tWS 2019-2020 15th Issue

the

117 years

weeklysillimanian

/tWSilliman @weeklysillimanian @tWSilliman

TOWARDS A PROGRESSIVE CAMPUS PRESS VOL. XCI NO.16 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020

theweeklysillimanian.com

GALA. The award-winning dance company based in Sendai City in Japan,Yuko Takahashi Dance Company, successfully performed at gala show on their fifth appearance in Silliman University — “SAKURA: A Contemporary Dance Concert,” Jan 24. Photo by Francis Ryan Basa Pabiania.

SU launches safe campus project

by Deogracia William Bemida SILLIMAN UNIVERSIT Y officially launched the safe campuses project in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy and Active Citizen Foundation (ACF) during its ribboncutting ceremony last January 27.

The ceremony took place in the Oriental Hall outside the Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) office.

According to Maria Fiona Labacuas, a volunteer from Safe Silliman Task Force, safe space is a nationwide project. Its purpose is to improve the university’s grievance desk by providing

a safe space for students to address their concerns within the university. It is a place where the students are safe from discrimination and harassment as this can be an avenue for the admin and personnel to communicate with the students on addressing their problems.

Dr. Jeny Lind Elmaco, Director for the Strategic Partnerships emphasized that safety should be the concern of everybody, and it is basically the freedom from fear.

“You can express yourself in whatever, in however you would want to be and you should be able to reach your potentials on campus,” Dr. Elmaco said.

“This is just a little space but I hope it is also an opening and also a symbol not only for the student government and students but also for us the members of the faculty and staff that there is a place that they can share their fears, hopes and dreams.”

Shamah Bulangis, a member of the Safe Silliman Task Force shared her experiences related to safe space.

Bulangis remarked that the goals of safe space/safe campus are for safety, confidentiality, and accountability.

“This is only the start, the cutting of the ribbon is just a ceremony, it’s a symbol of telling everyone that ‘hey, you have a dedicated physical space for

this state campus project’. It’s our job at the safe space task force to make those people’s voices heard”, Bulangis said.

The flow of ceremony was followed by the solidarity message of SUSG President Aprille Juanillo and Tiffany Urrutia, Coordinator of Canada Fund for Local Initiatives Embassy of Canada in the Philippines. Urrutia said that without active citizenship, the safe space spot would not be possible.

“We funded Active Citizenship Foundation, an NGO that is actually where this whole idea came from.

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED Broadway rock musical Rent, by Jonathan Larson, will be performed at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium on Feb. 21 to 22.

Featuring tunes such as “Seasons of Love” and “La Vie Bohème,” the show centers on a group of hippies struggling in New York City’s Lower East Side, tackling issues such as poverty, drug addiction, LGBTQ+ and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Director Miren Fernando stated that the show is also about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today.

“[Rent] is my dream. It's my all-time [favorite] musical. The story is timeless.

The issues that the characters go through are still very much applicable today, as they always will be,” she added.

This staging is produced by the newly formed Summit Theatre Productions. “[It] is a company dedicated to enhancing Visayan theatre culture by producing local and international plays and musicals that tackle issues that are relevant to society. It gives their members the chance to work side-by-side seasoned artists to elevate their performance and improve their skills to prepare them for the global stage. Summit began initially for marketing purposes for my final thesis

Masscom hosts annual Marshall McLuhan Forum

by Hannah Patricia Abril SILLIMAN UNIVERSIT Y (SU) College of Mass Communication hosts annual Marshal McLuhan Forum Series on Responsible Media with Patricia Evangelista, an awardwinning multimedia journalist as the guest speaker. The event was held at the Multi-Purpose Room, Instructional Media and Technology Center last Jan 23.

Photo by Kyle Andree Bolhano

and things just grew from there,” said Fernando.

According to Fernando, rehearsals began on Nov. 2019, but she had been planning the production since 2016.

“It's a lot of research when you put up a production,” Fernando stated. “Every director has a wish list and it's up to the team to make it work. The process and preparations are still ongoing, however, so far so good. I'm excited for what's to come.”

Moreover, she said that the production is unique because of the artistic choices she and the team made, adding that “you’ll have to see it to understand.”

Rent, based on the opera La bohème The topic for this year was Covering Trauma: Reporting for the Imagination, where it focuses journalism in tragic events that occur within the country. Mr. Carlo Figueroa, Public Affairs Attaché of the Embassy of Canada, and an assistant professorial lecturer at the Department of Communication of De La Salle University-Manila introduced the guest speaker.

“She has chosen the topic Covering Trauma: Reporting for the Imagination, which she will discuss covering the nature of traumatic events and how journalists should approach victims of trauma,” Figueroa said.

“Before I close, let me just say that Patricia’s work is commendable for raising the bar in journalism.

And she is now paving the way for Continued on page 4

twsopinion Thinking Straight big baybe

Jack of All Trades tiktok lord

Continued on page 4

Hit Broadway musical to be staged at Luce

by Nathan Angelo Cruz

I N S ID E

by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in 1996 and won four Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical; Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and Pulitzer Prize for Drama in that same year.

The last Broadway musical performed at the Luce was Into the Woods in Dec. 2012, sponsored by the Silliman University Culture and Arts Council.

Tickets are sold at P350 and P500 for general admission and VIP, respectively, and are available through www.ktx.ph and www.ticket2me. net, as well as by contacting Summit Theatre Productions through Facebook, Instagram, and email.

We failed as humans

twsfeatures Life is hard

but it's harder for a Filipino farmer

The Sleeping Giant: Coronavirus Petals in the Wind

twsnews Sillimanians to compete for SFO5

Dr. Christie Lectures in SU

OFFICIAL. Silliman University Student Government COMELEC SUSG Comelec officially issues Certificates of Registration to CAUSE and SURE parties at Silliman University College of Law Library last Jan. 26.

Photo by Natha Le Louise Bureros.

2 twsopinion

the weekly sillimanian January 31, 2020

EDITORIAL

We Failed As Humans Across human history, it is in the contention that we, as a species, have failed in many of our exploits and adventures. Yes, we have come far in our pursuit of advancement, but is there more to this feeling of failure than the acute feelings of emptiness and despair? To tackle one aspect, tWS pinpoints the perception of failure as the difficult, prickly concept that we will do whatever it takes to completely avoid.

Failure is the great precedent of success, but perhaps the idea of failing is too much to live with. Two world-renowned psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who won the Nobel prize for their work, have discovered in their work that the effect of loss is twice as great as the gain from a win. The scientific basis is solid, the soul-crushing feeling of loss is a natural response. A person can ask a stranger they come across a street and they can answer, with all certainty, that they have experienced failure parallel with great. Humans in general just loathe the idea of having to hear from someone or their own thoughts that they fell short.

The high and honorable road is to take a loss in stride and to even embrace it. The acceptance and tolerance of loss is an antique concept, but people from all walks of life tend to avoid than take the chance. Jack Ma and Jeff Bezos, CEOs of Alibaba and Amazon respectively, have impressively nurtured a culture of tolerance in their own companies. In a letter to shareholders, Bezos said that “Failure comes part and parcel with invention. It’s not optional. We understand that and believe in failing early and iterating until we get it right.” An interview from the World Economic Forum, Jack Ma recounts his failures, such as: not getting a job in KFC, when 24 people applied and 23 got it. Or not getting a job as a server in a hotel, when his cousin did. Or not being able to get into Harvard, while he applied 10 times. He explains that all of these failures prepared him for the path he took on as a CEO.

Thinking Straight

It is once again midterms week.

For some students, it is just a normal week. However, for most, it is the hell week of the semester where all the exams hover in the air. The time of the semester that exhausts their every energy in studying for the major exams and finishing the last-minute requirements. This is the time of struggle and time of testing one’s own determination. I think, to survive in college is a great achievement a person can always be proud of. After all, it is the arena where people at a young age are tested with all the possible situations that they may face in the adult world. Many people, if not all, think it is easy to stay in a university when in fact it is quite hard. There is really no easy way to stay — fit, sane and academically excellent.

Every movement is a form of great effort. You must sustain a daily lifestyle of academic challenges which may push you to the limit of what you think you can. To wake up early and to arrive home late at night is the usual schedule, although this may heavily depend on an individual’s schedule of classes, as well

as extracurricular activities. Staying in a university, especially to institutions like the Silliman University, is a privilege not all in the community can avail. Studying in the halls of Silliman is not for all students. People say that it is for the rich. And, for those who are financially incapable, it is a challenge to enter and more especially to continue staying with time. But, with all the scholarships and financial assistance available nowadays, coming in as a student can be easier. However, with the current free tertiary education program of the government, going to college is now easily accessible to nearly anyone.

People from the different sectors, most likely those who came from the marginalized sector can now avail tertiary education.

With this new scheme, college dropout may lessen, and more students can be enrolled in universities. Yet, considering the student population of the country and the number of state universities, let alone the classroom and facilities of these institutions, the comparison is uneven. There are no enough available facilities which may fully supplement to the need of the current student population hence driving them to compete and strive for a spot. During enrolment, aspiring enrollees from different places come to these institutions in the hopes of being accepted.

Chances are, they have already taken a qualifying examination that would gauge their chance to enter either their chosen priority course program or any available remaining course program in other colleges. Meanwhile, in the study

Growing up, a lot of us aspire to be doctors, lawyers, pilots, etc. very generic yet prominent professions. By the time we’ve reached 10 or 11, we realize that the world is full of careers that don’t exactly fall under those categories. Professions like chefs, filmmakers, sound engineers, not exactly unknown but they do not fall under the dreams a kid would have at a young age. One also develops skills that don’t seem to be related to what they once aspired to be. Some are dead set to be doctors yet also have a passion for theater or painters have a nack for singing as well.

The more skills one tests out, the more one learns about oneself. What one likes, what one dislikes. It makes one feel better about oneself because one is learning more and engaging with more people. Everything is great until they meet people that are the

same age or younger than they are, yet are so much further than where you currently are and no matter how hard one tries, you realize how huge the gap actually is.

By this point, you seem more troubled than grateful.

Falling into this spiral of feel inadequate no matter what you do. You compare yourself to those individuals who focus on solely one art form, one style and yet you forget to see the uniqueness that is your own. You associate certain skills you now have to certain people that influenced you either to get started or to hone your new-found craft. Since you've accumulated an abundance of knowledge in various subjects, you can give a different perspective on problems that seem to have no solution or an answer that seems so obvious but apparently was not. You

tWS believes that failure serves as the prime motivator — it is instrumental in the progression of all that was and is. Learning to become familiar with it is key to succeeding, but never to the point that one finds indulgence in it.

sillimaniansspeak Compiled by Agustin Bas

What are your preparations for the midterm examinations?

Crying Edan Sam Pancho, AB Political Science II Hala, midterms na diay? Wa ko mainform! CHAR HAHAHA Glays Resojento, BS Medical Technology Sleep. Just pure sleep Leander Palalon, Senior High School Huh? Midterm Examination?! Unsa na?

June Clear Llaban, Bachelor of Theology II Well-thought out Procrastination, no regrets whatsoever Shaun Steven A. Canturias, BS Foreign Affairs Study, Rest, Repeat Dominic Zi Ann Ng, BSBA Marketing Management II Relaxation first before going to read the piles of reviewers...

Diamay Klem Balacuit, BSED Sciences II

Editor-in-Chief Associate Editor News Editor Features Editor News Writers

Jean Aldemer S. Salgados Kevin Q. Alaban Deogracia William A. Bemida Jeck G. Tirambulo Francis Ryan B. Pabiania Edan Sam G. Pancho Ian Zane T. Esparaga Hannah Patricia T. Abril Feature Writers Maria Fiona A. Labucuas Diamay Klem D. Balacuit Junelie Anthony Velonta Momoka Yamamoto John Macklien A. Olandag Photojournalists Kyle Andree C. Bolhano Natha Le Louise B. Bureros Adrian S. Limbaga Graphics & Layout Artist Agustin Vicente G. Bas Cartoonists Hervey Angelo F. Avenido Jorlene Grace A. Elgario Edwin Isaac Iñigo Web Manager Nathan Angelo B. Cruz

Adviser Ms. Winona Jane Agir The Weekly Sillimanian is published every week by the students of Silliman University, with editorial and business addresses at 1/F Oriental Hall, Silliman University, Hibbard Avenue, Dumaguete City 6200, Philippines. SU PO Box 24.

Telephone number (35) 422-6002 local 243. https://www.facebook.com/tWSilliman/ https://www.twitter.com/tWSilliman/ https://instagram.com/weeklysillimanian theweeklysillimanian.com weeklysillimanian@su.edu.ph Opinions expressed in the columns are those of the columnists and not of tWS or of Silliman University. Comments, questions, and suggestions are highly appreciated. All submitted manuscripts become the property of tWS. Manuscripts will be edited for brevity and clarity.

Member: College Editors Guild of the Philippines

BIG BAYBE Kev Alaban

entitled, "Factors Affecting Students' Decision to Drop out of School" by Orion et al. (2014), the Philippines revealed a dropout rate of 83.7 percent, this means that the country produces a number of 2.13 million college dropouts yearly. According to a Manila Bulletin article in 2012, the Philippine government must, in the next education generation or the next 14 years be able to reverse the current situation from 80 percent of college students enrolled in private schools and 20 percent in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to 20 percent, private colleges, and 80 percent SUCs. Staying in college can be a challenging scenario for all students who have already successfully enrolled in a university. This may first come as a euphoric scene, but as realities of life unravel, uncertainty hitches in. Few students begin to think of dropping out, either a subject or the whole course. It starts with an unexcused absence that would be followed by more absences eventually leading the student to drop the subject. One reason to be blamed can be procrastination which hinders students' development and progress. No matter what could be the reason, the bottom line is that tertiary education is not a simple matter we can take for granted. A lot of people are hoping to get one, and so it must not be wasted when given.

We must exert a thorough effort to go through it. And one way to show it is by taking the midterm exams fully prepared and ready to aim success.

Jack of All Trades

tiktok lord Ian Lim

have a diverse set of friends and each conversation stimulates a different interest. But most importantly, you've created you.

the weekly sillimanian January 31, 2020

Life is hard but it's harder for a Filipino farmer

by Jeck Tirambuulo In the past days, most of us might have seen the photo of a poor old farmer who died while he was working on his corn plants. The heartbreaking image which circulated in multiple media platforms shows just how vulnerable the Filipino farmers are; and just how they are often the unfortunate ones when it comes to having a quality living and overall welfare.

A picture of a dead farmer, however, is not new to our country. Countless farmers have encountered a similar fate due to work-related causes such as accidents, heatstroke, and overworking.

We all ponder why our farmers are at most times, the neglected and forgotten workers compared to other labor groups. Factors such as topographical disadvantage, insufficient technology, lack of government support, land ownership, and the farmers themselves are often the reasons why most of them are in a perilous situation and why farming is a dying profession in our country.

The Philippines isn't really an agricultural country, geographically speaking The biggest irony in our country is that we're often dubbed as an agricultural one despite our geographical disadvantage.

You heard that right. Unlike our neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and China, our country is an archipelagic one, hence access to sufficient water supply for irrigation is limited, if not, none. Luckily for countries like China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, they have the vast Mekong River to sustain the irrigation needs of their agricultural areas.

Whereas in our country, we only have

twsfeatures 3 gallery

the Cagayan River which makes Luzon as the nation's rice capital. Here, we can see the importance of having a good irrigation system to meet the water needs of our crops. For example, it takes 2500 liters of water just to produce 1 kilogram of rough rice (unmilled rice).

Since most of our country's islands are mountainous and only Luzon and Mindanao have ample areas of plain terrains, growing rice and achieving selfsufficiency will be difficult: let alone increase the net income of those rice farmers.

Thus, given our country's dependency on rice as our staple food, we are stuck in an unfortunate situation. These, along with regular visitors such as typhoons, droughts, and earthquakes—make farming disadvantageous in the Philippines.

Our farming techniques are still behind Countries such as China, Germany, India, Russia, France, Netherlands, and the United States have become highly developed when it comes to agricultural advancement. Hence, they are deemed as top producers of several commodities such as wheat, corn, and rice. Meanwhile, our country remains a mediocre one.

Although we have IRRI, a major research agency centered on rice production; the conversion of technologies (research) to terms understandable to a farmer is still difficult.To quote a senator's words, "Hindi ko maintindihan ang research-research na yan." Indeed, this is a challenge for the agriculture department. Even if they have agricultural technicians/extension workers to do it, it is still not enough because the number of agricultural technicians (AT) who can do this task is low with a ratio of 1 AT is equivalent to 400-600 households (DA, 2007).

Our farmers are not getting significant support from our government This has been a persistent problem for our farmers, especially small-scale ones.

Other countries that have a strong and productive farm sector have one thing in common: they have provided support— in terms of subsidies and incentives to their farmers. Hence, they were able to feed their citizens while also increasing the net income of the food producers. So to say, their farmers do not share the same connotation with poverty The agriculture department has always been given with unsatisfactory budget throughout the years even if farmers are one of the poorest sectors in the country with 34.3 percent poverty incidence in 2015 (PSA). The recently approved 2020 national budget also shows that this sector only has a share of 1.39 percent of the 4.1 trillion pesos budget, or roughly 58 billion pesos (DBM). Although the government is now giving support through credit assistance, training, and other commoditybased programs to farmers, it will take a long period to realize its cause.

Most of our farmers operate in fragmented, small-scale farms and are merely tenants The hard truth about most of our small-scale farmers is that they don't own the land they are tilling. A legal definition of a tenant is a person who, himself and with the aid available from within his immediate farm household, cultivates the land belonging to, or possessed by, another, with the latter's consent for purposes of production, sharing the produce with the landholder under the share tenancy system, or paying to the landholder a price certain or ascertainable in produce or in money or both, under the

REPORT. Students from Silliman University School of Public Affairs and Governance presents their research during the workshop to Dr. Kenneth Christie at SU Hall last Jan. 27. Photo by Ian Zane Esparaga. leasehold tenancy system (LawPhil). A Some factors lie within themselves such tenancy is oftentimes unfavorable to the as being hard-headed and traditional. farmers because they are usually bound While the extension workers (EW) to share the products that they have with continue to instill a holistic transformation the landowners. Other than that, they are of the farmers for the betterment of their also limited in terms of how they should welfare, there are farmers who still stick use or utilize the land. to the traditional kaingin or the 'slash Even if the existing Comprehensive and burn' method of farming. Based on Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) the narratives of some EWs, it's hard gives landless farmers the right to own to change the inherited habits of these the land they till, and encourage just farmers in a short time. It takes time to distribution of agricultural lands; there change their (farmers) knowledge, attitude, are times when this law slips pass through skills, perceptions, and aspirations. the greedy oligarchs, thereby depriving Despite our economy's source of the landless farmers/tenants of their power is on manufacturing and service, rights. In some cases, they lost their lives the agricultural sector, albeit being in a while fighting for their rights (Hacienda disadvantageous state, is still something Luisita massacre). that needs attention. After all, without We have some of the most hardthe producers, consumers can be gone for headed farmers better or worse.

It is not just the geographical For the glory of food, let us thank a disadvantage, bad government policies, farmer every time something fills our and other external circumstances that plate. make our farmers suffer an awful fate.

world's nightmare came to resurface again when this sleeping giant, is now welcoming its new member — the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019 nCov) or the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Novel Coronavirus is a new strain of coronaviruses that infected almost 2,000 humans and caused more than 80 deaths where most of these cases come from China. The said virus is believed to originate from wild animals such as bats that are seen at the wet markets of Wuhan City, China — the place where the first case of this infection came out.

How bad it is Some experts have stated that Wuhan Coronavirus is not as deadly as other types of coronavirus such as SARS and MERS, yet this can still cause harm to the people. When a person is infected with the virus, signs such as respiratory problems, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties will show. In

more severe cases, symptoms such as pneumonia, kidney failure, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and even death will happen to a person infected with this virus. The incubation period of this virus lasts up to 14 days and the symptoms will only show after that period.

The human-to-human transmission typically happens when an infected person sneezes and coughs. The tiny droplets of this virus then passed on to others through shaking hands, touching a surface that has the virus on it, and then touching one's hands, mouth, or eyes. Fecal contamination also spreads this virus in which it rarely happens.

Prevention is better than cure With the influx of tourists coming in and out of the country, the chances of human-to-human transmission of this virus pose a great risk to all.

People with weak immune systems and respiratory illnesses are the most

vulnerable in combating this virus.

Different actions had already taken place just to ensure that this virus will not spread anymore such as the Chinese authorities' order of total lockdown to Wuhan City and its nearby places.

In order for us to get away from this deadly virus, many health agencies issued public advisories. Here are some ways to prevent this virus to contaminate us and others: 1. Maintain proper hygiene Proper hygiene is always the number one prevention when it comes to contamination of different diseases and infections. In order to have a low risk of contracting the coronavirus, maintain proper hygiene such as washing hands after touching surfaces or animals. Paying attention to cleanliness is a must.

2. Practice cough etiquette The best way to isolate the spread of this viral infection is to properly wear a

mask such as n95 when coughing and sneezing. In this way, tiny droplets will be contained and will not be passed to others.

3. Boost up the body's immune system Having a weak immune system makes someone vulnerable to any infectious disease. Boosting up the body's immune system can be done by eating proper meals and taking up supplements.

4. When having flu or any sickness, have a medical check-up Seeking medication and getting proper assessment is a must when a person is having a fever, cough, or experiencing any symptoms from this virus. Possible exposure to a patient who traveled from China also poses a high risk.

The Wuhan Coronavirus is a great risk to humankind. Prevention is always better to end this risk.

There are many ways to describe the Yuko Takahashi Dance Company and Silliman University Dance Company production, “Sakura." Yet, conventional is not one of them, as the very thought of such has long since been thrown out the window.

It is a contemporary dance; for a gross oversimplification, think ballet’s slow and deliberate movements and music but more freeform and without tutus. There is a story here, but unlike the other forms of dance, it is being told abstractly—through the movements themselves. Even so, this performance is not something that can simply be labeled as just a contemporary dance.

Rather, it is not so much a performance as it is a lucid fever dream—a menagerie of genres and styles that create an impactful and memorable experience.

For it is not only memorable in its technicality and grandeur, but also in how it captures the audience to not only

think, but reach down inside themselves to truly feel.

Playground of the mind If a painter paints on their canvas and a writer writes on some paper to express themselves, then a dancer tells a story using their body, utilizing every single muscle they have to the best of their ability to color the viewers’ imagination.

This type of performance is not something one sees every day. It is of the avant-garde, something that is more abstract than concrete. Much like other works of this style, there is no single right answer to interpreting the dances, and that is what makes it simply captivating. Such is the power of the award-winning cast of dancers from the Yuko Takahashi group. Headlined by Mana Takahashi and Fusako Yamada, the group’s sheer dexterity allowed them to perform feats of incredible flexibility.

Every move, performed with utmost precision, was worth hundreds of words.

Every blocking on the stage formed a painting.

With each succeeding act, from the wonderfully suspense opening number of “So Young, So Dear,” with its dramatic, sudden color and staging shifts; to the whimsical and mischievous “Jinjin” with the dancers clad in kimonos—traditional dresses from Japan; the show portrayed emotions at its rawest and most primitive form. The good, the bad, the calm, the pains, and the joys of living are all there, helped in no small part by the music which enhanced the mood and gave context to what was happening on stage.

I feel, therefore I am The etymology of the word emotion is emovere, from Latin, which means “to move out.” Hence, it is no surprise

The Sleeping Giant: Coronavirus

by Diamay Klem Balacuit The sleeping giant is now again waking up, ready to cause havoc to people from different forms of life. It is the Coronavirus.

The Coronavirus The Coronaviruses, according to World Health Organization (WHO), is a family of viruses that has an image the same as a solar corona under an electron microscope. These cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Ryndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). These are common in the animals and are transmissible to humans — posing a threat to all.

The MERS and SARS Coronaviruses posed a great risk to humankind when these were discovered years ago and became a pandemic. World efforts were done before just to end the pandemic. The SAKURA

Petals in the Wind

by Nathan Angelo Cruz

Photo by Francis Ryan Pabiania

Continued on page 4

4 twsbackpage

the weekly sillimanian January 31, 2020

RANDOMSATIRE: Signs that the world is ending:

the

A lot of chaos has happened and it’s still the first month of the decade. Major signs of the world ending have flashed before our eyes like NOVO’s gigantic green signage at night. We have found 3 major signs why we should say toodles to planet Earth in 2020:

World War 3

Coronavirus Breakout

#JaDine Breakup

It's like 2 World Wars weren't enough.

When Iran unveiled the red flag, we kind of knew that the US skirmished too much Red Alert 2. And we are all just waiting for Germany, China, Russia, and all the other major players to join the game.

Masks up (colored side out, please). The next black plague or zombie outbreak might be around the corner. But Sillimanians don't have to care anymore—since we're already slowly dying. Thank you so much, midterms week.

The biggest sign that the world will end.

This proves that aesthetic Instagram posts with cheesy captions aren't enough to sustain a relationship, and definitely not enough to save the world.

Source: NNSA Nevada

Source: CDC/Alissa Eckert

Source: @james, via Instagram

Anuna, 2020 na!

Compiled by Hannah Patricia Abril

Sillimanians to compete for SFO5

by Francis Ryan Pabiania LOCALLY MADE FILMS of Sillimanian filmmakers and enthusiasts are set to compete for the Silliman Film Open 5 (SFO5) to emphasize the importance of local stories on Feb 16 at the Multipurpose Hall.

SFO5 organizer EJ Casio said, “We are really working hard with this years' film open by reaching out to the Silliman University (SU) community to join and tell their stories through film.”

The competition was themed,

“Stories of Home” which aims to showcase the local stories of home and culture. “We have a lot of stories in our community that needs to be told,” said Casio.

The Silliman Film Open is the annual short films competition for student filmmakers in SU. The film festival is available for open category and a one-minute film was added as a new category for this year, while the rules and regulations remained the same.

According to Casio, the competition targets to cultivate the film culture in Silliman and

Dr. Christie lectures in SU

by Edan Sam Pancho & Ian Zane Esparaga DR. KENNETH CHRISTIE, program head of Human Security and Peacebuilding in Royal Roads University lectured students as well as faculty members in a presentation titled, “Staying Motivated in the World of Research”.

“You cannot have human rights without human security and vice versa,” said Dr. Kenneth Christie in a lecture workshop held at the Silliman Hall last January 27, 2020. He elaborated the significance of human rights as a basic cornerstone of human security. “If someone violates your human rights, he is also violating your human security”, he added The event was attended by students especially from the Philosophy department and the School of Public Affairs and Governance. Participants from Foundation University were also present during the event.

Politics, economy and society are a few of the actors a researcher should look into when conducting a research about a nation.

Dr. Christie emphasized that one must be passionate about one’s research.

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He shared that research is a basic building block of a university. “These researches are important especially if you work on a university, you are studying in a university, you have to do researches,” he said.

Moreover, Dr. Christie mentioned that anybody can start a research regardless of what age you are.

Participants of the workshop also took part of an activity in the afternoon where they were given profiles of countries by Christie. They were tasked to give the context of any conflict in the country, their actors and resources then present them to their fellow participants. The Syrian civil war, Myanmar’s Rohingya ethnic conflict, Venezuela’s political crisis, and Congo’s sexual violence were among the crisis tackled.

Meanwhile, when asked if there is a specific issue right now in the Philippines that could become a crisis, Christie thinks the other way. “I don’t think Philippines is heading for that kind of crisis”, he said. The lack of social and economic development according to him was the biggest problem of the Philippines. He also added that there is also no possibility to have a same stand with Venezuela because of the country’s different economy.

The event started on 8 am and ended at about 5 in the afternoon.

HAGBONG

to celebrate local Filipino films because for him, “the world deserves to know our story.”

The organizers expect 10 and six originally made live-action fiction short film for the one-minute and open categories respectively.

Organized by The Reel Hub, the official film organization in the University, together with Kapunungan ng mga Mass Communicators and SU Culture and Arts Council; the film competition is also in celebration of the Arts Month in Dumaguete City. from page 1 | Silliman University...

Canada is always been supportive of feminist, international development policy and Canada believes that when we want to address issues like poverty, political action, you have to go into the equation wherein everyone’s voice is heard,” she added. from page 3 | Petals in the... that dancing—a form of art using movement—especially in a style such as this, is closely linked with emotions, perhaps even more so than other art forms. Dancing is, essentially, emotion in motion. To dancers, the act of such can serve as an effective release of emotions.

On the other hand, viewers may come to appreciate emotions and even be in touch with their own ones through watching dance.

The vast spread of emotions we feel is key to life. After all, what has helped man survive and thrive throughout the ages? Our emotions have forced us to act on what we need and want. Fear, for one, causes us to fight or flee from dangers and threats. It is because we feel for ourselves and for our fellow man that we bond. Feelings of a love of any kind, and the warmth that comes with it, push us to seek companionship with one another. This, in turn, leads to meaningful relationships that we come to cherish for the rest of our lives.

Sometimes it doesn’t really pan out that way. Eventually, we come to drift apart and lose friends who we once from page 1 | Masscom Hosts... a brand of outstanding narrative journalism. Her work shows us how responsible journalism makes a vital contribution to elevate in a social discourse and issues with national and international importance,” he added.

Evangelista, a Manila-based journalist working for Rappler explained, “Trauma Journalism as an attempt to make the public imagine.”

“You cannot move, you cannot hear, if you cannot see.” Evangelista said during her lecture. “So, my rule of thumb is this: if they drown, I have to know enough to drown with them so I can tell you what I saw.”

Along with Evangelista’s works are Eighty-eight, a documentary about the Typhoon Yolanda back in 2013 and 58, another documentary about the Ampatuan massacre in 2009. Both works were showcased during the forum. Evangelista told the audience that nobody is bulletproof; physically, mentally, or emotionally.

“For many young people in this room who think journalism might

LOOK. Tiffany Urrutia, coordinator from the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines delivers a solidarity message during the safe campus project launching at the Oriental Hall last Jan. 27.Photo by Ian Zane Esparaga.

According to Reyman Krystoffer King Sy from the Office of the Strategic Partnership, the initiative of safe space project began in Dec. 2019 with an initial meeting with ACF. They came up with what to do which is to have the consultation for two Mondays and after that, they came up with recommendations.

During the ribbon-cutting, Sy announced that they are publishing the official page for the safe campus project for Silliman. As of now the staff is working and finalizing everything, the deadline is set to be at the end of the school year.

found near and dear to our hearts, for one reason or another. And that’s okay; that’s life. Frustrations like these, too, are very much a part of life as well. We may feel insecure in our work too and feel like we could have done better. Though, we will never quite reach it, not unlike a modernday Sisyphus, whose boulder keeps tumbling back to the start whenever he tries to push it up the hill in vain, ad nauseam.

It’s in the many things we feel that helps make up the totality of our being human. What is interesting is not a life lived perfectly, but a life lived through the good and the bad. That is a life lived colorfully. And it is important that life is lived as such. Memento mori—the one truth that all things come to an end.

Especially us.

Falling cherry blossoms It is said that spring in Japan comes when the cherry blossoms bloom. There’s simply nothing like it, seeing droves of people gathering around in parks or gardens sitting around to watch them bloom. This picnic of sorts is known as hanami, which roughly translates to “flower-viewing.” It’s in such gatherings that promises are forged and memories

are made, especially with friends and loved ones. But people gather not only because the sakura are majestic and beautiful. They are nature’s reminder that life is fleeting and ephemeral.

As the seasons come and go, the allure found in those trees soon fades away.

Only after a short two-week period wherein their beauty peaks, the blossoms start to fall at an ever-so-graceful speed of five centimeters per second.

It is this transience that is captured perfectly in the final piece of the show, “Sakura Shibefuru.” It is dedicated to the late dancer Eiko Shimoda, who was known to have loved the sakura as well as have a “tremendous personality.” In making her mark on this world through her art, in the way she best could, she became in essence what she most admired.

In making the most out of our lives, in harmonizing with our emotions, we too can be like the cherry blossoms. Though life is short, it is undoubtedly sweet. We may be petals in the wind, doomed to fall. But we can be beautiful in doing so if we live our lives to the fullest, and that is what matters the most.

be a mean to save the world, wear bulletproof vests at the same time, that’s not the job. The job is to keep the record straight and define the truth and to tell the story,” Evangelista stated.

Evangelista is a trauma journalist specializing in disaster, conflict, and development issues. She is a multimedia and investigative reporter for Rappler, producing long-form narrative stories, analysis pieces, and short documentaries.

After her lecture, the forum panelists consisting of Mary Judaline Flores, manager of Phil. News Agency; Roi Anthoni Lomotan, news reporter of the Philippine Information Agency; and Jameela Antoniette Mendoza, editorial assistant of the SU Office of Information and Publication (OIP); gave insights on the lecture.

According to Lomotan, the Marshal McLuhan forum series is a very insightful event that allows the people to see journalists in a non-journalist capacity and discuss their advocacies.

Flores shared that the journalism trade in Dumaguete is dying. She views

this as unfortunate that graduates of Journalism or Mass Communication tend to go somewhere else.

“Perhaps this is a challenge to the journalism schools here to offer some kind of basic training for the practicing journalists, because that’s what we need here. There are only a few of us left that are actually trying our best to tell that stories that we too have limitations,” Flores added.

When asked how she copes in the trauma, Evangelista answered that it was hard for people around her, including her parents and friends.

She said that there were nightmares, trauma, and sleepless nights in which she encountered.

During the open forum, OIP Director Melita Aguilar asked a personal question, if there was an iota of regret of what she is doing since Evangelista had also trained in Silliman to be a creative writer.

In which Evangelista replied, “Dumaguete taught me the value of a sentence and the power it can have.

For that, I am grateful.”