. Precious Gay L. Zamora, BS Medtech I ** Next issue's question: “Do you think that the Tourism Campaign here in Negros Oriental has been efficient?” For your answers, just text the Circulation Manager 09265304941 and indicate your full name (with middle initial), course and year.
Editor-in-chief Maya Angelique B. Jajalla Associate Editor Mariella S. Bustamante News Editor Katrin Anne A. Arcala Features Editor Michiko Je M. Bito-on Business Manager Justin Val R. Virtudazo Senior Writer Samantha L. Colinco News Writers Jelanie Rose T. Elvinia, Kriztja Marae G. Labrador, Paulo M. Lim, Susanah Jane L. Lapa, Jairah Sheila Joy F. Hernani, Roselle Louise L. Publico Feature Writers Roberto Klemente R. Timonera, Julia Andrea C. Abrenica, Shadid R. Sidri, Royanni Miel M. Hontucan Photojournalists Melissa Alexandra B. Pal, Karin Louise Q. Nietes, Alexandra Diane L. Iso Cartoonist Rea Samantha P. Migullas Circulation Manager John Lee D. Limbaga Office Manager Princess Jezrael A. Frondozo Web Manager Federico B. Martinez VII Layout Artist Jae Jireh P. Nejudne Adviser Warlito Caturay Jr.
The Weekly Sillimanian is published every week by the students of Silliman University, with editorial and business addresses at 1/F Oriental Hall, Silliman University, Hibbard Avenue, Dumaguete City 6200, Philippines. SU PO Box 24. Telephone number (35) 422-6002 local 243. www.weeklysillimanian.com theweeklysillimanian@yahoo.com Opinions expressed in the columns are those of the columnists and not of tWS or of Silliman University. Comments, questions, and suggestions are highly appreciated. All submitted manuscripts become the property of tWS. Manuscripts will be edited for brevity and clarity. Member: College Editors Guild of the Philippines
Flagging systems and flag ceremonies Just a few months ago, the country witnessed the historic impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato C. Corona who was removed from office because of failure to disclose his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN). And now, he is replaced by then Justice, now Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the first appointee of President Benigno Aquino III to the Supreme Court, and clearly a loyal follower of the president. Sereno’s appointment raises many questions. Could this be the main reason why Aquino wanted to remove Corona so bad? So that he could appoint Sereno and could perhaps turn the Supreme Court to an “Aquino Court”? Sereno’s track record includes her dissenting opinion on the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the hold departure order of the former President Gloria
Arroyo which was used by the prosecution as evidence to convict Corona. She was even considered a witness by the prosecution but was not allowed by the Impeachment Court. She also voted in favor of the Cojuancos and Aquinos on the Hacienda Luisita dispute involving the compensation of land. Maria Lourdes Sereno is the third most junior justice of the Supreme Court and her appointment as
Scrivel Justin Val Virtudazo
Chief Justice bypassed 11 senior justices, breaking the tradition that seniority should take precedence in the judiciary. Her appointment is like a promotion of a young employee to Company President and CEO because of “closeness” to
the appointing body. Ever since she was appointed as Chief Magistrate, most of the senior justices never attended any of the flag ceremonies in the Supreme Court, showing their disappointment on the appointment. In addition, most justices, including the five most senior justices, did not even attend the ceremony wherein Sereno took her oath of office. Is this another issue that could plague the Highest Court of the Land? Can Chief Justice Sereno lead the entire Judiciary knowing that she could not even let her colleagues in the Supreme Court attend a simple flag raising ceremony? Could it be possible that she would stroke the propensity voting blindly and consistently in favor of the stand of the present administration? She is expected to be in office for 18 years. Perhaps, only time can tell. ~
Time Lapse, Cityscape There’s a certain allure I find in time lapse videos, especially those of plazas and town squares, where clouds fold onto themselves in wild swirls of white and gray, and people pour in and out of the frame to go wherever it is they’re going. You see them stop to tie their shoes, or share a quick kiss with their lovers, or pick up dropped coins, and you can’t help but wonder what stories they might be hiding as they wear the guise of streetside perennials. In and out, here and there. These are the movements by which time makes itself felt. Perhaps more so than any other year, 2012 for me has been marked by a series of comings and goings: three of my (off-campus) dormmates have moved out of our little home in Bantayan, my sister just left for France on an Erasmus scholarship, and a few of my friends have graduated and found work elsewhere—some in Manila, some abroad—and now I see them only once a year, twice if I’m lucky. Their present existence is limited mostly to Facebook, where they are the names and thumbnail in the chatbox on the lower right corner of the screen, voiceless and incorporeal. I’ve been through this many times, of course. And while I’ve gotten
used to it to some extent, I still hate watching people leave. It makes me feel so helpless to imagine them being swallowed up by a crowd that is in turn devoured by towers and skyscrapers, wrapped finally in a thick cloud of smog that keeps them painfully out of reach. Until I break the wall of silence between us, they become, for most intents and purposes, just another pedestrian, one more name on the list of Cebu Pacific passengers, a member of what Virginia Woolf calls the “vast
Sitting on a Corn Flake Roberto KlementeTimonera
republican army of anonymous trampers.” It seems to be a key feature of modern life, this constant shuttling between places, if not between selves: from somebody, to nobody, and somebody again. It’s almost as if, flung to regions none of us can follow them into, our loved ones cease to be ours. Instead they belong to the world, bearing the weight of their past while being completely able to put it away if the need should arise. Former lives open and close like
the doors of a shop that isn’t open twenty-four hours a day. But thankfully, all the leaving aside, one can’t forget the beautiful people that come flooding into one’s life without one having to ask them to. That girl in class, from across the table, who, by a tentative smile, a wave of the hand, and a few nervous words, suddenly becomes one of the most familiar if not the most endearing figures of the year. She is shucked straight off her stranger’s shell and thrust into the intimacy of the everyday. All these unexpected arrivals help stave off whatever loneliness our loved ones leave in their wake. And because everything turns into everything else, these new people, too, will inevitably leave us when the time comes, and not always with the promise of return. Which is why it is extremely important that, during their time away from the figurative camera-frame of the world, we make the most out of these stolen moments in the intermediates between arrival and departure. Before the vicissitudes of fortune necessitate another leaving. Before the world calls us once more into the open and claims us for its own, and we, for the time being, become everyone else. ~
the weekly sillimanian 21 september 2012
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Clash of Heroes
by Shadid R. Sidri
W
hether we are casual comic book fans or hardcore fans, these days, there is no getting away from the popularity of comic book heroes. Not only do we see them in movies, we’re reminded of them by the countless merchandise we see: Batman shirts, Captain America mugs and Iron Man hats to name a few. However, what some people don’t know is that almost all the heroes we know come from two different companies: DC comics and Marvel comics. Each company has its own heroes, storylines and fan base. It’s unfortunate that many people don’t know the difference between the two comic book companies. With Iron Man 3, the second Thor movie, the Man of Steel and the Justice League movie in the works, it’s about time that the general public gets informed about the differences between DC and Marvel. 1.) Which hero belongs where? One thing that might be confusing to some is identifying the company that a hero belongs to. To name a few, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all belong to DC while Spiderman, The Hulk and the X-Men are Marvel creations. An easy way of
identifying which company made who is to remember who they star alongside. For example, if you see a hero who works alongside Batman, then he’s a DC hero. If someone has their life saved by Spiderman, then they’re in the Marvel universe. So by now, you would have identified that the Avengers are Marvel while the Justice League is DC. 2.) DC Comics came first. DC comics popularized the superhero comic book trend. It was founded in 1934 under the name “National Allied Publications.” In 1938, they came out with Action Comics #1 which featured the first appearance of Superman. The following year, in 1939, DC comics published Detective Comics #27 which had the first appearance of the caped crusader, Batman. As for Marvel comics, it was founded in 1939 as “Timely Publications.” The first heroes to come out were the Human Torch and Namor who both came out in Marvel Comics #1. In terms of Superhero teams, DC comics created the Justice League of America in 1960. Marvel made the Avengers in 1963. 3.) Marvel Superheroes have more “realistic” superpowers. Not to say that superpowers are realistic, but Marvel superheroes have
powers that have a small element of realism. More specifically, many Marvel heroes have powers rooted in science fiction which makes them somewhat “realistic”. For example, Spiderman was mutated by a radioactive spider, Captain America was a product of a genetic experiment and the Hulk was affected by a large dose of gamma radiation. DC comics superheroes have more fantasyoriented powers. A constant theme in DC comics is aliens. Superman, Supergirl and Green Lantern are only a few characters who have powers that are due to aliens or being aliens themselves. DC characters also draw powers from the use of magic and sorcery such as Captain Marvel and Zatana. 4.) Marvel writes stories based on real settings, DC makes their own. Many of Marvel’s characters are based in real places. Spiderman works in New York, Ironman is based in Seattle, Washington and Hulk are based in New Mexico. Many of Marvel’s story lines are also based on real situations. Early Marvel stories had their heroes fighting against German Nazi’s and Russian communists. Numerous Avengers stories also have their heroes saving real countries like South Korea and England. DC characters, meanwhile,
are based in fictional places and settings. Superman is based in Metropolis, Batman lives in Gotham and the Green Lantern literally works in space. The stories that DC
characters are involved with normally involve other planets, fictional cities or even separate universes. These are some major differences between DC comics and Marvel comics. It’s hard to say exactly what
makes them so different since both companies also have a lot in common. Both companies have shaped comic books like no other. The heroes they made and their stories will stay with us for generations. Here’s a fun fact: did you know that DC and Marvel share a patent for the term superhero or superheroes? While each has its differences, it’s impossible to say that one is better than the other. That’s like comparing coffee to tea. Neither is better, it’s just a matter of personal preference. Whether you prefer DC or Marvel, hopefully you have learned more about your favorite superheroes. ~
Silliman’s Old Golden Friend by Royanni Miel M. Hontucan
B
y coming across the name of William Barry Thompson, every Sillimanian would always have a bell that rings of familiarity and a sense of high respect for the value of his name. but to tell you what, listening to people talk about him made me realize that he is not just a premiere figure for the so-called people who sit in the high pedestal of prestige nor is he just a guy who enjoys philanthropy for the sake of giving essence to his name. He hails from New Zealand but he devoted his time and resources for the development of the Silliman institution for the welfare of the faculty and students who want to take the opportunity for higher learning, experience excellent teaching services, and have the best resources for extensive studying and thesis. Most of the folks gave him a title as “Silliman’s Old Friend”. This is not an overstatement since it is an emphasis of his noble contributions such as libraries, scholarships and now, the William Barry Thompson Learning Resource Center. These are the visible signs of his dear love for old Silliman. What makes him so attached here when he could have thought to invest his resources on some other school and to some other place? This led me to explore where he lives and to who he usually associates with. Ambush inquiries were made to people who work in Opeñas, the place where he stays. Ma’am Fe (not real name) answered with a big grin upon recalling her everyday encounters with Mr. Thompson, “There wasn’t a
day that he would not greet us with you first meet, he would directly the dialect ‘maayong buntag’ and he’s smile at you and give you a graceful handshake. I couldn’t forget the days when he would sweep by every meal time and ask, ‘what’s the yummy meal today?’ You would feel that you met him long before but actually, you just met him for the first time.” In general perspective, Mr. Thompson felt the ambience of home and developed the sense of having a family beyond blood ties. very approachable since you wouldn’t He also has helped students see him with a frown. He’s always through the years by giving endless positive and it really is contagious supplies of opportunities to become since it better persons inspires through us to do our works better no m a t t e r what it is.” He really is a simple man with a refined personality w h i c h m a d e people, coming f r o m scholarships in B.S. Nursing. different They are given to deserving students ranks of who want to earn a degree in B.S. society, grow a connection with Nursing but could not afford the him. One of the men working at degree. Mr. Thompson has made the cafeteria where he usually takes many dreams come true. He opened his meals said a statement, “When the doors for those who are willing
to enter and he didn’t only treat B.S. Nursing scholars as students but also as his adoptive children in Dumaguete. One scholar who was asked about his rapport with Mr. Thompson greatly acknowledged his appreciation for the philanthropist, “I thought I wouldn’t be able to turn my dreams into reality since I came from a family where my parents couldn’t afford enough to send me to college but when I heard about the William Barry Thompson Scholarship grants for B.S. Nursing, I immediately took hold of the opportunity. I met him once and we talked for a long time about almost everything but amazingly, throughout the whole conversation, he never mentioned about the scholarship and he didn’t make me feel like I have to talk to him in the most refined manner since I owe him something.” He also mentioned about how lucky he was to be part of this scholarship because he didn’t only have an opportunity to study but he also was able to have a family he could always lean upon. Through this experiences towards talking t o people who were not only mere acquaintances of Mr. Thompson, I realized that having him around would cause one to feel having someone you could not only count on but also having someone as a friend who values you no matter
who you are and where you came from. I personally, have met him once and shook hands with him during the Founder’s Day Celebration at the Alumni Office. That moment was something unforgettable and too valuable not to treasure in my memory box. Truly, by just hearing his name, looking at him from afar or listening to people who are closest to him, I could very well acclaim that he is, indeed, Silliman’s Old Golden Friend. ~
ADVICECOLUMN
In its constant effort to promote and uplift student-press interaction, The paper wants to know the pressing issues faced by the students and how their fellow students would respond to them. For: POLITICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL AND LEGAL MATTERS Let’s “Discuss with Gus” (Gilbert Augustin Ganir) HEALTH AND MEDICINE-RELATED INQUIRIES Address your letter to “Clinica de Bianca” (Bianca Camille Bulaybulay) MATTERS OF THE HEART AND TEENAGE DILEMMAS Your questions will be answered in “Love, Stephanie” (Stephanie Denise Martin) TROUBLED FAITH AND SOULS “Letters of Pol to the Sillimanians” will help you in your struggle. (Retz Pol Pacalioga) Send your questions and problems in a three to five-sentence paragraph to theweeklysillimanian@yahoo.com. We will only feature one letter per week. Write to us. We hope to hear from you.
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the weekly sillimanian 21 september 2012
God never runs out of creativity. Let’s take a look at a few of the world’s weirdest animals: Compiled by Roberto Klemente Timonera
(Source: http://divaboo.info/)
This isn’t a Pokémon. It’s an axolotl, a Mexican salamander that doesn’t go through metamorphosis, allowing it to stay aquatic as an adult.
If Smeagol (from “Lord of the Rings”) were an animal, he would look like this. The aye-aye is a Madagascan lemur that uses its middle finger to extract insects from holes.
The star-nosed mole, found in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States, has tentacles on its nose which helps it identify food by touch.
Draco volcans, or the Flying Dragon, is a Southeast Asian gliding lizard. Sadly, it doesn’t breathe fire.
roundup
Accidents Happen. A pedicab has ran over a motorcycle in front of Silliman’s main entrance gate near the cafeteria. This serves to prove that motorcyclists should be more careful and cautious in driving. PHOTO BY Alexandra Iso
2 Students Fresh from E-Learning TLC for Sillimanians Wrap-up Seminar in Japan by Kriztja Marae G. Labrador
from su.edu.ph
AFTER AROUND A year of implementation, the e-learning project spearheaded by Silliman University for the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia (ACUCA) was concluded last month in Japan. Two Silliman students, Physics senior Meneth de Baguio and Computer Science sophomore Lorraine Allie Solitario, took part in the wrap-up seminar held August 18 to 20 at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo. The same students attended the annual ACUCA Student Camp hosted also by ICU on August 20 to 23, together with other youth from 56 ACUCA member institutions representing eight countries: Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. During the wrap-up seminar for the “ACUCA E-Learning Project on Sustainable Faith and Development,” the Silliman students had a face-to-face interaction with their counterparts from two partner institutions under the e-learning project: Duta Wacana Christian University in Indonesia and ICU. They shared experiences as participants and worked together on a presentation of insights and best practices which they later presented as a three-country group at the Student Camp. Silliman, through the College of Computer Studies headed by Dean Dr. Dave E. Marcial, took the lead in the e-learning project pilot-tested among the three Asian universities
Walk to support Plasticfree Ordinance by Susanah Jane L. Lapa GREEN PARADE DELEGATES will race to gather as many discarded plastic items as they can to win the converted plastic products collected during the competition. To support the recently implemented Plastic Ordinace 231, Ang Sandigan will be hosting the “Green Parade: Stepping up for a change” at 1pm this coming Sept. 22 which will start from Freedom park and end at Quezon park. “This is to encourage people to support the ordinance by participating in gathering plastics at the event,” said Ang Sandigan president Cherry Mae Gumapac. “The organization is taking part of the Plastic-free Dumaguete program of the Government.” Each participant will add their gathered plastic items to their group’s collection which will then be counted at the event. They can pick up whatever plastic they can during the parade and add them to their collection. “The gathered plastics will be sent to the Ecological Society
of the Philippines in Manila to be converted into new products. And the delegation that gathered the most plastic will become the beneficiary,” exclaimed Gumapac. According to Gumapac, the activity will encourage all the sectors of society to cooperate and support the ordinance as presently only the business sector is actively participating. The green movement will take some time to be fully implemented in the country thus, “We have to start locally.” A program will be held right after the parade. City Vice-mMayor Alan Gel Cordova and Environment Committee of the City Council chair Atty. Manuel Arbon, both proponents of the ordinance, will give their remarks on the activity and disseminate information about the ordinance. There will be performances from SU Kahayag and NORSU Kabilin as well as a skit by the KABSI cast in relation to the campaign. Ordinance 231 prohibits the use of plastic shopping bags on dry goods and regulates their use for wet goods in the city of Dumaguete. ~
starting last year. It was guided by a try-out scheme that was divided into five sections: Module Orientation, Reading of Assigned Case Studies, Video Lectures, Small Group Discussions, and Large Group Sharing. In a report presented by Dr. Marcial in Indonesia in May, he noted intermittent connection as a common problem experienced by the participants over the implementation period. Despite this, he said most students registered positive feedback and enhanced appreciation of a teaching-learning process that was multidisciplinary and multicultural. De Baguio and Solitario were the ones who qualified to represent the Philippine team that participated in the ACUCA e-learning project, after a search and screening process.~
TOTAL LIFESTYLE CHANGE (TLC) is the primary aim of the Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) Health Committee in their upcoming “100 Days Weight Loss Challenge”. The said challenge “revolves around obesity prevention and awareness of individuals”. This is in line with the celebration of the Department of Health’s Obesity Awareness Week, said SUSG Health Committee Chairperson, Laurence Laurel. “…SUSG Health Committee would want to jive up with that (DOH’s Obesity Awareness Week) in a way na the Health Committee is geared towards the pursuit of total lifestyle change for every Sillimanian,” he added. The screening for the challenge was done last week. The chosen 40 will join a team. Each team will have a weight watcher, health assessor, and diet prescriber and exercise modifier. They will be composed of
third year and fourth year students from SU Medical School, Nutrition and Dietetics (ND) Department and Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences. Laurel said: “I believe that it is also a way for Sillimanian medical and paramedical students to take part in this activity, that’s why we tapped the ND department, PT, and the Medical School…[because] as future dieticians, future physical therapists and doctors, I believe that they are the ones who would really know how to promote TLC.” He also added that they made this arrangement so that the weight watchers can really focus on the participant and weekly reports can be made. Moreover, within the 100day challenge, the committee also scheduled weigh-ins, which would have 9-14 days interval, for the checking of the participants’ progress. Day one and launching of this event is on September 29 and 100th day will be on January 6, 2013. ~
SU celebrates Development Policy Research Month by Susanah Jane L. Lapa IN CELEBRATION OF the 10th Development Policy Research Month, the university is conducting four activities within the month in relation to this year’s theme, “Regional Economic Integration and Inclusive Growth: Engaging Nations, Embracing People.” There will be two workshop activities on research proposal and manuscript writing in the social and natural sciences and two lectures on economic growth and development. T h e workshop
for those in the social sciences will be facilitated by Dr. Margaret U. Alvarez, Silliman Journal Editorin-Chief and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) concurrent dean; and Dr. Enrique Oracion, research director, on Sept. 15. Another workshop for natural sciences practitioners will be conducted a week later by the Biology Department chairperson Prof. Roy Olsen de Leon and the Center for Tropical Conservation Studies coordinator Prof. Michael Alcala. The topic of “Inclusive Growth” will be discussed in the first lecture within this month by Former
Finance Secretary and immediate past chairperson of the university Board of Trustees, Mrs. Juanita DyAmatong. Later on, Mr. Orlando Roncesvalles, former Assistant Director of the Finance Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., will discuss “Regional Economic Integration.” This year’s DPRM celebration is spearheaded by Dr. Oracion, in partnership with Prof. Wilma Tejero, Chairperson of the Economics Department, and Prof. Jan Antoni Credo, CAS Research Coordinator. ~
SILLIMANWEEKLYSURVEY Q: You found a bag full of cash! What would you do with it? Ten representatives per college served as respondents of this survey. Survey conducted by Julia Andrea C. Abrenica