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Fanuchanan 2017, Vol. 43, Issue 2, October
Trash build-up prompts food truck vendors to act
By Shannon Ada Triton’s Call Staff
Trash has occasionally built up around the grassy area where the food trucks park, and this may be due to improper waste management by the vendors, according to a UOG official. Ann Leon Guerrero, auxiliary services director, said the food truck vendor contract requires that they must provide their own trash receptacles and are responsible for their disposal. Ethan Cruz from Teppan, a popular food truck among students, said he noticed the trash build-up in the 55-gallon bins around the area and didn’t know what to do or how to properly dispose of the trash. “I wasn’t aware,” Cruz
The 55-gallon trash cans around the center courtyard are filling up. Food truck vendors must provide their own trash containers for student use and are responsible for the disposal of the trash. Photo by Shannon Ada
said. “But now that we are, we will take care of that.” Along with providing trash receptacles and encouraging students to throw away their trash, the vendors are
also looking into bringing bins for recycling plastic bottles. “We are very open to helping out the school and the staff,” Cruz said. Leon Guerrero also
discussed the issue of trash not being disposed of properly into the 55-gallon bins already in the area and left on the ground. “The students are not disposing trash in the
containers,” Leon Guerrero said. “It’s disappointing and it’s kind of hard for the vendors to monitor that, especially Continued on page 2
Guam International Film Festival screens for its seventh year By Jase L. Sarmiento Triton’s Call Staff The 7th annual Guam International Film Festival (GIFF) took place at the Guam Museum from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, serving as a meaningful event for its participants. Over the course of five days, attendees were offered the opportunity to indulge in films that spanned across several genres such as documentaries,
dramas, shorts, comedy and so on. Brian Kohne, director of Kohne “Kuleana” and winner of GIFF’s “Best of Fest” 2017 award, said he reached personal milestones by bringing “Kuleana” to GIFF and that he holds a special connection with the event, its organizers, volunteers and
audiences. “Hawai’i and Guam share similar cultures centered around family and community, so being a part of that was heartfelt,” Kohne said. “I realized after screening ‘Kuleana’ and interacting with the audience during the Q & A and during a meet and greet, that ‘Kuleana’ is the most important thing I’ve ever done. So Continued on page 2
University of Guam Triton’s Call, October 2017
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Cont’d: Hawai’i film wins “Best of Fest”
Continued from page 1
that right there was a huge personal moment for me.” Hannah Manglona, a participant who also attended 2015 and 2016’s GIFFs, said the event seems to only increase in turnout and reception with each passing year. Manglona said the event is meaningful to her because it’s something she shares with her family, most especially her children. “It’s becoming an important holiday like Christmas for us,” she said. “It’s important that my kids are exposed to what people from our own island and everywhere else can achieve.” Marcus Acfalle, an aspiring filmmaker, said GIFF continues to be a marquee event. Acfalle added that he feels Guam is in the middle of something special,
The film “Kuleana” won GIFFs “Best of Fest” 2917 award. Photo courtesy of Brian Kohne
urging those who have yet to attend a GIFF event to make it a point in the future. “I think the significance as-is is incredible and substantial,” Acfalle said. “The bar is set each year and all these filmmakers that come from everywhere
to contribute just keep setting it higher and higher.” Kohne commented that GIFF’s first-rate screening environment, website and social media presence all go a long way towards building a meaningful, annual event that will
be on the radar of both filmmakers and the greater global industry. As a message to Guam’s community, Kohne urges local filmmakers to make movies, and empower their dreams, emphasizing that as storytellers we have a responsibility to
the world to enlighten, entertain, provoke, and comfort. “Be true to yourself, your values, and always serve your story with each breath you take, with each step you make,” Kohne said.
Cont’d: Vendors may use maintenance compound dumpsters Continued from page 1 when the kids eat under the tree away from the vendors.” According to Frank Troy, building maintenance supervisor, the maintenance crew picks up the trash that is thrown on the ground and recently collected a
full trash bag. “Take the initiative and put it in the trash can,” encourages Leon Guerrero. According to Troy, the 55-gallon drums are usually emptied on the weekends because before the food trucks arrived in the center courtyard this semester, they were not filled as often as other trash-
Publisher Francis Dalisay, Ph.D. fdalisay@triton.uog.edu Editor-in-chief Amanda Dedicatoria
cans on campus, which are emptied twice a day. “Now with the food trucks set up there, [the area] is accumulating more trash,” said Troy. Troy offered the food vendors to dispose of their trash in the dumpsters at the Maintenance Compound at UOG.
Staff writers, copy editors Shannon Ada Lauren Garcia Nicole Leon Guerrero Maricia Mariano Audrey Meno Jase Sarmiento Rita Taitano
Teppan now has a trash can and is looking into providing recycling bins. Photo by Shannon Ada
Contributors Keanno Fausto Salome Vuki
Email us: tritonscalluog@ gmail.com tritonscall.com facebook.com/tritons.call twitter.com/tritonscalluog
By Audrey Meno Triton’s Call Staff The University of Guam has updated one of its general education requirements from ID180 to FY101 as of this Fanuchanan Semester 2017. ID180 was a twocredit course known as College Success Seminar and was required for all freshman students to take within their first year. It was created by English faculty and was taught at UOG for 15 years. The course was designed to help freshman students smoothly transition into college life using campus tours of resources such as the RFK Library. Students also had to make a four-year academic plan for themselves. To improve feedback
The First Year Seminar (FY101) class uses new textbooks. Photo by Audrey Meno
from previous ID180 students, new course curriculum has been implemented in its place. FY101 is a threecredit course known as First Year Seminar and is still required for all freshmen students to take within their first year. The course is designed to enhance
student engagement and learning outcomes. Issues Students were forced to take a fifth class to meet the 12 credit course requirement to be considered a full time student. This inadvertently caused students to struggle in their academics with
five classes as a first year student. “ID180 was more based on making sure students had all the requisite attitudes and aptitudes for being in college.” said Assistant Vice President for Academic Excellence Troy McVey, PhD.. There was a lack
of common teaching approach as those who wrote the course were not the ones who taught it and the instructors who taught these course did not have adequate training on the course material. “Students felt like they weren’t treated like adults,” said McVey. They felt patronized by the watered down content which dedicated an entire semester to learn how to use different resources, which while was helpful to students, was still considered an ineffective use of time. Improvements FY101 is a three credit course. Instead of using the textbook Success in College, FY101 students are required to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective College Continued on page 7
SGA meeting details current spending budget, other bills passed By Rita Taitano Triton’s Call Staff The Student Government Association meeting on Friday Oct. 6 led to the passage of multiple bills. SGA also reviewed the current $35,000 spending budget. According to SGA Treasurer Vince Ocampo, the SGA account is currently on hold for the Board of Regents to pass the FY 2017-18 budget. In an earlier interview, SGA President Annie Fay Camacho expressed, “There are a lot of upcoming events to be aware of, so check out the SGA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.” During the SGA Meeting introduction and presidential report,
SGA Officers pose for a photo after the October 6th meeting. Photo by Rita Taitano
Camacho said that this was the first council meeting with a full council. According to SGA Vice President Christian Punzalan in an earlier interview, “Earlier in the semester, we had special elections to fill the positions for SGA treasurer and four senatorial seats.” Currently, the 56th
SGA council seats four executive officers, 11 senators, and five incumbent members from SY 2016-17. Each Bill was voted by roll call, 14 out of 15 SGA officials. The 15th vote is ,ade by the SGA President for necessary tie-breaking. SGA Bills passed include:
- Bill 56-01: Resolution for Recognition of Cyaundra Shimizu, presented by Senator Balmeo. - Bill 56-04: Information Technology Advisory Committee, presented by Senator Brioso. - Bill 56-05: Approved Revision of SGA Constitution, presented by Senator Murray. - Bill 56-09: Hallow-
een Costume Contest, presented by Senator Murray. - Bill 56-10: Appropriate money for water, presented by Senator Elmore. - Bill 56-11: AEYC & GEMS Spooktacular Event, presented by Senator Quenga. - Bill 56-12: Thanksgiving Event - Cornucopia & Canned Goods Collections, presented by Senator Ayuyu. Senator Jeanine Nguyen said that SGA is open to new ideas, questions, and concerns. For more information, visit the SGA Office, look for SGA on Facebook: guam.sga, Twitter & Instagram: uog_sga, or email SGA directly at uog.sga@tritons.uog. edu.
3 University of Guam Triton’s Call, October 2017
UOG Gen Ed requirement ID180 replaced with FY101
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Students not aware that UOG clubs exist Maricia Mariano Triton’s Call Staff Although UOG student clubs put in effort to promote their causes, there are gaps in getting their messages across the majority of the student population. Clubs still need to find a way to circulate their announcements of recruitment and their role in the university. Althea Tapales, a biochemistry major, has been active in University-affiliated clubs and organizations that include roles in American Association of University Women (AAUW) as their Vice President, Sigma, Blue Key Honor Society as their president, UOG Chemistry club, UOG Biology Club, UOG Unity Club and Public
Information and Legal Studies( (PALS). Prior to becoming an active club member, Tapales said she has gained information about clubs through conversations with her peers. She also came across promotions and advertisements of clubs through mass emails and flyers regarding meetings, inductions and membership drives. “There are many methods for exposure,” Tapales said. “Clubs just need to set aside tine and effort to make it happen. The clubs can only do so much. It’s also up to the student public to meet them halfway.” She said joining a club is a great way to gain experience in com-
munity involvement, and generates opportunity for networking. Chris Punzalan, vice president of SGA stated that clubs need to get more interactive with their student population. He stated that SGA’s role with clubs and organizations are providing funds, logistics, and promotion through social media. Punzalan said that SGA can also be an outlet for promotion of clubs through their social media accounts and receives approval for certain requests by clubs through the Student Life Office (SLO) who are the head of all promotional aspects and paper work involving clubs and organiza- Events such as the one shown above provide students with opportunties to engage in the campus. Courtesy EMSS
Continued on page 7
Multiple tracks in degree programs viewed with merit By Nicole Leon Guerrero Triton’s Call Staff
The freedom to choose focus tracks is no longer a privilege prospective Communication majors at the University of Guam can enjoy. Instead, they now have the choice between a focus in communication studies or mass media and journalism. This change in the Communication program was made official in the undergraduate course catalog for school year 2016-2017. Prior to the revamping, students had the option to choose among four separate communication tracks: communication studies, mass media, journalism, and public relations. The change was due to the unavailability of instructors and consequently, the postpone-
ment of certain classes until instructors were available to teach them. Issues like these have the potential to push back expected graduation dates. During the “Good to Great” audit, Tom Brislin, Ph.D., the associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at University of Hawaii, suggested to combine the four tracks into two tracks to help alleviate the problem. However good its intentions, some students and professors in the program express their reasons for wanting to revert to the previous program. For former UOG student Justus Casino, it is an issue of concentrating on one discipline. Casino transferred to the University of Maryland at the beginning of 2017 as he feels that it
offers a more comprehensive Mass Communication program. “If I wanted to do mass media and specialize completely in that and I don’t have any intentions of doing journalism, adding journalism on to that is simply hindering my overall education and the burden falls on me to make up the gaps in my education,” says Casino. Raymond Anderson, Ph.D., an associate professor of the Communication department, shares this concern. He stresses that the scope of each individual focus is too large to be condensed and that the skills students could develop are now sacrificed. “Whether you get the faculty or not, it should always be about the program and main-
taining the program,” Anderson said. Students who follow preceding undergraduate catalogs retain the choice of individual tracks or combining tracks in any way that suits them. This was not the case when student Sophia Madlambayan declared her major in Communication. “I feel that it restricts the flexibility students had with the four separated concentrations,” Madlambayan said. Two buildings down, the Chemistry department is doing the opposite. Maika Vuki, Ph. D., a professor of Chemistry, is excited for the addition of three new tracks to the Chemistry program, a movement that has already been approved. The added tracks are pre-pharmacy,
teaching, and chemistry and biology as a dual degree. The program’s new plan entails reducing the number of credit hours for general education requirements to make room for more core classes as well as tracks. The addition of classes does not mean an extended stay at UOG. Vuki says the plan is designed to help students graduate within four years with a maximum requirement of 124 credits. Vuki sympathizes with students who are double majoring in different schools of learning. “I would like to see that disciplines can work across and try and streamline any courses so that students don’t have to take 130-150 credit hours just to try fulfill the two subjects,” he said.
Else Demeulenaere: Botanist of GROW
By Audrey Meno Triton’s Call Staff Else Demeulenaere is an associate director of the Center for Island Sustainability and the main botanist in the Guam Restoration of Watersheds initiative—a project that is restoring badland areas and preventing sedimentation from harming the coral reefs
in Guam’s waters. In 2013, she started working at the College for natural and applied sciences where she did forest inventory work and was a coordinator of the Guam plant extinction prevention program. She then moved to CIS in the beginning of 2016 as the associate director for natural resources. “It’s not just resources. It’s people, it’s the culture.” Demeu-
lenaere said “I think it’s important that on Guam we be more self-sustainable and produce our own food.” As a botanist, Demeulenaere’s main focus is promoting endemic plants on Guam which is a vital aspect of the GROW initiative. She did forest work in Palau, Rota and Yap. In the GROW project, she helps to distinguish which species work well
and moved to Guam in 2006 with her husband and two-month-old son. Her husband was hired as a professor at the Marine Lab. She had earned her a master’s degree in Biology and had six years of work experience at the University and Nature Conservation in Belgium. Despite the move to a new place and starting up a family she could not keep away from her passions. Within the same year of moving to Guam, Demeulenaere started a community garden project in her backyard. Children would come with their parents and plant all kinds of fruits and vegetables. “I organized weekly meetings and gatherings at my house.” Demeulenaere said. “I always did a story with puppets and everything and taught the kids about natural resources and culture.”
UOG employee to create her first solo art exhibit
By Shannon Ada Triton’s Call Staff
Dorathina Herrero, mother of five, MARC library technician, and local artist, is set to have a busy year. Herrero Herrero recently received a $3,500 fellowship grant from Guam CAHA to create a solo exhibit in 2018. Herrero plans to feature her paintings and hand-made rag dolls in the exhibit. “For my paintings, I just imagine creating this world that my dolls could live in,” Herrero said. “The way I want to exhibit it is sort of like a big pop up book.”
According to their website, Guam CAHA’s programs issue grants to individuals and organizations for the perpetuation of the arts and culture of the island. Cultural legends, childhood and women inspire Herrero’s art. She has practiced art since she was a little girl and describes it as “ritualistic.” Herrero spoke of the passion that artists innately have. “That energy has to go somewhere,” she said. It’s within you. I put mine out in the world in the form of paintings and dolls.” According to Herrero, the dolls represent the importance of childhood and imaginative play. She is fascinated with the legends she heard
University of Guam Triton’s Call, October 2017
Else Demeulenaere talks about restoring badlands and preventing excessive sedimentation with Rebbeca Elmore at Fouha Bay in Umatac. Photo by Audrey Meno
in restoring badlands and when to harvest these species. “You need to know when and how to collect seeds,” Demeulenaere said. Currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Alaska Faitbanks in collaboration with UOG, she is involved in several restoration projects and research that aim to preserve limestone environments. When she was 15 years old, she became a vegetarian and aspired to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle and has been writing children’s stories since she was 16. She got involved in organizations became active in advocating sustainability and got involved in organizations such as the Environmental Youth Nature Conservation in Belgium and the Clean Clothing Campaign. Demeulenaere was born and raised in Flanders, Belgium
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as a girl. The ko’ko bird was the inspiration behind the first doll she created and she plans to create a doll inspired by the White Lady. Currently, Herrero’s dolls are available at Bonita Baby and the Guam Art Boutique. Although always having a passion for art, it took Herrero awhile to decide to pursue it as a career because Left: Herrero’s hand-made rag dolls including the ko’ko bird. of the fear of stability. Right: “Koko Maiden” Photo courtesy of Dorathina Herrero She took a break from school and her art after Herrero also works at Visit Herrero at the having her first child. the MARC to process MARC if you need help She struggled to get old and new collections, with an assignment and back into it and credits and assist researchers, keep an eye out for her her parents for support- students and profesexhibit next year. ing and encouraging sors. The exact date and loher. “My strength at the cation are still unknown, Herrero received her MARC is research. If however, you can follow bachelor’s degree in you need something her Instagram at @ fine arts — specializing and you don’t know how miscmunekas or her in art at the University of to find it, I can help you blog at https://dorathina. Guam in 2012. find it.” blogspot.com/
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UOG’s Clement launches gender-neutral clothing brand By Keanno Fausto For Triton’s Call University of Guam Coen Clement unveiled his fashion brand Loveclub in early October. The clothing label is his contribution towards attaining a more prolific fashion enterprise on Guam. Born and raised on island, Clement spent most of 2016 designing various contemporary pieces from tote bags to hoodies, for Loveclub. He released the collection through a pop-up shop and webstore but hopes to launch a flagship establishment soon. His designs incorporate elements of his personal wardrobe with hints of streetwear couture, which characterizes the style of most
his customers. Clement’s primary focus lies in creating gender-neutral apparel. He cites his vision of building a safe space for his customers to freely express themselves as an inspiration for the brand’s inception. “Loveclub is having people be comfortable with themselves and with the clothes they wear,” he said. “I guess that’s a bigger picture after creating clothes is creating people to be more open-minded and love themselves.” With no formal training in fashion design, Clement took it upon himself to develop his brand from scratch. He said he approaches the design process Continued on page 7
Models Paul Kim and Cameron Wolfe pose for a Loveclub promotional photo, featuring Clement’s “Sweet Deadly Love” hoodie design. Photo courtesy of Coen Clement
Student turns photography hobby into business By Salome Vuki For Triton’s Call Diana Sapigao is a 20-year-old UOG biochemistry major who started Reel Life Guam in 2016, a small business aimed at providing quality portrait and event photos at a fair price. Sapigao got the idea to start a photoshoot business when she was hired by a friend to photograph a birthday party. She said the event helped her realize that people will pay affordable prices for high-quality photographs at small-scale events. Sapigao’s focus right now is to build a larger client base. She is currently advertising the business on her Face-
book and Instagram pages. “Right now, we actually have an ongoing sale of $50 a session,” Sapigao said. Sapigao’s journey into photography started when her father encouraged her and her siblings to develop an interest in it by teaching them how to use a camera. “I was like the family photographer,” Sapigao said. “Every time we were on vacation, I would be the one carrying the camera. I would never be in the photos but at least I took some pretty good photos.” It wasn’t until high school when she really knew her way around a camera, and that was the time people would
Diana Sapigao poses for a photo in front of the entrance to the Don Antonio Blanco Museum in Bali, Indonesia. Courtesy of Diana Sapigao
ask her to take pictures of them because of the quality of her camera. From there, Sapigao’s passion for photography began to flourish and she decided to take an introductory
photography class at UOG. The class provided her with the basics of the field and provided the basis for understanding the tricks and terminology.
“Once you know how to use a camera, you just keep practicing [sic] and use other resources online to improve your skill,” Sapigao reveals as the reason she didn’t pursue a higher photography class. Sapigao enjoys capturing candid photographs of her subjects that convey a story that words can’t express. “Each expression [sic] just tells this deep story that we can’t put into words,” Sapigao says. Sapigao greatly appreciates any support she receives and hopes Reel Life Guam will keep telling stories through their photos.
Continued from page 4 tions. “Clubs need to diversify the way they promote,” Punzalan said. Punzalan stated that students and club members can participate in the Student Organization Fair, which is a fair that gives a chance for students to know the clubs offered at the University and also gives club coordinators an outlet for to recruitment that is hosted by SGA. Anna Prelosky, an undergraduate majoring
in Theatre, is currently the vice president of the Alpha Psi Omega Honor Society as their stated that their way of promotion is mainly by word of mouth or through the Theatre program. Although Alpha Psi is a major concentrated club, she admits that there are improvements that the club’s members can make with their promotions for the club. She stated that one opportunity that her club and other clubs should take is attending more SGA related events to network and to educate the student
population that there are such clubs that students can become involved in. Natasha Hagans, an undergraduate majoring in Biology, is a student that is not affiliated with any club at the university, but she has been interested in joining one. Hagans commented that she usually comes across information about clubs by seeing of clubs through their social media accounts and receives approval for certain requests by clubs through the Student Life Office (SLO) who are the head of all
promotional aspects and paper work involving clubs and organizations. Punzalan stated, “Clubs need to diversify the way they promote.” Punzalan stated that students and club members can participate in the Student Organization Fair, which is a fair that gives a chance for students to know the clubs offered at the University and also gives club coordinators an outlet for to recruitment that is hosted by SGA. Hagans commented that she usually comes across information
about clubs by seeing flyers around campus or through conversations with her friends. She said there needs to be a way for students to see what clubs are out there other than the rare cases of when she comes across flyers, emails, or people that are active members in clubs she has never heard of. “I think there’s a lot of clubs people don’t know about because they tend to focus on whatever major fits closest,” Hagans said.
Cont’d: New FY101 curriculum supports first-year college students Continued from page 3 Students and Nihi Ta Hasso, a local novel. “That textbook has been adopted by over 100 universities in the United States.” McVey said regarding the 7 Habits text. Since FY101 is a three credit course, students no longer
need to take a fifth class. The change in textbooks encourages students to excel from a local perspective as well provides them with practical life skills. The new course curriculum has three core components. The first being the extended orientation where students get to learn
of school resources. The second is practical life skills from the new text of effective college students that are beneficial to students to take with them after college. Lastly is the local perspective with the text “Nihi Ta Hasso” serving as a resiliency memoir. “If our ancestors could survive WWII, you can survive college.” says
McVey. Supporting first-year students National literature shows that universities see the most improvement in engaging students to finish a degree within their first year, McVey said. “The Nihi Ta Hasso memoir provides a grounding and a authentic Pacific Islander perspective.
It increases the sense of belonging and also provides an example of resiliency. If your ancestors could survive this, you can survive school. No matter what comes your way.” Numerous educational conferences emphasize the importance of supporting first-year students through student conferences and seminars.
Cont’d: Business major starts his own apparel line Continued from page 6 with a multidisciplinary mindset, often taking on multiple roles as a graphic artist, creative director, photographer and web designer. In addition to having technical knowledge about clothing construction, developing fashion merchandise requires
skills in interpersonal communication and marketing, Clement said. He attributes his comprehension of entrepreneurial affairs to his business education at the University of Guam and his membership in Dreamstorm Unlimited, a local media production company. Clement said having
access to a network of professionals in the island community has helped him in streamlining the distribution of Loveclub products. Since most of his work is done locally, he is also determined to correct the misconception that Guam does not have the resources available for fashion designers and other
creators to succeed. “If you really open your mind and open your eyes to find the resources you need, it doesn’t make anything different,” Clement said. Impressed by the sudden growth of the fashion community on Guam, Clement urges aspiring designers to pursue their craft as full-time careers regard-
less of their personal impediments. “It’s a whole new, fresh feel going,” he said. “Dreams are more tangible now.” Clement ultimately intends to establish a nonprofit platform that assists prospective fashion designers in bringing their artistic visions to fruition.
University of Guam Triton’s Call, October 2017
Cont’d: Promotion for UOG clubs and organizations
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