Today’s CAROLINIAN
EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Dylan Briones Associate Editor (Internal Affairs) Marlouize Villanueva Associate Editor (External Affairs) Patrisha Yap News Bureau Editors TALAMBAN CAMPUS Reyster Mae Perez DOWNTOWN CAMPUS, SOUTH CAMPUS Christie Alga Feature Editor Ushabelle Bongo Literary Editor Paulo Frangelyco Magallon Todayscarolinian.net Managing Editor Gerard Theodore Alcuizar
The Progressive Student Publication of the University of San Carlos
UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS Cebu City, Cebu Philippines 6000 VOLUME XXII No. 2 JANUARY 2013
OPERATIONS Office Administrator Ki-Jeong “Jenny” Shim Chief Finance Officer Christine Reyna Perez Advertising & Circulation Manager Margel Christine Mallen
EDITORIAL STAFF News Bureau SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Smith Dwight Cabe CORRESPONDENTS Emmanuel Hernandez, Miguel Sison
Kamelle Reigh Etang, Ana Patrisha Bucag Dominicque Jan Celeste, Andelene Atillo CONTRIBUTORS Kimberly Navales, Ed Cañete, Kiana J. de Base Neil Briones
Creative Department ART DIRECTION Reyster Mae Perez (Deputy) LAYOUT Reyster Mae Perez
Bernadette Jalocon Steven Luspo Darrell Sihay
PHOTOGRAPHY Editor Bernadette Jalocon Photographers Lorenzo Ouano, John Matthew Flores
Angel Robles
ILLUSTRATION Senior Illustrator Karmina Cuzon Contributing Illustrators Van Kevin Opura
Jean Marie Ordeñiza Paulette Norrie
Information Technology & Multimedia Department DEVELOPERS Gerard Theodore Alcuizar, Kim Tiangco CAMERAMAN/VIDEO EDITOR Patricia Narsico ANCHORMAN Niveno Ocdinaria ANCHORWOMAN Bhea Jasille Gahi STAFF SECRETARY Kim Tiangco
THE COVER Change - constant as energy and matter; inevitable as the evolution of man, and a force that transcends all beliefs and religion. In this issue, we celebrate what, in the words of Bruce Barton, is a priori in all of humanity. “Action
and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.”
HOW TO REACH US LETTERS TO THE EDITOR,
with the writer’s name, e-mail address and contact number, should be e-mailed to todayscarolinianusc@gmail. com. Letters may be edited for reasons of space and clarity.
© 2013. TODAY’S CAROLINIAN All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. Today’s Carolinian publishes one to two issues per academic year. Today’s Carolinian may also publish occasional extra issues. An electronic version (PDF Format) of every publication is available in the Today’s Carolinian website.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
THEDILEMMA Illustration by Karmina Cuzon
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The only thing in this world that is constant is change - an old adage repeated ad infinitum, but never any less true. Change is inevitable and constant in existence, for better or for worse, nothing stays stagnant. Here we are thrown into the beginning of 2013. To say that the year 2012 had been eventful would be an understatement. Things have changed and still continue to change. Yet, what of the things we hold close and persevere, things that we hope will endure forever; and what of heritage, of tradition, of history that we hold dear - a dilemma then - to conserve and persist or to change and progress? The country struggles as new ideas clash with old values; many agree with the extremes and disregard the other. It begs the question then, is it really that simple? Regardless of our stand in that dilemma, can we really just draw a line and demonize the other side as you see as done so simply in our country? Do we hold on to our past so tightly that we deny ourselves the fruits of the future? Or do we rush headlong into that future, leaving our identities and values in the dust?
The reality is that to simplify the dilemma is folly, and to lean on one extreme over the other, even more so. After all, there is no such thing as a one-sided coin. One defines the other. Whatever choice we make, we must not do so in the auspices of our biases and personal opinions. A clear head and open mind is needed to achieve the best of both worlds. Indeed, for is it not true that humanity’s progress has always been through the synthesis of two opposing forces? Looking back at the past, this dilemma will be something we continue to struggle with as this new year trudges forth. It will be there when the hard choices are to be made and urgent issues need to be addressed. The road ahead is long, winding and shrouded; now more than it has ever been. Tides of change ebb and flow, and hard times will follow. As always we persevere, we endure, we change, and ultimately– we grow. TC
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REPORT
UNDERSTANDING the CYBERCRIME LAW And the Fear it Brought the Netizens
CHRISTIE MARIE ALGA
The internet is the people’s venue for both the best and the worst of things that can be thought of. Sure, the World Wide Web is an advantageous and beneficial innovation; it has become the superhighway of information, changed the way people communicate, made business transactions among others a lot easier, changed the methods on how we educate and entertain ourselves and generally transformed the way we live. However, along with its evolution is also the revolution of crimes, where perpetrators commit offenses and wrongdoings in different faces and diverse fashions through cyberspace. For this reason, The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was created. The Philippines has now a new law that defines internet crimes and computer offenses. President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10175, otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, on the 12th of September 2012 with the aim of addressing online offenses that cause problems, immense treachery and other concerns regarding online interactions. Among the offenses enumerated in this act include cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, computer fraud, illegal access to data including intentional alteration or damaging of
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data, system interference such as damaging or altering computer data or programs, use of viruses, misuse of devices (use, production, sale, procurement, importation, distribution or making available of files without right of malware, passwords or codes), and online libel. Essentially, the Act has eight chapters with 31 sections and it divides computer and online offenses into 3 categories. The first category includes offenses against confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems such as the usual
hacking and cybersquatting. The second category takes account of computer-related offenses such as forgery, fraud and computer-related identity theft. While the last and third category focuses on contentrelated offenses such as unsolicited advertisements, communications and libel. The Act has also laid out the punishments and exceptions for the offenses defined. No doubt that this law gives teeth to the government in order to go after the bad people and their bad acts in cyberspace. This has been
REPORT
the very first law in the country that penalizes computer crimes – which has no strong legal precedence in the Philippine jurisprudence before. In addition, it reaffirms existing laws against child pornography, under Republic Act No. 9779 or the AntiChild Pornography Act of 2009. It also reestablishes the law against libel, under Section 377 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. The most recent law criminalizes child pornography and libel when committed using a computer system. In the Cybercrime Law, there is an all-catch clause found in Sec. 6 of Chapter 2 and it says that all offenses currently punishable under the Revised Penal Code are likewise covered under the Act when committed with the use of information and communications technologies, with corresponding stricter penalty and punishment. Certainly this puts the netizens or computer-users in check as they utilize the information and computer technologies. However, this law spurred mixed emotions on the part of the netizens, media groups, bloggers, right activists and other critics fearing censorship and the chilling effects on free speech upon the enactment of the law. According to a statement of Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, the act is “to address legitimate concerns about criminal and abusive behavior online.” This however raised questions about the constitutionality of certain provisions in the act. Among the most criticized and controversial sections of the law are the last-minute inclusion of libel committed online as a punishable act and the provision that allows the Secretary of Justice to shut down websites and deny access to data on the basis of prima facie evidence. The chilling effect most feared by netizens is that it can be used to target government critics. In the implementation of the law, a person found guilty of libelous comments
online, including comments made and things shared on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter or even blogs, would be fined or jailed. Government officials will also have the authority to search and seize data from people’s online accounts. With this, it would not be impossible to see people given long jail terms for posting defamatory comments online. These fears and apprehensions heaved questions on the constitutionality of such a law as it threatens the people’s freedom of expression, right to due process and equal protection and privacy of communications. Various have been the activities conducted by the netizens in order to express their opposition and outrage for this law. Among these are different protests by varied groups; turning social media profile pages black, trending furious tweets on Twitter using the hashtag #notocybercrimelaw and a number of different groups filing petitions which challenged the law in the highest court of the Philippines. Also, national news reported that anonymous activists have hacked into some government websites. However amid these different reactions from the people, politicians in favor of the law have repeatedly defended it, standing firmly on the belief that there is the necessity to fight cybercrime, and insisted that the present administration will uphold freedom of speech online. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., calling it a “good law” urged people to give it a chance to be implemented before shutting it down. But critics of the law have bombarded the government, even labeling the enactment of the law as e-martial law, seeing that it was also signed in the month of September, the furious month for the Filipinos. Cebu Daily News wrote, “The present occupant of Malacañang signed into law something that brings to life the ghost of Martial Law — the draconian
Cybercrime Prevention Law or Republic Act 10175”. Senator Teofisto Guingona, one of the few members of congress who opposed the bill, also stepped up his campaign to have it overturned. In a statement he said, “The implementation of the law... will take back our citizens to the Dark Ages where freedom of speech and expression were not recognized.” The Philippines has one of Asia’s most vibrant and dynamic democracies. Strange as it may seem but the newest law echoes tactics to monitor critics and regulate the use of internet. The broad and catch-all category of the law seems to go against the spirit of democracy. After all that has been said, it is in some way enlightening to know that the framers of the bill have as well realized that the law has lapses, as we may call it. As of the writing of this article, a four-month temporary restraining order against the implementation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 has been issued by the Supreme Court. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who believes that there is nothing unconstitutional with the law, expressed her respect to the TRO. The internet has definitely evolved through time and has transformed the way people live, including the enjoyment of civil and political rights. Numerous illegal acts in the internet and the World Wide Web need to be stopped, yes. And the Cybercrime Law has good intent to do this, but the way it goes about protecting our freedom and fighting the bad guys is despised and feared by the netizens. Philippine Cybercrime Law is complicated, and difficult to explain in a few words. Nevertheless it is important to commend the Filipino netizens as they have defiantly kept their heads up, stood and spoke up and fought to safeguard freedom over the internet. TC Reference for the Cybercrime Act of 2012. http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-actno-10175/
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VOX POPULI
WHAT IS YOUR
OPINION on the
IMPLEMENTATION of the Cybercrime Law? EMMANUEL HERNANDEZ
Republic Act 10175, more commonly known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, has been one of the most controversial legislative measures to have been passed into law – being “followed” with uproar and noise from all. Netizens ranging from changing their Facebook profile pictures into pitch black to hackers disabling multiple government websites in protest. Watchdog groups warned of its infractions against our constitutional rights. Politicians and celebrities alike laud the law to end anonymous bashing. On the other hand the DOJ promises fair implementation and the legislators move to update our laws concerning the matrix.
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VOX POPULI
In all this chaos, a Temporary Restraining Order has been issued to stop the implementation of this law for 120 days, while it undergoes reviewing. While reconsideration proceeds, we ask some Carolinians of their reasons to support or protest against the Anti-cybercrime law.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE ANTI-CYBERCRIME LAW? We know politicians only want what’s best for us. However, this cybercrime law limits the freedom of speech of the people. We already heard what people say about this so why not stop and abandon the law?
Jabines, BS ComE 3 Well for one, I find it stupid. I feel that this decision is biased and mostly based on the series of butt hurt from the politicians that agreed to do this. Clearly they overlooked that they were violating the rights of the people. That is a sure sign that they were not level-headed when they decided upon the law. Christine
Romea, BS ARCH 5 I haven’t read the law, but I like it. I think the Cyber-crime law teaches us that freedom, which we have, always entails responsibility. The law reminds us of our responsibility as freemen. James Clyde
Ranario, PhB-2 I see the Anti-cybercrime law as very useful but I hate the provisions on libel. Some provisions are just too broad and have failed to be specific. Chubs, AB
Philo 4 The law and most of the provisions were reasonable enough to warrant protection on the internet without any problems or conflict with the Philippine Constitution, except for the Libel Provision proposed by Sotto. The said provision is a great harm to the Freedom of the Internet Usage, which the Filipinos should rightly enjoy. If the provision will take into effect, it will give a supreme and almost Faustian power to the Philippine Government over the internet, as it gives them right to shutdown websites hosted (or based) in the country which they can deem “questionable” in content. Unchecked and with nothing
to hold them back, they can reign the cyberspace with an Iron-hand reminiscent of the scenes in Orwell’s 1984. Kevin
Dave Perucho, BS ChE 3 Well, I’m absolutely against it. First of all, because it was approved by the president of the Philippines who was ONLY the son of the person who fought for the democracy of the country “Ninoy Aquino”. And lastly, it is a law which blocks not only our expression of thoughts through the computer but also that which allows most of the youth in our generation today to disagreement. Timothy Abellana, BS
ARCH 4 For me there’s no need for more laws specifically for the internet. How people behave online is not always the same as how they behave offline. And I do believe that basic human rights should remain protected. Marian Ordilla, BS ARCH 4 Anti, because it violates my right to freedom of expression and speech. The government does enough bad already, why give me this headache when the internet is a free playground for me?
Carlo Gimarino Salazar, BSCE-3 I am against the poorly thought out, hastily added portion of the libel law, and because of this deficiency, the AntiCybercrime Law needs to be revised and so I am against it as it stands now. John
Vincent Li, BS Nursing (Graduated) If the provisions for the law are still f**ked up then I am very certain to be against it. Cybercrime law is good but it’s better to be against it. Ben Simon Robles, BS
Psych 3 Well, I think it’s stupid how someone could go to jail for 14 years (is that right?) for posting something bad. Remember the Anonymous people? The ones who went against it and all? I think they’re pretty stupid as well, because instead of showing the government that the law is stupid, I think they made it seem as if the law should really be there. Because they hacked into these sites and everything. And that’s wrong. I don’t think they should’ve done that. Well, I didn’t do the whole black profile pic thing. And I feel like some people totally over reacted to the
situation. Like the people on Facebook. I don’t even think half of them really understood what it was all about. Jeez. Talk about mob mentality. Oh. And the “some people” includes the “Anonymous” hackers. My God. They’re basically like terrorists. Tracy Garcia Honestly I have no definite opinion, I feel I lack so much info regarding why the law has been passed that I can’t bear to pass judgment just yet. Anonymous Hahaha, nindot paminawn [that] the Anticybercrime Law is there to protect society from hacking, identity theft, cybersex, and pornography etc., but it’s like were being trapped in a cage gani where everyone is always looking at you when you commit even a slight kind of mistake. You can’t really express your opinion. Henson
Atillo, BS ARCH 5 The Cyber-crime Law for me has its pitfalls. It is quite disturbing how this unrefined law made its way through our system. I am for its immediate revision.
Miljo Negapatan, BS ARCH 4 Hmmm. I’m neutral about it. I guess I don’t really care much about it. The law doesn’t bother me much because I don’t really post of like stuff on Facebook. Abigail
Dahlberg, BS Fine Arts 1 As a BS Information Technology student, I very much value data and information, and in our times, the Internet is the biggest medium of circulating such information, thus the information may be of unwanted access, so such law could prevent the misuse of the information. On the contrary, the so-called Anti-cybercrime law that spurred out earlier this year was very much vague and was not well-convened, but can be revised to some clearer specifications and should be passed.
Stephen Suico, BSIT 3 I think that people’s reactions to the Anticybercrime law are a little bit off the board. It’s Sotto’s parts on libel that disrupts the better proposed structure of the law, because the provisions he propose seem to take the whole thing off-track. Jenny,
AB Posc-IRFS 1
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REPORT
JBLRC USC’s New Library System EMMANUEL HERNANDEZ What is the Library System? It is the acquisition, cataloging, and circulation of learning materials for the students and faculty. What is the LRC? It is the heart of the university information hub. Not competing with the internet but working with the internet. What can you say about the new library structure and the centralization efforts? The Library system was already centralized but were located in different colleges. Now, all the services are in one place, a one-stop shop. It was also done based on the PAASCU recommendation.
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What are your concerns regarding the setting up of the LRC? First concern is to make the LRC fully functional and operational. To “market” the LRC we have tours and allow seminars here. We attend faculty meetings to promote the LRC. We also have a virtual tour. We still have to update some things, make sure of the ‘university wide inventory’ and ‘clean up’ OPAC. What can you say about the new infrastructure of the LRC? Is it the biggest library in terms of structure size? The LRC is about 16,000 square meters. I cannot say for certain that the LRC is the biggest library in structure.
How about the collections of the library? There is a continuous collection development. Minimum acquisition is 2,000 titles in a year and maximum of 3,000. There are about 260,000 in collection from way, way back. The collection is increased through book fairs in which the different departments and colleges participate in requesting for the resources they think they need. We also have the different collections that cater to specific studies like the Russian Collection and the Cebuano Studies Center. How does the library system utilize the current technology available? We use technology as a tool. We have e-books. We have subscriptions
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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN MATTHEW FLORES
Most Carolinians, especially those who are studying in the Talamban Campus, must be familiar by now with the relatively new building in the hilly school grounds - the Fr. Joseph Baumgartner Learning Resource Center (JBLRC) - the centralized library where most of the University’s library resources are now located. Most people know this monolithic building as the LRC. The Director of Libraries, Maxie Doreen Leva-Cabarron has graciously given us her insights on the matter.
to online providers like ProQuest Central for specific needs.
The students will come. If they need the library, they will come.
What are the other amenities in the LRC? There are rest rooms in every floor. The whole LRC is air-conditioned. There are Reprography centers that provide photocopying service. We can accommodate 2,000 students at one time and have many tables and chairs for the students’ use. We plan to put up a perk room where students and faculty can take breaks. Vending machines and drinking fountains are planned to be installed.
TRIVIA (Or Things You Should Know by Now):
How do you address issues from students who complain about the distance of the LRC from the other buildings?
1. You can’t find out the number of your book against the entire library collection? Look for the small handwritten numbers usually located in the front and back cover of the book. (For example: Your book has the number 227363. This means that it is the 227,363th book in the 260,000-strong collection. 2. Past librarians of the University included Fr. Josef Baumgartner, the LRC namesake (1949-1970) and Fr. Lawrence Bunzel (1941-1949).
3. The LRC is said to be the biggest library structure in the Philippines (*based on some accounts and articles in newspaper publications like Sunstar). 4. Every floor in the LRC has wi-fi! 5. Most books can be borrowed for a maximum of two weeks and can be renewed once for another two weeks. 6. Another name for photocopy services is called reprography. (reprography centers are found in the LRC) 7. Latest newspapers are available everyday in many places in the LRC. TC
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INBOX
USC STUDENT
HANDBOOK
REVIEW by a
RAMBLING
LIBERAL KIANA J. DE BASE
There had recently been a review of USC’s Student Manual by the Supreme Student Council. If and when it changes, we should by then know what truly are the errors of the current 2006 Edition. Has every single student really read it? Freshmen are required to have it signed by the Guidance Center, the Health Clinic, and the University Dentist; but aside from getting these autographs, have you opened the manual to actually take a moment to read it and take it to heart? You should. EDITOR’S NOTE: The values, opinions, and views of the student writer who authored the above article do not necessarily reflect the stand of Today’s Carolinian on the issue of the USC Student Handbook 2006 Edition. This article has been copyread only syntax-wise and thus its original context has not been affected or influenced.
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INBOX
The Student Manual 2006 Edition, an eighty-eight page booklet that you receive once you enroll in the University of San Carlos. You are required to read it, learn it, know it, follow it and live it. What is in the Student Manual is law inside school campus. What is in it? The manual is divided into 6 articles; (I) General Information, (II) Academic Policies, (III) Instructional Support Units, (IV) Service Support Units, (V) Research Units and lastly, (VI) Extension Units. The first three articles are like an introduction to the institution; its history, vision and mission, campuses, et cetera. Then you get to the fourth article, Service Support Units. It was written for the well-being of the “general good”, order and et cetera. However there are a few questionably irking sections. The guidance center, health clinic and dental clinic offer a variety of services to the students. These include career orientation to values clarification;first-aid services to AIDS prevention education, dental consultation to “free medicine”– the perks of being a Carolinian. Then comes the next section. Ah, the OSA.Found in section 2.5, page 47, begins the overview and what not’s about the Office of Student Affairs. The gist of what the Office of Student Affairs gives off is a familiar vibe of “to protect and serve.” Its function is to “complement and support the academic training of students through various student-related services aimed to develop academically competent, active witnesses of the Word (found in the third page of the manual), socially responsive and globally competitive students with a deep sense of solidarity.” The OSA handles everything that has to do with students; student publication, the rules and regulations, student orgs, such and such. One of OSA’s objectives is to “implement appropriate programs and services responsive to the special needs and concerns of female students.” (Thoughtful enough to have a Women Affairs Section).
Here is a section within the article that I have found to be rather unusually unfair. Section 2.5.6.1: “Female students are expected to avoid attires offensive to the sensibilities of other members of the University community”. On the other hand, Section 2.5.6.4 says, “Male students are expected to be reasonably neat in appearance and maintain dignity of their manner of dressing.” Is my female body offending you, good citizen? Is my female body disgusting you? It is worded like it is a sin to have the female body; while the male equivalent section is worded so proudly with testosterone-pride. This leads me to turn to the question, what is the Women Affairs Section? The Women Affairs Section is there to protect the well-being of female students, to oversee the implementation of rules regarding school uniform and school attire, to address issues and specific needs of women. Now, as a female, I have honestly not seen anything done by the WAS to help women. There have been complaints from female students regarding some security guards being “forceful”. A fellow student has said that there have been issues with female students not being able to enter the school because of their “boy-cut” hair and baggy pants; in short a stereotypical butch lesbian look. The male counterpart would be flamboyant gays. An out-of-closet flamboyant gay I know was not permitted to enter the school because of his flashy blonde hair colour, in the end having to dye it back to an “appropriate” colour. After looking through the handbook, I have yet to find a section stating that dyeing of hair is prohibited. If it was my mistake of missing the point, then why are there female students with hair as bright as the sun who are being allowed to enter the school premises? Where is the gender equality in this? Whilst passing by my department (Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies), I saw a big print out on the bulletin board. This was none other than a poster of the student dress code by the OSA. A list of plausible prohibitions was
posted for male and female students. Then splat in the middle was a list specifically for male-born female students. It banned the use of make up, female clothing, female accessories and such by “male” students. In what sort of homophobic-Mitt-Romneyage do we live in that a person cannot express who they are through aesthetics, even if it follows the given rules of pantsshirt-closed-shoes? If a female born student is to wear a male shirt, male shoes, male pants and sport a “boy-cut”; would that be breaking the rules? If a male born student was to wear a blouse, female pants, heels, make-up and/or whatever beautiful drag queen attire they choose yet still follow the given male student rules; would that also be breaking the rules? Yes, the University is a Catholic institution. However did the Lord not say to accept and love? The Lord did not preach to kill and hate, did he? The main point of religion is love and acceptance. I do know that in the Old Testament there are verses where homosexuality is held a sin. What age do we now live in though? If we were to live by old rules and norms, then women shouldn’t be allowed to vote either. Women should only be for food, sex and cleaning. If we were to follow old rules, then I should not be able to enter in the University either. In this progressive age that we live in, acceptance and understanding is key. Is the University promoting a homophobic society by repressing certain people of who they really are and what they want to be? Conversely,there is a vast amount of the sections, rules and guidelines that regulate to truly protect, benefit, improve and nurture the well-being of all Carolinians to be developed into competent and socially responsible professionals and life-long learners in an environment that fosters excellence in the academic core processes of teaching-learning, research and community extension service. However, that isn’t to say that I do not see a few sections to be homophobic, sexist and outdated. TC
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EDITORIAL
TEARS ON THE CORTEGE NIVENO OCDINARIA
Photographs by Angel Robles
Three years after the devastating Maguindanao massacre, families and relatives of the 58 butchered victims continue to shout for justice.
The victims included family members and supporters of Maguindanao province gubernatorial candidate Esmael Mangudadatu. As they were to register his candidacy against Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., in what was the forthcoming Maguindanao governatorial election,the would-be victims on their convoy were reportedly stopped by 200 armed men in the morning of November 23, 2009. The suspects, according to the witnesses, forced the group of 58 people - of which 20 were Mangudadatu relatives and supporters, 32 were journalists and media workers, and 6 were passersby – off the highway and brought them to a hill where they were executed after being
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orderd out of their vehicles. The massacre “appears to be single deadliest event for the press since 1992, when Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began keeping detailed records on journalist deaths”, said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. He also added that, “Even as we tally the dead in this horrific massacre, our initial research indicates that this is the deadliest single attack on the press ever documented by CPJ.” The CPJ had already titled Philippines as the second most dangerous country for journalists (following Iraq) even before the incident happened.
EDITORIAL
The Ampatuans are known to have its control of Maguindanao since the year 2001. It was during the excellency of late President Corazon Aquino when Andal Ampatuan Sr. first came into power as he was appointed as officer-in-charge of Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak) in 1986 right after the People Power Revolution. During this time, the late President replaced every locally elected official with officers-in-charge, but the town of Maganoy had a different approach. Mayor Pinagayaw Ampatuan due to his age was replaced by his vice mayor, Andal Sr.. He won the 1988 local elections then served for ten years and during the 1998 elections,the people voted Andal Sr. as Maguindanao governor. Since the candidacy of Mangudadatu, who had also served as elected Board Member and Vice Mayor after completing his term as Mayor of Buluan (still in Magindanao), had positioned a political threat against the Ampatuans, the witnesses of the court stood for their belief that it was the Ampatuans who plotted the incident to stop him from running. Four days after the killing, Mangudadatu travelled the same roads where the attack happened and succesfully filed his candidacy and ran under the banner of Lakas Kampi CMD. He replaced his rivals from the clan of Ampatuans in their supposed candidacy under the said party. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu is currently the governor of Maguindanao province. In the pursuit of justice, the court identified 197 suspects. Several members of the Ampatuan clan are now in jail and on trial for the massacre including the primary suspects, the seniors of the clan. But out of the said figure, only 99 have been arrested and from that number, 81 have been indicted. In the updates of the trials, most concerns raised were the 56 petitions for bail filed before the court while the prosecution has yet to complete its presentation of evidence and witnesses. On an article of Human Rights Watch dated November 21, 2012, “Relatives of victims have alleged that they have faced threats, intimidation, and bribery, allegedly from Ampatuan supporters; one of the widows decided to leave the Philippines this year out of fear. Since the massacre, lawyers for Mangudadatu said at least three actual or potential witnesses have been killed, including an Ampatuan militia member named Suwaib Upham who had agreed to testify and who had sought witness protection that never materialized.” The same article stated that a petition seeking for live television coverage of the trial was rejected by the Supreme Court. Relatives of victims told Human Rights Watch that they had hoped showing live coverage would certainly lend transparency to the proceedings and encourage the court to expedite hearings.
It is in this sporadical chance that Maguindanao Massacre had set the nation’s heed to the importance of vigilance in our society. In a country where political system eats its own people, media and everyone who works for its sustenance as a means for the just circulation of news and information, should also be granted with equal or even higher protection clause. A support to this claim are the 32 barbarically captured lives of journalists and media men. Above and behind their honor-filled occupations are faces and stories of human persons who equally desreve the right to live. 32 minds who speak the language of brilliance and resplendence.32 voices that publicize the truth everytime the shadows of misconception cover the human understanding.And 32 pens of which behind every stroke lies great commitment and hardwork – In a few seconds of travelling sound, all these had vanished as bullets were released from the guns that break the line that separates life and death. As journalists belonging to the same society of the Philippines, We remeber, We pray and We salute the victims who died. With those tears in the cortege, forever you will be dignified. TC
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NOTEBOOK
DORM-ANT BEFORE, NOW BARELY ACTIVE
KAMELLE REIGH ETANG
Photographs by Bernadette Jalocon
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, some of the most basic physiological needs of man is sleep or shelter. Everyone needs a bed to lie on and a roof to protect them from the sun and the rain. Even homeless people have specific places where they lay their mats or pieces of carton to rest after a day of roaming the streets. Everyone needs a place to go home to after work or school. In correspondence to this, the University of San Carlos has recently erected dormitories in the Talamban Campus for the convenience of students who come from distant parts of Cebu and other provinces in the Philippines. We recall a news article featured in our 2011 issue, entitled “Still Dorm-ant”, that presented us with the story of the new dorms. Now the then-dormant university residences have already been opened for and are being resided by Carolinians. But are they really what the university promised them to be?
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NOTEBOOK
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A Carolinian who requested for her name to not be revealed said that her stay in the newly-constructed dormitories has more disadvantages than advantages. For her, the only benefit is that the dormitory is the nearest living space. One of the drawbacks in the dorm is that the common toilets and bathrooms are not cleaned as often as they should be. She also said that there are times when she could not even locate a signal from her cellular phone. According to the same informant, the noise that her fellow dormers oftentimes create makes the dormitories unsuitable for studying. As of this writing, the informer claims that there still is no Wi-Fi connection available for use in her building. She said that the only way for an occupant to gain internet access is if he or she signs up for a personal connection. On the other hand, second year Pharmacy student Ralph Vladimir Busi observes how for him, “the heat becomes unbearable in the evening”. He explains that if he was to appraise the dormitories, he’d say it’s okay but that if he were given a choice, he would have chosen to find a better place to stay. His parents were very adamant to let him stay somewhere else and insisted that he reside in the University dormitories for, aside from being safe, they are the most proximate available residences to his place of study.
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4 1 - View from one of the dormitory bedrooms. 2 - One of the corridors which some students claim to tend to be too narrow. 3 - The interior has now become home to even a family of stray cats. Behind them, several bags of garbage have been carelessly left behind. 4 - A view from the dorm canteen, which is level with the main road.
Another dormer in the new boys’ dormitories revealed that “initiations” are being held at the dorms for newcomers. When asked for a reason for the so-called “initiations” though, he was able to state none, and instead further asserted that one of ways used to “initiate” is by holding the newcomer’s face down in the toilet. A senior from the School of Health Care Professions who resides in the girls’ dormitories clarifies that the supposed “initiations” in the dorms are a part of a years-old tradition that is instigated “to discipline the freshmen and to let them know that they should respect their elders”. She also mentioned some of the means they use: letting the newcomers crawl in the dirtied canteen; making them think that they are to jump off from one of the high floors of the building (the truth is that they are just to do so from an ordinary table); and the most disgusting being that they are made to pick up a used sanitary napkin. The latter is to “teach them not to leave their used sanitary napkins behind”. At the time of this writing, the Dorm Supervisor had not been available for an interview. They say that the home reflects the character of its dweller. Surely, we at the University would not want to be permanently mirrored the way that it is currently is by our still largely counterproductive dormitories.TC
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
EDITORIAL
A REFORM ON HUMANITY:
FILIPINIZING the
R.H.BILL NIVENO OCDINARIA Both houses have already passed the third reading of the bill. As of this writing, the bill is in the bicameral conference committee for the consolidation of two versions. By the time of the publication of this article, the consolidated bill is expected to have been signed by the President. The Philippines is a country with a population of 92.1 million people (as of May 2010 government census) with a total land area of 300, 000 square/km. One might say that this terrain is well-proportioned with regards to a relationship between its population and total land area. However, when its population is put in ratio with its available resources, an unstable Philippines may be seen – an image far from its democratic condition, a country vulnerable for economic disposition. Adding to this, in November of 2010 a Global AIDS report was released by United Nations Program on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) stating that the Philippines is one of seven nations in the world that reported over 25% in new HIV infections between 2001 and 2009, whereas other countries have either stabilized or shown significant declines in the rate of new infections. Among all countries in Asia, only the Philippines and Bangladesh are continuously reporting increases in HIV cases, with others either already stable or decreasing. With the existence of these certainties and the fact of its progression, the Philippines
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as a country is now drowned by threats of recession and retrogression. The government, bearing the task of promoting public welfare, health and safety as mandated by the constitution is carrying out its advocacy to end poverty and hunger, and combat HIV/AIDS. One step to this is the submission of House Bill 5043. It was in 2008 when debates and arguments started in the Philippine Legislative Sector, participated by the Congress’ House of Representatives and Senate with their point of issue, the implementation of House Bill 5043, known as Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008 (now revised and referred to as The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011). From the root of its actuality, it has gained both criticisms and praises and lifted another conflict between two powerful institutions, the State and the Church. The State, grounded with legal touchstones, directs for the accomplishment of the nation’s progress. Gaining the support from the United Nations, an international
organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace; the State pursues to pass this bill to Congress and implement it within the scope of its sovereignty. From the standpoint of a person who is socially unaware, scaling the current HIVAIDS problem in the Philippines from 1-10 with 10 as the most alarming, he/she might rate it with a 5 - “NATIONALLY”. On the other hand, in a statement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer by Teresita Marie Bagasao, country coordinator of UNAIDS, it is “[sic] already 8 to 9 in specific sites (nationwide) mainly associated with officially-reported HIV prevalence”. But seeing the people’s hold regarding this matter, one would say that most are unalarmed by this circumstance. Bagasao added that this may possibly be due to the lack of visible information, as well as being lulled into a false sense of security by the average national HIV prevalence of under 0.1%. However, “some places (nationwide)
EDITORIAL
that have reported more than 4% to as much as 53% in HIV prevalence among its most-at-risk groups are alarmed and are actively pursuing solutions to address their situation, described as concentrated epidemics,” she added. The Filipino people might not be aware that during the first 10 months of 2010, the Department of Health reported 1,305 confirmed new cases of HIV infections, an increase of more than half of the 835 reported cases for the whole of 2009. 80% of all the reported cases in 2010 was accounted to sex between men and more than half of those infected were aged 2029. 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2010, down from 3.2 million in 2001. On the same year, there were 1.8 million AIDS-related reported deaths, lower than the 2.2 million in 2005; these figuredrops were presented by the UN in its website un.org, all in significance with the implemented bill in most countries of the world. With these gathered facts, the government is positive that with the implementation of this bill, the Philippine HIV/AIDS victims’ rate will drop to its least. The government also believes that by implementing House Bill 5043, there will be a recession on the Philippine poverty rate caused by its unstable economic potential. With population as the main issue, Section 3 of this bill accounts that the State shall promote programs that: (1) enable couples, individuals and women to have the number and spacing of children and reproductive spacing they desire with due consideration to the health of women and resources available to them; (2) achieve equitable allocation and utilization of resources; (3) ensure effective partnership among the national government, local government units and the private sector in the design, implementation, coordination, integration, monitoring and evaluation of peoplecentered programs to enhance quality of life and environmental protection; (4) conduct studies to analyze demographic trends towards sustainable human development and (5) conduct scientific studies to determine safety and efficacy of alternative medicines and methods for reproductive health care development, with the assurance that this Act recognizes that abortion is illegal and punishable by law. Eradicating extreme poverty is continuously one of the main challenges of our time, and is a major concern of the international
community. Beyond any question, the government really struggles to end poverty and hunger and combat HIV-AIDS in the country and drop its cases to its least. But what lies for the implementation of this bill is a rough road to travel and a fight that slightly goes against the belief of morality, by and with the existence of another sector with an equal strength of bedrock, the Catholic Church. Immoral. A word used to describe a behavior not in conformity with accepted standards or principles. This is how the Church views the controversial “Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill”. As to the Church, RH Bill seeks government funding for population management programs that would provide reproductive health education and give access to both natural and artificial family planning methods to all Filipinos. With the accessibility to artificial contraceptives, the possibility of devaluating the sanctity of human life will grow in its speed. Studies, both international and local, have showed that life begins at fertilization and as such the use of anything that prevents the fertilized ovum from being implanted in the uterus is already considered abortive. Monsignor Paul Cuizon, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Davao and parish priest of Sta. Ana Church, said that the issue on poverty is a MYTH, a story of falsehood for its grounds are opposable by fair facts. “If you put all people in the state of Alaska, they will all be accommodated in that part of the globe”, Monsignor Cuizon said. Several studies have also presented that the issue isn’t poverty but the uneven distribution of wealth. It may be a defected way of thinking to blame the country’s number of people for its poverty and hunger. The Church also claims that population is wrongly connected with poverty, for the admitted and visible cause is Corruption. It was on the 17th of November 2009, when Transparency International (TI) released statistics on each country’s corruption rate rank based on TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and the Philippines landed in the 16th place in the world rank – a strong support for the Church’s claim. With the promoted measures of the government such as the use of condoms, contraceptives, pills and IUDs; the Church firmly holds its stand against the implementation of the Bill. Chancellor
Cuizon also said that RH Bill should not be used to justify the use of condoms and that neither will this campaign help to reduce the high incidence of HIV-AIDS cases. Studies have also provoked the effectiveness of condom use as a preventive measure against the infection. By facts supported by studies, the religious side claims that condoms have microscopic holes to which the virus can pass through. Contraceptives on the other hand, are reported to have carcinogenic properties and render a lot of side effects. Such a measure does not really grant assurance to whoever uses it. The pill, which is part of the government’s program under this bill, has been reported to have major adverse effects like breast cancer, cervical cancer, liver cancer, premature hypertension and coronary artery disease resulting in heart attacks and strokes and thromboembolism or pulmonary embolism. Other adverse effects to these include decreased libido, infertility, leg cramps, gallstone formation, nausea and bloatedness. In the case of IUDs, side effects include cramps, bleeding between periods, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and a tear or hole in the uterus. With the acquisition of these facts with scientific strongholds and in reference to the Natural Moral Law, the Church, supported by several legislators, stands upright in its opposition and remains as a firm structure that opposes the government for the bill’s actualization. “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” This is what Genesis 1:28 of the Christian Bible says. The Church sees this as a firm reason to value the sanctity of human life like a stout wall whose shadow covers the Christian norms and beliefs. As to when will this bill be implemented, no one knows the answer. As to when the arguments will end, still, no one knows the answer. Whether the bill will be imposed or not, the bottomline is about carrying out responsibility. If the issue directs the blame on the country’s massive population, one should be wise enough to think that it is not the number that counts but the heart that makes us fathers and sons. TC
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IT IS BY WAY OF PAIN ONE ARRIVES AT PLEASURE - Marquis de Sade
FEATURE
PEDRO CALUNGSOD
THE ROAD TO CANONIZATION
Viva! Viva! On October 21, 2012 the second Filipino saint was recognized. We hear his name over and over again, from mass media to church announcements, and we see paintings and statues of him – but who exactly is St. Pedro Calungsod? EMMANUEL HERNANDEZ
Pedro Calungsod was estimated to be between 12 and 15 years of age when he became a sacristan and catechist in the 17th century. Using his family name as helpful indicator, historians believe that his possible origins are Ginatilan in Cebu, Hinundayan and Hinunangan in Southern Leyte, and Molo district in Iloilo. All of these probable hometowns were territories of the Diocese of Cebu during his time. He went with Jesuit missionaries to the Ladrones Islands (previously a part of the Diocese of Cebu, now a part of Guam).
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Calungsod accompanied Jesuit priest Blessed Diego Luis San Vitores in catechizing and baptizing the native Chamorros of Guam. At that time, a Chinese “quack doctor” named Choco became envious of the prestige of the missionaries and wanted to discredit them. Around the time of the missionaries’ arrival, a few of the recently baptized infants had died. Choco used this premise to start spreading rumors that the water used for baptism was poisonous. Choco had found allies with shamans called Makanhas and the Urritaos - indecent young men who lived
in communal houses and bought unmarried women from families. With many natives antagonistic, it was only a matter of time before the missionaries got killed. Worse, storms frequently hit the islands. This made the new converts start to desert them. On April 6, 1672, Padre San Vitores and Calungsod were killed by two natives named Matapang and Hirao. Earlier, Matapang threatened the two with death if they tried to baptize his daughter. However, the two missionaries were allowed by Matapang’s wife to baptize their children.
FEATURE
In several accounts of Calungsod’s martyrdom, it is said that the young lad avoided the spears being thrown at him with dexterity but still got hit in the chest and was finished off with his head being split by a katana. Calungsod was shown a crucifix and absolved before dying. Other accounts state that Matapang and Hirao killed the priest with a lance to the chest and a katana on the head then proceeding to smash the cross used by the missionaries. Their bodies were then tied with large stones and thrown into the deep sea, never to be seen again. As Padre Vitores’ heroism was greeted with glee in Manila and Spain, Pedro Calungsod would be forgotten for another 327 years. Records written during the time were kept years after the martyrdom for the sake of Padre San Vitores. Later reviews of these accounts revealed a young man, Christian, noble in virtue and a true Witness to the Word; ignored and forgotten for centuries but finally coming into light and knowledge of the Filipinos. The Catholic Church in the Philippines, headed by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, endorsed this young man to be recognized by the world. The first step was beatification, the acknowledgement of the great Christian virtues of an individual and in the case of Calungsod, his
martyrdom as well. The Church recognized his martyrdom as done “in hatred of the Faith” and allowed immediate beatification. Pope John Paul II officially bestowed this honor on March 5, 2000.
Pedro Calungsod has been approved for canonization (the process of full recognition and honors of the entire Catholic Church of the sanctity of a person; sainthood) in October 2011 after the scrutiny and approval of the Pope and church officials. One of the conditions for canonization was a miracle attributed to the intercession of the saint in question. In 2002, a business woman was declared clinically dead by the attending doctor. The doctor asked the intercession of Pedro Calungsod and the woman recovered. The miracle was verified and studied by officials and had been found to have no scientific or reasonable explanation other than that of a genuine miracle. Since the approval, the local Church has made efforts to educate the people on the matter. Activities celebrating the proclamation of Pedro’s becoming a saint included the countdown to October 21 2012 which consisted of talks, programs and prayer rallies across the country. People gathered in pilgrimage sites
like the Calungsod’s shrine in the Archbishop’s Residence Compound in Cebu City; the only parish dedicated to Calungsod in Toledo City; and his supposed hometown in Ginatilan, Cebu before and during the canonization. There was also a live feed of the rite and liturgy done in Rome, for the people here in Cebu. The late John Paul II’s words on Calungsod’s beatification: “From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call. Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith as a lay catechist. Leaving family and friends behind, Pedro willingly accepted the challenge put to him by Fr. Diego de San Vitores to join him on the Mission to the Chamorros.” Pedro Calungsod has shown bravery and initiative beyond expectation. These are traits that are still valuable to this day. In faith, he died witnessing to what he believed in. In duty, he died honorably fulfilling his work. He did not let his young age or the hardships get in the way. Pedro Calungsod is, in essence and lifeblood, a Witness to the Word. TC
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
EDITORIAL
BLESSING & CURSE
The Case for Student Activism Illustration by Jean Marie Ordeñiza & Van Kevin Opura
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
EDITORIAL
Big signs, megaphones, grim-looking people screaming their lungs out, pumping their fists in defiance to authority for the sake of a cause? Maybe something more sinister. Shady groups of people at war with the government and playing on the suffering of the disenfranchised to bolster their ranks? At its simplest definition, Activism merely means direct action in support or opposition towards a controversial issue. Why then is it tagged with such a negative image? Why then is the concept itself the target of loathsome dismissal (by many) and fanatic reverence (by few)? After all, were not the ideals of gender and racial equality spurred forth by people who voiced their opinion? Were not the rights and freedoms we enjoy today a result of the sacrifices of the many? What then would this country be had those student activists of the 1800’s passion be found wanting? What would this country be without Del Pilar, Jacinto, without Rizal himself? Forth a few decades even, what then without the many who gave their all to save us from the Marcos Dictatorship? Most of all, what does it all mean to a Carolinian of this new and age? Bygone decades saw many Filipinos take to the streets in protest against an issue or another. Two people-power revolutions, and dozens of others over disputes, injustices and controversies. Rallies by student activists remained common, but with decreasing frequency. The student activists of this decade remain persistent and resolute. They decry what they claim to be the prevalent apathy of our new generation, a burgeoning passivity among the student body. Perhaps it is the method then, for better or for worse, that Student
Activism has been mostly defined by their demonstrations, the rallies for causes that the activists encourage us to join. As a tool for change, the act itself has seemed to mellow in effectiveness to enact the change it wants to conceive. This can likely be taken as the sign of the times, as the rallies generally create a sort of stigma, as well as to enforce the insecurity of the established authority. What ensues then is a reaction, might be that things end up even worse than they started. Social stigma towards student activism itself is undeniable and quite possibly paradoxical. Going back to its most neutral definition, it is an act of opposition to an issue and most likely the authority in question. And at its core is an act of defiance – an idea that confuses our Neo-colonial sensibilities. Historically, Filipinos are weak and fearful towards the concept of change, a symptom of the heavy handed authoritarian repression of our Spanish colonizers. Indeed, numerous control mechanisms were set in place by the foreign conqueror. These control mechanisms are reinforced more so by the fact that we never won our freedom from foreign control, we were bought and sold from one invincible authority to another until freedom was handed to us. It is not surprising to see evidence of it today in many different levels of our “modern” society. Having said that, it is not hard to see why then that the ideal of student activism is stigmatized. To be aware and critical of issues is to deviate from the norm of student and civilian apathy. To challenge authority is an act of arrogance and rudeness, is it really a small wonder then that abuses of power in many of our institutions are now a fact of life? On the opposite side of the spectrum, those with low opinions of the ideal cite
the demonstrations having a violent nature. That they achieve little in the long run and seem to be called at the drop of a hat with much urgency but little in the way of forward thinking. Some would even say that we are better off accepting these hardships as a fact of life. That we are better off just putting up with it, that student activism itself is just a colossal waste of time. The argument between the two extremes will perpetuate ad infinitum if we do not realize and accept that times have truly changed, and that we must adapt in order to make the most of these uncertain times that we live in. Maybe now is not the time for rash action, from radicals and conservatives alike. Maybe now is the time for theory, a time for us to look at everything and find new ways to address our issues, better ways to ere out differences of thought and ideal. It is a democracy after all, however ramshackle and faulty it is. Returning to the question of student activism, maybe now is the time to shape a new ideal, with new methods. We are all in different ways building towards the future of this country; we cannot keep to the old ways and grudges forever. The world is getting smaller, years and eras grow even shorter, the times are changing at a seemingly breakneck speed. Above all else, we must adapt to the times, and strive for tomorrow. The question of student activism is both a blessing and curse, especially for us Carolinians who want to make the best of our stay here, who hope still for a better future and a better way. Blessing or curse, it is ours to bear, for better or for worse it is for us to trudge forward in these ever changing times. TC
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
FEATURE
RISE OF
THE DIGITAL NATION MIGUEL SISON
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Illustration by VAN KEVIN OPURA
FEATURE
If you’re reading this right now and you’re between the ages of 1370, chances are you either have a Facebook account or you have at least heard of Facebook. For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, under a coma or whose technological expertise has never progressed beyond 1965, Facebook is a social media site. It is a site where users, like you and me, can register for free. Users are given “timelines” which basically serve as their online persona. It can contain such information as the name, address, age and phone number of the user, all depending on how much information he chooses to share publicly. In these “timelines”, he can post a picture, upload a video or have friends comment on a status. He also has the option of visiting another friend’s timeline to do the same thing. It’s basically social experience in a digital format. Of course I’m only using Facebook as an example; there are tons of other social media sites out there. Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram are such examples of other types of online social media. Some of them specialize in one area. Instagram, for example, is an application for smartphones wherein users can snap a photo and immediately share it. Users are given accounts where they can “follow” other users and get updates on the latest
photos they upload. This is just an example of the myriad other sites with unique specializations. It is indeed a fast-changing world. Information is now traded freely online at frightening speeds. This generation’s approach to the social experience raises a few concerns, the foremost being privacy. Ever since the surge of the internet’s popularity, identity theft has become a bigger issue. And there are a multitude of lesser known but equally distressing problems, like Facebook’s use of personal information as a means for data mining and surveillance. I don’t know about you, but I personally do not prefer companies keeping track of my online activity for profit’s sake. Is nothing sacred? It’s becoming a time where people can know just about anything about you because everything is right there on your page. They can know what you had for breakfast this morning, whether you “like” a fan page, or who you’re friends with. Evidently, Facebook is fast evolving from being just a website on the internet to becoming an integral part of the new generation’s life, if it still isn’t. Most sites right now have an option to “share” on Facebook; the musicstreaming site Spotify, for example, even requires a Facebook login just to be able to utilize the site’s services. It is things like this that makes me wonder; could this be the advent of a digital nation?
There are more than 800 million active users on Facebook. That’s right; if Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous in the world. This is nothing to scoff at. With more than 800 million users active today, it’s an easy thing to see why it’s such a big deal. Yes, social media has made connecting with friends and family easier. And yes, it has made finding new friends who share common interests easier as well. All these are true, but at what cost? In this writer’s opinion, social media has made face-to-face social interaction harder to achieve. Gone are the days when, if one wanted to organize a party with friends, he’d either have to call them up or go see them personally. All has seemingly been digitized now. Everyone’s just a message or chat box away; minimal effort is made at contact. Basically, we have just cut the ‘social’ out of social interaction. The problem with this is that humans are social animals. We are a species in constant need of physical contact to be able to maintain some semblance of social interaction. This is the main point of being social. Online “social” media is taking that away and replacing it with a form of interaction never before seen. It’s changing the way that people all over the world interact and whether this is a good or a bad thing, I can’t say for sure – for now. TC
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
LITERARY
Ang Panaghigugmaay ni Dodong ug Inday
Kimberly Navales Dibuho ni Van Kevin Opura 24
TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
LITERARY
“Inday!”
“Mura ka’g iring Dodong.” Sumpay dayon ni Inday.
Daghan ang nagpangalan ug Inday; naa pu’y mga gipang-anggaan ug Inday, naa sa’y mga bayot nga magtawganay ug Inday, apan kadtong tingoga, kahibaw siya nga siya ang gipasabot. Sa gawas nga ilado kaniya ang tingog sa maong nagsiyagit nga tao, siya raman sad pud usa ang naa didto sa may kasagbutan nagtindog. Mitalikod siya sa gilantaw niyang padung mosawp nga adlaw ug gilingi ang lalaking gadagan padulong niya. Nibulhot ang hangin ug gitayhop paluyo ang iyang itom ug taas nga buhok. Asta ang iyang penk nga duster milihok-lihok ug nilakra iyang dughan. Naklaro niya ang dagko, tupong ug puti nga ngisi sa lalaki. Gumikan kay layo layo pa man kini ug medyo itomon, ang tam-is niini nga pahiyom mao ra ang iyang makita. Ug sa diha pa lang daan nailhan na ni Inday kung si kinsa kini.
“Magpa-cute-cute ka unya diay mangawras ka!” Dayon talikod niya.
“Dodong?” sangpit pa niya.
“Magpagakos ka gikan sa luyo noh? Pina-Titanic?” Mipaduol siya kang Inday.
Nipaspas ang iyang kasingkasing ug di niya mapugngan nga makahinumdom sa mga nahitabo nila sa una. Nibalik ang iyang alimpatakan sa kadtong panahon nga nagbuwag silang Dodong. Mga katorse to ilang idad, naghigda to sa lantay si Dodong, gihuwaphuwap iyang agtang ni Inday samtang gikumot ang iyang nanggahing lawas. “Taas jud kaayo imong hilanat Dong,” hilak ni Inday. Tuod, hapit na jud magkumbulsyon si Dodong. “Pero ayaw’g kabalaka, di tika biyaan Dong,” dungan pisil ni Inday sa bukton ni Dodong.
Mi-atubang siya pagbalik sa ni-sawp nga adlaw ug samot gibati ug kaguol, pun-an pa sa kusog nga sounds sa radio sa ilang silingan, nitulo jud ang luha ni Inday. “Inday” kinaluoy nga tawag ni Dodong. “Atubanga ko, Please.” “No way!” minaldita niyang tubag. “Ayeeeeeeee, kahibaw nako oi!” Sungog ni Dodong.
“Boang k-----” wa makatiwas ug sulti si Inday kay gidritso-an man siya’g halok ni Dodong paglingi niya. Miatubang na lang siya ug tarong ug gigakos si Dodong. Gihinolhinol niya ang ulo ni Dodong, ug tuod nahikapan niya ang pahak niini ug samot nga gihatag iyang kaugalingon ngadto kang Dodong, kay mao jud to iyang una nga uyab, di siya masayop kay pahak. “Imo jud diay nadawat akong gipahatag nimo Day.” “Gihatag?” nahibong siya.
“Biya-e lagi ko! Ngano man diay, mamaayo ko kung mag-atang ka?” kinasuko ug kutas nga sulti ni Dodong.
“Oo, kadtong hipon ba. Diba namunga naman inyong mangga, nahunahuna nako na ganahan ka isuwa tog hipon. Mao gipada nako sa imong ig-agaw.”
“Sakita sad nimo manulti Dong oi! Nabalaka lang ko nimo!”
“Ha? Hipon? Ig-agaw?”
“Na! Kadtong kanding nimong nag-mehehe ang kabalak-i ai! Hapon na kaayo wa pa nimo hiposa!”
“Ayaw na lang gud pag goryo-goryo Inday. Nabati man gani nako ang hipon paghalok nako nimo. Oh! Masimhot gani nako sa imong ginhawa!”
Nitulo ang luha ni Inday, mi-atras siya ug pila ka lakang samtang nagtabon sa iyang baba. Di siya katoo nga sama sa yinatakan sa kabaw kasakit manulti si Dodong. Nidagan siya pagawas sa payag nilang Dodong nagdanguyngoy.
“Boang ka! Wa koy nadawat nga hipon oi! Di sad ko mokaon ana! Ewwwwnesss!”
Naduol-duol na ang tao nga nilabang sa kahumayan padung kaniya apan nahunong kini kadiyot kay na’ay mga bata nga nagtambling tambling sa mga uhot. Maikog man pud siya mobadlong sa mga bata kay sikat na raba to sila nga mga dansir. Nindot pa jud silag mga sapatos, terno, gikan sa ilang sponsor. Napalpak man ang tambling sa usa ka bata, naparok ug ni-ago sa kasakit, mao tong nakapadayon ug lakaw si Dodong. Sa may unahan na hunong na pud siya’g kadiyot sa dihang nikalit lang ug barog ang kabaw sa daplin. Gamay na lang jud ang kuwang ug naabot na siya sa bahirig nga lubi nga gisandigsandigan ni Inday. Ningisi siya ug samot nga nilusot gud ang mga dagko niyang ngipon sa tubangan nga way kalainan sa simod sa kabayo, migagmay iyang mga mata, nilapad iyang ilong ug nabingat iyang mga aping. Ug sa dihang gisagpa lang siyag kalit ni Inday.
Dayong lingi ni Inday sa nag-ungdo niyang suka sa unahan dapit. Nakita sad kadto ni Dodong ug kadigwaon naghunahuna. Gihikap ni Dodong ang tiyan ni Inday. “Mabdos ka?” Milingo-lingo si Inday. “Busog man gud kaayo ko sa saging ug ginamos ganiha.” “Aw.” Hinay nga tubag ni Dodong ug ni-aksyon paglingkod sa yuta. “Ayaw diha Dodong!’ Badlong ni Inday. Milukso ug dali si Dodong.
“Aguy!” pong pa ni Dodong.
“Naa to’y tai sa iro diha ganiha. Hapit sad gani nako matumbi.” Nikatawa si Inday.
Napapas ang malipayon niyang panagway. “Kung makasagpa ka Inday, mura man kag nag-palu-palu sa duster sa imong nanay nga tambok!”
“Ayeee! Bisan hapit jud niya malingkuri,” sungog ni Dodong ug gituslok sa iyang tudlo ang kilid ni Inday.
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LITERARY
“Ikaw nuon!’ Baws ni Inday ug gituslok pud ang kilid ni Dodong. Gipapha ni Dodong ang mga tai sa kanding ug didto sila molingkod nagsandigsandig sa lubi. “Gimingaw baya ko nimo Inday.” “Ako sad Dong. Ikaw man gud.” Gikumot unta niya ang aping ni Dodong apan lisod man kaayo kay sobra ra kaniwang ang nawng niya. Iya na lang kining gipikpik ug nihigda dayon siya sa abaga ni Dodong. “Nakaila lagi dayon ka nako, Day, bisan layo pa kaayo ko,” hinumdom ni Dodong.
“Lingkod ra diri’g balik!” Gibitad ni Dodong si Inday ug hapit kini makahikap sa tai sa iro pagkatumba niya. “Boang ka! Boang ka!” Gihapakhapak ni Inday si Dodong. “Dugay na tikang gikalimtan! Nilabay na atong panahon! Humana ta! Dugay na!” “Dugay nang tulo ka adlaw nimo?” Tubag ni Dodong. “OA ra sad ka Inday. Pag usang adlaw ra gani tong gihilantan ko mura namag lima ka tuig nimo! Nakasulti man kog bati pasaylo-a ko!” “Sakit kaayo ka manulti Dong oi! Sakit kaayo! Naghunahuna lang ko nimo sama sa hinayhay kung kauwanon!”
“Lagi. Itom man gud kaayo ka nya lutaw kaayo imong ngipon.” “Ah, laina sad nimo Day. Pareha raman ta ka-itoma.” Gibangon ni Inday iyang ulo ug gihapak ang bukton ni Dodong. “Pataka man lang ka oi! Mas itom ka!” “Pareha ra lagi, awa gud.” Gitapad ni Dodong iyang kamot sa kamot ni Inday apan nakita niya nga suko na kaayog nawng si Inday.
“Day, di man gud ka mohawa adto. Hadlok lang ko nga matakdan ka sa akong hangga!” “Ngano man diay’g matakdan ko. Sa kasakit ug kalipay Dong, magunong tang duha!” “Di man gud Day. Kuan man gud.” “Unsa! Sulti-e ko!”
“Ay sige gud.” Sulti ni Dodong. “Ay wa oi. Kalimti lang to.” “Itom ko, brown ka.” Nihigda pagbalik si Inday sa abaga ni Dodong. “Unsa lagi!” Pugos jud ni Inday. “Pero wa jud ka magtoo Day nga lain kong tao? Daghan baya tang kaila nga mga itomon.”
“Lab ko nimo?” Naigking si Dodong ug miduko.
“Daghan gud?” Tubag ni Inday.
“Ha? Aw. Oo.Lab tika.”
Nahadlok si Dodong nga nasuko na pud si Inday.
“Binoang! Napugos raman ka adto Dong! Unsay tinuod nga rason ba!”
“Di daghan oi, tanan! Pero dah oi! Lahi ra ka nila. Kay puti man jud imong ngipon, yilo man to ilaha.”
“Ganahan jud ka makahibaw ha? Ganahan jud ka?” Nitaas na pud ang tingog ni Dodong.
“Nya abi’g puti ug ngipon ako na diay?” “Di ko bungol ayaw’g syagit, boang!” “Ay o oi! Ikaw ra may kaila nakong kusog manutbrash.” “Bati kag nawng!” Singgit ni Dodong. “Murag kinasuko man na imong mga tubag day oi. Ignan bitaw tika nga sunod padag package sa akong tiya, tagaan tikag toothpaste.”
“Mao nay tinuod. Daghan ka’g bugas sa nawng nya kung matakdan paka’g hangga samot!”
“Di lagi ko.” “Ayaw lag kauwaw gud.” “Boang, di lagi ko kay hang!”
Nangandam si Dodong sa kasuko ni Inday. Apan ningisi raman kini. Gihikap ni Inday ang nag-gansalgansal nga nawng ni Dodong tungod sa hangga ug bunga’g singot. Gibag-ig ni Inday ang iyang ilong sa ilong pud ni Dodong, apan puros kini mugbo hinungdan nga ilang mga simod hinuon ang nagkabangga.
“Ikaw gud.” Nitindog ug kalit si Inday. “Hoy, taymsa Dong!” Nanighawak jud siya nga nag atubang ni Dodong. “Buwag naman ta.Nganong nagtapadtapad man ka nako?!” “Ha? Buwag na diay ta?” “Hagbay ra! Nalimot na lang kang imo kong gipalayas sa inyo? Kadtong gi-hangga ka? May kay na maayo pa ka noh?”
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“Dali Day,” gipikpik ni Dodong ang iyang paa ug milihok si Inday ug niposisyon sa paghigda sa mga paa ni Dodong. Gisudlay-sudlay ni Dodong ang mga buhok ni Inday gamit iyang kamot ug gipahimuslan ang nahabiling kahayag sa adlaw aron sa pagpahingoto ni Inday. TC
FEATURE
GENERATION of the
COMATOSE KI-JEONG “JENNY” SHIM
In this postmodern era of fantastic discovered and yet-to-be-discovered knowledge, we the youth, are in a state of coma. Young as we are, we are in a condition of endless opportunities to explore the greatness of the things around us. And yet,we are all in a collective dogmatic slumber party in a sense that we no longer question the authority, the norms, the oppression of the young, not even a mindless revolt at that. All we seem to do is either accept what has been thrust upon us or take action only when our own benefits, rights and/or comforts are in danger of or have already been taken away from us. For example, regarding the cybercrime law, only when our own rights were being carted off did most of us started to “care”. The only reason KONY was a thing was because it had a colourful montage of this one evil guy, who was cool to hate. You don’t see a mass of teens who protest to stop a war anymore. Whatever happened to Woodstock and the hippies? This generation is at a point where everything is at hand’s distance. We have seemingly arrived at a point when we no longer need to go to a library to look up something; or stand
on a crate with a megaphone to make an announcement; or actually ask questions to get an answer. With all the comfort and ease of access at hand, this privileged youth no longer dares to care because everything is now being spoon-fed. As children we grow up being taught that if we follow what our superiors say, we get a gold star and a pat on the head, plus an occasional toy or two. And if we revolt and get creative, we get to face the corner and a slap on the bum, plus a lecture we don’t even understand. When we’re a two year old, we seem not to get why we’re not supposed to be noisy asking questions at church. We have yet to even understand that there is something outside of our own existence; we don’t even know what existence is. We have yet to even understand why we’re not allowed to stand on tables or draw on things other than paper. The only thing that we understand when we’re two year old kids is that when you do something “bad” you get an angry parent and when you do something “good” you get a happy parent, and a toy. This idea gets embedded in us as we grow into our teenage years; we
continue to associate obedience with good and otherwise as bad– unconsciously. How then are we all in this collective dogmatic slumber party? Either unconsciously, or consciously, we do what we’re told– why? We were told to do so. Listen to your parents, clean your room, go to school,do your homework, get good grades, socialise with others, respect your teachers, don’t talk back to your elders, graduate from college, get a job, listen to your boss, meet a nice person, get married, have a child or two, raise them well. This is the comatose. No matter what the authority says, we’re taught from birth to listen to them, because they know better, because they’re older– they say. We’re taught not to question, we’re taught not to over achieve, we’re taught not to dare, and we’re taught not to dream. We’re only taught to do what we’re told– what we’re spoonfed.Why? Maybe, only when we begin to question this, then can we begin to wake up from the comatose.A mindfull rebellion is better than a mindless obedience. TC
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
FEATURE
MY FAVORITE
WORST
NIGHTMARE MIGUEL OUANO
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
FEATURE
The problems started in November of 2011, when I noticed blood mixed with my mucus and continued into December with a headache that lasted a month, which would prevent me from getting any sleep whatsoever. I checked in with an ENT for my nose problem and a neurologist for my headaches; both had me do tests. The results coincidentally came out on the same day (a mere two days after Christmas) AND had the same results. It had been discovered that there was a tumor growing in my face, and not only that, it was malignant and a rare cancer in what was generally accepted to be its third stage. I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma– a type of cancer normally found in muscles. My tumor grew from the top of my right nostril, behind my eye and touched part of my brain. This struck me hard; no one ever expects to be diagnosed with something like cancer at all! At the age of 22, when most of my peers were out there enjoying their youth and celebrating their graduation; I had to restrict myself and come to terms with my own mortality for peace of mind. In essence I had accepted the fact that I may very well die in the months ahead. Now most might believe that getting the diagnosis was bad, but I beg
to differ. Ask anyone who has experienced the waking nightmare that is chemotherapy, how you go in knowing only the common side effects such as balding and nausea but never fearing the creeping numbness in your fingers and toes, the loss of sense of taste or the insomnia. They don’t tell you how the constant insertion of the IV needle would whittle away your veins to the point that they would agonizingly turn you into a human pin cushion in the attempt to properly give you the medicines. Medicines that not only kill the cancer cells but everything other fast growing cells in your body, leaving you weaker and weaker with every passing cycle. Then if you’re as lucky as I was, you would be subjected to the living hell that was radiation therapy wherein depending on your location you would receive different kinds of side effects (mine was done on my head and neck so naturally I lost my sense of taste, my ability to produce saliva and for a good three weeks the ability to even swallow). The best part was when you learn that these treatments leave you with a small percentage (1% or less) of getting a secondary cancer later on. The percentage may not be high but the fact that getting Rhabdomyosarcoma is around the same odds leave me a bit concerned. At least I didn’t need surgery.
You end up losing more and more of yourself as the days go by. Slowly your perspective changes, you resent things more, you question pre-conceived notions of your life and you end up bitter and cynical – after all, who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t question God for giving them or allowing them to have cancer? Who wouldn’t question the existence of a god when after years of prayer, worship and obedience to his rules you are “gifted” with something that will kill you? I know I did. In the end you are left alone with nothing more to comfort you than the knowledge that you have a higher chance of dying compared to a normal person, an insurmountable feeling of loneliness and questions asked to a silent, uncaring and seemingly nonexistent god. All of these things would combine into things that are a lot more unbearable; fear, a feeling of isolation, anger. However, this is just the struggle with one’s self. As I carried on, I have met a myriad of people who have reacted in many ways. There are some who truly care for me and are with me every step of the way, holding my hand and keeping me company, yet never truly being able to fathom my suffering. There were others who would claim that they care but in the same breath would betray me through their
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FEATURE
actions which they have deemed justified. There were those who completely cut off all relations with me chiefly because they didn’t know how to react to it or they didn’t want to deal with such a depressing scenario. And there were the ones I have forgotten, the other victims. The entire time I was hitting rock bottom, I had completely forgotten the other cancer victims. Yes, I still stand by my statement that no one can fathom how I suffered. This is true. Everyone reacts uniquely to any given stimuli – it is known. I had been flung alone into my own personal hell, but all the others have been in hell as well. Some may have come back; some may have stayed but fought like crazy in an attempt to escape, yet they all had been to hell nonetheless. In my experience, I had met two survivors who had given me sage advice which had kept me moving on, despite the hardships. And it is the same advice I would share with you in the hopes that you may bring this to people you know who have this illness and may have seemingly lost all hope in an attempt to make sure that they survive. Both had told me to focus less on the grand scheme of things and to focus more on the day to day. I would have to force myself to eat no matter what, they said. If I were to vomit, I was to try again until it stays. After all, what would the body use to recreate the cells lost during chemotherapy if the basic fuel needed to stay alive is lacking? Both had told me to focus less on the illness and more on life. Cancer today isn’t as ominous as before. The advances in science and technology have been able to prove that it can be beat. Think of it more as a slight bump on the road or a cold that will eventually pass. Both had told me to give a reason to stay alive a lot longer, for it is the urge
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to see that reason pull through that will keep my will to fight strong. Both had told me to remember to laugh, after all it is not cancer that kills, it is the depression and loss of all will to live that does. Both had told me to pray. Both had told me to adjust for life long changes. Changes like how I would live my life after the fight is over, what to eat, what to avoid and the like. Both had never said ‘if’, it was always a ‘when’. That was when the change began. At first it had taken some time before their advice would sink in and a longer time for it to sound applicable to my situation. Their positivity rubbed off on me and soon I was making even the simplest of messages my mantra. “When this is over, I will do that” I would say to myself, with a strong emphasis on when, if there was something I wanted to do. As the days breezed by, I would sometimes stop and realize that the end is almost in sight, that I have been able to live so far, that there was still a chance. Then
I looked at the two who had talked to me and realized that they had it a lot worse but despite all odds, they survived too. That was when I knew that I WILL survive this and no man, institution or god can stop me. It is nothing short of an honor for me to be able to call these people, all cancer victims in fact, as my brothers and sisters. It is then with this article that I would like to close my long, strange and arduous trip for merely a week before this publication’s release I had my last session of chemotherapy. I may have spent many nights crying myself to sleep or wishing nothing but the sweet embrace of death, but there were much more days where I decided to carry on with nothing but the promise of a day yet to come where things would go back to normal. I beg of you dear reader, to pass on the essence of hope to those who you know are suffering, be it from cancer or any terminal illness for it is this hope that keeps them alive.
I would like to end this article by dedicating it first to the two survivors: Carlos Pedrosa (Lymphoma, Stage IV), Jose Santiago (Nasopharyngeal Cancer, Stage IV), and to the rest of my brothers and sisters; those who are still with us: Grace Pacis (Cervical Cancer), Kattie Nomorosa (), Vianna Gabrielle Avanzado (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia), Aurea Francia (Colon Cancer), Shiela Torralba (Osteosarcoma), Miguel de Lira-Lopez (Sinonasal Adenocarcinoma), Laura de Lira-Lopez (Thyroid Cancer), Hedy Sarrosa (Folicular Thyroid Cancer), and those who are not: Ada Martinez (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). TC CanSurvive/CancerVive
LITERARY
Oh I’m sick to death of spin, And this banal, self-serving sin, That justifies usurpation like a king. When shove will come to push, Wielding power without blush, This vigilante State is so rightwing! Pop, pop, popular history, Grows a crop of myth and mystery, Where legends reap the cynical flattery, That maintains the lie: Of who we are, What we’ve become, In whose name, Was violence done; Of why we’re here, And how we came. Who’s excused, And who’s to blame. Of where we’re going, And where we’re from; And what we’re doing, To right the wrongs... Pop, pop, popular culture. Does it diminish or exalt you? Pop, pop, popular culture. Is it Art or just sheer torture? Pop, pop, popular culture; Soporific by it’s nature, From mediocre to bad. Pop, pop, popular culture, Confers on all a bland inertia,
Embracing every fad: Of how we look, The way we feel; What is image, And what is real. Of what to eat, And what to wear; How best to cheat, Or how to care. The puzzle of love, The seizures of hate; How best to survive, The quirks of cruel fate. The rule of the stars, Or the lives of the great; Hints from the famous, To grow and create... Pop, pop, popular culture. What you love, and what insults you. Pop, pop, popular culture. What you hate, and what co-opts you. Oh I’m bored to bits by cant. And all that ritualized behaviour, The patriotic fervor, That is the flavor of the year. To my cups I’ll so decant, For from high the view is clear: The world below is idiot, The age of farce is here! Pop, pop, popular culture. Selling slops of dizzy rapture. Pop, pop, popular culture. Nurtures minds to easy capture: What could be wrong, What could be right, When a little change, Inspires a fight, For what we think, Or how we live, Should we repent, More than we give? Can our actions Be so believed, When some are censured, And some reprieved..? Pop, pop, popular
history, Scuttles verity in a lonely estuary, And sinks the well of common fallacy: Those heroes never die! Pop, pop, popular history, Expels reality to forbidden territory, And absurdly plays tragedy, As a slick slapstick comedy, To entertain the lie: Of who we are, What we’ve become, In whose name, Was violence done; Of why we’re here, And how we came. Who’s excused, And who’s to blame. Of where we’re going, And where we’re from; And what we’re doing, To right the wrongs... Pop, pop, popular culture, Pulls out all stops to pimp and pander. Pop, pop, popular culture, Dead of meaning, truth or candor. Pop, pop, popular culture, Where vultures feed on lies and slander. Pop, pop, popular culture, The carrion flesh that’s propaganda!
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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN JAN 2013
DEBATE
SIN YES TO
EMMANUEL HERNANDEZ
On December 20, 2012, President Aquino signed RA 10351, or the first year of its implementation. Taxes collected from tobacco and program of the government. When this article was written, the ap The Philippines has one of the lowest prices for sin products like alcohol and cigarettes. The average price for cigarettes in the country is 27.72 pesos per pack compared to 365.2 pesos in Singapore, 146.08 pesos in Malaysia and 104.84 pesos in Thailand. Beer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is the one of the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the Philippines and is similarly very cheap compared to other countries. The affordable nature of these so-called sin products is the very reason why the consumption of which is so prevalent, especially among the price sensitive sectors of society like the youth and the poor. This Republic also has also had great increases in its smoking prevalence rate for all age classifications according to the 2011 ASEAN Tax Tobacco Report Card. TVIt is an established tenet that smoking is a health hazard. This is even admitted by tobacco companies themselves. It is most evident in the warnings they place in their products. The WHO considers alcohol as one of the leading causes of 20% to 50% of chronic diseases like liver cirrhosis, epilepsy and many cancers. There are measures to control the consumption of ‘sin’ products by taxation but the current Sin Tax law - Republic Act 9334 - has been proven to be ineffective and outdated. To add to the heavy matter, there is a projected deficit in our budget that really needs to be filled and the taxation of sin products is one way of doing it. It is high time that legislative measures be made to protect the health of the people and increase revenue. There is not a more opportune time to do it than
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now, when the current sin tax’s provision is about to expire and when the health problems of the Republic’s citizens are on the rise. HB 5727, in short, is a health protection and revenue increasing bill. The prices of sin products like cigarettes are increased to a very high cost to discourage the youth and the poor from buying them. The exorbitant increase in taxes is fair and not illegal. The government is in its right to do so to protect its citizens’ health. Even if you increase the prices of sin products to a very high rate, some consumers will still buy these products and help offset the loss of revenue that came from the youth and the poor’s consumption according to a study by Filomena Sta. Ana of the Action for Economic Reform. And so while consumers from certain sectors of society will still buy sin products and thereby help raise revenue because of raised taxes, the youth and the poor - as constituents of the majority and primary target sectors of society – will consequently be discouraged from further consumption of said highly-priced produces. Downshifting, or switching to cheaper products, is prevented by greatly increasing the tax of low-priced brands while high-priced brands are taxed a lower rate thus equalizing their prices and giving no alternative to those seeking cheaper brands. The case of smuggling is the primary concern of anti-smuggling laws and law enforcement. The Sin Tax Bill should be focused on the twopronged objectives of health care and revenue increase. This is not to say that smuggling and other illegal activities that can result from the
implementation of the bill should be ignored. Are we to stop the implementation and enforcement of laws with the threat of those who will go against it? Of course not! The bill also seeks to aid the people affected by sin products. 85% of the projected revenue collected will be used to fund the government’s Universal Health Care System while the remaining 15% will be used to aid tobacco farmers to shift to alternative crops. The bill will support those who have no or little means of getting medical treatment due to alcohol or tobacco related illnesses and help reduce the production of tobacco to ultimately reduce consumption without totally depriving the industries and people who depend on alcohol and tobacco as their livelihood. HB 5727 has been passed by the House of Representatives. The DOH and DOF, among others, have also shown their support. Other benefits from passing the bill into law include better credit ratings which will allow the country more options for other financial opportunities and the fulfillment of our international responsibilities to lower tobacco consumption. While its consequences should be hard-hitting and implementation of the bill will be tough, it has to be done. One has to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. TC
DEBATE
TAX
NO TO
KI-JEONG “JENNY” SHIM
Sin Tax Reform Law. The law aims to generate an estimate of P34B on the d alcohol will be channeled to the improvement of the universal healthcare pproval of the so-called Sin Tax Bill was still being debated about in Congress. As fully obvious as it is, the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes is a prevalent problem in the Republic of the Philippines, especially among those in the poor sectors and of course, the youth. Approximately, there are four million Filipino youths who are slaves to tobacco addiction; taking up a huge chunk of the 21 million-strong general smoking population. In order to counteract this problem, the House of Representatives thought it best to resort to raising exorbitant excise taxes to both cigarettes and alcohol. This is to “fix” the inefficiency of the status quo, RA9334. Thus, came the birth of House Bill 5727. The bill’s main goals are to raise revenue (15% of which would go to the misplaced tobacco farmers to help shift them to other crops and the rest to Universal Health Care) and of course, to curb general consumption of these deadly “sin products”. This seems to be the quick fix, but it is not. The bill’s exorbitant tax hikes would make tobacco and alcohol products more costly. However, instead of quitting smoking and drinking, the average consumers will simply look for cheaper alternatives. A study done by Richard Williams and Katelyn Christ of George Mason University (Virginia, USA) reveals that the discouragement of unhealthy behavior from the Sin Tax is a myth. According to their study, consumers, when faced with higher priced tobacco, have been proved to not react immediately by quitting smoking - they simply look for cheaper alternatives. With the current version of HB5727, where tax hikes could be as high as 709% to 1003%, there will be no cheaper alternatives. Thus, the average Filipino consumer will dart to the black market. In the United States - where a cigarette pack costs $9 (approximately P380) - the black market
accounts for 40% of cigarette consumption. In Hungary, excessive excise tax hikes led to a rapid increase in illicit trade, comprising 26% of cigarette consumption in 2005. In Malaysia, according to a report by Goldman Sachs in 2009, a 172% increase in excise tax resulted to a shocking 9 billion sticks of smuggled cigarettes being consumed each year. In Singapore, according to the records of Singapore’s Ministry of Finance and Department of Statistics, when the excise tax was increased by 135% between the years 2000 to 2005, revenue increased until the year 2003. However, by the year 2004, the total revenue from the industry rapidly plummeted by 43%. Likewise, the number of illegal cigarettes being seized by customs rocketed from 8 million to 106 million in 2006. Exorbitant and unreasonable tax hikes only deter consumers from smoking high priced, regulated, and taxed tobacco products. Such tax hikes do not deter consumers from consuming cheap, unregulated, untaxed smuggled counterparts. Secondly, HB 5727 will not increase revenue. As pointed out earlier, exorbitant tax hikes deter consumers from consuming high priced and taxed tobacco and alcohol and force them to resort to their cheap smuggled alternatives. Are smuggled goods taxed? Obviously not. The government does not and will never derive tax from smuggled goods. With not enough revenue to earmark, the government will not be able to fund its Universal Health Care Program as promised by HB 5727. Further, Steven Cua of the Philippine Supermarkets Association warns that, with the exorbitant tax hikes, supermarkets may choose
to no longer sell legitimate tobacco and alcohol because of low demand. The tax hikes would also affect the earnings of the 700,000 sari-sari stores in the country. Worst of all, Senator Ralph Recto warns that HB 5727’s passage into law will push the 2.9 Filipinos who are employed or dependent on the tobacco and alcohol industry to the brink of drastic unemployment. Supporters of the bill say that there is nothing to worry about: HB 5727 would earmark 15% of the targeted revenue to help affected farmers shift to alternative crops. Really? At present, our tobacco industry is thriving. Tobacco exports rose from 43 million kilograms in 2008 to 56 million kilograms in 2010, generating nearly $270 million in export. According to the National Tobacco Administration, our tobacco industry ranks as one of the country’s most important drivers of economic growth. As of October 2011, local tobacco growers registered a bumper crop of 79 million kilos valued at 5.2 billion pesos. Production rose by 10.9% or twice the average 5% growth rate for all other crops. The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics shows that tobacco registers a much higher farm-gate price of P67 per kilo to P15 per kilo for palay, P12 per kilo for corn, and P13 per kilo for tomatoes. Today, the average income of tobacco growers ranges from P40,000 to P100,000 per hectare. With these figures - dear friends I ask you now this - why pass an exorbitant tax measure that would force tobacco farmers to shift to other less lucrative crops? Why pass an exorbitant tax measure that would kill this thriving industry? TC
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EDITORIAL
The Ills of Student Democracy
{THE SSC EXPERIENCE } Marlouize Villanueva
Beyond reasonable doubt, our Supreme Student Council has been on the receiving end of brutal criticism; criticisms such as questionable objectives, lapses in information dissemination, poor campus presence and rampant party politics. All of this has lead to the general impression that the current system is no longer representative; rather it is irresponsive to the student, to the student body. Furthermore it has become inefficient in carrying out its duty as the defender and promoter of student welfare.
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EDITORIAL
While these criticisms may be well written and even quite convincing, one can see that they lack depth and beneath the surface, appeal more to emotions than logic - basing on assumptions rather than truth and declaring from up high, but with weak grounding. Concise as they seem to be, these postulations fail to answer a fundamental question: “What then? What do you suggest we do about it?” But first in order to attempt a cure of this disease we must first dissect it. In its most neutral terms, politics is a process of interchange between people within a system. Explicitly, political partisanship runs rampant in our student government. Activities initiated by the SSC are tagged and credited to Party A or Party B. Come elections, activities done as a whole are claimed by contending parties to give the impression that their party is the vanguard of the student interest. Shrewdly enough this way has produced outcomes. And it is these outcomes that the majority of students are concerned with.
whims of a politically immature electorate. However despite these deficiencies, the SSC strives to stand against the endless bouts of criticism and take these as reasons to be more resilient in their pursuits. This is a government which chooses to work behind the curtain to be more effective rather than working in the limelight to further gain popularity and votes for the next elections to benefit their party. Overall the system is flawed; but despite these flaws continuing to persevere, can we really leave it at that? Is there no real alternative to this situation?
Democracy in this case is now skewed. What was to be a system modeled after a republican form of government, where the principles of representation and renovation are enshrined - representation, being that the government is chosen by the electorate and renovation, where the elected officials are replaced.
Let us post an alternative then: What if we reform the supreme student government– a reform in representation, if you will? The current SSC is composed of one president, one vice president, and twentyone councilors elected at large. This commentary sees that this current system is inherently unrepresentative as the electorate has the tendency to vote for the most popular and appealing candidate rather than the platform that the candidate bears. This commentary asserts that councilors that are elected at large be replaced with elected representatives from each department - a student parliament if you will, where each of the elected represent the interests of their colleges and departments. This would make for a more decentralized distribution of duties, where the needs of all colleges and departments are brought to equal emphasis.
The task now of representing the interest of the student electorate has been shouldered by the political parties, and though it must be acknowledged that the ultimate aim of every political party is to promote the welfare of the student body based on their own notions of “student welfare”, the value system of the student body is different – candidate comes above platform, popularity above welfare. This welfare has been jeopardized with popularity. The election of the SSC can be equated thus as the showcase of candidates with Congeniality. The efficiency of the student government in their representing the interest of the students has been placed in the hands of the wanton, capricious
Perhaps, there are a lot of aspects that need be considered in order to determine the efficacy of an organization. Mishaps may come from systematic errors or faults from the people running the system itself. In the case of SSC, this commentary sees that it is due time that the student government design its programs in line with the immediate needs of the students. It is also proper for the student body to not limit itself as the recipient of the projects of the SSC and must instead expand its role in the formation of policy through active participation. These being stated, a way in which this issue can be addressed is through a reform in representation in the Council. TC
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FEATURE
UNHEARD PHOTOGRAPH BY BERNADETTE JALOCON
PAULO FRANGELYCO MAGALLON
SENTIMENTS OF A CAMPUS SECURITY GUARD My colleagues and I have planned on doing an interview with one of the campus security guards for some time now but have never really gotten to it because all of us would always be occupied with a lot of things to do. However, one evening changed that. I was at a corridor talking to a friend of mine about the oral defenses going on at the time in our department. We were both quite nervous then. Suddenly, out of the blue, one random guard approached us.
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FEATURE
He looked rather disappointed whilst carrying two bibles which he seemed to have gotten from one of the classrooms he just checked. As he got closer, we both stared at him; we thought he was going to confiscate our IDs for some reason we could not really think of (irrational fears really work up on us at this point in college life). However, his kindly voice made all the difference. He didn’t sound like he was reprimanding us at all; instead, he asked if my friend and I were willing to listen to what he had to say. Let me tell you this: it’s rare moments like this that surprise you in a beautiful way. A random person approaching us out of the blue and asking if we had the time to listen to what he had to say – and a nonreprimanding security guard at that! At first we didn’t really know how to react but we nodded awkwardly anyway. He began by saying, “Kahibaw ba mo? Disappointing kaayo.” (Did you know? It’s really disappointing). He went on saying how disappointing it was to find the properties of students such as bibles carelessly left behind. The guard obviously saw this as an issue on what USC students value more, since most are usually more concerned with finding their lost wallets, cell phones and other electronic devices rather than getting their bibles back when they lose them–which incidentally, according to him, are piling up in their stockrooms (I saw it first-hand, he wasn’t joking). He talked further, saying that students should give more importance to the little things that are usually taken for granted. He started opening up about his life as a security guard, conveniently describing what it was actually like. He said it is difficult on their part, “Makapahuot sa kasing-kasing usahay kay naay mga estudyante na
sakit kaayo’g mga ipangsulti sa amo ’nya wa sila kahibaw unsa among side.” (Sometimes it hurts because there are harsh things that students tell us when they don’t even know our side). He assured us that no matter how much students complain; they’re only doing what they’re tasked to do, and that is to protect the lives and properties of students. He then proceeded to tell us about student relationships. According to the guard, there had once been a girl left in one of the classrooms; and when one of the maintenance men found her, she was bleeding heavilly. Mister guard was in charge of that area back then and he was shocked as he saw that scene because he did not expect for that kind of incident to happen within school premises. After further investigation, the campus security office found out that the incident had happened because of an issue concerning the girl’s relationship. The guard then encouraged us to continue with our studies first before getting serious with relationships. He shared to us many more stories about the things that happened in school of which no one ever really bothered to know or even expect to happen. He told us that the Security Office keeps a record of everything, from minor to major incidents.
welfare. “As the security guards of this university our plight is always to protect the properties and lives of the students.”
I asked him about some policies in school and what the Security Office thinks about them. He politely declined to speak in behalf of the entire campus security force, but stated instead that, as an individual he sympathizes with the students on some issues on school policies. Like us students, there are some policies that even some of the guards do not readily align themselves with. “Di ko musulti unsa pero naa.” (I won’t say which one but there are), he said. He added that on top of everything else, the security and the administration are only thinking of the students’
P.S. Our subject requested for his name and station to not be mentioned in this article not because of fear of his superiors but rather to show the students that he is among the many other nameless people who do honest and diligent work and stand for what they believe is correct. We also understand that this article can still be provided with more in-depth information and recognition, and as such we encourage that you send us your comments and suggestions regarding this editorial to todayscarolinianusc@gmail.com.
Most employees like security guards are often taken for granted and seldom appreciated, especially in school where it seems easy for most of us to just dismiss them as “minor” members of the educational body. We may complain about them most of the time, but when we really get to know them and acknowledge the importance of their presence in the community we collectively belong to, we just might begin to be able to establish a bond that will enable us all to really work together and bring this institution to the heights it has always longed for. TC
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FEATURE
MARGEL CHRISTINE MALLEN
A PROPOSED
MASTER
PLAN FOR
USC-TC LOWER CAMPUS 1. JEEPNEY STOP 2. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL MALL 3. PROPOSED MALL EXPANSION 4. PROPOSED HOTEL & ALUMNI CENTER 5. SHUTTLE TERMINAL 6. BASKETBALL COURT 7. PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION BLDG
UPPER CAMPUS (ACADEMIC PRECINCT) 8. ARNOLDS SCIENCE COMPLEX 9. PROPOSED MULTI-STOREY DORMITORY 10. ROBERT HOEPPENER (NURSING & PHARMACY) BLDG 11. PHILIP VAN ENGELEN (CAS) BLDG 12. PROPOSED MUSEUM 13. PROPOSED ACADEMIC PLAZA 15. PROPOSED PIAZZA 16. PROPOSED ENGINEERING BLDG 17. ENGINEERING CONFIRANCE BLDG 18. CAFA BLDG 19.CHURCH OF ST. ARNOLD & ST. JOSEPH ACADEMIC SUPPORT STRUCTURES 20. UNIVERSITY STADIUM 21. SVD RESIDENCES 22. USC RETREAT HOUSE 23. GENERAL SERVICES BLDG OPEN SPACES 24. PROPOSED UNIVERSITY GARDEN 25. UNIVERSITY COMMONS 26. PROPOSED NATURE PARK 27. FUTURE BLDG SITE
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FEATURE
The design concept of the proposed master plan for the Talamban Campus is aimed at steering the University of San Carlos towards higher quality education, such that expansion and development is inevitable for future progressions. The layout is certainly aimed at catering to USC members’ need for further comfort in a more accessible, high standard and environmentally friendly institution integrating green architecture practices upon which students, professors and occupants alike are to experience a university conducive for education. Its concept is to provide a campus that is flexible to any future developments while
the unity and rationality of the entire university remains intact. Guided with a grand axis perpendicular to Gov. M.J Cuenco St. and passing through the entire developed part of the university grounds, it is then characterized into two main parts: the lower campus and the upper campus upon which security and privacy purposes such as gates, check points and main entry to the academic area are to be located between the two divisions. LOWER CAMPUS The lower campus basically comprises the more public areas. It is to be situated
around the University Garden, the primary feature aligned with the axis. It is then contemplated to be a flaunting and embellished landscaped garden that will serve as a “front yard” of the campus. Located to the right of the garden is to be an area allocated for a proposed hotel and alumni center while on the left is to be the Bunzel building proposed as a commercial mall provided with offices on the upper floors. Moving forward along the axis will be the Administration building located right in front of the garden. This edifice is then visualized to be built on a pilotis creating
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FEATURE
an open ground floor that will serve as a reception and exhibit area, exposing the vista of the axis. UPPER CAMPUS The upper campus where the academic sector is to be established begins from the University Commons which is located right after the Administration building. The Commons is to be a less flamboyant landscaped garden that leads the axis to the base of the hill, where the Sts. Arnold and Joseph Church is located to the left; and to the right the Arnoldus Science Complex (Science and Math Building) and the Philip van Engelen (CAS) Building accessible and connected to the Commons making use of walks, stairs and ramps as it is to be provided. The Commons is actually to be found in the lower elevations of the campus, at this junction where the axis intersects the base of the hill is where the University Piazza will be located. “The [sic] Piazza is said to be a circular platform raised on stilts that will serve as
the main dining facility of the campus” (Author of quoted statement). So, the axis of this juncture will be elevated perpendicularly to the level of the University Avenue pivoting its axis towards the Academic Plaza, where pedestrians may access the Piazza through a scenic elevator. The landscaped areas such that of the University Commons and the University Garden, are classified and zoned as open spaces, firmly restricting buildings and structures to be erected upon their grounds. Going further to the upper campus will be the Proposed Academic Plaza. This plaza is a “terraced platform” which elevates the pedestrians from the lower loop to the entrance of the Learning Resource Center and the Proposed University Museum through a stepped ramp, which will be easier to access. It will also maximize scenic views of the monument of San Carlos Borromeo which is to be erected. The original plan was to have 2 basement parking areas beneath the plaza accommodating 420 cars but was reduced to 66 parking areas due to budget constraints. “All parking areas are to be located underground in basements for greeneries to surmount the entire landscaping and no cars are to be seen above” said Arch’t. Michael Espina, Dean of the USC College of Architecture and Fine Arts and one of the proponents of the masterplan. Further land areas of USC-TC are the existing Retreat House, SVD residences and vicinity for future building sites. THE STREET SYSTEM One of the most essential concepts in this planning is the provision of pedestrian paths for comfort and ease. The street system fundamentally contains the University Avenue (the lower loop road) that will be the main vehicular access connecting lower and upper campuses and the upper loop road which will provide the access to the Robert Hoeppener Building, The University Stadium, and the Nature Park. These loops will have some minor roads connecting other colleges and buildings. The width of these roads will be only up to 9.00 meters and a 4-meter sidewalk in it that will connect all buildings along this loop. Also an “alternate all weather pedestrian walkway” is proposed connecting all academic areas to and from the lower campus. Finally, PUJs will be allowed only for a limited area at the lower campus where the jeepney stop will be located in front of the Proposed Commercial Mall to reduce the traffic and overcrowding along the main road. This will result in the pedestrians having to walk through the mall to reach the shuttle terminal of the in-campus area. TC
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IMAGE: Joseph Kony poster from The Invisible Children (http://www.mysocialagency.com)
ESSAY
KIM TIANGCO
SLACKTIVISM A VIRAL DISEASE
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke) It was in 2007 that Facebook first made its way into the internet and eventually into our daily lives. It changed the way we communicate with one another. Today, it is one of the best and most visited websites since Friendster and My Space. It revolutionized the way we share information. 41
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ESSAY
slacktivism [ˈslæktɪˌvɪzəm] —n 1.The public proclaiming of one’s political beliefs through activities that require little effort or commitment. 2.A blend of slacker and activism THE HUMAN CONNECTION Since the birth of the internet, we have been able to access information unavailable in mass media. Facebook gives us the means to share this information with one another and create new information from it. Still, we cannot deny that we’ve been so caught up in this virtual world that we tend to forget about the real deal. We share on Facebook photos and videos of ourselves doing nothing, which is sometimes hilarious, but it gets old at some point. We are stuck with this perpetual urge to shape our virtual persona that we tend to spend more time on the internet than with our non-virtual
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selves and actual presence of our friends. There is some truth when people say that we’re starting to lose our (in its classical sense) “human connection.” We forget about what’s out there, and why we’re exchanging information in the first place. Sometimes, in an attempt to remind ourselves that there is a real world outside of the worldwide web, we “repost” articles about social issues trending on Twitter or on our Facebook newsfeed. If we’re not too lazy, we comment about them, too. Although this helps us raise awareness, it does not guarantee action. There is a difference between being aware of something while not doing something about it, and being aware of something while actually doing something about it. THE KONY SYNDROME Earlier this year, we came across a trend that (temporarily) shook the internet and raised a certain level of concern among the youth. According to Wikipedia, which a lot of people believe to be a “reliable” source of information, Joseph Kony is the head of a Ugandan guerilla group who abducts children and exploits them in unimaginable ways. Videos and blogs dedicated to let people know of his existence sprouted all over the internet. The hate for Joseph Kony went viral after the Invisible Children, a group dedicated to “expose” Joseph Kony’s actions, launched the Kony 2012 campaign. I remember reposting a video entitled “Kony 2012” by the Invisible Children. I didn’t know what it was about, but seeing that it gathered about 80 million views in a matter of days, I reposted it for future reference anyway.
A few days later, there was nothing on my newsfeed but a blast of antiKony posts and several debates questioning the issue’s authenticity. What amazed me was not the issue itself, but the way people behaved towards it. People shared their thoughts and “liked” videos about the issue, mostly anti-Kony sentiments. Others criticized the fact that most people didn’t even research about what they posted. It was a temporary hype, a fad. It became an “in” thing to hate Joseph Kony, a person we knew nothing about. I was even more baffled by my own irrational behavior, as I forgot to research about the issue and focused instead on the Facebook drama it triggered. But just like all internet fads and memes, the Kony bandwagon fizzled out slowly and quietly. People suddenly stopped caring about the issue and moved on to the next one. BLACK TUESDAY Weeks ago, the President signed a bill that would change the way Filipinos use the internet forever. RA 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, spurred criticisms from Filipino netizens and politicians alike. Some senators strongly disagreed with the recently passed law. However, some were adamant in their stand to implement the law. This issue earned the ire of Filipino netizens throughout the country. It was a Tuesday (October 2) when netizens (myself included) changed their Facebook profile pictures and their website themes to black to show their stand on the issue. I could go on about the whole story of why we protested about it, but that’s not the point in question.
IMAGE: Cybercrime graphic ad from Pixel Offensive
ESSAY
Unlike the Kony bandwagon, the online and offline protests against RA10175 hit much closer to home. People rallied outside the Supreme Court. Students wrote about their stand. Lawyers shared their thoughts through online videos and forums. People read about the said law and wrote about why they find it distasteful or reasonable. Even the simplest act of changing profile pictures made its way to mainstream media. The online outcry was loud enough to reach the Malacañan Palace and the Senate that (as of this writing) some Senators, partylists and civilians filed (formal and online) petitions to revise, nullify, or amend the law. But we have to remember that although the protests did have its effects, it will be useless until we see the actual change manifest. The Black Tuesday’s victory in reaching out to the mainstream media and the government officials does not imply that online protests are always effective. It just so happens that the issue we’re talking about is affecting our country and the internet itself. THE DISEASE For some reason, we have the notion that liking and sharing photos and links will change the world
drastically. We have become so caught up with this belief that the term “Slakctivist” was coined to refer to people who solely rely on what their newsfeeds give them.
and let’s not rely on what others feed us. We have to decide on things on your own. If someone can lead us in, someone can surely lead us out.
This behavior has become so viral that, like a new strain of disease, it spreadsitself in every new issue that surfaces on the internet. We have become so dependent on social media that most of us, especially students, can’t help but be a slacker and an “activist” at the same time. We all know that we are inevitably spiralling down into the world of social media. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, though. Surely enough, liking and sharing photos and links will raise awareness to a certain level, but what’s more important is the action that follows this awareness. If only the number of likes and shares on Facebook is directly proportional to the amount of effort we exert to actually make a change (or try to improve ourselves), the world would be (cliché as it may sound), by now, a better place.
2. Engage ourselves in healthy discussions and/or debates. While mundane conversations are inevitable in everyday life, we should take time to sit down with our friends and talk about something that can help us open our eyes to other people’s opinions.
There are more ways to help our community than just sitting around and mindlessly re-sharing links. 1. One way is to educate ourselves. For instance, when reading about the law, let’s go to the actual source
3. Practice action. If we say that we’re going to do something, we have to do it right away. 4. Write to our local government unit, senators and congressmen. There are lots of websites where we can find our government officials’ e-mail addresses. Here’s a list of our senators’ office addresses and e-mail addresses: http://www.pcoo. gov.ph/senate-dir.htm. The cure to this disease seems easy: get away from our computers and think, “What can we do to help solve this problem?” If we can come up with some sort of answer, then we should act on it right away. If not, all we can do is move on and hope the problem goes away. TC
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Our Game THIS TIME Reyster Mae Perez Illustration by Paulette Norrie
What does the 21st century have in common with the age that saw the demise of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago? The answer is all around us, even in the most minute of details. Wherever we look, we are faced with downbeat assessments of the prospects for the global economy. Waves of biodiversity losses meet us in magnitudes that have never been seen before, and it is these losses that make the present mirror the cataclysm that ended the dinosaurs’ era. Beyond the immediate consequences, what does the crisis tell us? The blunt riposte is most likely in the kind of business model that society has always followed. Perpetually dependent on growth, this model reveals a serious intrinsic flaw in the
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assumption that scarcity will always be a major limitation. We have come to understand then, that this meant requiring continuous investments and ever more resources. Today, that some two billion people barely survive on less than two dollars per day, for example, is to point out how this market model has hardly worked. One need not be a keen observer in order to realize that not only has this paradigm led to exploitative economies; it also paved the way for the continuing collapse of our natural environment. So where have we gone wrong? At least in principle, we can offer one
Originally written for issue AY 2012-2013 of Lantawan Magazine. Published with permission from the editor.
ESSAY
ESSAY
answer, phrased lucidly by Achim Steiner in his article “The Challenge of Climate Change”, published in the first issue of the international quarterly United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) magazine Making It; ‘Our patterns of growth and development have always heavily relied on investment on financial capital without paying equal attention to investment in human and natural capital’. It would be specious to say that we can actually come up with an allin-one solution, such as generating more employment. A reform that efficiently combines welfare and material use would be necessary. However, one such reform should also address the difficult question of values, more essentially the profound disquiet of humans towards their own situation and relative to others when confronted with issues that involve their means of survival. One need not look far in order to understand the effects of the detached capitalism implicated in the situation, for we certainly have it in the neighborhood level. Movement for Livable Cebu (MLC) OIC Teresa Ruelas cited an example during an interview. “Just recently, I had been invited to attend a public hearing on whether or not to put up an incinerator in Inayawan. Very quickly [MLC] is studying it, because we have found that there are conflicting indicators as to whether [or not] it is appropriate for the environment [and] for the community that lives around Inayawan. You can just see that [the residents] have been there for a very long time, and they’ve actually created a livelihood for themselves among the garbage. Their lives have technically been built around the
place. So you see the complexity of the issue, and all the different values about it.” The Inayawan dumpsite is the largest sanitary landfill in Cebu City. Despite Mayor Michael Rama’s December 2011 release of an order to close the site in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003), solid waste still continues to pile up beyond the area’s normal capacity. In fact, about 60 percent of the average 325 tons daily of collected solid waste by the city still end up in the landfill. A local newspaper recently reported that according to the facility’s operation manager, the remaining 40 percent is transferred to the private landfill in Consolacion town. That up to now there remains to be no closure plan and we still see the continued dumping of wastes in the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill Facility (SLF) notwithstanding RA 9003 may be owed to the fact that there is a pending proposal for the implementation of a ‘Waste-toEnergy project’. “See? They’re even branding the whole thing. In this particular issue, we are all forced to rethink and evaluate our stand on the matter. What will ‘livable Cebu’ really mean in this case? Is it that we get to solve the waste problem by clearing it out of our drainage systems, for example? Exactly how do we do that? There are those who feel like, ‘Let’s just put the latest technology in there and that will solve the problem once and for all’. And then there are those who say, ‘No, let’s reinforce RA 9003.’ The [Republic Act] is one that includes the requirement of all barangays, all households to segregate their wastes; and that every barangay should have its own
MRF, or Material Recovery Facility. And still there’s the city that says, ‘Let’s just burn it all.’ So we see how complex a problem can really be, because it enters the lifestyles and values of the community”, Ruelas continued. So what happens now? The intricacy of the issue indicates that there is a need to look past the perceptible aspects of sanitation and pollution control, sustained livelihood, and the fulfillment of basic needs such as settlement for the Inayawan residents in order for an apposite solution to be devised. A lot of the people whose lives are caught up in the situation are struggling to keep their homes, feed their families, and provide health care for their children. The predicament with Inayawan SLF is therefore an example of how local, environmental, and economic problems are fundamentally connected to each other. We then go back to the notion that all these years, we had been following a flawed business model, and realize that these common issues stem from a kind of economy that rewards profits above everything else. Yet again, Steiner nails down the idea in his 2009 Making It magazine editorial where he wrote, verbatim: The continual neglect of investment in conserving and regenerating natural capital is increasingly undermining the basis of livelihoods and wealth creation. This particularly affects the poor and most vulnerable segments of society. The imbalance in patterns of investment in economic, human, and natural capital represents a challenge for long-term sustainable environment, and must be given due attention in the global effort to rebuild economies.
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ESSAY
Obviously, there is no one organization that can make the necessary changes alone. Carrying out our solution concepts may practically mean an all-embracing overhaul of the way we live our daily lives as ordinary citizens and of the way Cebu does everyday business. Primarily, we must understand that we can only transform societal structures and inspire others to partake in the change to the extent that we transform ourselves and embody the revolution we want to see in society. “Society is made up of three institutions that are supposed to come together. First, there’s polity or governance. Second there’s economy or business, or that part which brings in income. And then third there is culture, or the civil society, whose ultimate role is to uphold the character, the spirit, the essence of our community. What kind of city do we want Cebu City to be? Do we want it to be, for example, a Singapore where everything is glass and concrete? Do we want it to be like the West, the United States? Is that us? It is civil society’s role to protect, defend, and nurture what is truly our own. Our own culture. Our own heritage. Our own style. The things that we can claim to be uniquely us”, Miss Ruelas said. Society’s three institutions must therefore shift the focus from insatiable capitalism to the recognition and preservation of the innate values of our community in order to not only protect our own culture and identity, but in the process preserve the natural ecosystems around us, too. Respect for humanity should mean respect for the rest of creation. From where we stand today,
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we must know what needs to be changed, but it must be understood that we can never change things by fighting what’s already there. For us to understand where we should go from here, a leap of faith and a leap in conventions must come to pass. Buckminster Fuller put it this way: To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Certainly, we must mean business this time. The world has had enough of trial-and-errors. Let’s reassess. After almost two decades since the Kyoto Declaration, where are we today in terms of addressing our problems on environmental degradation and climate change? Moreover, nearly three years after the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, where has the framework on climate change mitigation beyond 2012 gone? Lastly, we still seem to feel the resonating effect of the Great Depression on present enterprises. How much have we improved since our experience during the world’s deepest and most wounding economic setback in the 1930s? As a final point, Idea Number 1 in the article The Ten Ideas That Will Change the World – For the Better, published by Time Magazine on March 28, 2011, is entitled “Sweet Bird of Youth! The Case for Optimism”. Written by Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation, the article puts forward the idea that the growing youth population just might be the key to winging our way towards global economic growth.
The point is best set forth by Robert F. Kennedy in his speech “The Day of Affirmation”, (the title should be familiar, as this piece recently caught public attention due to, however harrowing this may sound, its being allegedly plagiarized by one of our senators). Kennedy said, literally, “This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease…” So I guess this is where the author and fellow members of this mobiletapping, politically supine generation come in. In the face of the forces that challenge humanity, we just might be what it takes to drive the public towards being more involved in the furtherance of comprehensive economic development, ecological preservation, and the continuance of society-driven governance and democracy. Take what happened in Yemen in 2011. Young Arab protesters actually felled the dictatorship of a famously inflexible ruler into promising not to run for reelection. Their methods? Amplified protests through rap, Facebook, and mobile phones. Evidently, gone are the days when burgeoning youth populations the world over would simply be dismissed as a problem of the society. Amid crises, we just might have found the right place and precise moment to say, ‘It’s our game this time’. TC
LITERARY
I can feel it, I can already smell it It is days away, it is exams away Liberty, freedom, solitude, and ease Away from all these, away from all of the them We have been burdened and burned For many straight moons now Squeezed tight by pressure and dates of death Incinerated by the flames of tests and cooked by the results Our actions, stringed by many puppeteers Tying us up with their attachments to knowledge Some of us become marionettes and some zombies Others resist, revolt and end up choked with taut ropes
ED CAÑETE
[BREAK] Now it is time to replenish, refresh; To take a break from the hassle and pain; And enjoy life because YOLO they say; To recollect and feel the love of the family again But behind the ugly load we leave Something valuable is dragged with it The time we spent with friends and special companies, Will cease for the moment and remain as memories So we face this break, this time out With happy faces, with joyful feelings Or with sullen moods and longing passions But we’ll be back and so are the good the bad times
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REPRINT
SO RED. THE ROSE. FIRST PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 1992, VOL. 10, NO. 1
We usually get an extra pump of adrenaline whenever we get positive feedback on Today’s CAROLINIAN. The paper has indeed gone a long way since its reestablishment in 1984. But through these years, it limped with the stigma that TC is stuffed with men and women whose political conviction runs parallel with those of the so-called “left.” And, as if to bolster this misconception for two years now, we have come up with features magazine which liberally printed the color red within and without. Red? Is the choice of color an affirmation that TC has become a rabid fan of Marx and Mao combined? Admittedly, the choice of color was not a difficult decision to make. For one, our creative department was given a free hand in charting out solutions to archetypal page design problems. Like gray text. Or the prosaic dullness of a mugshot. Considering that our measly semestral budget of P8 per student (other schools collect P24.50) limits our publication
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to an “either-or” dilemma of releasing a glossy-cover issue or a two-color newsprint magazine, we settled for the latter. And the unanimous choice of color was RED. To justify this choice is a very technical matter to discuss for paper production has never been an easy topic to digest. However, can you imagine reading a reversed or surprinted text using benign blue, morbid maroon, or pretty pink? A lot of credit for red goes for its flexibility and versatility in the actual creative design process. And if only for this reason, the editorial board decided to disregard the color’s political implications. The two-color image (red and black) and the singular use of resident typefaces or fonts are actually aimed at establishing a design consistency, for which TC is hoped to be known and identified. Just like the red borderlines of TIME magazine. Or perhaps, the award-winning New York Times. Or its brown counterpart, The Chronicle. We are looking forward to that day when Carolinians can actually pick out Today’s CAROLINIAN from a bunch of other publications, even when its’s turned upside down. folded., and viewed 30 feet away.
That is our definition of positive identification with our valued readers. By sending us commentaries on current issues, original manuscripts in the genres of poems and fiction, you are helping us rebuild the new Today’s CAROLINIAN. Not just a compendium of paper pages, but a valuable collection of the thoughts, ideas, and aspirations of a people. The News & Entertainment section now comes out as a separate tabloid, giving equal space to the TEC, Main, and Talamban Campuses. To serve as TC drop-in points, office and desk bureaus will be set up in each campus, hoping to make closer contact with the studentry. So read on. Get to feel every page. And while you’re at it, don’t think of red as an invitation to go and head for the hills. Nor try to drown yourself from the drooling mad lovesick crowd going head over heels on some cute guy or gal. After all, red is the color of the season. Happy Valentines! TC
FEATURE
Neil Briones
Karl Lucente
Gale Osorio
SABADO ODABAS PATRICIA NARSICO
Binisaya is a Cebu-based film festival, organized by award-winning director and CAFA-USC alumnus Keith Deligero and started in 2011 with the installment labeled “Biyernes! Biyernes!”. This year’s episode was themed “Sabado! Sabado!” and showcased 7 15-minute short films by local directors. Three of the filmmakers whose works are featured in the 2012 festival are students of the USC Fine Arts programs namely Karl Dominic Lucente, currently in his fourth year as an Advertising Arts major; Neil Angelo Briones, a first year student under BFA-Cinema; and Gale Osorio, who is one of the first students to enroll in the Master of Fine Arts in Cinema program of the University.
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FEATURE
The short film by Neil Briones is about a rich man pretending to be a street hobo – going around Cebu reading tarot cards to random people. His deck is called “Tarot ng Kaduluman” (Tarot of Darkness) and every after 11 seconds of flipping the last card, misfortune comes to those whom he gives the readings to. He enjoys one unfortunate event unfold after another until he meets a girl who holds the “Tarot ng Kahayag” (Tarot of Light). The female tarot reader, instead of giving out misfortune renders the opposite. In the end the two get hemmed in a chase scene. Finally, the girl gets hold of the man’s deck and throws at him the “Tarot ng Kahayag.
In this ambush interview, the writer talks to the three up-and-coming filmmakers about their entering their respective Binisaya Festival films.
Karl Lucente’s short film, is about a girl mourning her father’s death. Overwhelmed by her grief, she resorts to alcohol and drugs. Suddenly, she sees someone seemingly unfamiliar at first - running out of her house.` She follows the person and manages to catch the latter. Getting a closer look at the intruder, she is astounded at how exactly they look like each other. This doppelganger of a girl then drags our first main character into a house that is identical to hers. Inside, she sees what easily seemed to be her father – alive. The story then takes an abrupt turn as the first girl sees the doppelganger kissing the former’s boyfriend. One has yet to see what happens next in this plot that will take definitely take the viewer spiraling from one emotion to another.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Southernlads Productions, an independent and emerging small-scale film productions group, is composed of young USC students. Karl, Neil, and Gale are some of its members.
Gale Osorio entered the pseudo-avant garde *title*, a story about a girl living in a house in the mountains and a stagehand. The voice of a man serves as the main POV, and he tells of how the stagehand falls in love with the ballerina, mustering the courage to ask her out. Meanwhile the girl starts takes a walk around the mountains, until she goes to the park to play hide-and-seek with the stagehand. The ballerina hides while the stage-hand is “it”, but when the latter is not able to find her cannot find her, he decides to go home. The ballerina waits, but the stagehand does not return.
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Today’s Carolinian: How does it feel to be a part of this year’s Binisaya? Karl Lucente: I’m pressured, it’s a different feeling compared to just working in Southernlads because [with Southernlads], we make short films when we feel like it and most of the time it’s basically just us. Now it’s different because we three joined Binisaya separately and each did his own short.
Neil Briones: It’s exciting, it’s my first time. Gale Osorio: Feels great! Part man sad mi sa Binisaya last year—we (Southernlads) were asked to document the event. This year we’re actually making shorts as entries to the festival and it’s a great chance for us to experience what it’s like to screen our films in the big screen. TC: What can we expect from your short film? Karl: Just don’t expect anything. I’m relatively new to this and there is always the pressure. I’m not sure if the result would be nice. There’s a challenge because I’m not the only director joining this. There’s seven of us and every one has pretty good ideas. Neil: It’s average and yet somewhat critical because I want to join, but camera is not breathtaking or an accelerating thing. Gale: My short story actually came from a dream and dreams, as we all know, don’t dwell in reality so just expect for my story to not really make sense.
TC: Where did you get your inspiration for your short film? Karl: I got pressured because we had a lot of ideas. It came a point when we had to think hard about production because the grant was small. We realized that it’s time we took everything really seriously and that’s where I drew inspiration from. Neil: Actually, my friend gave me the idea for this film. She told me to do something that hasn’t been seen in the local film scene yet. I agreed with her idea and was excited at the prospect of creating such a short film. TC: Are you nervous about your short film being publicly screen? Karl: Kind of, my concept is doable and I have no idea where I got it. Neil: Sometimes no, sometimes yes. The reason I get nervous is because I have a lot of things going on; I have my majors which are CIN212 (Basic Screenwriting) and FA114 (History of Arts). And then there’s a documentary that I have to colorgrade. If I didn’t have to work on those things at the same time then I wouldn’t be nervous. Gale: Not really [nervous] since I have the guys to help me and we’re getting a lot of support from the Binisaya organizers so there’s nothing to be nervous about. Hopefully [the film] turns out to be something I can be proud of.
TC: After Binisaya, where do you see yourself? Karl: I guess it’s just back to normal for me. Neil: I guess it’s back to becoming a student, a dying student. Gale: Padayon lang ko with what I do, continue to explore film. However I don’t see myself as becoming a director or anything. Right now I’m taking up Cinema studies and I’ll just see where it goes from there. TC
VOX POPULI
THE LEGALIZATION OF
PROSTITUTION What is dubbed as “the world’s oldest profession”, Prostitution is now one of the large-scale problems the world faces this day. The rapid growth of these “courtesans” is causing major problems to arise such as the spread of HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. As these problems slowly (but surely) bubble to the surface people from all walks of life are expressing their concern over the matter to the point that the United Nations has given their own idea on how to handle it.
MARGEL CHRISTINE MALLEN
“The United Nations-backed Global Commission on HIV and the Law recommends that nations around the world get rid of “punitive” laws against prostitution or what it calls “consensual sex work” and decriminalize the voluntary use of illegal injection drugs in order to combat the HIV epidemic.” (CNSNews.com) Definitely, this statement by the commission is recommending to make prostitution a legal occupation in hopes of protecting both its practitioners and their clientele. The goals of the UN are:
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VOX POPULI
• “Decriminalize private and consensual adult sexual behaviors, including same-sex sexual acts and voluntary sex work.” • “Reform approaches towards drug use. Rather than punishing people who use drugs but do no harm to others, governments must offer them access to elective HIV and health services, including harm reduction programmes and voluntary, evidence-based treatment for drug dependence.” • “Work with the guardians of customary and religious law to promote traditions and religious practice that promote rights and acceptance of diversity and that protect privacy.” This resolution may indeed leave a bad taste to religious advocates and social conservatives. Both have options have disadvantages and benefits to be considered, but the BIG question is, is this reason enough to legalize prostitution? Would legalizing prostitution, in an effort to curb HIV cases, be justifiable? Or would we be opening Pandora’s box by doing so?
Are you Pro or Anti Legalization of Prostitution? Why? Prostitution in my opinion isn’t decent enough to be legalized. There are other ways or other jobs to make money from and selling your body isn’t one of them. Rady James Bagnol, BS Arch 2 I’m an anti. Women should be treated equally in every term possible. Prostitution is an extreme form of gender discrimination. Legalization of this violence to women restricts women’s freedom and citizenship rights, where respect isn’t applied. Prostitution spreads venereal diseases. Christian Principe, BF AA 2 Anti. Kay dili gyud na angay pa trabahoon ang babaye. Nya usa pa mura rag gihimo ang mga babaye kalingawan sa mga lalaki. Rhea Calape, BS ID 2 No. It degrades women and it’s an immoral way to get through life. Nelia Monet, BS nursing 3 I’m against the legalization of prostitution in the Philippines or anywhere else in the world. It would not only degrade us but would also contradict to our moral values, especially us Filipinos, most of us are Catholics it would be very ironic if we tolerate such immoral doings to happen. We wouldn’t want to be known or remembered for being one of the countries that has implemented such rotten and sinful
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activity. We don’t want people to come here because we legalized prostitution but because we have a lot more to offer and because Philippines is a very beautiful country. Aside from that we would also be degrading women if we allow such thing to occur. Our president should have a stand to not allow this to happen, not in our country. Sansy Suson, BSMA 4 Anti-legalization of prostitution. If you’re going to legalize prostitution, a lot of people will get HIV/AIDS. There is a chance that the number of violent crimes such as rape and homicide will increase. Men will be REPRESSIVE towards women. - Gomolon, John Alexis, BSICT 3 I am anti legalization of prostitution. I simply would not allow women to be treated in a manner in which their bodies are sold and used like pork and beef sold in the market. Our bodies are not meant for the perusal of whoever is in need of them. Our bodies are to be treated like sacred vases which are fragile and to be handled with care. As a woman, it is sad to see other women resort to selling their bodies for money and it is but the least thing I could do to go against the legalization of prostitution to express my deepest sentiments to those women. - Ilya, BS Psych 4 For me, I’m not in favor with the legalization of prostitution in our country. Legality of such act does not necessarily eliminate the aspect of morality. Yet, it is still not good to do such action. We need to live not in an immoral way. It is unacceptable. Simple as that. -- Kim Tarongoy BSMA 3 PRO :) Kay naa naman jud nang prostitution daan sa Pinas so why not develop it nalang? Develop it in a way na malessen ang transmission of STDs kay naa nay health care ang mga prosti. BTW, mostly STD free ang mga prosti sa US under sa usa ka adult-sexual chenes agency. And dako ug dawat ang kwarta ana, makatabang sa economiya. - Redgie Louie Campanilla, BS Psych 3 I am against the legalization of prostitution. Taking a philosophical view of the act alone, it basically is a violence against women since men have the power and is free enough to make the choices he wants to do to the woman. The woman, being the “object” clearly entails that her freedom is incursed. Prostitution SHOULD NOT BE an option or answer to women’s dire need to acquire money. There are other ways to answer one’s quest to live a good life. - Joafel Marcianne Oyao Alloso, AB Political Science-International Relations and Foreign Service 4
VOX POPULI
Pro, a Re-Ed teacher of mine once said nga what is immoral is not necessarily illegal, and what is legal is not necessarily moral. Let us keep an open mind nga all of us has needs and one of it is what prostitution gives, dli tanan tao naay maayo nga physical appearance which is the number one requirement to please other people and have intimate relationship with others, so if this is the case, unsa.on man nila pag suffice sa ilang bodily needs? and ilaha bitaw nang kwarta, ayyy daaa. Ralph Velasquez, AB PolSci Legalizing prostitution would engage people to sin more because people won’t be thinking twice about buying the services of a prostitute. As a Christian country, this should not be tolerated. We have values that we need to stand up for and resort to better ways to improve our living other than prostitution. It may provide a prostitute the profit needed for survival in the short term but it may cause him/her and/or the customer to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases which may either be incurable or costly. Michael Wencelao BS ME 4 I’m an anti on this issue. It’s because if prostitution become legal, many Filipino would think that prostitution is good and more especially the children. Besides on my own understanding, prostitution is not the answer to stimulate our economy. It doesn’t also mean that other countries make prostitution legal, we should follow it. Yves Brian David Villaran BCTA-3 I am for the legalization of prostitution because the “underground” sex industry in the Philippines is already a known secret and we cannot deny that such industry is thriving so rather than keeping it illegal and increasing the people who are forced to do it how bout we legalize it so the workers are actually paid what they really earn plus with benefits furthermore with it’s legalization there’s some reassurance that such business is made among consenting adults. Anisah Fernandez, AB Philo 4 No. Legalization of prostitution would open up the more lewd information to the younger populace not to mention the effect of encouraging the people to view prostitution as a viable job. The overall effect of this move would just further the course of the younger generations drive for the satisfaction of their physical desires. Prime Anthony Torres BS CompE – DSD 4
Oo, para mairegulate ng gobyerno ang pagkalat ng mga sakit na tulad ng STD/ HIV, upang maiwasan rin ang pangungutya at pang-aapi sa mga kawawang puta. Para tumaas narin ang turismo ng bansa. Hindi naman talaga maiiwasan ang prostitusyon mas mabuti pang mairegulate nalang. Melgazo, Donn Kylee BS ECE 3 No. this might encourage the youth to be prostitutes for easy money - Pikachu, BS Pharmacy 4 No, because for me this violates the image of us Filipinas. Ms. Maybe, BS Che 4 Legalization of Prostitution is a BIG NO for me! It will promote sex trafficking and may result to a serious dilemma. SEX is SACRED. Saturnino M. Camasura, BSBA-Finc 4
I’m against the legalization of prostitution because I strongly believe that it will only lead to worse problems than our country is already facing. It would also probably result to a more number of broken families and cases of abortion. I don’t also think legalizing it would make our country any better. Ana Francisca Acain, BS Psychology 3 Pro. Firstly, I believe the concept of this bill is commonly contorted into different meanings by readers. Prostitution being legalized will not be forcing people to sell their bodies against their will; they would have a legal choice to whether or not to go in to the industry. What they’re thinking about is human trafficking. Healthcare provided for sex-workers is an amazing thing, in my opinion. STDs will be able to be prevented and STDs, if transmitted, will be treated. To say that legalizing prostitution is degrading of women– why would it be degrading to give a person a choice? It will give them a chance to be properly paid, protected and respected. It does not violate the image of the church, “Filipinas” or whatever righteous crap. Prostitution is already happening, right on the streets, right behind the freaking Main Campus. Call the Philippines righteous, yeah right, the Philippines has one of the biggest prostitution industries in Asia. Why avoid something that is already happening? Why turn a blind eye? If prostitution is to remain illegal, why not stomp it out entirely? I’m neither pro nor anti prostitution, I’m pro legalization of prostitution. Sally Paraiso
I would be pro legalization, if the regulation and policies surrounding the proposed law will be effective ansd strictly monitored. It would raise income to the poorer parts of the country and it would lessen STD’s. Regudo, Lance A. BS CE 2
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FEATURE
A keen observer would have noticed the recent stir among the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender communities in our University. The sudden mobilization of what is collectively known as LGBT is due to the re-emergence of the Carolinian Queer Union for the Empowerment and Equality of the Neglected Studentry (QUEENS). They have recently been working hand in hand with the Supreme Student Council in airing their advocacy for awareness, empowerment, and equality to the public. They have also been recruiting members and passing around profile sheets to establish the number of students who are open about their sexual orientation and to evaluate their demands and concerns. Seeing that LGBTs have been victims of discrimination and are in need of representation and a support group to call family; the Carolinian QUEENS have stepped in to take the position. The Carolinian QUEENS is an unrecognized organization of LGBTs in USC. Their history goes a long way back to 1998 when the LGBT community in the University called itself “Girly Girly Goes to Congress”. For many productive years, they participated in various campus activities, and were involved in pageant productions and fundraisers outside the university. However, due to the unrecognized and unregistered state of the organization, GGGTC gradually dispersed as members graduated. With no hand on the wheel and no new recruits, they eventually faded into obscurity. In 2006 the Coalition for the Liberation of Other Rising Sexes (COLORS) stepped forward in hopes of unifying small LGBT communities in USC. The group pushed for its registration as a student organization in the university, but because of the nature of its brand band as LGBT, all efforts were left in vain. Recently, however, COLORS’ founders put
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together yet again another organization to resurrect the spirit of camaraderie among the LGBTs and to continue pushing for recognition and equality. QUEENS set out to gather LGBT students in USC to an assembly to promote awareness and battle discrimination not only for LGBTs but also for anyone who is bullied and neglected. “You can never deny our existence nor reject our identity. We are part of the population. The LGBT is present in every community. We will always be here and we will continue to make our presence felt,” Robinson said, in response to those who refuse to recognize them and stifled their cries. Indeed, LGBTs are omnipresent entities, and with them co-exists a never-ending stoning of sorts; thus, the constitution of Carolinian QUEENS. Spearheaded by Miss Magdalena
Robinson, QUEENS sets out to fulfill its vision of a university that embraces difference and gender asymmetry in education and administration. One of the concerns that the organization hopes to settle is the inconsistent implementation of school policies. For instance, why are most straight male students allowed to enter the campus sporting skinny jeans while those who they perceive to be gays are constantly stopped at their tracks by the guards? The LGBT community perceives this as an act of discrimination. If the case is that males are not allowed to don skinny jeans for school, then no exceptions should be made. Straight or gay, all male students in skinny jeans should not be allowed entrance. QUEENS implore for consistency in the implementation of the dress code.
FEATURE
“USC needs to understand, respect and be sensitive to our differences. As a Catholic academic entity, it should be open-minded and endeavour to know us better instead of repress us.” These are the cries of the members and supporters of QUEENS. Asked to respond to people who consider LGBTs as immoral and disrespectful to their God-given bodies, Robinson replies: “Respect of the body is very subjective. You can’t say that we don’t respect our God-given body. In the case of cosmetic surgery, it is not only transsexuals who enhance or intervene with their god-given genes. Some people opt to change their body as they want to correct flaws or just for the sake of vanity. In the case of beliefs, you cannot impose the notion of a god-given body to an atheist, agnostic or other polytheistic beliefs. What a person can do is to respect the individual’s freedom and free will, she/ he have the decision of his/her body according to how they experience it.” Another pressing concern for the organization is the non-involvement of LGBT students in QUEENS meetings. According to Robinson, LGBTs have contributed a plethora of good to society yet remain to be the butt of moral degradation as projected by exclusion, bullying and the like. But seemingly unfazed by the negativity, they continue to give to the community and often neglect their own cause. “It is time to give to our own cause. QUEENS’ advocacy is for LGBT and the other neglected sectors.” Robinson calls upon all who consider themselves LGBTs and/or supporters. The most controversial concern however, has got to be QUEENS’ application to become a registered student organization. The University, being a Catholic institution, rejected
their application. So QUEENS’s question now is, “If the school does not recognize lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, then why does it accept them into the university in the first place?” “For USC to be a dynamic institution, it should adapt to changes.” “The school, being a Catholic institution, should be the very first to observe and respect human rights and dignity. But what’s happening now is that they are rejecting the LGBT.” “Catholic means universal, to embrace all men and women of different backgrounds. One of the core values of USC is integrity, and to claim part of the LGBT is to be true to oneself. Isn’t that integrity? And yet the administration is suppressing it.” “We have the right to assembly.”
In line with its goals, QUEENS has come up with a plan of action and whipped up a number of activities that acknowledge the existence of diversity in the university, educate the entire student body of the LGBT community’s presence, and ultimately, empower diverse sectors to take an active part in making change. The organization has organized the Kada-Iya Festival, the Fearless Parade, and several forums on Human Rights, Student Rights and Welfare, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and HIV/AIDS, to mention a few. LGBTs and supporters should keep an eye out for these activities and be ready when called to participate in the movement for change. “It is more fun if fearless,” Robinson concludes. TC
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FEATURE (REPRINT)
BUYING CHAMPAGNE
for the
PRICE of a
BEER Adventures in Running an International Film Fest Reprinted from Sinekultura Film Journal Issue 04 with permission from the editor APRIL DEQUITO
Weeks ago, I was asked to write about the Cebu International documentary Film Festival (CIDFF) being its 1st edition Festival director. I was quite glad and enthusiastically accepted the opportunity despite not knowing exactly where to begin, compounded with the pressure to run a first of its kind international documentary film festival ever been held in the Philippines, and the realization that I have to complete three (3) 5 to 7 page essays for my MFA-Cinema classes at University of San Carlos. However, one late Friday evening, as I was getting ready to do my readings for my History 1 Class, I saw the latest edition of Sinekultura (May 2012-2013) and decided to flip through the pages. In so doing, I found Alexis Tioseco’s, “Wishful Thinking
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for Philippine Cinema”(Sinekultura Film Journal 2012), and it was then that I realized what I wanted to talk about - My Hopes and Aspirations for Cebu and the Philippines. I’m not even going to be specific as to refer to the film industry,
since I would claim that our “film industry” is barely existent. As positively observed by one of CIDFF’s film festival consultants, Svetlana Naudiyal from India, “Cebu’s film industry is still at a very nascent stage”. Hence, at this time, it appears to
FEATURE (REPRINT)
be more of an advocacy than an industry. No pun intended. It would seem that Tioseco’s wishful thinking legitimizes this assumption as well. I wish to say that I am comforted by the words of Tioseco, even if his wish list was meant to be critical of many political realities pervading the Philippines’ cultural and political society. I felt comforted in the sense that I am not alone in understanding the true state of our country’s film industry (or lack thereof), which I believe to have inadvertently arrested the country’s collective culture and sense of identity. It was as if he was able to read my mind in what motivated me to found Cebu International Documentary Film Festival. The festival stemmed primarily from my aspiration to bridge the gap across and between cultures in support of my organization’s (Omnilogy Inc. www. omnilogyinc.org) advocacy of One Humanity. One of our projects, Color My Taxi (www. colormytaxi.com), a global traveling film festival, was designed to target a global audience to share with the world many people’s different points of views, concerns, issues that they believed should be of global concern. My wish for this was to learn about, as well as expose, both the local and global communities to the different similarities and similar differences that people share across cultures in the Philippines and beyond. I wanted to create a portal where the world can know of each other’s issues featuring the perspective of a taxi driver in many different local settings across borders, and realize that many of these so-called differences are, after all, just similarities. As I began to gather support for Color My Taxi, with the help of my friend, Aarti Shrivastava, who was one of my classmates at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University for the Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship , we realized that we are not getting as much support as we hope in the sense that many people seemed to not so particularly be interested about making films and can barely relate to many global issues. It appeared that many of their interests are focused to anything
“local”. There was always a question of “what’s in it for Cebu?” It also seemed that as we approach potential sponsors or funders, many of them would view the film industry as a luxury. The desire to make a difference on a global scale was not quite something many find realistic, nor appealing at that point in time. They would often return to the fact of the Philippines’ astounding culture of poverty. The sense of poverty pervading the Philippines appears to be more dominant from the perspective of most people I approached for support than what’s happening in other parts of the world. Aarti, first and foremost, is a documentary filmmaker with a particular focus on social and humanitarian advocacies but she is also a social entrepreneur, like me. As we were working to figure out how to make Color My Taxi work, we encountered a lot of operational roadblocks. It was then that I continued to research on how we can make Color My Taxi take off that I finally understood that I was skipping a fundamental step in the process of realizing my grandiose desire to make a positive global difference for humanity. In my yearning to see change, having had a taste of the future while I was living in International House, New York [1] for almost four (4) years with a global society of graduate students and professionals hailing from more than 100 countries around the world, I realized that I had stubbornly overlooked the reality that is true not only in Cebu, but throughout the country – and this is the need to have a sense of local identity. Living in International House, was like living in the future due to the vastness of possibilities, conversations, ideas, coming from a variety of perspectives. I was in an environment where dreams had become realizable goals. Although Cebuanos would seem “clannish” to certain people coming from other regions, I can completely understand the need for Cebuanos to be attached to what is local. Cebu has a very rich local history that has been overshadowed by the country’s “National History”, whose facts are mostly
rooted in Manila or Luzon Province. Over time, Cebuanos have struggled to retain its cultural identity even the fact that cinema used to be a huge part of Cebuano culture in the 50’s (De Ocampo, 2003). I can understand the need to have a sense of belonging having always been considered the economic hub next to Manila. This assumption, I believe, is also shared by other neighboring provinces and I wouldn’t be surprised if people from these provinces also feel the same way against Cebuanos in the same way we feel against the more advanced city called, Metro Manila. On this note, it would seem fair to say that the “clannish” mentality is really more of the desire to strengthen our roots that has been constantly threatened by the rapidly changing world. This phenomenon is true in countries who are threatened by globalization. I would, however, argue that although globalization means progress, we still need to establish defense systems in order to have a competitive edge. As such, Cebuanos are right in cultivating what is local. Therefore, I agree that cultivating our sense of local identity and ownership, must also come first and foremost before anything global can be understood and appreciated by any local community. I say “also” because it can’t only be one or the other happening at the same time – it has to be both because the world is changing rapidly in the midst of globalization where its cultural component is catching up at an escalating speed. As cultural globalization continues to cross borders in the age of the World Wide Web through various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, and many more, it would seem unwise that we remain closed and isolated. It is my belief that to learn about our country, one needs to learn about the world. To achieve this, it is imperative that we develop a portal, where our voices can be amplified all across the world and give other voices coming from other parts of the world access to be heard not only for the global community but for our own local community as well. It is a Catch-22.
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FEATURE (REPRINT)
I have tested this theory myself, in my own personal quest that I started over 8 years ago, when I went on a sabbatical living in New York City. To do one, we need to accomplish the other as well. On this note, this is how Cebu International Documentary Film Festival (CIDFF) was born. I knew then that what I need is not just the support of my international network but I needed to find passionate Cebuanos who are passionate about Cebu as they are about the arts, culture, and education. The process of selection and “courtship” was not a walk in the park, as a proposal like this isn’t something that just happens in Cebu. The idea didn’t come without doubts, of course, but I knew that the need is profound. As luck would have it, I found four (4) incredible Cebuanos, namely: Arch’t. Joseph Michael Espina, Dean of USC-College of Architecture and Fine Arts; Marie Ernestine Denise Fajatin-Pegarido, School Director of Marie Ernestine School; Zen Pastoriza, General Manager and Creative Director of Campaigns & Grey Cebu, and Lilu Alino, a well-respected professor and practitioner of Journalism and Public Relations whose previous company became the footprint that shaped the internationally renowned Bigfoot Productions. CIDFF’s Board of Trustees are not only well respected leaders in their areas of expertise, they are also visionaries. When they all came on board, with full understanding of the difficult task ahead, I knew that we can make things happen not only for Cebu but for the rest of the country. I had approached both local and national filmmakers to help us with programming films for CIDFF but it seemed unfortunate that due to limited opportunities for many of these filmmakers, they are unable to volunteer or commit their time to work with CIDFF. We had to deal with various issues of legitimacy because none of us have a filmmaking background. We were primarily met with skepticism and doubts as to why we are holding a film festival when we haven’t produced any films. We are often met with a question “can you show us a sample of your film”? This question often
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caught me off guard and perplexed. Why would one need be a filmmaker before one can organize a film festival? As I strived to respond to these questions, the board of trustees of CIDFF agreed that we need to hire film festival consultants that can bring in knowledge about how to run a film festival. In order to get support from local filmmakers, it seems we needed to create new ones; hence the birth of CIDFF’s Film Festival and Documentary Course Program. This program also became our fundraising source as potential funders are not too keen on investing in a film festival that they are not certain of since we don’t have a track record to show apart from our individual credibility. We had to come up with various marketing strategies where we can offer a value-for-money agreement, “buying champagne for the price of beer” – a very Cebuano business trait. The stories of struggle continue yet these have also bore fruits as we progressed. Funding is still a challenge and will probably remain a challenge until the next festival or longer but what remains true is the growing enthusiasm and flourishing of new filmmakers, and rising competition. Yes, CIDFF does not discourage competition as it is very much needed in order to nurture this industry. Other players need to rise to the challenge by engaging in a healthy competition and share our aim to strengthen the film community in Cebu by providing a variety of options. We hope to encourage competition as well from neighboring provinces as more competition means more film traffic coming to the Philippines. By June, we received more than 30 submissions from more than 10 countries around the world, while just a month before that, we only had one and we weren’t sure if we will receive any entries at all. Fortunately, we managed to increase our collaborative partnerships such as with International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) and Bigfoot Properties, and they were able to supply us with short documentaries and a full feature documentary film for our curtain raiser. Come July, we started receiving
the films from film distributors specializing in sending films to different film festivals around the world and the next thing we knew, our programming schedule is complete. Of course, nothing is as straightforward as implied. Things seem to come at unexpected times. On August 15-18, 2012, the 1st Edition of CIDFF with a well- represented line up of international films from the Philippines to Haiti, Congo to Guinea Bissau, Spain to France, Bulgaria to Taiwan was finally launched. It is my hope that in a not so distant future, filmmakers from across the world will mark Cebu as a go to place to attend a film festival. Faith and fate do play a big role in the success of CIDFF. Although in many intellectual societies, faith and fate are considered passé, but I disagree, especially in a much less structured society like the Philippines where “unpredictability” is the name of the game. But then again, “unpredictability” remains true even in a highly structured and equally chaotic city like the Big Apple. I strongly believe, like Andre Bazin’s film philosophy, that in order to realize an endeavor such as CIDFF, one need to have a lot of faith – faith in a supreme being, in one’s self, and in one’s vision while allowing that invisible hand to lead the way.
APRIL DEQUITO The founder of Omnilogy Inc., a multifaceted approach to empowering people by creating collective environments of shared aspirations through the arts, April is an architect and a social entrepreneur. She has diverse leadership experience through her affiliations with various leadership organizations in the Philippines and the USA.She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of San Carlos and attended further studies in International Affairs in new York City. She also completed the executive Program in Social entrepreneurship at the Stanford graduate School of Business. April is an International Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects and has also worked with the United nations Capital development Fund.
MOVIE REVIEW
OLDBOY A MOVIE REVIEW NEIL ANGELO BRIONES
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MOVIE REVIEW
“At first glance, the line between classifying this film as being a cinematographically
twisted masterpiece and a senseless, violent, snuff-like film is blurry. There is an endless (not exaggerating) amount of violence, gore, blood and, to pack it all up, taboo relationships presented in the film. It’s mind twisting, thought-provoking, fist-clenching, teeth-grinding material. There are scenes wherein you can’t help but want to rip your eyes off of the screen, but can’t. You’ll come out either hating this movie to its rotten core, or praising the artistic genius that is Park Chan-Wook.” - Jenny Shim (USC student) Oldboy is a cult classic (classic in its loosest sense) South Korean film directed by Park Chan-Wook, one of the critically acclaimed directors in Seoul. The second franchise in his so-called “Vengeance Trilogy”, Oldboy’s storyline does not connect with either of thetwo other installments Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance; though these three were certainly not meant to tie-in plotwise. Nor were they meant to be a trilogy. Based on a Japanese manga written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, Park Chan-Wook noticeably altered the original work particularly in terms of psychological elements and plot twist in translating the composition to film. And while the characters’ film renditions obviously had very different agendas from those in the original creation, the beginning of the plot of the manga and that of the film obviously only had minor differences. It is as every one of these stories go further into their narratives that these platforms radically digress from each other. The movie was beautifully shot on Super 35 Arriflex cameras and lenses; the wide angle ones especially manipulated to place emphasis on the setting. Cinema standard quality was achieved through the ingenious use of a 35mm Kodak film negative format printed in 35mm Anamorphic, or 2:35:1 aspect ratio. Thanks to this format and the camera’s quality, the film was able to achieve beautiful 14 stops of dynamic range and detail even in the scenes with the darkest to no lighting at all. Being organically grainy and dark, a green color cast gave a grungy feel and overall textured look to the picture. And while this improvisation made the movie feel more “alive”, extraordinary panning scenes and smooth transitions gave the film the sense of self-control that is Park Chan-Wook’s signature in all of his works. The “Corridor Scene” is the cleverly tracked photographic sequence that has made Oldboy unforgettable. Inspired by 8-bit 2D video games and which took the team seventeen days to perfect one continuous take, it is easily one of the must-see parts in the entire film.
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The use of ultra-wide angle lens for the scenes that showed the room where the protagonist was locked up in for 15 years reveal an intrinsic flaw – some angles were obviously soft and distorted in the edges. Despite this, the continuity of the story was never hampered and instead facilitated in the placement of emphasis on the anti-hero (as the protagonist is preferably called)’s sympathy. The Dolby Digital sound mix gave the scoring the justice it deserved. Undoubtedly haunting, the musical theme effortlessly simplifies the achievement of drama and excitement. Some of the most notable musical scorings are Winter from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Waltz and Masquerade by Aram Kchachaturyan. Justice as to the CGI remains debatable (the anti-hero gets stabbed in the corridor scene; another scene shows ants coming out of the same character’s arm), though in whatever negative sense is certainly forgivable to this author considering the budget and given the year that the film was made – around 2003. These imports of course do no harm to the story.
*Contains Huge Spoiler* Long story short, Oldboy is about an average businessman who gets kidnapped by unknown people and locked up in a room for 15 years for no reason, or at least as it had appeared to him. After 15 years of “high class” special solitary confinement, he is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothing. He then seeks for answers and resolves to commit brutal revenge to whoever had imprisoned him for no apparent reason. He usesall of his resources to find the shadow character. Even a toothbrush and hammer play a role towards the realization of his objective. The fullness of the movie in terms of psychological warfare equates to the need for a serious understanding of every character’s behavior and emotional agenda. Even minor characters prove to be essential to the weaving and unweaving of the plotline. In the end, the viewer realizes how it would have been nearly impossible to dismiss any
MOVIE REVIEW
of the lesser characters as insignificant, for the constant emotional turmoil of the anti-hero is inevitably wrapped around the entirety of the story.
*Spoiler Alert 2* The movie has some references to films such as “Count of Montecristo (2002)” - the part where Woo-Jin dialogues with Mi-do; “Ichi the Killer (2001)” – the cutting off of one’s own tongue as a punishment; and “Being John Malkovich” (1999) – the scene at “floor 7½”. Some people find the film unreasonably violent and hate it. Many find it exaggerating and mediocre. Some say that the manga is really better than the movie version; while some are simply and genuinely in love with the film. In the end, as it is with any film in history, not everyone can be pleased (Oldboy in the first place, is obviously not the kind of film that enamors everybody) - we all have different point of views that stem from our personal experiences.
author the most. That the charactersare imperfect, feeling humans (versus Rambo-hybrid characters) and have reasonable flaws make them endearing to the viewer in their own way. The uniqueness of the plot and how it ends in the film is captivating – many questions are deliberately left unanswered - and the way how some of the important characters are left in mystery makes one realize how some things, in reality, are really just better left unsaid. Oldboy will be having a Hollywood remake in 2013, to be directed by Spike Lee, who intends to follow the manga plot instead of making a version of the Korean film. TC
To this writer, the film makes one contemplate his existence – not in the sense of envisaging about 15 years of metaphorical reason for imprisonment, but more in the concept of rationality as a human being. This part is reflected in the film through the three-dimensionality of the characters, which is also the function that is loved by this
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FEATURE
WHERE HAVE ALL THE LESSONS GONE?
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FEATURE
PATRISHA YAP
I wrote this article not to remind students of their lengthy classes nor discuss how important it is to attend all of these subjects—heck, I even procrastinate and cut classes so I absolutely am not the right person to say those things—but this article is written to remind people with the largest egos of the smallest, yet the most important things in the world; things that our own parents have taught us since we were little kids running around the playground. Have you ever wondered why we have those subjects that seem to be so off-topic and so different from our course? These subjects “exist” as our “minors” probably not because they just serve as add-ons to our tuition fees – to make capitalists happy and give us added stress. They may have been added to our programs for a better reason. Psychology, Philosophy, English (or Filipino), Political Science, and even Math subjects are a few of the most common minor subjects for all courses. As “feeling major” as these subjects could get, we can learn a lot from them. In Psychology, students are taught to give credit, cite ideas and other things not limited to words that do not belong to them, and teachers often remind students that plagiarism has no place in the scientific and the non-scientific world. Philosophy teaches us how to be rational, to base our own ideas on logic, and to voice these thoughts on grounds of proper ethics and with rational thought. English, as simple and as basic as this subject could get, teaches us the fundamentals of language, of proper grammar and sentence construction, which takes us to places and can serve as our advantage once we leave the academic field and move on to the workplace. Political Science teaches us that we have our rights as citizens, and that all wrongdoings have their corresponding punishments. Math, despite the overflowing numbers and
symbols, teaches us how to follow instructions, to analyze situations and solve problems with methods one has at hand, as careful of the “signs” as possible. The problem with students nowadays is that they miss the gist of the lectures and lessons given during these classes. Some “copy-paste” materials not belonging to them, thinking that they can get away with it, and that it doesn’t matter, forgetting to give credit to the owners, influential or not. Others state arguments that do not even have a logical flow or any empirical basis, defending something which says another thing; some may even have forgotten the basics of subject-verb agreement when stating these premises. People in our society know that taking what is not yours without permission from the owner is stealing – we’ve known this since we were children. People know that saying false statements, destroying the image and reputation of people and of organizations is libel. One need not have a Ph.D. to know these things. Others, often conquered by the flow of their emotions and the extreme desire to “defend” them, repeatedly resort to arguments; they discount to calculate that these statements may backfire in the long run. Even parents remind and teach children of the good values that they should possess.
Some, if not most, people ultimately forget what their classes and people have taught them. Yes, yes. We have all done our bests to pass our subjects, major and minor; did what had been assigned to us, and everything else expected of us as students. One thing to ask ourselves is this: have we really learned the lessons, I mean, really? Have we learned our lessons? If so, have we applied them in our daily experiences, or have we just tossed them out of the window like trash? Are we ever just limiting our learning and our application of ideas to the proverbial four walls of the classroom and the four corners of the paper? Well, I think it’s time we change the way we think and the way we do things. I’m no higher being who can dictate what we all should and shouldn’t do, for the rest is up to each person and his decisions. If this article only reminds you, dear reader, of your lengthy classes and of your diligence or neglect to attend these classes, my apologies, as you may not really have understood what you just read. TC
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Article by
KAMELLE REIGH ETANG Photographs by
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BERNADETTE JALOCON LORENZO NIKOLO OUANO JOHN MATTHEW FLORES
FEATURE
The USC-Supreme Student Council, in cooperation with LifeDance Cebu, organized the first-ever “U-Nite” held November 16, 2012 at the Basketball Court, Talamban Campus. There was a crowd gathering near the entrance to the venue before the performances started. One simply needed to look around to feel the pendent exhilaration in the air. An hour after it officially started though, the crowd was everything but enthusiastic. The performers had to call for them to gather near the stage. This writer even overheard one Carolinian say, “Boring! Kung mag-in-ani hantod unya, manguli jud ang mga tao.” Had she waited for another hour, she would have eaten her words. Carolinian bands got the party started by playing downright amazing songs but it was the main band, Missing Filemon, who managed to get everybody on their feet by performing their mostloved Cebuano rock songs, Inday and Prinsipal. Everyone seemed to know the lyrics by heart. Add DJ Gino of The Loft to that mix, it was one heck of a party. Michael Lucas, the fire dancer, was a big bonus. He floored the Carolinians by performing impressing fire stunts and by literally breathing fire. The party ended with some astonishing fireworks display from the PyroFest SM Cebu Champion, JKC Fire Inovation of Team DSS. U-Nite shouldn’t be confused with Student’s Night. While Student’s Night was a party that welcomed Carolinians to a new academic year, U-Nite was a “party for a cause” – a cause that remains to known, so stay tuned for the SS Council’s next event. But for now, let us bask in the warm afterglow of what had arguably been the most amazing University party yet. TC
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FEATURE
MISSING FILEMON
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FEATURE
GESTALT
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CLAUDIA
DJ CHINO
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FEATURE
STELLARSKIN
PURPLE KUSH 69
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PARTING SHOT
P.S.
CHANGE
does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Photograph by BERNADETTE JALOCON
LIQUIDATION
TODAY’S CAROLINIAN
Statement of Cash Flows For the Academic Year 2012-2013
Cash Balance, Beginning P 44,344.50 Cash Receipts Cash Received for USC, 1st Semester Total Cash Available for Use
P 219, 132.50 P 263,477.00
Cash Disbursements
Advertising, Summer Term Screening
P 2,222.00
IDs and Lanyards 4,808.75 Journalism Workshop 4,514.66 Materials
3,500.00
Meeting Expenditures 955.00 Participation, CEGP 300.00
Publishing Fee
230,000.00
Recorder Rental Expense
2,000.00
Transportation
677.50
Total Expenses
P 248, 977.91
Cash Balance, February 2012
PREPARED BY:
CHRISTINE REYNA P. PEREZ Chief Finance Officer Today’s Carolinian
14,499.09
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