Today's CAROLINIAN - September 2016 Issue

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Christabelle Escudero Associate Editor (Internal Affairs) Julienne Anjela Termoso Associate Editor (External Affairs) Zarah Majam Managing Editor for Administration Mikhailah Rañada Head of Writing Department Ynaro San Juan Deputy Head Writer Cesar Carlos Heyrosa Senior Correspondent Christine Suson News Editor - Downtown/South Campus Miriam Burlaos News Editor - Talamban Campus Paolo Perez Features Editor - English Kerstein Kylle Despi Features Editor - Filipino Paolo Louis Manghihilot Literary Editor Kyn Noel Pestaño Art Director Cherisse Sia

The Progressive Student Publication of the University of San Carlos

UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS Cebu City, Cebu Philippines 6000 VOLUME XXVII No. 9 SEPTEMBER 2016

EDITORIAL STAFF Operations

FINANCE OFFICER Theresa Kate Palompon

STAFF SECRETARY Geralden Morre

WEB ADMINISTRATOR Francis Alec Yap

WEB DEVELOPERS Julius John Puno, Daniel Hans Tan

DIRECTOR FOR CIRCULATION AND STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT Josemaria Marcelo Ouano III Writing Department

WRITERS Jet Mangubat, Sofia Isabel Tajos, Bryant Gonzales,

Laura Posadas, Kaye Diamos, Von Daniel Plasencia,

Joshua Cesar Uy, Paulie Yap, Reanne Go, Janzyl Go,

Joen Jacob Ramas, Kimberly Yung-Gultia (Contributor)

ONLINE CORRESPONDENTS Patricia May Compra, Ryan Calle Art Department

LAYOUT SUPERVISOR Mar Virgil Eway

LAYOUT ARTISTS Pamela Urbiztondo, Giann Mikhael Alipar,

Jan Joshua Velasco, Rex Jed Fornolles, Will Lois Perez,

Janrick Carl Romales

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Pauline Panganiban, Francis Ian Palanca

HEAD ILLUSTRATOR Zachary Borromeo

ASSISTANT HEAD ILLUSTRATOR Geralden Morre ILLUSTRATORS Shari Gabrielle Llamis, Justine Patrice Bacareza,

Eduard Jude Jamolin, Jon Ahmed Durano, Ramon Kristoffer Tiu (Contributor)

HEAD PHOTOJOURNALIST Angelo Nico Daroy

PHOTOJOURNALISTS June Kirslie Escudero, Jasper Gabriel Ramirez,

Carmelle Gacasan, Jessa Marie Pedrola, Christine Suson,

Wednesday Dawn Abelgas, Erica Nicole Jabel, Keith Ayuman,

Dorothy Lee, Garel Sison, Eloise Yuson Diaz, Christen Cacanog

HEAD VIDEOGRAPHER Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

VIDEOGRAPHERS Czarina Gicale, Shekinah Danong, Joseph Tan, Christian Paul Naparota, Jose Anthony Bernaldo (Contributor) Shin Moynihan (Contributor)

VIDEO PRODUCER Daniel Johns Masilang

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

THE COVER Today, we let out a battlecry against the demise of justice in our nation. Sometimes, however, we do not realize the power of our own actions to stir up the society, to reverberate to the people around us, whether we know them or not.

A single gunshot could be so little, but have we ever thought of what it could do? Have we ever thought of our power to pull the trigger?

Words by Christabelle Escudero Art Direction by Cherisse Sia Cover Illustration by Zachary Borromeo

HOW TO REACH US LETTER 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. © 2016. 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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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

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CON

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S H O OT I N G S TA R S : U P T H E P O L I T I C A L L A D D E R

EVEN MARCOS’S BURIAL HAS NO CLOSURE

BRIGHT NA LAGE KA

T H E B AT T L E W E A R E L O S I N G : A S TO R Y L O S T A D M I S T D E AT H

T H E G R E AT C H A R T E R O F C H A N G E

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HOKAGE, ADJ.

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Y O U N G , S C R A P P Y A N D H U N G R Y : H A M I LT O N A N D T H E F I G H T F O R N AT I O N A L I D E N T I T Y

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SEXUALITY ISN’T VULGAR, YOUR SHAMING IS

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

THE WORD OF MOUTH ON PAPER: A TA K E O N E X T R A J U D I C I A L K I L L I N G

FILM REVIEW

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EDITOR’S NOTE

XYZ: FEMINISM IN THE UNIVERSITY

SAAN LUMULUBOG ANG BUHANGIN

U S C D AY S 2 0 1 6 H I G H L I G H T S

CAROLINIAN GAME OF THRONES

WONDERS OF USC-TC: A TRAVELER’S GUIDE

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THUMBPRINTS OF OURS

K A H I N U M D U M K O ATO N G U N A K O N G N A N I K A S

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SALAD, CHOPPED CARROTS AND CARROT CAKE

DI MAN KO BUANG

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PORTIA

HEROES

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F I X I N G WAT E R

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DRAWING LINES BETWEEN NBA AND GILAS

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PARTING SHOT

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L I Q U I D AT I O N

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

EDITOR’S NOTE

There is something about change that takes us aback, something that makes it seem like it is grand and enormous. And we feel like, as the youth, we can only do so much in being its catalysts.

The headlines are filled with stories of impact to the society, yet we are not their narrators. Here we are, with school and the internet to make us occupied, a circle of peers that has yet to expand, and eight hours (or less) of sleep to fulfill every night. Here we are, thinking we are young, we are powerless, we are time-lacking.

Here we are, cowering against the walls we built ourselves.

Change does not just happen in huge overwhelming flashes. It also happens in little bursts. It can be the puzzle piece in the jigsaw, the snowflake in the avalanche, the spark in the firework. Every single thing we do is a ripple that trembles the water.

Imagine — if every single one of us throws garbage in the wrong places, we would see worsening levels of pollution and global warming. If every one of us buys local products, we would see our economy flourish. If every one of us violates traffic rules,we would not see a single vehicle move on the road. If every one of us votes for the right leaders, we would see ourselves be served by an efficient government. The list goes on.

These things are all individual work, but they all lead to the things that are headline-worthy. We are here to tell the stories.

We are all ripples in the large scale of things. We can make waves.

We can break walls.

Christabelle Escudero Editor-in-Chief

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

OPINION

THE WORD OF MOUTH ON PAPER: A TAKE ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING Mikhailah Ranada

Illustration by Geralden Morre

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

OPINION

Not very long after the inauguration of the current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the phrase extrajudicial killing became the words on everyone’s mouth. People share varying sentiments and opinions on the multiple, successive murders that have been committed against suspected criminals, most of which are linked to the ongoing efforts against drugs.

While everyone has the right to their own views, people have a tendency to express their opinions openly without a well-established evidentiary basis or even a good background on the issue at hand.

What is extrajudicial killing? An article from the Court of Appeals states that there is a need for the law to have a clear definition of what extrajudicial killing is in order to properly identify which incidents can be deemed “extra judicial”.

The article states that “Every killing outside of the death penalty is extrajudicial.”

Article III of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, Section 1 states, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.” If the constitution is the Supreme Law, why are people being deprived of their lives just because they are suspected criminals?

Section 14 of the same article states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial…” Given this provision and the fact that people are currently being killed on sight because they are part of the “kill list”, does that mean all the lives that have been taken were owned by presumably innocent people?

The number one flaw of killing accused criminals without the explicit order and proper investigation of the court is that lives can be robbed from guiltless people because of the ignorance of the one “authorized” to kill. What if he happens to shoot the wrong person? For instance, one Roman Clifford Manaois was killed by unidentified gunmen who were after an alleged drug pusher. The target criminal was able to escape while Roman was the one mistakenly shot — once near the heart and another on the temple. The Rowena Tiamson incident is another example. It was suspected that she was killed by vigilantes as her body was left with a cardboard that read: “Huwag tularan, pusher.” Only after her death was she proven innocent.

President Duterte was right when he said, “… equity and fairness and speedy disposition of cases have deteriorated into hollow concepts fit only for masteral dissertations.” However, the lack of speedy trials does not diminish every Filipino’s right to an impartial and public trial. If those accused who turned out to be innocent had been

properly tried in court, there would have been a chance for them to be acquitted. Sadly, there is nothing that can be done about that now. Their lives have already been taken.

There have been remarks on how those criminals who were killed deserved to die. People, especially victims of robbery and related crimes, are quick to dismiss the suspects’ right to a proper trial. Many of these victims comment that the deaths of these perpetrators are just rewards for their temporary trauma or broken sense of safety.

You lost a wallet, an iPhone, a family heirloom — all of which can be replaced. Someone else out there lost a father, a husband or a brother — some of them for no good reason. Is that justice?

Indeed, the crime victims are right. Where were their human rights when they were at a knife’s end and their hard-earned possessions were being stolen from them? Where were their human rights when they were raped? Where were their human rights when they had to watch someone else fall victim to a stoned criminal’s schemes and could do nothing about it?

Arpita Mitra of ipf.com said in her article, “… most victims of such [crime-related] killings have been young men involved in small-scale drug-dealing networks, or minor crimes such as petty theft, who belong to poor urban areas.”

We have to remember that these criminals are not educated. They grew up in an environment where drug addiction is a hobby and stealing is a livelihood. Even though they know it is against the law, their shanty culture tells them it is normal to disobey the law.

There are many reasons why these people take refuge in drug addiction, which often leads to mindless rape and robbery. We know from simple logic that once one gives in to illegal drugs, one would want more. If this human weakness and susceptibility makes the crime of illegal drug addiction unforgivable and worthy of death, does that mean all other human weaknesses are unforgivable?

We are so busy saying that we don’t need drug addicts that we forget that they need us. They need us to help them get over their addiction, their means of getting away from the horrors of their reality, and start a new life. Killing them means taking away their chance to become productive citizens of the country.

It would not be right to say we should just forgive the crimes of these people. However, there are better ways of dealing with this. Death is not the answer. “’Killing the criminal’ does not put an end to the problem; it only exacerbates it,” reported the USC Political Science Department Position Paper on Extrajudicial Killings as Means in the War on Drugs. As long as humans exist, there is the threat of crime. Crime is a temptation, an act; it is not a

person nor is it a group of people.

All this carnage, especially when it involves unidentified vigilantes, will only create a culture of killing. People will start believing that murder is okay as long as it is against those who “deserve” to die. Do we have a precise definition of those who deserve to die? Does a small-scale drug dealer deserve to die more than a drug lord? Does a blameless person who happened to look like a drug addict deserve to die more than a powerful person suspected of drug addiction? Are these kinds of decisions even within a common person’s ability to judge? Are we slowly becoming a nation without judges?

Understand that the fact that the Philippines has had a slow and barely effective justice system for many years was considered during the writing of this article. Maybe that is why many people promote extrajudicial killing so much. Extrajudicial killing has become the thread of hope that people cling to. It has become, in their eyes, the manifestation of the change that was promised to them during the 2016 elections. It has provoked them to think, “Finally! Somebody’s doing something to fix this country.” More and more Filipinos think, “This is it. This is change. We will progress after this.” Progress? At the expense of the innocent. At the expense of the lives of those people who took refuge in drug addiction because they are too psychologically weak to say no to it.

We forget that too much cost decreases the overall benefits.

Finally, we also have to consider that, as Tom Smith of The Guardian has put it, “drugs are an issue in the Philippines but only one of many… drug crime is more a symptom of many social problems rather than the cause.” As mentioned a while ago, people turn to drugs for many reasons.

Poverty, for one, makes people vulnerable to drug addiction, among other things. This shows that, considering there is hardly any news of rich drug addicts being killed, we could basically be killing people because they are poor. Even in extrajudicial killing, there is a social status bias.

This is not to blame the government for the extrajudicial killings that have been happening in our country. In fact, the administration denies any relation towards the vigilante killings. This is to help improve our understanding of this nationwide issue. We are the youth and we constitute more than half of the country’s population. We need to realize our country needs us to be the people’s voice. Before we can “fix” this country, we need to fix the people in it first.

It is not ideal change when we go from drug addiction as a prominent problem in society to murder as a casual implementation of “justice”.

It is hoped that with the laws that we have, President Duterte’s brand of leadership and his empowerment of the Philippine National Police, proper implementation of statutes, with scarcely any loss of life, will be realized. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

SHOOTING STARS: Up the Political Ladder Janzyl Go

Illustration by Shari Llamis

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

Jojo Moyes said, “Love is the driver for all great stories.” It has started and ended wars, blinded us and yet also helped us see a more beautiful world. Love does many things, depending on who one asks. Generally, love makes us feel and do crazy things. For example: Philippine politics. Blinded by how bright they shone, our love and support has helped our stars shoot up the political ladder.

The Filipinos’ political wisdom is something seldom addressed.

This stems from the issue itself: that the majority of voters do not see this as a problem or are just unaware of it. The people who do care and write about this are the minority who are politically active and engaged. Their voices, however, are often overshadowed by the celebrity gossip that the majority prefer to talk about.

The media is self-serving and constrained to the whims of the masses. They have the power to spark discussion on politics and the importance of education, but they are constrained to a handful of stories because the money is with the viewers, and the viewers want petty gossip.

One of a mere handful of stories that the media did release on this issue was Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s open view our 50 million voters, which is that the vast majority of them are unintelligent and uneducated for voting. This stems from the fact that there is no literacy requirement to qualify voters. Although that is not necessarily a bad thing, it allows the “uneducated poor” to fall for political traps and façades, to fall for the politician’s persona; they vote for actors, rich candidates, and those generally not educated for service.

Due to a lack of “political wisdom” these voters will flock to any candidate who portrays himself as the “champion of the poor”.

They fall for his appeal. It is enough that he is well-liked. The thing about Filipinos, however, is that it is very easy to touch our hearts. A beautiful voice, a charming personality, a bright smile — these qualities are all it takes to win our blind and almost manic support, especially if it reaches international fame.

Being a celebrity is not the problem. Not knowing how to best serve the people nor how to handle politics and only getting the position because of some unrelated talent, however, is.

Rigoberto Tiglao from The Manila Times wrote that a real democracy at least requires the following things: (1) voters who choose a ruler with a track record of leadership or skills in

governing, and a heart to serve; (2) access to information for voters to evaluate candidates with; (3) competent, professional media to guide voters and to expose lies in campaigns; and (4) candidates who have a solid platform.

We fall short on the last two items.

The fault is not solely to blame on the voter, claims David Lozada. He questions the ethics behind judging or condemning another person’s vote, educated or not. He points out that everyone has his or her own reason for their candidate of choice, and that this must all be respected because it’s everyone’s right to be heard.

The heart of democracy is that everyone is equal. Suppressing voices and opinions, even that of the uneducated, makes us no different from the oppressors of the martial law era or the Katipuneros who colonized us.

The masses tend to vote for the candidate they believe in or the candidate they mostly identify with. We cannot fault the voters for siding with these candidates for those reasons. We cannot judge our solar system for revolving around one small sun in a whole universe of brighter stars because the sun is what they are most exposed to and the sun satisfies all their needs.

Those of us who see other galaxies, however, have the responsibility to point our telescopes their way. We need to shift the attention away from the stars who have a tendency to fall.

We need to learn how to separate our celebrities from our politicians. As much as we love our love teams and song-birds, we need to realize that being able to sing, act, or box should not be enough to win our vote when it comes to who’s running this country.

It is illegal for a celebrity to drive a vehicle, especially a public one, without a license. Unless they have the experience and the education to guide them, we cannot let celebrities drive our country no matter how much we love and support them.

Love makes us do crazy things. It ends as many wars as it starts, but it is too erratic, irrational and wild to maintain peace.

We cannot allow it to propel unfit people to run our country because more than we love our stars, we need to love our country first. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

Even Marcos’s Burial Has

NO CLOSURE Laura Posadas

Illustration by Jon Ahmed Durano

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

The moment our president opened his State of the Nation Address with the quote, “We can’t move forward if we allow the past to pull us back,” was the moment he gave us the hint that could possibly explain such a sudden turn of events and marked the beginning of Philippines’ “healing process”, as they say; the hint that prompted the Philippines to finally move forward like an ex-lover waiting for closure.

Two weeks after the SONA, our president declared a go-signal for the burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery.1 This was not entirely shocking because, during the presidential debates, Duterte was one of the two candidates who were in favour of Marcos’s burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.2 We knew it was coming, or — did we forget too?

The dreadful day has come for martial law victims and the Marcos’s critics to possibly see the dictator buried in a sanctuary where people have honoured the title “hero”. On the other hand, it is a glorious day for Marcos’s family and loyalists who have waited for more than 20 years for this burial. They are yet one step closer to their end goal, but no one will be as delighted as the former first lady, Imelda Marcos, who steadfastly pushed for her late husband’s burial3 and remained unwavering.

As what the news says, President Duterte stands firm on his decision and argues that burying Marcos in the Heroes’ Cemetery upholds the law. In a media press conference held at NAIA, the president told the media, “As a soldier, he is qualified. He is not a hero, fine, but he was the president and nobody can deny that.”4 His decision sparked rallies, protests and petitions from several lawmakers and nongovernment organizations who sought for the Supreme Court to grant a temporary restraining order. Later on, the president stated that he would follow the order of the highest court.

Marcos’s burial is dated on his birth month — September. By now, the Supreme Court will already have initiated the hearing of oral arguments on the petition against a hero’s burial for Marcos.5 There are two outcomes either a temporary restraining order will be granted and further action will be provided, or 2016 will forever be the year the Philippines buried its greatest criminal, plunderer and human rights violator in a place called the Heroes’ Cemetery.

So what qualifies someone to be interred in the Heroes’ Cemetery?

The people qualified, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), are Filipino soldiers, war veterans, Philippine presidents, national artists, scientists, dignitaries and AFP chiefs of staff.6 Although Marcos qualifies because he was a former president, Section 1 of Republic Act No. 289 asserts that the construction

of a national pantheon for presidents of the Philippines, national heroes and patriots of the country is to perpetuate their collective memory for the inspiration and emulation of this generation and of generations still unborn.

The question now is, is Marcos fit to be emulated by this generation and the generations to come?

Filipinos, especially the millennials who did not live through martial law and cannot remember the violence and corruption of the regime, will comprise the majority of the voting population in the near future when, perhaps, Bongbong Marcos runs for president. Let us not forget how close the fight was for BBM and Leni Robredo during this year’s vice-presidential race.

Before we go farther off to the dictator’s son running for president, however, let us first acknowledge the darkest period in recent history with its glints of gold. Just glints, because never will it be considered as the golden years of the Philippines. Marcos improved rural infrastructures, achieved rice self-sufficiency and the imposition of martial law had immediate positive effects on the national economy.

There was a restoration of peace and order that increased foreign investments in the country.7 Still, these accomplishments were not an indicative of the true state of the economy under Marcos, and because of dramatic government spending, our country’s debt ballooned to 25 billion PHP in 1983. By the end of 1983, 60 percent of all Philippine families were living below the poverty line.

Do these names even ring a bell — Archimedes Trajano, Maria Elena Ang, Boyet Mijares, Trinidad Herrera, Neri Colmenares and Hilda Narciso?8 They are just a few of the thousands of victims of murder, disappearances, and physical and sexual torture because they chose not to remain silent against Marcos’s oppressions. His burial in the cemetery would mock and desecrate these precious lives who fought to their dying breath for our country’s democracy today. Let us not forget that.

To my dear millennials, the freedom of writing these words is a privilege we writers can now enjoy. It cost many lives of the past generation. There is no time to waste. If healing and closure means forgetting, then we don’t want it.

From the president’s hint to this ongoing issue of Marcos’ burial in the Heroes’ Cemetery to the possible victory of the late dictator’s son in his future political pursuits, it begs the question: Are we truly moving forward? If you think not, let us not allow it to ripple further.

TC

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/08/07/marcos-libingan-ng-mga-bayani-burial.html http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/03/20/Roxas-Binay-Duterte-Poe-Santiago-divorce-death-penalty-Marcos.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_of_Ferdinand_Marcos 4 http://www.mb.com.ph/president-duterte-on-marcos-burial-i-allowed-it-because-it-is-the-law/ 5 http://www.rappler.com/nation/143373-duterte-supreme-court-decision-marcos-buria 6 http://www.rappler.com/nation/134509-heroes-cemetery-guidelines-afp 7 https://alvincamps.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/9/ 8 http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/106827-martial-law-stories-hear 1 2 3

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

Naninga ah.

Hala sige, ikaw na.

“Bright NA LAGE KA.” Christine Suson

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

Ever been told any of these?

Ever been told we are smart but felt like it meant the other way around? Ever shared insights and been met by people sarcastically insulting themselves and saying, “Ikaw na! Shut up na lang mi!”?

Have we encountered a person who seemed so smart it made us feel so insecure that we have to mock them?

What is so wrong with being smart? What is so wrong about having something to say? What is so wrong about being open to knowledge? Why is “smart” being shamed?

Smart-shaming is defined as the playful banter when one seems to present a more atypical thought in a casual exchange of ideas or arguments, or when one seems to take more interest or passion in learning — in short, the act of “playfully” shaming others for being smarter than they are.

The culture of smart-shaming has long existed, but nowadays, it has become more prevalent and alarming than ever. Whether inside the campus or out in the real world, anyone — especially those who speak their minds — can be subject to smart-shaming. This norm is present, but not limited to, situations when a student is questioned for knowing something before it is taught to them, when people who read often are made fun of, when we diminutively label a smart person a “walking encyclopedia” and when one raises his hand in class and his bravery is met with snickers and murmurs as if that student’s intent was to prove his intelligence to them.

It is evident that the majority tolerates and goes along with this culture rather than defend a person’s right to practice and put his or her intelligence to good use. However, what the majority does not realize is that acceptance of this culture brings significant adverse effects to the educational system and to the person’s journey towards success.

A survey conducted by Cengage Learning in 2014 shows that the topmost reason why students stop studying is due to the interruption they get from families and friends. This does not only limit to being interrupted as they study, but also encompasses the reality that friends and family do interrupt their motivation or interest in learning. Playful smartshaming remarks affect students’ performance, no matter how “simple” they are.

When students experience being smart-shamed, they start to downplay their academic achievements. Students will either start to hide their abilities, reduce their academic efforts, or study but claim later on that they did not. We also cannot blame these students — who would want to be smart if being smart is now thought as shameful?

People casually say that “smart is the new sexy,” but how come in the university, smart is being deemed cool only when the person who is “smart” manages to ace an exam without a little bit of effort? Is there even such a thing?

Why is there such a messed-up notion about “naturally” smart students being the only ones worthy of praise while those who openly exert efforts academically are instantly disregarded or looked down upon? How come, when people who initially find you smart find out that you study, they immediately conclude that you are only smart because you study?

How did it even come to the point that students who study a little harder, share a little more information, read a little longer or speak their minds a little louder become the subjects to smart-shaming?

In this case where “smart” is being shamed, some students eventually no longer want to be so, or still want to be but discreetly, which would affect their study habits and performance in school.

It is innate in us that we have enthusiasm for learning, but if every time we are made to feel as if our eagerness to learn is silly and downright “too much” even at an early age, it is no surprise that students these days start to become indifferent towards education, which is quite evident in students choosing to sit at the back, being distant from participation, and knowing the answers but not raising their hands for fear of being ridiculed.

Smart-shaming can start from a simple, “Naninga ah,” told to the person who’s openly reading a book, which can gravitate to, “Ayaw na pagtuon uy, bright na lage ka.” Why do we do this? Why do we allow this? How come “playfully” smartshaming has become part of our culture?

Even when one claims that there is nothing serious about these remarks and that the person might just be too sensitive, we also need to consider that everybody is different. Just because one has grown a thick skin and can roll with the punches, does not mean everybody feels the same way.

Besides, aren’t we supposed to encourage our fellow Carolinians to enhance their intelligence, not shame them?

It is part of our culture in the university that we’re expected to perform excellently, but it can be pretty daunting, especially when we are discouraged whenever we try to thrive. We coexist with a norm that hinders us from being our most excellent selves academic-wise. As long as we tolerate and feed this culture we currently find ourselves in, we will not be able to reestablish an environment that encourages hard work nor make it a part of our collective identity as Carolinians. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

LITERARY

THE BATTLE WE ARE LOSING:

A Story Lost Amidst Death Sofia Isabel Tajos Illustration by RK Tiu

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

LITERARY

...

I struggle to breathe as chaos tries to tie a rope around my neck and kill me for something I am only accused of being. ...

I do not notice the rain falling on my back as the only shower I am aware of is the cascade of bullets raining down on the pavement I am trying so hard to escape. They might say I am running because I am guilty, but even with their clouded judgement, I hope they will never understand the fear of looking a gun straight in the eye and praying that it won’t be the last thing they see. ...

I run and I run because all that’s left is a choice between my reputation and my life. I know I should not run from people who think that the truth is a finger pointed at the wrong person, but I refuse to be reduced into a body lying on the pavement with a cardboard sign that will never represent the person he is. I refuse to be a number added to the growing toll, a face on the news, an alleged criminal who was never one to begin with. ...

If you had told me yesterday that I would be fighting for my life today, I would have laughed at you in your face. After all, the most dangerous thing I have ever done was cross the street without looking both ways. ... ...

Pain takes over my chest, and I am forced to trip over my own feet. As I am stumbling to the ground, their footsteps grow louder. One of the men looks down at me and whispers, “You should have never tried to escape.”

I choke on my own blood as I attempt to say, “I am not a criminal.”

He scoffs, points a gun at me, and says a line that seems well-rehearsed — as if he has said it a thousand times to the numerous people he has killed.

“Pay for your sins.”

When the world you know becomes as scary as all of the horror movies you have seen, what do you do?

I’d fight for what I believe in. I’d fight for our rights. I’d fight for justice. I’d fight for every life that we have lost in this battle we are fighting against ourselves.

I’d fight for us.

Would you?

TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FILM REVIEW

16 FLICKS WE’D LIK FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF JOHN HUGHES 1986 Take a ‘61 Ferrari 250 GT Cali Spider, your girlfriend, your best mate, a wad of cash — and you have the best way to play hookie in 1986. If you don’t mind a trip back 30 years, take a day off and watch this masterpiece.

— Carmelle Gacasan

For some, Rushmore would be a strange film about a high school geek and a middle-aged millionaire falling for the same first-grade teacher. However, the film offers more than that with an excellent soundtrack, and superb writing and direction — nothing less from Wes Anderson.

— Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

BEFORE SUNRISE RICHARD LINKLATER 1995

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER LEE TOLAND KRIEGER 2012

Revolving around two young people who met in a train, the dialogue flowed so naturally it’s hard to believe that this movie was even directed.

The movie follows the couple in Europe, taking us to a story of unplanned love in stripped-down simplicity.

— Zarah Majam

Inventive and unconventional, Celeste and Jesse Forever presents a new look into today’s overused rom-coms. It showcases cleverness, complexity, charm, and most of all, the — sometimes harsh — reality of human relationships. A warning though: This is not the best film for couples to watch.

— Carmelle Gacasan

HER SPIKE JONZE 2013

DEAD POETS SOCIETY PETER WEIR 1989

Her is an ingenious take on a very overused topic — love. In a tale between a man and an operating system, science fiction shows that the language of love transcends all understanding and how it plays out in our world.

— Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

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RUSHMORE WES ANDERSON 1998

One of Robin Williams’s most iconic films, Dead Poets Society focuses on cookie-cutter private school boys and the impact of an unconventional educator. The film is a great coming-of-age story that encourages students to view life and education from a different angle as John Keating educates his students about the importance of poetry, philosophy and an open mind.

— Zarah Majam

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS MARTIN MCDONAGH 2012

A DIRTY CARNIVAL YOO HA 2006

Seven Psychopaths is a jocular, Tarantinoesque crime thriller with a clever script, a killer cast and a hair trigger, making it an excellent piece of cinema. Thumbs up for the superb film layering.

— Carmelle Gacasan

A Dirty Carnival is a crime film that shows the struggle of Byung-doo, a 29-year-old gangster climbing up the ranks in his mob. Unlike most films of the genre, A Dirty Carnival features a respectable person who only wants the best for his family with a remarkably notable realism.

— Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FILM REVIEW

KE YOU TO WATCH PULP FICTION QUENTIN TARANTINO 1995 Probably one of Tarantino’s well-renowned films, this movie features three revolving stories involving hit men and philosophies, a motorbike-riding Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman’s mad dance skills. Known for its witty and eclectic dialogue, this dark comedy dressed as a 90s mob movie, is definitely one of those films to watch before dying.

— Zarah Majam

THE FINEST HOURS CRAIG GILLESPIE 2016 The Finest Hours is based on a true story about how a group of brave coast guards braved the stormy seas and acted beyond the call of duty to save people from a split tanker. It’s a tale that shows the strength of the human will and heart, which is interpreted well through this film.

— Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

WHIPLASH DAMIEN CHAZELLE 2014 Whiplash is one of the most stunning films in its time. It’s intense, and it stings like its namesake.

Definitely a must-see for the music-oriented.

— Carmelle Gacasan

THE BREAKFAST CLUB JOHN HUGHES 1985 In the movie, five students from different areas of the high-school spectrum gradually broke their stereotypes during detention. A highly relatable film that captures the raw emotion every high school student has felt, The Breakfast Club is one of pop culture’s well-renowned movies — with performances mostly improvised by the actors and actresses.

— Zarah Majam

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND MICHEL GONDRY 2004 This is one of those cases where the script and the film are both exceptional. The way it interplays reality and memory to tell the story is the screenplay’s genius.

— Carmelle Gacasan

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS WES ANDERSON 2002 The Royal Tenenbaums showcases a family of dysfunctional and quirky characters.

Set in a dreamscape version of New York, the Tenenbaums cinematically portrays the power of love in a family in the most flawed way.

Accentuated by Anderson’s iconic style in cinematography, this movie is one of those films you’ll never forget.

— Zarah Majam

MY SASSY GIRL KWAK JAE-YONG 2001 Based on true anonymous online diary entries, My Sassy Girl is a romantic comedy that tells the story of how an average engineering student and a strong-willed sassy girl become an unlikely couple. With a humorous first half and an emotional second, My Sassy Girl is an excellent relatable film for everyone who has learned to love.

— Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS PETER CHELSOM 2014 This 2014 comedy-drama film follows a psychiatrist, called Hector, on an epic venture across the globe to uncover the secret of what makes people happy. Uplifting, empowering, and thought-provoking, this movie will surely give you a moment to consider life’s most important questions.

— Cherisse Sia

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

The Great Charter of Change Theresa Palompon

Photograph by Christine Suson

“To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”

These were the words that turned the tables for England in the year 1215. From the dispute that flourished between King John and the barons, the Magna Carta Libertatum was born.

Magna Carta, translated as “The Great Charter,” was hailed as one of the most famous documents in history and now serves as the bedrock of the British constitution. The document, which initially contained 63 clauses, substantiated the principle that everyone, including the king, is subject to the law. Through this, all “free men” were given a right to justice and free trial.

Although issued by King John of England himself, the Great Charter was actually written to resolve a political crisis that surfaced as a consequence of his autocratic rule. Before his approval was sought, nearly one-third of the original document was rewritten in a manner that would address the grievances of both the ruler and his subjects.

Despite the backlash of its issuance, King John was propelled to approbate the proposition because of his strained relationship with the barons and the Church. It all started with the imposition of a “scutage,” a tax paid to the Crown instead of providing knights for the army. Such arrangement did not receive the approval of the rebellious ones; thus, a treaty was made in the form of the Great Charter of Liberties.

However, just like most products of chaos, the treaty was only efficacious in the short run. King John asked for Pope Innocent III’s consent for the annulment of the charter. As a result, the Pope published a papal bull offsetting the enforcement of the Magna Carta in England, much to the dismay of the barons.

What was once a pact of peace became the root of hostility among the king, his barons and even the prince of France. King John died in the midst of conflagration, and his son, Henry III, had to succeed him at the early age of nine. In 1225, King Henry decided to reissue a revamped version of the Great Charter.

Out of 63 clauses, only three remain in the English law, but its existence continues to resonate in the succeeding constitutional forms passed in different countries. Some common exemplars would include

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FEATURE

the United States Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

“For the Carolinians, we remain.”

As for the University of San Carlos, the present school year unfolds as the Supreme Student Council vouches for the establishment of the Magna Carta of Students’ Rights and Welfare and its incorporation in the student manual.

Collegiate incarnations of the Great Charter in the Philippines were pioneered by the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University. These resulted from the failure of a previously proposed legislature to become law. Such neglected propositions took the form of House Bill No. 2190 or the Students’ Rights and Welfare (STRAW) Bill, which is still pending in Congress.

The prospect of having a Magna Carta of Students’ Rights and Welfare that is much contextualized to the educational condition of USC began in the term of former USC-SSC President Nicole Ann Ponce in the academic year 2014 to 2015. Together with Hon. Niveno Ocdinaria, Hon. Judy Ann Loise Ortega and Hon. Khen Aquino, former USC-SSC Councilors, the pursuit for a charter picked up speed.

However, out of the other main proponents, it was only Aquino, the vice president of the succeeding year, who was able to continue the endeavour. It was during his term as vice president that the charter was drafted through the concurrent efforts of the SSC, the ad hoc Committee on Students’ Rights and Welfare and the student organizations of the university.

Currently, Hon. Janet Dawn Abines, USC-SSC vice president, serves as the chairman of the Students’ Rights and Welfare Committee.

She is joined by incumbent councilors Hon. Deodatus Paulo Burgos, Hon. Maurice Baguio, Hon. Vincent Jess Montejo and Hon. Mel Ebo. Other participants in the drafting of the Magna Carta include the Conglomeration of Student Organizations and a Legal Body, to whom consultations on legal technicalities shall be made.

In the words of Abines, Burgos and Ocdinaria, “the end goal of the Magna Carta for Students’ Rights and Welfare is a comprehensive

declaration of students’ rights through a charter, bilateral in nature between the USC administration and the student body.” The SSC has been applying a similar systematic approach from the previous administrations with regard to collating concerns from the students, creating the draft and presenting it to the university administration.

Going back to the story of King John and the barons, it was said that nearly a third of the original draft had to be edited out in order to please both parties. Being the middlemen in this tale, the SSC also expressed how they plan to impose the Magna Carta of Students’ Rights and Welfare without sacrificing the interests of both the students and the administration.

They highly emphasized the role of both the administration and the student body in the deliberation of the Magna Carta. Through this effort, they hope to come to a compromise as they fairly weigh the concerns of both parties. In the process, necessary amendments may also be made to the proposed draft.

At the time of writing, the draft is already in the care of the Legal Body for the consultation of its legal technicalities. The USC-SSC would want to assure that there are less ambiguous provisions in the draft before it is bound for deliberation.

“It seeks to ensure that Carolinians will be able to develop their full potential while their rights are not just declared but also protected.”

By now, it is mostly forgotten that the original Magna Carta was an effect of destruction. From a once-placid lake, water trickles in rings as pitched pebbles break the surface tension. These rings grow bigger and bigger until reaching their bourne.

England was also a lake bombarded by its own pebbles. From the resulting chaos, the idea of the Great Charter was spawned. However, the aftermath of its issuance was only short-lived. Soon enough, it faded. Its provisions were halted, and it caused further chaos.

For the university, the Magna Carta of Students’ Rights and Welfare is a solution to minimize, if not eradicate, oppressive policies for the student body. One can only hope for its long-term protection of students’ rights and privileges.

The battle to uphold the rights of students continues up to this very day. For now, the option to establish a contextualized version of the Magna Carta is one of the most promising solutions to address the problem. The challenge, however, lies on how long the charter could effectively safeguard the prerogatives of its subjects.

As the draft of the charter is developed, the waiting game begins.

Question is: In the brawl of rights and justice, will USC be the new England?

“To no Carolinian will we sell, deny or delay right or justice. We seek to ensure that their rights are not just declared but also protected. For the Carolinians, we remain.” TC

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FEATURE

Hokage, adj.

Joen Jacob Ramas

Hokage, adj. Filipino slang for a man who is surprisingly smooth in making his lover surprisingly happy.

It started out as Galawang Hokage: videos of couples with boyfriends feeding their girlfriends, making pickup lines, cheek-kissing or necking.

The videos were applauded by viewers; tagged as kilig, “true love” and smooth.

Once upon a time, it was completely harmless and even outright hilarious to see such sweet couples embracing their love in social media.

For days on end it was the talk of the town — the next big thing, the next hit, the next sensation.

True, perhaps then, it was.

Hokage, adj. A complete stranger who holds the hand of an unsuspecting other in a public place.

Among others that followed the couple videos, this relatively new idea went viral in the minds of social network users. From holding the hand of another person on the opposite side of the escalator to fleetingly and intentionally holding the hand of a vulnerable other while walking, somehow, it lightened the mood.

While others were entertained by the videos, others were infuriated, calling the content offensive. These videos drew huge flak, as the actions depicted might violate the provisions given by R.A. 9262 or the AntiViolence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, or other related laws such the AntiSexual Harassment Act of 1995. Legal experts, however, are under the position that it might be an issue of unjust vexation under the Revised Penal Code.

It seems like the hokage fever in the country never ends.

Hokage, adj. A man who randomly tags his other guy friend with a photo or a written post

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of a girl being objectively portrayed.

The internet is a fun place to be; it is a veritable menagerie of endless memes, Vines and videos that crack the whole world up. Refreshed bite after bite, the internet is a continuouslyimproving media platform that brings about the best — and increasingly often, the worst — of the world.

However, recent posts in social networking sites prove that women are being objectively defined in this present society, and no one seems to be taking action. From the traditional meme “Ganyan talaga ang mga babae,” to “Pareha lang naman ‘yang mga babae… isa lang naman ang gusto nila,” the range goes on and on as our society continually entertains this kind of media.

Some comments against these posts make it through. Most don’t.

Hokage, adj. Someone who puts outright sexually-assaulting comments on social media without thinking twice.

If one’s sole reason for writing an opinion on social media is that they are free and the freedom of expression is real, they should probably rethink their lives and make their accounts private.

Take, for example, when reporter and journalist Raffy Tima tweeted that his wife, Mariz Umali, being catcalled was so “wrong on so many levels” while she was conducting a press interview with then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. A now-defunct Twitter account replied with a tweet saying, “Then let your wife stay at home and be a wife.” Social media anger spread rapidly. People from different ends of the social media sphere commented that the belief system of the account’s owner was archaic and old-fashioned.

Unfortunately, most people get away with these

issues easily as if it was naturally easy to do.

Just because they are women, and they should be wives, and they should just play the role of shutting up in this barbaric society.

Hokage, adj. A group of friends who continuously comment on each other’s new Facebook friendships (e.g., when someone in the group accepts a new girl friend).

Facebook: a new way of meeting friends.

True enough, when someone accepts a friend request, the new friendship acceptance can normally be seen publicly as an activity of that user’s account. It goes without saying that someone’s friends would comment on their activity.

“Jackpot!”

“Hokage!”

“Master!”

“Naa say nailad nimo, noh?”

“Gwapaha gud sa imong nadakop!”

The comments speak as if the man is to be glorified for having accepted the woman, that the woman was a mere jackpot prize for the man and nothing else; the comments speak as if the woman should be entitled to her new friendship with this man.

These are some of the usual comments that can be seen in almost anyone’s Facebook activity with new friends. Most of the time, these are men who accept women friends adding them.

Worse, the woman whose friend request just got accepted is completely oblivious to the entire happening, vulnerable, as she cannot see it unless she stumbles upon it with her own account.

Then again, the offenders still manage to get away with it and move on with their lives while obliviously offending someone else.

Hokage, adj. Do we really need another definition? TC

FEATURE

Infographics by Franz Palanca

Here comes a complete stranger holding your hand while you’re strolling at the mall. What do you do? Laugh it out, probably. But there’s a camera behind you and 2,876 views and 412 shares later, you’re famous because apparently, you should feel “lucky” to be held in this person’s hands. Some silent others reacted out violently. These are the days when you would want to have Edward’s scissor hands.

They usually come out in the night when you check your accounts just before you sleep. They are seen tagging their other friends about how complicated a girl’s mind is or how much of a cheater guys are. Often, they don’t believe in true love, let alone not stereotyping all genders.

From known personalities to social media commoners, they argue on every single comment that is against theirs. Sometimes, they objectify men; most of the time, it is the women who struggle against these people. Some of their examples would be that men should just “man up” and that women should “just stay at home and be a wife.”

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

OPINION

Young, Scrappy and Hungry:

Hamilton and the Fight for National Identity Paolo Perez

Illustration by Eduard Jude Jamolin

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OPINION

Lights up on the Richard Rodgers Theatre, 46th Street, New York: the greatest city in the world.

The curtain comes up. The orchestra booms, followed by the creaking of a single violin. A young man in a maroon coat steps into the spotlight, faces the audience and asks: How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman… … cement his place alongside not only his more cosmopolitan contemporaries George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but also theatre juggernauts like Cats, Les Misérables and Wicked? Hamilton, the latest Broadway phenomenon and brainchild of Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, aims to answer both while telling the story of Alexander Hamilton: first treasury secretary of the United States, face of the 10-dollar bill, right-hand man to General Washington — and central figure of the first sex scandal in American history. In laying out the whirlwind of Hamilton’s life and achievements, from his roots on the islands of St. Croix and Nevis in the Caribbean Sea to his non-stop rise from student to soldier to statesman, the show has picked up a few of its own — 16 Tony Award nominations and 11 wins is nothing to sneeze at.

“I promise you that tonight’s show will not be all about Hamilton,” joked Tonys host James Corden. “There will also be some commercial breaks.”

Hamilton’s influence has since surpassed the walls of the Richard Rodgers. Its fans range from Conan O’Brien to Kanye West, and perhaps most prominently Barack Obama — a major supporter of the show since 2009. In the six years in between, Hamilton evolved from a hip-hop concept album titled The Hamilton Mixtape to a full-fledged Broadway production, one of the most popular of the new millennium, with tickets nearly impossible to get ahold of without thousands of dollars or insane luck.

In fact, Hamilton has found itself a solid fanbase here in the Philippines, which Miranda himself has noted. Filipino Twitter users and Hamilton fans eased the tension of Election Day by juxtaposing their political grievances with Hamilton lyrics, punctuating each tweet with #Ham4Halalan, a reference to #Ham4Ham, a tradition performed by the cast outside the theatre every Wednesday of the show’s first year.

“I have no idea who is running in your election but your hashtag makes me gigil,” Miranda responded. A proud son of Puerto Rican immigrants, his appreciation for his international fans does not go unnoticed — quite the contrary. It has always been a major theme of his Broadway work since In the Heights premiered in 2008.

“Immigrants,” notes the Marquis de Lafayette as he and the Caribbean-born Hamilton move into position at the Battle of Yorktown, “we get the job done!” The line receives so much applause that the score has had to adapt a longer pause to accommodate it. For any immigrant in a strange land, OFW’s and balikbayans included, Lafayette’s words are a reminder that foreignness is no shame. In a time when xenophobia and racism cast their shadow like an enormous wall, our country is no stranger to discrimination. The unrest in our own borders has led us to be labeled as untrustworthy — a terrorist state, even — but our pride and love for our nation keeps us afloat when it feels easier to just swim down.

Even outside of its historical context, Hamilton takes pride in one’s origins and applies it where most works would flinch to tread. All of its roles are specifically written and cast for people of color, save the quintessentially English King George. In a society where whitewashing lead roles has become the norm, reversing the trend is a powerful way of putting the problem into perspective and allows POCs to lay their own claim to a history that typically relegates them to the sidelines. Everywhere, from its soundtrack to its cast, Hamilton’s strength lies in its diversity, and its refusal to bind itself to race is a breath of fresh air in a country that hawks phony whitening soap to ensure that its women will never be satisfied with themselves.

In fact, sometimes it feels as though our nation’s entire society is more concerned with skin color than Hamilton is, considering how happy we are to sling around stereotypes and slurs about other ethnicities. Even within our own race, many of our countrymen attack people from rural provinces as primitive, when their own vitriol proves that the word applies more so to them. Thomas Jefferson descending his stairs to be greeted by his multiple slaves — common for a man of his time and status — is portrayed as a dark twist on a beloved hero, but to us, it may seem eerily and hazily familiar: How much racism and discrimination do we engage in ourselves, simply because we’ve allowed it to become the norm?

Unfortunately, our vitriol does not end at race.

Sexism, sadly, is alive and well in our culture.

Against recent insinuations that a woman’s place in the government is “finance, if she’s bright enough” and a senator’s sex life is a valid attack on her political competence, Hamilton’s 1700s are eerily more progressive than our country’s 2016. Two of its most prominent characters, Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler — Hamilton’s sister-in-law and wife, respectively — bring the narrative full circle. Even under the limitations of a time when women were seen as little more than housewives, Hamilton’s leading ladies are nothing less than powerful.

Angelica, early feminist and one of the only characters in the show capable of matching

Alexander’s rapier wit, quotes the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” she begins, before adding, “and when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’mma compel him to include women in the sequel!” The younger Eliza, meanwhile, takes the reins of the story after Alexander’s death, cementing both of their legacies without being bound to the shadow of her husband’s.

However, nostalgia does not cloud Hamilton’s vision, even after 240 years. Thomas Jefferson is a hypocrite: the man who preached equality and owned slaves. Hamilton himself is an obnoxious, arrogant, loud-mouthed adulterer.

George Washington, a paragon for virtue and honor, still bears the weight of his early failures. Even Aaron Burr, the show’s narrator and Hamilton’s eventual killer, is portrayed as sympathetic and devoted but fatally envious.

Now look around: Even the slightest insinuation against our president is the perfect summons for a horde of keyboard warriors to defend him. Hamilton reminds us what we too often forget: Heroes, no matter how venerated, aren’t perfect. Villains, no matter how misguided, aren’t pure evil. They’re all human.

Throughout the first act, Hamilton’s journey from poor orphan in the Caribbean to pillar of the early American government is driven by his credo: “I’m just like my country; I’m young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot.” In a nation whose constitution is younger than most of our parents, these words are a call to action. While attending King’s College, better known today as Columbia University, Hamilton, barely in his twenties, continuously refuted Loyalist farmer Samuel Seabury’s condemnation of the Continental Congress. Although condensed to less than two minutes in the musical, his retorts spanned dozens of pages and only picked up with age. Social media today is full of Alexander Hamiltons — young people who fight for their beliefs rather than kowtowing to what is accepted.

Hamilton’s growing appeal in a country that it doesn’t belong to may seem odd. Even its tagline defines it as “an American musical”.

Between its catchy soundtrack, motivated performances and unique view of history, though, it becomes easy to see why the whole world has become enamored with it. Some may write it off as another case of the youth’s tendency to latch onto the next big thing, but few of our now-forgotten obsessions have sparked as much discussion, creativity and even political awareness.

This much is for certain, though: Hamilton has swept the world like a hurricane, and just as their performance at this year’s Tonys demonstrated, it proves that we don’t need guns to win a revolution. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

Sexuality

Isn’t VULGAR, Your Shaming is Zarah Majam

Photographs by Angelo Nico Daroy and Gifthir Lemuel Elmido It is a growing culture in the Philippines for women to be taught to cover themselves up in order for them to gain respect. We have been taught that women who are subtle, demure and wholesome are much more respectable than women who have the opposite of these traits. Tracing the root cause of this mentality would expose numerous factors: the religious and conservative environment of the Philippines, the portrayal of women in the media and show business, the influence of the “Maria Clara” archetype that stuck around for decades and so much more.

As a byproduct of this stigma, the act of slut-shaming women has developed into a societal epidemic, especially in the Philippines.

Slut-shaming occurs when a woman is insulted for outwardly expressing her sexuality in ways that go against the expectations of society. This definition is not only limited to women who have had multiple sexual partners, but also includes women who wear clothing deemed “provocative” or “racy”. In the conservative society we live in, it is susceptible for women from all walks of life, no matter their personal history or background, to have been victims of slut-shaming.

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It is easy to assume that this culture cultivated itself from the ideologies and standards pressed upon women over time.

Philippine culture implies that women should be modest in order for them to be considered as “wife material”. It is a strong misconception that a woman who is open about her sexuality deserves less respect. Growing up, women have been told by their mothers that in order to gain respect, they must be wholesome and conservative. This form of thinking has eventually influenced the way society perceives a woman who chooses not to cover herself up, immediately branding her as a person who deserves less respect because of the way she presents herself. We need to learn that a woman’s choice of clothing does not equate to her value. A woman who is confident about her sexuality is just as respectable as a woman who chooses to be conservative.

As a society, it is easy for us to police women into a character that is deemed acceptable, which then creates boundaries for female sexuality. Numerous young girls have been shamed for

FEATURE

their choices regarding their sexuality, and this leads to a handful of problems such as body image issues and identity issues, to name a few.

Because of patriarchal expectations, women are naturally exposed to an environment that has them seeking validation from men. First of all, women are not obligated to conform themselves to the ideologies of men just to garner a sense of security. At a young age, girls have been taught to be as desirable as possible in order to secure a great husband, thus a better future. We need to teach young girls that being successful without the aid of a man is possible. Men have always been quick to judge women who are open about their sexuality and because of this, women are afraid of wearing clothes that are too revealing because this may “provoke” men or seem “too inviting”. We live in a society that encourages women to cover themselves up rather than teaching men to control themselves or to respect a woman despite her clothing decisions.

Seeing a woman in revealing clothes has them thinking that they are easy and that they are “asking for it,” which is a toxic stigma in itself. This kind of thinking eventually devolves into rape culture. Numerous cases of rape have been discounted simply because the woman was deemed a slut. Women who have been victims of rape are blamed simply because they wore clothes that implied that they were “asking for it.” We need to modify this form of thinking.

Rather than blaming the victim, we must acknowledge that no matter what a woman wears or no matter who she is, she is no position to be raped. The act of rape is much more offensive than the act of being raped, and people need to remember that.

It is highly important that in this day and age we must promote proper education about rape — that it is not a crime perpetrated exclusively on women, but on men as well. We must teach our youth that rape is the true shame, rather than teaching them how not to be raped.

Slut-shaming is another avenue that promotes the double standard in society. When a man has numerous sexual partners he is considered a “stud,” but when a woman has multiple sexual partners she is considered a “slut.” Men have always had the privilege to own up to their sexuality without receiving the harsh judgment a woman receives by nature. This double standard can cultivate for generations if we do not learn to respect a woman’s sexuality the same way society respects a man’s sexuality.

By allowing ourselves to eradicate this form of thinking, we can encourage women to embrace their sexuality instead of taking it away from them. We need to stop calling women sluts and start encouraging them to express themselves however they want to, without judgment and ridicule. It is about time we recognize this as an issue because this will affect the way future generations think. This is a call to any woman who has been called a slut at one point in her life.

Your self-worth is not based on the way she projects her sexuality.

It is time we acknowledge that this problem exists. Failure to acknowledge its existence only perpetuates the problem.

Women are entitled to wear what they want to wear and confidently embrace their sexuality without being branded as sluts. It is time we end the sexual slurs aggressively thrown at confident women, and it is time to begin this reformation. TC

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FEATURE

XyZ:

Feminism in the University

Genesis Ryan Calle and Patricia May Compra Photographs by Keith Raymier Ayuman

A wide spectrum of opinions differs when people talk about the advocacy of women’s rights, otherwise known as feminism. Generation gaps and firsthand experiences may influence why people oppose such an advocacy. One common example is that it is purely intended for male bashing and is a fight over power promoting a matriarchal society. Debates on issues concerning gender inequality, chauvinism, slut-shaming, the negative portrayal of gender roles, and violence against women have now surfaced on different social media platforms, creating a healthy discourse that gives feminism a louder voice. Although different misconceptions could all be laid out to ponder upon, it is with great purpose that we correct the past and move on to a more knowledgeable and modernized take on feminism.

Many feminist movements have made waves in both the international and local scale, from the UN’s #HeforShe campaign to the controversial passing of the Reproductive Health Bill in our country. Even in our very own university, the advocacy of equal rights for women is ignited through campus-based organizations. We have two internationally acclaimed organizations to spark interest in feminism and perhaps change the way it is viewed. We decided to do an exclusive interview of key members of these two so the Carolinian community could get to know more about what feminism really is.

The Golden Z Club at USC is an organization that promotes the elimination of violence against women and children, following the core values of its mother organization, Zonta International. The word zonta comes from the Native-American Siouan language and roughly translates to honest or trustworthy. Golden Z Clubs are created within university campuses around the world and are primarily designed to provide opportunities for young adults to enhance their communication and leadership skills within the community. Aside from that, it also aims to increase international awareness through exposure to relevant social issues and events that are conjoined with the organization’s purpose.

With the mission of seeking the advancement of the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy, the Golden Z Club at USC has proposed various events and programs that cater to three main categories: school, community, and international. A seminar about feminism directed towards students, especially boys in their first year of high school, is one of the main events under the school category.

The main purpose of this series of talks is to educate young men and women of this generation about the basics of feminism and how they can help eradicate misogynistic behaviors that have been taught to them since birth.

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We interviewed Athina Olan, President of Golden Z Club at USC, and asked for her opinion on the spreading of the feminist cause and the state of the organization.

TC: Why should we teach the values of feminism to people of this generation?

A: Simply because it presently affects them, even though they won’t be aware of the lack of feminism’s widespread effects until later on in their life when it’s more direct. It affects not just abused women or victims of the “righteous” deeds of religious extremists, but their fathers and basketball buddies as well. As for the younger generation, it’s much easier for a person to be able to grasp concepts and open their minds if they are taught about the realities currently happening all over the world and what they can do to help while in their formative years.

TC: What kind of effects can feminism produce in this generation?

A: Feminism, especially in this generation where technology reigns and no information is out of reach, can lead to widespread awareness, which leads to the challenging of social injustices regarding not just gender, but also sexual orientation, race, culture, religion, class, etc. It’s a domino effect that everyone benefits from.

TC: How will the Golden Z Club at USC help address social issues that concern gender equality?

A: Aside from raising awareness, the Golden Z Club at USC has a handful of projects that aims to address several social issues and crimes in three stages, which are divided into three categories: School, Community, and International.

TC: What are the future projects and events of Golden Z Club at USC for the school year?

A: With the theme for this year centering around social crimes and issues, we have three projects we’re hoping will continue on to future terms: a.) Virtual support system It’s a mix of Berlin Art Parasites, where one can submit confessions in any form, and an advice column, where one can ask a qualified person for credible advice regarding problems and sentiments they can’t express in real life. This is all done anonymously, of course.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks from science to business to global issues, in more than 100 languages.

Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world. IdeaLab is organizing another TEDx talk that will be centered on discussions that concerns feminism. TEDxWomen@USC, slated to be held on November, will not only be the first in USC but also in the country.

We also got to interview the head organizer of TEDxWomen@USC, Shanele Pura, and asked about her own thoughts on feminism and the upcoming event.

TC: Why do we need to empower women in today’s time?

A: Because #ItsAboutTime. Investing in women and girls may have once been considered a waste of resources, but today, we are recognized as a critical link to greater stability and prosperity. Generations of empowered and educated women are moving and stepping into bigger shoes — or higher heels — and the impact is immeasurable. Being a woman is less of a role and more of a gift. Women are the embodiments of creation; they are the architects of change across sectors in our community. As they play major parts in the start of things, there has never been a more interesting time in the narrative of evolution. We should celebrate and honor this shift.

TC: What makes someone a feminist? Is it possible for a man to be a feminist?

A: A feminist is one who recognizes that there should be equity and full humanity for both women and men. People tend to believe that the balance between the sexes is a zero-sum game — when women win, men lose. This is not true. In fact, it is the opposite: When women win, we all win. Thus for a man to be a feminist, he does not need to ask for a space in feminism. He uses the space he has in society and makes it feminist. Feminism is not dogmatic nor prescriptive. The launch of TEDxWomen@USC will not be an “either/or,” but a “yes/and.”

TC: Why do you think Carolinians should attend TEDxWomen@USC? A: TEDx events are avenues for ideas worth spreading, and it is important that we share an awareness of the roles that women play in bringing new ideas and innovations. As Carolinians, may we be always relevant in our local and national communities. By attending a TEDx event, especially our very own TEDxUniversityofSanCarlos, we become part and vanguards of the discourse.

TC: How will TEDxWomen@USC address the social issues of gender equality?

b.) Spoken word poetry event What better way to express one’s feelings and frustrations other than through art, poetry, and performance? c.) Self-defense class The feeling of safety is highly valued and important in a society where almost nothing is off-limits. Better safe than sorry.

TC: What is your foresight of Golden Z Club at USC? A: I believe that this year, we, the members of the Golden Z Club at USC, can start a ripple. And years from now? I see a tsunami.

A: We have to quit it with gender roles. In attempting to assign strengths and weaknesses to either gender, we cut our potential as the human race in half.

Women will always be an important fraction; we keep this world whole and 100 percent.

TC: What kind of outcome do you expect out of TEDxWomen@USC? What is your vision for this event?

A: TEDxWomen@USC would be an incarnation of the feminine spirit. It would actually have a voice and, most especially, movement. I hope that the ideas of our speakers would be catalyzed into action. I hope that there will emerge #ConstantConversations. After all the history of entrapment and needless taming, I hope that we learn and continue to celebrate movers and makers, designers and doers, local problem solvers and change makers.

Although the fight to instill equality is far from over, we have and are making such wonderful and rapid progression in the past years. We’ve seen how allowing a woman to step out of the patriarchal dictates that keeps her from embodying her attributes preconditions a more nurturing and therefore kinder world. The Golden Z Club at USC and TEDxWomen@USC will springboard these kinds of social issues and so much more. TC

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LITERARY

“ Saan

Kyn Noel Pestaño

Illustration by Eduard Jude Jamolin

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“

Lumulubog ang Buhangin

LITERARY

Kung tatanungin mo ako kung saan ako nanggaling, sasagot ako — sa dagat.

1998 Sa isang maliit na lungsod sa gitna ng dagat at kalye, isang guro ang nagsilang ng isa ring guro, ang pangalawa’y umiiyak sa paraang tanging ina lamang ang magsasabing mapayapa — buhay siya, buhay.

2011 Umakyat siya sa entablado, pinapagitnaan ng kanyang ina’t ama.

Isang pilak na medalya ang isinabit sa kanyang leeg. Pitong taon, ginto. Pitong nakaraang taon.

Sa isang maliit na lungsod sa gitna ng dagat at kalye, isang bata ang nakipagkilala kay kabiguan, sa paraang tanging ina lamang ang magsasabing kailangan.

2014 Silang dalawa lang ang natira sa silid na iyon, kanilang mga kasama’y lumabas muna upang magmeryenda. Pitong metro lang ang layo nila sa isa’t isa, ngunit singbigat na ng dagat ang katahimikang pumapagitna. Nagpasiya ang lalaki sa dulo na kumanta, ang mga nota dahan-dahang sinasama sa kanilang pag-akyat ang bigat. Nang matapos ay pumalakpak at ngumiti ang lalaking nasa kabilang dulo, sa paraang si kupido lamang ang magsasabing katanggap-tanggap.

Sa isang maliit na lungsod, sa gitna ng dagat at kalye, isang binata ang natutong tingnan ang bahaghari bilang simbolo ng isang lihim na bagay. …

Kung iisipin mo, isang umaga lang at napakaraming kahapon ang bumubuo sa ating mga buhay. Bawat araw na gigising ka ay lulubog din sa nakaraan pagkatapos mong matulog. Isang paglalakbay ang ginagawa natin sa bawat segundo, bawat taon, ngunit pare-pareho lang naman ang mga sandali, ang pumapagitna lang ang naiiba.

Sa kabila ng lawak at bilis ng agos na ito, sa agos ng oras, kahit paano’y nakakahanap pa rin naman tayo ng tiyempong dumaong, lumugar sa isang payapang pangpang kung saan pwede nating bitiwan ang ating mga gaod at lumutang muna sa kasalukuyan.

Likas na matatatag ang mga tao; sa kung paano natin ginagawang tahanan ang mga iniwang labi ng nakaraang bagyo. Siguro nga’y iyan lang ang kailangan natin — tahanan. Siguro kung lahat tayo ay may tirahan, alinman sa gusali o sa puso ng ibang tao, hindi tayo masyadong maaalintana sa agos at hampas ng panahon. …

Sa isang maliit na lungsod, sa gitna ng dagat at kalye, isang binata ang natutong tingnan ang dagat bilang kanlungan ng buhangin.

TC

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Graphics by Will Perez

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USC DAYS 2016

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FEATURE

WONDERS OF USC-TC: A Traveler’s Guide

Paolo Perez

Photograph by Gifthir Lemuel Elmido

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With insane airfare, class schedules that make steel seem flexible and calendars that just don’t seem to want to match up, it can be hard to find time to get away from it all and relax. Luckily, vacation doesn’t have to be a hassle! You don’t have to leave Cebu—or even your respective campuses—to find some great spots for your next off day. The university boasts countless curiosities within its walls. Here’s our pick for the top spots in Talamban Campus.

Are you an adrenaline junkie? Is a vacation just not a vacation until your blood starts racing and your heart starts pumping? There’s no need to go visit a volcano to get your fix. In fact, you don’t even need to leave your couch! ISMIS, one of the hottest topics in the school, isn’t just a primary method of enrolling and checking one’s finances—it’s also a safe alternative to a boiling caldera, without any pesky convection or toxic fumes. ISMIS’ constant crashing and forceful eviction of users at random times rivals even the most spectacular and explosive volcanic eruptions.

Plan your visit around June and October, when activity levels are highest; summer months tend to be less exciting, unfortunately.

Conscientious about animal welfare? Skip SeaWorld and stick around for the aftermath of ISMIS’ enrollment season, when the unlucky students whose classes were filled up, dissolved and shuffled around jump through hoops and bend over backwards just to get their class schedules in working order—it’s a spectacle that puts Shamu to shame!

Then again, if you’d rather cool off, save the expenses on a white-water canyon rafting expedition and hang around the university around June and July. When the monsoon picks up, the resulting floods are breathtaking. The best part? It’s impossible to miss out on the action—even after the main event ends, the waterlogged roads and crowded jeepneys mean you’ll be sticking around the campus for quite a while! Definitely a good way to make sure you get your money’s worth on your trip.

Can’t decide what to do while you wait for the water to subside?

Stick around the engineering canteen and see the soccer field fill up with runoff! The overgrown vegetation and persistent mud lingering hours after the rain stops is a true testament to one of the greatest water features of our mountain-locked campus. When you finally make it home, keep an ear out for the delightful chorus of frogs and toads calling out for a mate. You may not be able to sleep, but why would you want to when you’re surrounded by all this beautiful nature?

Still love the water, but prefer to keep your head dry?

The Bunzel building is home to an absolute jewel, tucked away just beyond its lobby: a beautiful emerald pond. This amazing water feature has something for almost everyone—biologists and chemists alike can study the deep green water and the veritable ecosystem of algae, fish and mosquitoes that calls it home. Engineers and archaeologists can study the fascinating amphibious tricycle moored at its shore, once celebrated but now seemingly lost amongst the constantly-shifting hustle and bustle of the university.

It’s still a fascinating innovation and proof of Carolinian ingenuity, though, so don’t miss the opportunity to snap a photo with it while you can.

For the total hydrophobes out there, worry not. Talamban makes great use of its mountainous terrain. Hiking enthusiasts and bibliophiles alike will love this next spot, crowned at the top of the mountain. Known by many names—the Josef Baumgartner Building, the Learning Resource Center or simply the library, it is truly one of the campus’ most notable sights. Students come from all over to glean knowledge from its shelves upon shelves of textbooks, journals and other tomes. For those who fancy a challenge, save four pesos and walk up the mountain rather than take the shuttle. Walking really puts into perspective how much we take the little things for granted, such as just how steep, long and grueling the climb up to the LRC really is.

Once there, take a moment to rest up before making a selection—but have a contingency plan on hand. Much like ISMIS, the library’s system is prone to spectacularly failing. Don’t let the hike be a waste, though—naturalists can observe the flocks of students who have also made the arduous migration up the mountain for a much-needed hibernation. Not for too long, though, otherwise it gets creepy.

Don’t worry about safety during your stay, either; the university is very well-defended. Its gates are even more efficient than China’s Great Wall—so fortified, in fact, that sometimes, even students are unable to enter, especially if they make the heinous mistake of forgetting to shave. True, it’s not exactly perfect, but listen: no system is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is! Barring the incident where a random man entered the campus and started teaching a year or two back and the odd student who manages to waltz in unopposed despite multiple uniform infractions, the gates are a shining example of the university’s sterling environment and are sure to keep you safe during your stay, whether you like it or not.

Trying to find out a place to rest your head at the end of the day? Look no further than the university dormitory! Conveniently nestled a short hike halfway up the mountain, the dorms are the place to be for residents and non-residents alike. So long as you keep your head down and do what you’re told, your stay at the dorm should be long and healthy. If not, that’s fine too. A bit of menial labor on the facilities, a day or two out of your free time to help plant some mangroves and all is forgiven! Hey, don’t complain— what’s a little sacrifice to help improve everyone’s quality of life or lend a hand to the environment? Such charity can only beget joy, and you know what they say: Strength Through Joy! I forget who said that, but they must have been onto something.

What are you waiting for? Come visit this treasure tucked away in the mountains; or, if you’re already here, get out there and explore! Once you’ve experienced the unique TC lifestyle, you may never want to leave it behind. Or perhaps you don’t have the choice—but do you really need one? TC

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CAROLINIAN GAME OF THRONES Julienne Termoso Illustration by Justine Bacareza

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“Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.”

– Lord Varys

A good number of millennials would prefer feel- good American series like Pret t y Lit tle Liar s or Gossip Girl, which totally says a lot about the youth’s political involvement: ver y minimal, that is, if it is not yet obvious. Some are even placed in positions where they have to be forced to engage in pressing political issues. This situation produces the tendency to have them care for a shor t span of time, but eventually drif t away and go back to their hugot and kilig-inducing topics.

With the instant surge of the popularit y of Game of Thrones outside the communit y of original diehard fans, people in politics have found it almost impossible to excuse themselves from being associated with characters that either influence viewers to rip out and devour hear ts out of suppor t and excitement or quietly jump out of a window from the wrath and disgust brought upon them from being compared to such vicious characters.

The series has become a basis for political comparison to issues touching from the United States elections, the current administration of the Philippines, or even in the most immediate local scene, the running politics in the Universit y of San Carlos — in this case, the Westeros of the Supreme Student Council.

Our own game of thrones begins during the time of the year when the universit y’s own three Houses — Student Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (STAND), Tingog Carolinian, and Student Power Par t y (SPP) — wave their banners and colors to mark their territories, form alliances and build their ranks in time for the universit y-wide elections. Like the houses of Westeros, each has its beliefs and practices, and unlike streaming

an episode, it is impossible to pause student politics when its houses clash to greet each other with Valyrian swords, arrows, poisoned kisses, one -sided opinions, red tags, per fected fake greetings, unearned popularit y and, if luck y, dragons.

If a specific Westerosi house is to be compared to each of the Carolinian houses, there are none more recognizable than Houses L annister, Stark and Targar yen to equate them with. Although it would be thrilling enough to match Column A with Column B, this ar ticle would rather create the siz zle by let ting readers do the matching.

HOUSE L ANNISTER “A L annister always pays his debts.” Overused and misused by the var ying audience is this quote by the house perhaps best known for its socially- excused romance between a sister and a brother. Though completely understandable because of its literal construction and use of words, this quote has more meaning than all of L ang Leav’s books combined, if properly understood and analyzed. The House L annister absolutely cannot stand being away from each other for reasons that only they know. This house has a dungeon of secrets involving wealth and family feuds. They are overly obsessed with monopolizing power and achieving it. Clinging to what the majorit y deems already acceptable seems to be their only option. Although the L annisters were once the most power ful family in Westeros — before Cersei decided to change all that — they utilize existing popularit y to channel what message the throne is ought to convey to the kingdoms. Why else would Cersei marr y Rober t Baratheon?

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HOUSE STARK Individual successes and homecoming victor y par ties are the norms of this house. Family-wise, yes, they can garner the most number of squinting eyes with their tear-jerking reunions and separations. Its members do not mind being set apar t from the others in their house; rather, they seem to be more concerned with their personal triumphs. Sansa, Jon, Bran and Ar ya, who have all grown to be strong and essential characters to the series, achieved their present status without wearing the name of their house on their foreheads.

Will they earn their own victories and prove House Stark could be the most deser ving house to sit on the iron throne?

To compare this to one of the Carolinian houses, one specifically stresses the individual qualit y and skills rather than the totalit y of the par t y. Let’s face it, not all the members of the council will come from one specific par t y — or is that star ting to become an end- goal for another house?

HOUSE TARGARYEN From the house that prides itself with its silver hair and the terrif ying but glorious winged creatures that are dragons comes a hear tbroken queen struggling to bring back the once - celebrated name of her family that, for a long time, was the only name known to the iron throne. This house is about taking back what seems to have been stolen from it, about regaining the people’s

trust and spraying per fume on a reputation drenched in shame and ut ter failure.

The same goes for the par ticular Carolinian house that absolutely cannot stand the thought of their dragon blood touched by the blood of outcasts. There is no compromise for these strong-willed children, even if it means changing what is, for the purpose of proving their ground. Just as Game of Thrones is ongoing, the success of their movement for power still remains a myster y although secretly, this rising army has a bat talion behind it — ready for war.

The wide young audience of Game of Thrones can be a subtle sign of the involvement of students in universit y politics. If they can stand 50 minutes of talk, compromise, tactics for power and reclaiming authorit y, then they could easily dissect the promises brought out by their own student council. The best one can take home from this series is to think of societal well-being over personal motives, lest they be poisoned at their own wedding or defaced by the girl with no name. Be the bet ter house.

Valar dohaeris before Valar morghulis. TC

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Thumbprints of Ours Joshua Cesar Uy

Photograph by Wednesday Abelgas

Humans are like thumbprints: disparate and idiomatic.

As the cycle of life continues to roll, it is evident that humans of all races have the same framework: We are born crying. We live our lives with constant dilemmas. We die as if nothing happened.

The greatest essence of one’s life, however, is the value it creates for humanity, the wisdom one acquires throughout his arduous journey and the creativity one shares to influence the society to see this world in a different yet meaningful perspective.

At the end of the day, it is our own selves who make an impact on society.

They say individualism is a “selfish” philosophy that leaves no room for compassion, but it is not. Rather, it is inclined to independence and self-reliance. Without the sense of individuality, we are simply identically programmed robots with a 70-year life span while society is simply a Dementor, sucking people’s souls and making everything black and gray — colorless and tragic.

Do we even value ourselves as an individual?

Being a student is simply one of the most frustrating things to do as an individual. A common evident fact is that most people just simply dislike working with groups. In the same manner, we just hate working with our free-rider co-members during group work, which would either cause our grades to fly like rocket ships or to be dragged down into the deep with an anchor. Oftentimes, we think that we are far way productive working alone.

Moreover, the undeniable irritation that we feel is present when self-proclaimed political analysts bombard us with their Adobo Chronicles-based opinions. We even say “Kinain na ng sistema” to those irrational opinions that inflict invalidated truth. It has thus become satisfying to keep our opinions to ourselves.

On the other hand, conflicts arise toward one another when one doesn’t conform to the other’s ideology. This is the very root cause of misunderstanding, fights and, undeniably, wars.

By valuing one’s individuality, we tend to find ourselves. We have a clearer mind to decipher what is right and wrong and to realize our true desires and purpose. Having a sense of pride for being an individual is not a self-centered notion. Being individualistic is not being a nerd, is not being selfish, is not being a loner getting

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thrown with trash for valuing loneness, and is not being a “trying-hard” person aspiring for change by his course of actions.

Humans are complex diversities compacted into one scientific anatomic structure — the most complex matter on Earth. Each individual has unique abilities and needs that, while they may be similar to those of other people, are not exactly the same as any other person’s. This self-evident fact is what makes life so interesting. Can we imagine what a dull world it would be if everyone were exactly the same?

The world we live in today is a sketch made into action by one’s mind. Perhaps the car we own today was just a toy imagined by a kid centuries ago. The phone we have today might have been just the barely-passing computer project of a tech-geek.

The philosophical quote we love is just the bitter musing of a medieval by-stander. The music we listen to is just an accidental mix-up of notes by a frustrated artist. We have even explored the galaxy through our towering rocket ships, traveled across lands through aircrafts, and created cyberspace. All of this is rooted from an idea, from a passion and from dedication. From whom?

From an individual who thought outside the box, driven by desires to change and contribute to humanity.

discussions over a cup of tea, happy spending time with their own friends — “me, myself and I”. Somehow, people find themselves and what they want to do when they do it and accomplish it alone. Through self-contemplation, one might have tackled the essence of human existence, dissected the political idiocy of the corrupt government or even formulated the elixir of immortality.

From bricks and stones to Wi-Fi and iPhones, humanity has immensely improved, comparable to a domino effect. It’s the different ideas of individuals that what have created this world the way it is today. Everything starts from a eureka as one turns on the lights, scribbles everything on a sheet of paper or encodes it on a computer, and shares it to his peers. In the same manner, individuality has shaded us with distinct colors; even though it’s cliché, it makes us what we are.

In the end, our individuality is our own brand — the thing that we nurture, and for some, the thing they continue to search for. We are all here for a purpose, either surfing through the unknown or making the unknown known. All of this comes down to us — single individuals out of seven billion people.

After all, we are thumbprints leaving marks. TC

Some people find themselves indulged in their own intellectual

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LITERARY

Kahinumdom ko atong una kong nanikas.

Cesar Carlos Heyrosa

Duha ka adlaw bag-o ang exam, gihilantan ko ato. Katong naa na ang papel ug ballpen sa akong atubangan, wala ko kasabot unsa akong buhaton. Kahinumdom pa gyud ko sa pangutana ato:

ko nga na-Salutatorian. Atong mga panahuna, nabuhat nako ang gihandom sa uban. Sila, naghandom sa akong mga nabuhat - dili ako ang naghandom sa ilaha - ug akong nabuhat tanan nakong nabuhat nga naa pa’y prinsipyo.

What was the root cause of the fracturing of the bottom of the Titanic, causing the ship to sink?

Pero unsa man gyud to? Prinsipyo? Dili to garbo? Garbo nga ako ang gisunod, nga dili ako ang nisunod? Dili ba angay kaunon ang garbo? Angay ba nako kaunon ang garbo para makasala na pud?

Atong panahona, para nako, dili gyud siya makatarungan.

Sala ba diay nako nga nasakit ko? Pero dili man pud sala sa maestro. Sala sa kalibutan?

Dili.

Dili pud na pwede, pero kinahanglan gyud ni nako matubag.

Kung wala man gani ko’y mabasol nga mahagbong ko, dili nalang ko magpahagbong.

“Julius, unsa imong gi-answer sa number two?”

Kahinumdom ko sa ikaduha nako nga panikas.

Dili.

Kaunon nako ang garbo dili para sa sala. Para ni sa usa ka tuig. Kaunon nako ang garbo dili tungod nisunod ko sa akong mga classmate. Para ni sa kwarta sa akong ginikanan. “sinθ = λ / (2d hkl )” Kahinumdom ko sa ikatulo nako nga pagpanikas sa exam.

Lahi na pud nga subject, lahi na pud nga maestra. Wala man ko nasakpan sa pikas. Dili pud ko magpasakop ani. Dili man pud gyud ko ganahan ani nga subject. Dili pud ko ganahan sa tinudluan sa maestra.

Gabii bag-o sa exam, kung kanus-a unta ko magtuon, nakatulog ko. Pahuway lang daw og lima ka minuto.

Pakauwaw lang ko. Pag-abot nako sa skwelahan sa buntag sa adlaw sa exam, nakakita ko nga naa’y gipangtaguan akong mga classmate nga gagmay nga papel.

Naa ko’y classmate nga nisitsit nako. Akong gilingi, ug gikataw-an ko niya nga wala’y tingog. Nagngisi pa siya nga mura’g irong boang pagtunol niya og gamay nga papel dinhi nako.

Mosunod ko ani ilang gibuhat? Dili na gyud ni parehas atong una kong nanikas, pero kung wala ko nasakpan ato, dili pud siguro ko masakpan karon, no? Pero dili ba nga sala gihapon ang sala bisan na nga wala ta nasakpan?

Ako ning dawaton? Makatarungan ni? Sige, kung masakpan mi, maglagot si ma’am. Kinsa naman nuon ang alkanse? Ang mga estudyante nga ganahan manimalos sa maestra nga dili kahibalo motudlo? O ang naglagot nga maestra?

Pero nabuhat man pud sa akong mga classmate, dili ba? Pero tuod nabuhat nila, dili na diay sala? Sala man gyud ni bisan og unsaon pa nako og tan-aw ang mga nahitabo.

Pero unsa man? Usa ka sala o usa ka tuig? Usa ka sala o kwarinta ka libo na pud gikan sa akong ginikanan?

Makatarungan ba gyud ni? Sige, wala mi’y nasabtan gikan ni ma’am. Sakto ba nga tungod ani, akong dawaton ang sala nga gitunol sa akong kauban? Kami ba ang giboang ani nga maestraha? O ako ba ang giboang aning gangisi nga mura og irong boang? O ako ba ang giboang sa akong kaugalingon?

Dili man gyud siguro ni nako makaya nga manikas sa akong pagbuot gyud uy. Katong ga-high school pa ko, limpyo man gyud ko. Limpyo ko nga na-top sa among mga klase. Limpyo

Makatarungan ba?

Dili.

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LITERARY

Pero unsa man ang makatarungan ani kalibutana ba? Kung ganahan makalusot ang tawo, makalusot man gyud siya.

Ganahan ko makapasar bisan og unsa pa ang mahitabo.

Ganahan ko makalusot karon.

1.4 1.7 2.1

1. C 2. Y 3. J 4. A 5. M

Sa una, mag-abli ko sa ISMIS nga magkurog gamay ang kamot. Ambot kung dala ba to sa kahadlok o sa kahinam.

Kung dako ang grado, natural nga malipay gyud ko. Kung gamay, natural nga magmaoy ko.

Dili ni natural nga wala ko’y mabati samtang nagtan-aw sa akong grado. Buot huna-hunaon, dili man gyud ni para nako mga numeroha. Usahay gani, mangutana pud ko sa akong kaugalingon:

6. H What was the root cause of these grades?

Ganahan ko makahinumdom sa akong ikaupat, ikalima, ikaunom, ikapito nga pagpanikas.

Pero kapito ra ba gyud ko nanikas? Dili na ko makahinumdom.

Kahibalo ko nga mas daghan pa ana ang mga panahon nga nanikas ko. Ngano? Mura ra gud ni og bisyo. Una, ikaduha, ikatulo nga babaye? Makahinumdom pa siguro ang bana nga hilig mangabit. Ikaupat, ikalima, ikaunom, ikapito? Kaboangi ko.

Ako ra nga mahinumduman kay bisan og unsa nalang to among gigamit sa klase para manikas. Mga honghong. Mga kodigo sa gagmay nga papel. Mga sinuwatan sa gagmay nga kamot. Bluetooth. Internet. Naa pa’y mu-text sa igsuon nga naa’y gipapangita sa iyang libro.

Ang akong pagtuon ba? O ang classmate nga unang nitunol sa kodigo nga nagngisi nga mura’g irong boang? O ang lima ka minuto nga pahuway nga nahimo og walo ka oras nga tulog?

O ang hilanat?

Dili.

Ako tong pagbuot tanan. Tungod ani, hipokrito ra pud kaayo ko kung muingon ko nga nagmahay ko, nga nakonsinsiya ko. Pero dili nuon tungod ana, sakto na to ang akong mga gipangbuhat. Dili man gyud to sila sakto bisan og bali-balihon pa nato ang tinudluan sa maestro.

1.8 Lingawa. Aw, tan-awa ra gud ko. Nalingaw na ko naghunahuna sa mga panahon nga nanikas ko. Sakto ba ni?

2.0

Dili.

1.2

Pero bisan og dili pa ni sakto, lingaw gihapon manikas. Lingaw gihapon magbisyo. Lingaw gihapon makigduwa sa kayo samtang wala pa ko nasunog.

1.5 1.4 1.7

1.8 2.1 2.0 TC 1.2 1.5

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LITERARY

Fick Shore-Head I fight for justice. Nothing else makes me as happy as serving justice to

It was a perfect shot again — exactly between the eyes. It was as if time

everyone as I don this porcelain owl mask. In my heart of hearts, I am a

slowed down as I watched the forehead of the criminal slowly shatter and

hero. I am… The Owl!

explode. Within a few moments, the back of the head danced to the rhythm

I love the cheer of the crowd when they talk of that time when The Owl stopped crime, when The Owl made the neighborhood peaceful, when The Owl delivered justice. When the sound of people praising The Owl reaches my ears, warmth engulfs my chest. It is as if I am hearing the happiest melody from the piano. It is as if I am smelling the sweetest flowers in a garden. It is as if I am seeing the colors of my favorite painting for the first time again.

I love the love of the people, and for that, I will not let them down.

My eyes catch the tear-drenched eyes of the little boy in front of me, freeing me from my reverie. I smile at him. I mean heroes should be friendly to the kids too, correct? Yet I guess it matters not. This kid will never see my face behind the guise of The Owl. The little boy sniffs as he continues sobbing. I know that right now, he understands not what greatness I — The Owl ¬— have done. In a few months or years, he shall understand, just as in a few hours, he will wipe it all off from his face — the tears, the sweat and the blood. He will understand, and he will learn to love The Owl. He will learn to love me.

Moved by this dream, I pat his head, lift my mask a little and lean down to his cheek and give it a kiss — the saltiness of tears and sweat, and the metallic taste of blood touching my lips. He shall remember this day. This is the day that The Owl bequeathed him with a kiss.

The boy ceases not his crying as I walk out the door, yet his sadness does not eclipse my joy. Today, I have served justice again. I breathe deep and smile as the last few minutes begin to replay in my head. I can almost touch

left by the forehead. Blood gushed out like the waves of the ocean colliding with the rocks on the shore. The eyeballs of the criminal went their separate ways, letting go of the nerves that confined them in place. His brain split to pieces and in a frantic orgy, jumped to the air, finally finding freedom from the prison of the criminal’s cranium. The walls of the little shanty and the little child were bathed in warm blood, and the crimson creek flowed through the cracks of the floor.

My eyes caught the tear-drenched eyes of the little boy in front of me. I smiled at him.

Today, The Owl has served justice. Tomorrow, news of his latest exploits shall fill the news again. Of course, no matter how the news goes, the crowds will love me. They will. They always do.

They will always love me — for I love doing the sins they would love to do but cannot. They simply do not have the courage. Even the sight of cold steel and the smell of gunpowder are enough to make them cower in the comfort of their homes. They can never kill these criminals — these animals — as I, The Owl, can, and for that The Owl loves them. The Owl loves them for giving him the courage. The Owl loves them for cheering him on in his bloodbath. The Owl loves them for satisfying his — my — bloodlust for this twisted justice.

The crowds will love me.

They will.

They always do.

the pleasure — the euphoria — of what I have done.

Little do they know, they will come tumbling down to hell with me.

I kicked the door of the decrepit shack, the cold steel of my Remington

We all come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down…

Magnum touching my bare hands. I found the criminal — who stole the jewelry of many an unfortunate women and dabbled in drugs illegal — sitting on the floor, playing with the little boy who would be bequeathed

We all come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down…

We all come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down…

with my kiss. I remember as the criminal’s eyes, his nostrils and his mouth opened in a silent scream as I pointed my gun at him.

We all come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down.

The wind hissed.

TC

The child screamed.

The Owl pulled the trigger.

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FEATURE

Salad, Chopped Carrots, and Carrot Cake Kimberly Y. Gultia

Once in class, I was asked a seemingly simple question, “What is research?”

I searched for an equally simple answer. I tried to give the most straightforward reply, but to my chagrin I couldn’t get to one. I ended up with students staring at me with more confused faces.

I was faced with a dilemma.

You see, research to me is a purposeful process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting data, and presenting the findings afterward. Pretty uncomplicated, I thought, but I quickly realized that my “simple” definition was full of terms that are quite technical. Data, analysis, findings — each of these words needed its own definition. My simple definition was obviously not simple, so I had to think of another way of defining the word research.

Salad It occurred to me that the research process is really similar to making salad. To explain, let me share a story: One day, I decided to cook homemade surprise salad. I went to the supermarket to buy a variety of fruits and vegetables, with a pair of eggs and some dressing, as ingredients (data gathering). Then I went home, unpacked my groceries, and placed them on the kitchen counter (data presentation). To prepare, I mixed this fruit with that vegetable, cooked the eggs, placed everything in a salad, and added a bit of dressing (data analysis). I carefully placed the salad on a pretty plate and served it (findings).

Research, just like preparing salad, is a matter of: 1. Gathering data – shopping for ingredients; 2. presenting the data – placing the ingredients on the kitchen counter; 3. analyzing the data – preparation and cooking, and finally; 4. presenting the findings from the analysis made – plating and serving.

Chopped Carrots versus Carrot Cake Then I thought to myself, “What is good research?” Allow me to give you another analogy: When one is given carrots, one can choose to make carrot cake or chopped carrots. In both cases, the carrots have been processed to turn into another form; hence, in essence, the two dishes are like research in that they have been processed: one through baking and another through chopping. Yet one is better than the other. Which do you think it is?

The carrot cake is the better choice as it has gone through more complicated processes of mixing and baking as opposed to just being chopped. It has been turned into a whole different product, one where the original ingredient — carrots — can barely be recognized. Like good research, the set of data goes through an appropriate methodology that produces new knowledge — one very different from its origins. Carrot cake has more than just the carrots as an ingredient; it has other good stuff in it too. Like good research, there has to be many different types of data to come up with interesting findings. So what of chopped carrots? They are just that – carrots that have been chopped, like research with very simple objectives and findings that aren’t much different from the original data gathered. We may ask, though, “But isn’t the ‘chopped carrots type of research’ still processed, hence still research?” Yes, definitely, but not a very interesting kind.

If we are confused as to what research is, think of making salad, and if we would like to do a deep and interesting kind of research, let us go for a carrot cake. TC

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FEATURE

Infographics by Pauline Panganiban

1 - main idea

simple research 1/4 - data gathering

1/ 4 - data presentation 1/ 4 - data analyzation

datas and information

brainstorming

more interesting informations coffee

ingredients: 1/4 cup - blood 3/4 cup - sweat 1 cup - tears 1 liter - faith

A very interesting research

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

LITERARY

“BUANG Di Man Ko Jeanne Paulie Yap

Photograph by Garel Sison

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”

LITERARY

Back in high school, I told a family member that I wanted to see a professional. And she disagreed, saying ’Wa ka k’yapi? Para lang na sa mga buang. Buang diay ka?”

our Filipino elders hinders them from getting the sustenance they deserve.

Instead of thinking about their future, the Filipino youth, focus on how to make their lives shorter.

Right then and there, I wanted to scream “No”. I wanted to explain to her that I just wanted to sort out this deep well in me and gain some insight.

What I did instead was shut my mouth and contain my emotions instead.

Trap them again and again. Feed the monster living inside of me, until one day, I wasn’t able to hold it in any longer.

Here in the Philippines, it is immediately assumed that one is “crazy” and “a threat to the community” when one calls for a psychiatrist. When the problem is not addressed, these fatalities happen. This is what a number of people do, too. Worse, most of the time, plan B results in self-destruction, just because plan A, which was to ask for help, was not an option at all. According to a study by Lapeña, Tarroja, Tirazona and Fernando of De La Salle University – Social Development Research Center on the young Filipino’s opinions on mental health, the lack of resources and conflict within themselves or with others posed a severe problem.

We cannot blame our families though. This is Filipino culture. This is how Filipinos have perceived mental health and disability from the start.

We are built on history that focuses on strength and survival. Moments of weakness are not even recognized. If they are, they are addressed in a specious manner. Filipinos — if not all, the majority — don’t “talk about their feelings”. Instead, we are expected to dismiss our problems and move on. If we show an ounce of mawkishness, we are considered weak, and regard for us changes. It is as if there is some sort of stigma in acknowledging one’s feelings.

This culture we are practicing, however, does not really apply to today’s generation any longer — and it is toxic to us Filipinos, especially our mental health. The confusion with the roots and inability to justify one’s mental health will result in lengths greater than most casualties.

Mental health, as we were taught in our primary years, is the level of our psychological being. It affects how we think, feel and act. This is as far as most of us get. We are not lectured on how to keep it intact or how it is just as important as our physical or spiritual health. Its influence on our judgement and how it reciprocates into our actions is never clearly emphasized to us.

In the Philippines, it is an even greater problem. While other countries have started to embrace it, here, mental health is still taken for granted.

Psychiatry is looked down on in our country, even though it needs more attention. The number of suicide cases in the Philippines is growing more and more each day, and what is more severe about it is that a number of the percentage is in the scope of the Filipino youth, ranging from 10 to 19 year-olds.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 1.3 million deaths caused by suicide annually around the world.

What do people do about it? Do we blame the victim? Do we conclude that he or she was on the brink of insanity? Do we add more of a taboo element to what is considered a stigma already?

That is just who we are as Filipinos, right?

We could change that, though.

The generation today has improved and has opened up more to the idea of self-nurture over mere survival. They are just as concerned of their mental health as their physical health, but sadly, a society built on ideologies by

The researchers recognized that some of the youth’s coping strategies are positive — seeking help, actively resolving and talking about the problem. However, they also noted how other strategies that the youth use — engaging in negative and escapist behaviors, excessive drinking, taking drugs, acting out or simply ignoring the problem — are not desirable. This just proves that Filipinos would rather stay silent. Still, what should be emphasized is that asking for help is okay.

Another concern in the Philippines is that mental health care is very expensive and, most of the time, unreasonable. A big portion of the population, which is under the poverty line, simply cannot afford mental healthcare services.

Enter the Mental Health Bill, which has been proposed in our congress a number of times already. The Mental Health Bill is supposed to provide accessible mental health care to Filipinos and improve their mental capabilities. Why can’t our government put as much importance on this issue as others? Why, until now, do they still keep on pointing fingers at each other?

Hazel Delgado Planco, a columnist from Rappler, presented four pressing words: “Unhappy citizens, unhappy country”. She said, “Let us not be a country of weary, anxious, depressed and mentally unstable citizenry. We are responsible for our own psychological health. Let us support the Mental Health Act. Let us make our voices heard and show the government the pressing need for a mental health law.”

Amidst this dark grey sky, there’s a glimmer of light. Elected senator Risa Hontiveros addressed this issue during last elections’ senatorial debate, “The Leader I Want”. She said that, once elected, she would push for the development of PhilHealth benefit packages for mental health, both for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Just because someone wants to see a professional does not make him or her crazy, a threat or buang. The inquisition to actually know what’s going on does not make him or her any less of a person. Anyone addressing their feelings, depression and anxieties is just as much of a human as we are.

When skeptical about our mental state, we should seek help. Awareness is vital. Let us not wait for the last minute — until it is already too late. TC

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LITERARY

PORTIA Miriam Burlaos Mahal ko si Portia. Siya ang dahilan ng paggising ko sa umaga at ang nagiisang inpirasyon ko para magpatuloy sa buhay.

Kilala ko na si Portia simula pagkabata. Sasabihin ko sana na sabay kaming lumaki, pero hindi na naranasang lumaki ni Portia. Hindi siya tumaba o nadagdagan man lang ang tangkad. Limang taong gulang ako nang una kong napagtanto na siya lang ang magiging kakampi ko. Hindi man niya ako kayang ipagtanggol sa mga palo ni Papa at sa iba pang parusa ng mga magulang ko sa akin, nariyan naman siya para patahanin at pagaanin ang loob ko.

Hindi interesado sina Mama at Papa kung nakakuha man ako ng mataas o mababang marka sa eskwelahan. Pero iba si Portia. Pagdating ko sa bahay, dali-dali akong aakyat sa kwarto para kwentuhan siya kung paano ako nakakuha ng tatlong star galing kay Teacher Ann. Mabuti pa si Portia, nasabi ko sa sarili ko. Marunong siyang makinig sa mga kwento ko at hindi siya katulad ni Mama na bingi kapag ako na ang may sasabihin.

“Ma, may assignment ako. Magdodrowing kami ng alaga sa bahay. Ma, wala naman tayong alaga sa bahay.”

“Mamaya na lang, anak. May ginagawa pa si Mama,” sagot niya. Ganoon naman lagi si Mama. Laging may ginagawa. Akala mo lang narinig niya ako, pero nagkakamali ka. Madalas nga na isang “Mama” pa lang, may dahilan na agad. Bingi ang Mama ko, sinasabi ko sa iyo. Ayaw lang niyang ipahalata.

Wala akong kaibigan sa mga kaklase ko dahil wala ni isa man sa kanila ang kagaya ni Portia. Lahat sila ay maingay, pabida at mahilig magsumbong.

Minsan, pinagalitan ako ni Teacher Ann dahil sinapak ko si Jonas sa mukha.

Gumanti lang naman ako dahil hinila niya ang buhok ko pero ako pa rin ang pinagalitan. Si Portia lang ang naniwala sa akin.

Isang beses, isinama ko si Portia sa klase. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero pinagbulungan ako ng mga kaklase ko at pinagtawanan din nila si Portia.

Hindi pa nakuntento ang mga ugok. Inagaw nila si Portia, ginupit ang tenga niya at tinusok-tusok ang kaliwang mata. Sa galit ko, kinuha ko ang gunting at pinagbantaan sila na sasaksakin ko sila isa-isa.

“Sige nga. Saksakin mo nga ako,” utos ni Jonas sa akin. Uundayan ko na sana siya ng saksak pero dumating si Teacher Ann at pagkatapos ay dinala ako sa principal’s office.

Wala akong pinagsisisihan. Ipinagtanggol ko lang si Portia, ang lagi kong sabi.

TC

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Lumipas ang mga taon, hindi ko pa rin nakakalimutan ang mga magagandang pinagsamahan namin. May mga nakilala akong kaibigan na hindi man kagaya ni Portia, mapagtitiyagaan na rin. Naroon si Portia sa pagtambay ng barkada ko sa bahay, sa mga inuman at sa panonood ng pelikula at hindi niya alintana na may nakikitulog sa kwarto namin.

Nasaksihan niya ang mga panahong umiiyak ako dahil hindi ko alam kung paano sasabihin kay Mama na nagdadalang-tao ako. Pero binigyan ako ni Portia ng lakas ng loob.

“Ma, buntis po ako.”

Lumapit si Mama sa akin habang umiiyak. Sa unang pagkakataon, narinig niya nang maayos ang sinabi ko. Akala ko, yayakapin niya ako pero dalawang magkasunod na sampal ang inabot ko sa kanya. Malandi raw ako, walang hiya, walang utang na loob at kung anu-ano pang masasakit na salita na kung maririnig mo sa mga magulang mo, iisipin mo na isinusuka ka nila bilang anak. Noong mga panahong iyon, si Portia pa rin ang nag-iisa kong kakampi.

Buong akala ko, hindi na ako kakausapin ni Mama at Papa.

Pero isang araw, sinabihan nila ako na mag-impake ng mga damit dahil aalis daw muna kami sandali para magbakasyon sa probinsya. Bitbit ko noon si Portia nang biglang hinila siya ni Papa mula sa pagkakahawak ko.

“Damit lang ang dalhin mo. Huwag mo nang isama iyan,” sabi ni Papa sa akin.

“Hindi ako pwedeng umalis nang hindi siya kasama, Pa,” sagot ko sa kanya habang kinukuha pabalik si Portia.

Hindi ko alam kung anong problema ni Papa noon pero ayaw niya akong pagbigyan. Nasasaktan si Portia pero nakangiti pa rin, parang sinasabi sa akin na ayos lang ang lahat at hindi ko kailangang mag-alala.

Sa takot ko na mapahamak si Portia, pumayag ako sa gusto ni Papa. Lumuwas kami noon na bitbit ang dalawang maleta at isa pang bag. Naiwan si Portia na mag-isa.

Dalawang buwan ang lumipas at hindi pa rin ako nakakabalik sa piling ni Portia. Naunang umuwi sina Mama at Papa at iniwan ako kasama ng iba pang kamag-anak sa probinsya.

Wala naman akong naging problema sa kanila. Sa katunayan, regular nila akong sinasamahan na magpakonsulta sa doktor at hindi ako hinahayaan na gumawa ng mabibigat na trabaho.

Pero hindi nawala sa isip ko si Portia. Pakiramdam ko, mababaliw ako kung wala siya.

Nagising ako isang gabi mula sa bangungot. Sinaksak daw ni Papa si Portia sa leeg, pinutol ang mga kamay at paa, at pagkatapos ay ibinaon sa lupa. Wala man lamang akong nagawa para iligtas siya. Nakawala ako sa masamang panaginip pero hindi ako nakatakas sa takot na maaaring mapahamak si Portia.

Tinawagan ko si Mama kinabukasan para kumbinsihin siyang pauwiin na ako. Pangitain siguro ang panaginip dahil hindi pumayag si Mama sa gusto ko. Huwag ko na raw isipin si Portia. Ang pagtuunan ko daw ng pansin ay ang pagbubuntis ko at mananatili ako sa probinsya hanggang sa isilang na ang batang dinadala ko.

Lalong tumindi ang pag-aalala ko na baka may may masamang nangyari. Hindi ko na hihintayin pa ang pitong buwan.

Nang gabi ding iyon, hinalungkat ko ang lahat ng lalagyan at kahon. Lubid o kutsilyo? Hindi ko alam kung paano pero darating ako para kay Portia. Sa paghahalungkat ko, napansin ko ang isang mahabang tubo na gahinlalaki ang kapal at sa pagkakataong iyon, alam ko na ang gagawin.

Nagtungo ako sa kusina dala ang tubo, nilinis ito at saka hinipo ang malamig nitong dulo. Sandali lang ito aabutin.

Magkakasama na kami ulit ni Portia.

Ipinasok ko ang tubo sa loob ng sinapupunan ko, itinulak at inilabas at itinulak nang paulit-ulit. Umagas ang napakaraming dugo at kasabay nito ay ang ngiti ng pag-asang makakapiling ko na siya.

Parating na ako, Portia. Parating na ako. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

The Wastewater Treatment Fac Cesar Carlos Heyrosa What began with a generator set somehow led to one of USC’s greatest steps in addressing water pollution.

Last Aug. 20, the wastewater treatment facility at the back of the Anselmo Bustos Gym was inaugurated by the USC administration together with the USC pollution control office.

The facility is the brainchild of Engr. Victoria Napisa, the pollution control officer of the Downtown Campus.

The idea behind the entire wastewater facility, however, comes from the generator set in the Downtown Campus.

To operate it, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources requires the school to comply with a discharge permit for the wastewater generated. However, problems arose because the campus has multiple septic tanks, which would complicate the water quality tests to be conducted. As a solution, a single septic tank that collects all the discharge waters in the university was made. Then again, this proposed another problem: Won’t mixing the wastewater from each building lead to a build-up of contaminants?

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

Engr. Napisa took this as an opportunity to design the wastewater facility. With units procured from Greenlex System Services, Inc., the entire plant — deceptively looking like a simple large tank with strange little devices here and there — treats the discharge waters of all the buildings in the Downtown Campus. Probably the most interesting feature of the facility is that it does not merely treat wastewater for disposal. Water coming out of the plant is in actuality reusable within the university.

A septic tank beneath the nearby vicinity collects all the effluent waters from the buildings in the campus. Here, a portion of the waste is removed from the waters before being pumped to the aeration tank of the facility. In the latter tank, air is also pumped to the wastewater, which makes wasteeating microbes strive and convert waste material to sludge.

The sludge then settles to the bottom of the tank, as the aerated water is transferred to a series of ion exchange units.

Here, hazardous metallic ions are removed from the flowing water. Afterward, hypochlorite, a chemical that eliminates

FEATURE

ility in the Downtown Campus Photographs by Eloise Noreen Diaz microbes, is mixed with the water before it is pumped back to the restrooms of the Downtown Campus.

Ultimately, having the wastewater treatment facility built also helps the growing problem of water pollution in Cebu province. Just recently, the Butuanon River and the Guadalupe River, where multiple institutions dump their wastewater, have been declared heavily polluted by the Environmental Management Bureau. The seas of Mactan Island also made the rounds for being contaminated with coliform bacteria beyond the safe level.

With the new treatment facility, together with wastewater and air pollution research from multiple departments in the university, we are already taking steps in helping the environment. What about us as students?

“Keeping the discharge waters of our university clean is not only our [the university administration’s] responsibility.

Students should do their part,” stated Engr. Napisa. “Even simply not flushing tissue papers, wet wipes and the occasional panty liners will truly help.”

Nonetheless, we also have to remember that the fight for the environment does not only involve making sure our waters are clean. We should make it a habit to dispose of our garbage properly — not in the Guadalupe and Butuanon Rivers, on the streets or even in the wrong trash bin. We should also turn off electrical devices and faucets when not in use. The usual mantra of reduce-reuse-recycle will also be helpful in the long run. Additionally, supporting our university’s efforts for waste management will also help in addressing air pollution little by little. Cliché may these things be as reminders, but if only the majority of people have the discipline to observe these steps, we could have gone far in keeping our environment clean.

Not only as part of the most prestigious institutions in Cebu province, but also as residents in the only planet we have, it is thus appropriate that we should also do our part in keeping our environment habitable. Like the consequences of pollution, alleviating it follows the same principle: Little steps eventually make big leaps. TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

DRAWING LINES BETWEEN

NBA AND GILAS Jet Mangubat

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

FEATURE

The NBA has been in the basketball industry since 1946, which would obviously mean that its teams has garnered the support of the masses long before Gilas Pilipinas became a team worth watching in the international scene. There is one persistent question regarding this concern, though: In the Philippines, why does the NBA get more support than our local team, Gilas Pilipinas?

The answer is simple: The NBA has more Filipino fans than Gilas.

This is a fact that no one can argue against. It could even be safely said that all Filipino basketball enthusiasts are fans of the NBA, but not all of them are fans of Gilas. In fact, Gilas players are NBA fans, too. Jeff Chan is a fan of Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs who, like him, is a lefthanded sharpshooter. Terence Romeo is a fan of Allen Iverson, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy and Kyrie Irving. No wonder he moves across the court like a danguit fish.

Because the NBA has been around for some time, long before Gilas came into being, the former has been allowed to build their fan base here in the Philippines. On the other hand, Gilas is a relative newcomer to the scene and has thus been unable to build a solid fan base yet.

Further, one of the strategies in building a fan base is to have the right stuff. NBA has many superstars coming from different teams. Gilas has only a handful of them. The more superstars a team has, the more fans it will garner.

Another factor is that there are more people in the Philippines talking or writing about the NBA than Gilas.

This increases the likelihood that more people will stumble upon sites that talk about the NBA. The more a person is exposed to a thing, the more likely he is to be interested in it.

The NBA has also made the best use of social media to engage with their fans and attracting more of them globally by creating country-specific Facebook pages in addition to its official Facebook account, and the Philippines is one of these countries.

In 2012, the Philippines topped the list of five countries outside of the China and the United States to have the most number of NBA fans on Facebook, beating out Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico and France.

In addition to this, the Philippines also topped the list of five countries outside of China and the U.S. with the most number of fans on Twitter, followed by Indonesia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and India.

In such cases, the terms BIRGing and CORFing were used in terms of fan bases. BIRG, a term coined by Professor Robert Cialdini of Arizona State University, means basking in reflected glory. He used this term to describe the intense pride fans feel when their teams succeed. Every time the U.S. Olympic basketball team, which consists of NBA players, wins, the fans feel great and better about themselves. Like many aspects of our society, this could go viral and

spark the interest of friends towards the team, making them fans of the team themselves.

CORF, on the other hand, means cutting off reflected failure. This term, coined by researchers C.R. Snyder, Mary Anne Lassergard and Carol E. Ford, refers to the inclination by fans to distance themselves from their team after a defeat. With the successive losses suffered by Gilas lately, it is not unusual for fans who are CORFers to abandon the team.

True fans are BIRGers, but not CORFers. They feel great when their team wins, and will stand by their team no matter what for many reasons. One of them is nationalism.

For example: “I am solid Gilas fan because I am a Filipino.” The other reason is conviction. We stay with Gilas because of their fighting spirit.

“Puso,” as they say.

In conclusion, these are the things Gilas might do: improve their skills to win more games, in turn attracting more fans; and use social media to promote their team and engage with Filipino fans. The NBA superstars visit other countries; Gilas could, then, visit provinces to conduct basketball clinics and perhaps other philanthropic activities.

Gilas is our national team. They need our utmost support, but how can we show it? We might as well start by visiting their social media accounts and watching Gilas games. We must turn our hearts to the support needed for Gilas Pilipinas. It’s never too late.

Why not start now? TC

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

PARTING SHOT

I hold that a strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations.

- Beatrix Potter

Photograph by Garel Sison

TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

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LIQUIDATION

Today’s CAROLINIAN Statement of Cash Flows For the First Semester 2016

Cash Balance, Beginning

P 383,017.20

Cash Receipts

Today’s Carolinian Summer Budget

Total Cash Available for Use

P 163,179.36 P 546,196.56

Cash Disbursements

June Newsletters

P 23,920.00 Biggest Newsletter Ever

P 6,820.00 Recruitment Posters

P 612.00 Photobook

P 62,200.00 Press ID

P 1,083.00 Press Shirt

P 5,115.00 August Newsletters P 19,890.00 Interview Score Sheets P 32.00

P 119,672.00

Transportation Expense

P 1,703.50 Registration Fees:

ComArts Media Festival P 5,600.00

College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines P 8,000.00

P 13,600.00

Shipping Fee for CEGP Entries

P 450.00 CEGP Seminar Travel Expense

P 920.00 Miscellaneous Expense

P 931.25 Food Expense

P 3,100.00

P 140,376.75

Cash Balance, End

P 405,819.81

PREPARED BY THERESA PALOMPON Finance Officer Today’s Carolinian

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

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TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | SEPTEMBER 2016

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