110 years TOWARDS A PROGRESSIVE CAMPUS PRESS | VOL. LXXXV NO. 9 | TUESDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2013
BREAKING CONVENTIONS. Hopeful gay candidates gush over the upcoming Miss Supra Silliman 2014, a pageant exclusively for gay representatives. Miss Supra Silliman Committee says, “it will be better, brighter, and bolder than Miss Silliman.” PHOTO BY Dylzaree Recentes
Intramurals to go virtual this year SUSG presidentless; Namacotcot to be expelled By Kristine Felva P. Licup
THE SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY Student Government (SUSG) is doing a snap presidential election on October 12, 2013 as it bids goodbye to former SUSG president Rowna Namacotcot. Instead of being a candidate for graduation, Namacotcot is now candidate for expulsion after the university found out that her twin, Lowra, has been pretending to be her and attending a lot of her classes during the semester. Dean of Students Carloss Mugtawlees said that the decision of expelling Namacotcot is final and there is nothing that could be done about it. “The university’s decision is irrevocable. It is clear deceit, what she did. It is only right that she be expelled. With her dishonesty, she doesn’t deserve to be the student government president. She doesn’t even deserve to be a Sillimanian,” said Mugtawlees. During an exclusive interview with the Weakly Sillymenien, a crying continued on page 4
By Samantha L. Colinco
AFTER DECADES OF tradition and face-to-face sports battles, this year’s intramurals will undergo a major change after the Silliman University Athletics Department introduced Monday a new format of competition for this November’s event. All sports will be played using the Nintendo Wii. Head of the SU Athletics Department, Meriam Macho, said that the decision was made primarily to address the concern towards the harmful effects of the sun - one of which is skin cancer - due to the worsening climate
change. “We cannot anymore allow our students to swim in the pool or play in the outdoor basketball court, ball field and tennis court where they are exposed to the harmful rays of the sun. Preserving our skin is more important than any physical activity,” she said. A home video game console released by Nintendo, the Wii uses a remote controller that serves as a handheld pointing device and which detects movement in three dimensions. Wii Sports offers five sports simulations namely tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. Consequently, only the
THE HELMET LAW. Dumaguete City now strictly implements the Helmet Law even requiring car drivers and their passengers to wear helmets. PHOTO BY Nel Dableo
No more feasibs and intense research – Admin ByKatrin Anne A. Arcala
SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY VICE President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), Dr. Sexy Joy Tan, confirmed Tuesday that feasibility studies and intense research papers will be relaxed for the semesters to come. The decision, which created a huge surprise among faculty members and other graduating students, was an upshot of a recently concluded study by psychology majors. The paper entitled “Exploring the effects of heavy research” proved that feasibility studies and other intense researches have been creating an unhealthy lifestyle for most Sillimanians. Findings confirmed
that those who are currently enrolled in research-related subjects have more tendencies to sleep late and skip meals. The lack of nutrients and proper rest consequently contributed to memory loss and shifting focus. “Silliman University is centered towards the holistic education of every Sillimanian. The lack of time for sleep and meals does not mirror this principle,” Tan said. Aside from its physical ill effects, the study also discovered a trend among the students. First, coffee consumption has evidently increased. An average of seven out of ten members in a group consume at least a cup of coffee a day to ensure that they will finish their required outputs on time. Second, the use
of social networking sites as a live feed diary doubled as well. Posts and tweets (and even photos) of students either complaining on how tired they are or rejoicing how near they are from finishing their work were trending for the months of August to September. “We are creating a very unhealthy lifestyle for students. I don’t think this is the way to train the next generation leaders,” she added. The university administration sees the modification as a risk. Faculty from several colleges will meet within the month to review their curriculum and to find other means to substitute researches. ~
said sports will be played in the intramurals. A 2012 study by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas found that the energy used when playing Wii Sports is not of high enough intensity to consider it actual exercise. But Macho remained unconcerned. “It doesn’t matter if the students really exert energy or not in playing them. This year, it will be more fun because we get to play new sports such as golf, boxing and bowling. We just have to be adventurous and try new things,” she said. The Athletics Department
needs at least 30 Wii consoles at P6,500 apiece along with widescreen television sets to accommodate the 14 competing colleges and departments. Macho added that they are not worried about the additional costs because of the heaping revenues the university has incurred this semester alone. “It’s a good thing we now have surcharges, income-generating projects like the columbarium and not to mention the various grants. Because of these, we can surely afford as much consoles as we need to make this year’s intramurals a success,” she said. ~
By Jelanie Rose T. Elvinia
two later reasons for rescheduling the finals week were just added since he wanted to present not only a single reason to the university’s constituents. In this way, he said that, “at least people will get convinced. Shhh… don’t tell them. This is off the record okay Ms. Elvinia?” “Sure sir,” I said. However, Nalaya said that it is really important to develop teacher-student relationships. He said that sometimes some students really get bored with their teachers during discussions or even the whole duration of the class. “I thought that lengthening the span of time can give some teachers some time to improve their style and techniques in teaching and at the same time prove themselves to the students that they also have the ‘k’ somehow,” he said. Nalaya said that during the final examinations, students only have to bring themselves. Ball pens, papers and snacks will be provided by the university. ~
Finals week moves to last week of October
FINALS WEEK FOR this semester is moved to the last week of October 2013. “We decided to move the finals week because we [administration] can sense that not all students can pay their tuitions on time. By doing this, it also gives students a longer time in doing their final requirements such as research papers and thematic papers. It’s also the best way to strengthen teacher-student relationships here in the campus,” Silingan University president Bentong Nalaya said. Nalaya said that in the past weeks, a lot of students aired their concerns regarding the tuition fees. “They said that Silingan’s tuition is too big an amount. Most of them even said that they really need enough time especially their parents to look for money. And since I have a kind heart, I told them that I will find a solution about their concerns,” he said. The president added that the