August 2010 - Manila Central University

The official publication of the MCU student body
in the service of the MCU community
Volume 80 Issue No. 2
August 2010 – November 2010
Danscene in MCU
by Mary Jane A. Guba, Arts and Sciences
The campus-wide dance contest dubbed as “Let’s get Danscene: An Intercollegiate Dance
Competition”, rocked the campus
on September 17 and 24, 2010 as
MCU students from the different
colleges and from the High and
Grade School Departments displayed their talents in dancing.
The dance contest has two
categories, the duo and the
group. Participants underwent the
elimination and final round at the
FDT Courtyard and Centennial
Gymnasium.
Mcu
participates
in the EU
Quiz Bee
by Sharon Danisha M. Vaswani
Optometry
what’s inside
Muchas felicidades to Andrey
Christopher Garcia, (BS Biology
41) Emmanuel Buragay (BS
Psychology 21), yours truly for
coming in 6th place, out of 19
Universities that competed in the
European Union (EU) Quiz, held
last July 28, 2010 at the College of
St. Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila.
In celebration of Linggo
de Lingua Europa or Week of
European Languages, the De La
Salle – College of Saint Benilde
hosted the EU Quiz that aimed
to encourage students, faculty
and language enthusiasts to
experience European languages
and cultures.
Through an invitation sent
to MCU through Centralino, the
MCU students participated in the
event. Questions on European
culture, language, and history
were asked to the contenders.
The university’s participation
in the quiz bee was also a good
opportunity for MCU to establish
linkages with other schools.
Gladwin Evangelista (BSN
3-3) and Frensil Fenis (BSN
3-3) from the College of Nursing reigned as the champions for
the duo category. Mikko Fransisco and Gian Fernandez from
the College of Physical Therapy
placed first runner-up and Brellante Navor Jr. (BSN4-10) and
Kim Avera (BSN 3-1) from the
College of Nursing placed second
runner-up.
For the group category, “Furcas”, from College of Dentistry
was hailed as the champion.
“Kids in Motion” and “Flip Street
Crew”, both from the High and
Grade School Departments won
as the first and second place respectively.
According to the Office of Student Affairs, “Danscene is in line
with last year’s “Campus Idol”,
with an objective to create a new
avenue in showcasing the talents
of MCU students in singing and
dancing.”
The judges of the competition
were from a wide pool of experts
in their respective fields. During
the elimination round, the judges
were John Carlo Mendoza, Mr.
Fatima Nursing finalist, ramp
model; Jhunnard Jhordan Cruz,
Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group
Director and Coordinator; Patrick
Clarino, Creative Director, Malinta Valenzuela Youth Federation;
and Michael Barrozo, entertainer
and performer, Disney Cruise
Line.
During this round, participants
were judged according to the following criteria: 40% choreography
and style, 20% execution, 20%
SMART Communications conducts seminars
by Rizzi Anne B. Miñoza, Arts and Sciences
SMART Communications Inc.
conducted free career seminars
in MCU on August 27 and September 3, 2010 as they have implemented the Community CARE
Program (Campaign to Advance
Relationship through Education).
On August 27, a seminar on
Resume Writing, Job Interview
Tips, and Power Personality Training was held in the C-Gym function room with the students from
the College of Medical Technology
and College of Pharmacy present.
The seminar oriented the students
on effective resume writing and
discussed practical tips on acing
job interviews and ways to confidently present oneself to potential
employers.
On September 3, the seminar entitled “Alamin Mo Bro,”
which centers on topics on computer (Parts of Computer, Software, Hardware, OS, Antivirus)
was conducted at the PGT-AVR.
Students from the College of
Physical Therapy, Pharmacy,
Medical Technology, Dentistry,
Arts and Sciences, and Optometry were present during the
seminar.
The activities conducted were
two of the seminars that were in
line with the SMART’s program.
SMART will be holding series
of seminars and trainings such
as the Social Media Training,
SMART AKO Seminar, Mobile Internet Seminar, EQ Training and
Customer Service 101.
According to Ms. Analyn
Togado, Community Care Specialist of SMART Communications Inc., this Free Community
Education Program aims to provide learning opportunities to
MCU students and help them to
better understand and maximize
the SMART services they are currently using,
Foreign Students Graduate from ELEP
by Mary Jane A. Guba, Arts and Sciences
Sixty-eight (68) foreign students graduated
from the English Language Enhancement program
(ELEP) held on September 24, 2010 at the
Tanchoco Auditorium.
The
English
Language
Enhancement
Program (ELEP), which started last summer, is a
comprehensive English study program under the
College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) that includes
courses on Conversational English, Pronunciation
and Oral Communication, Reading Comprehension
and Vocabulary Development, and Writing and
Grammar.
ELEP is aimed at enhancing and developing
the English proficiency and the fundamental
language skills of university-bound students who do
not speak English as their native language. All new
and foreign students are required to undergo the
classes that were held every Friday and Saturday.
Classes are divided on the beginner,
intermediate and advanced level. The CAS Faculty
under the Languages and Humanities Department
are the ones involved in teaching the students.
According to Ms. Reneliza Sta Ana, Head of
the Languages and Humanities Department, the
College of Arts and Sciences initiated the program
due to the increase in number of foreign students in
the university and the difficulty caused by some with
limited skills in communicating in English.
Pinoy as a Global Brand p3
PARTY!, PARTY!p5
Pride Before
Prejudice
Jobstreet.Com’s Career Congress held
CPT and CMT place 6TH and
7TH in Licensure Exam p2
p4
p3
Kiss of a Fallen Angel
p8
+
m
o
r
e
concept and style, 10% costume
and 10% audience impact.
For the final round, the judges
were Reina Cuneta, Ms. Earth
Philippines finalist, Kenneth Halili,
choreographer and Michael Barrozo, entertainer and performer
Disney Cruise Line.
The criteria for judging during
this round were 30% choreography, style 25%, execution 15%,
concept, 20% originality and 10%
costume.
The winners in both categories received special prizes.
MCU
Celebrates
World
Teachers’
Day
by Rizzi Anne B. Miñoza
Arts and Sciences
Students
and
faculty
members from the different
Colleges and from High and
Grade
School
Department
participated in the celebration
of the World Teacher’s Day
on September 24, 2010 in the
Centennial gymnasium.
World Teachers’ Day was
officially celebrated on October 5,
2010 but was celebrated earlier in
MCU. During the event, students
had different ways of expressing
their gratitude to their teachers.
The students from the College of
Arts and Sciences (CAS) danced
and played musical instruments.
Iranian students read a poem and
dedicated it to all the teachers
that day. Also, the MCU chorale
rendered a song for the teachers
while
kindergarten
students
offered flowers to the teachers.
The faculty members also
showed their talents. CAS faculty
members and Dr. Rachel Balan,
from the College of Optometry,
showed their talent in dancing
while the other faculty members
from different Colleges showed
their talents in singing. They
were Ms. Marilou NisperosJamis (CCS), Dr. Camacho
and Dr. Tabasan (Dentistry),
Mr. Arthur Fetalvero (CNM),
Ms. Teraddo (CPH), Mr. Dexter
Sotto (CPT), Mr. Blanco and Ms.
Chua (Elementary Dept.), and
Ms. Simplicio and Ms. Zenarosa
(High school Dept.).
This celebration is held
annually to further the growth
and development of the teaching
profession as well as to express
gratitude and appreciation to the
noble works of the teachers.
2
NEWS
CPT and CMT place 6TH and 7TH in Licensure Exam
by Mary Jane A. Guba, Arts and Sciences, and Lois Marie A. Baltazar, Medical Technology
The College of Physical Therapy
raised its banner as one of its graduates placed sixth in the July 2010
Physical Therapists Licensure Examination.
Paul Daniel G. Nerit garnered
an 84.65 % passing rate, making it
to the top six in the Physical Therapy
Licensure Exam held on July 24-25,
2010.
MCU got a 62 % passing rate,
which is above the national passing rate of 46.27%. According to the
Professional Regulation Commission
(PRC), 34 out of 938 or about 46.27%
have passed the Physical and Occupational Therapists Licensure Examinations held in Manila and Cebu.
Dr. Eduardo Peregrino Jr., Dean
of CPT said that the rigorous trainings the students undergo through
their extensive examinations and
internship are some of the ways its
students are being prepared for the
board exam. He also added that the
college has a good line-up of hospitals where its students train.
“This good performance in the
board exam helped boost the morale
and uplifted the pride of the college.
This could also help in the promotion
of the course,” Dean Peregrino said.
Dean Peregrino also discussed
that the college has a long-term plan
of having a higher level of board performance in the future.
On the other hand, the College
of Medical Technology also rejoiced
as Rashid Ibrahem bagged the 7th
place in the Medical Technology Licensure Examinations with an average of 89.20% held last September
4-5, 2010.
MCU exam takers resulted to
68% passing rate that is below the
national passing rate of 71%. Nevertheless, the dean and the faculty
were still proud of its graduates as
they continue to soar and maintain
the streak of topnotchers in the Board
Examinations since the previous
year, two have made it to 1st and 8th
place. With this, the college is determined to work harder to maintain the
level of excellence and quality education it provides.
During the CMT Anniversary, the
board passers were asked to give
their messages. Rashid said “Even
if there where some exercises in
class where I got unwanted scores, I
always keep and bear in mind that I
Paul Daniel Nerit,
6th Placer
PT Licensure
Exams
Rashid Ibrahem,
7th Placer
MT Licensure
Exams
will be a topnotcher. They tell me that
I am too ambitious or boastful but I
strived hard to study and review for
the exams. Then I made it. If you want
to achieve something, tell yourself
that you can and trust that you will.
With prayers and hard work, you are
certain you will attain it. Believing in
one’s own abilities is the key.”
This left the students thrilled, inspired and challenged that they too
can be able to reach their goals and
struggle to study despite failures and
challenges.
by Sharon Danisha M. Vaswani, Optometry
Faculty members from the various
colleges were also in attendance as
well as members from the different
departments in the University.
Aptly themed “Spearheading
a New Decade of Academic
Excellence”, the quiz bee organized
by the Centralino in cooperation
with the University Student Council
and Social Science Department was
aimed at promoting the intellectual
faculties of the students through a
friendly competition centering on
issues in politics, history, culture,
sciences and law. Nine colleges from
Centralino Officers and Adviser, Mr. Paul Fulgencio III
College of Optometry, Champion
of the Centralino 2010
MCU as well as the High School
department formed the 10 teams
who competed for the honor of their
respective colleges and department.
Candidates
were
quizzed
on topics ranging from current
events historical facts and general
Information.
The College of Computer Studies
and the College of Medical Technology
placed first and second runner-up
respectively. The Championship
title was bestowed to the College of
Optometry, represented by Kirsten
Mhinelle Q. Luna, Anthony A. Koa,
and Meghan Lee Nina Jamille G.
Fernandez who received the top prize
of the evening, and brought pride and
glory to their College. The winners
will represent MCU to the 31st
National Quiz Bee this year
If you’re wondering what answer
got the audience to its feet, and the
answer to the suspense-filled clincher
question – is Edgar Allan Poe.
College of Nursing in its 63rd year
by Reynalene R. Pascual, Nursing
The MCU College of Nursing
commemorated their 63rd Foundation Celebration with a 2-day event
on September 30 and October 1,
2010 with the theme “Nurses as Front
Liners in Health Promotion through
Health Education”.
The event started with a
Holy Mass at the Centennial Gym attended by all nursing students, clinical instructors and coordinators with
Dean Salarda, followed by simultaneous Quiz bees in different levels.
The presentation of the Poster
Exhibit entitled “Health Education
on Dengue: Prevention and Control,
Management and Care” at the FDT
corridor followed. In the afternoon,
a lecture entitled “DOH Program on
Dengue Prevention and Control” was
conducted with guest speaker Dr. Ernesto B. Guevarra, Municipal Health
Officer VI Valenzuela City Health Department at FDT AVR.
A seminar entitled “Nurses as
Front liners in Health Promotion
through Health Education” was held
at the Tanchoco Auditorium on the
second day, with guest speaker Ms.
Eufemia F. Octaviano, Former Chairman of Board of Nursing (PRC).
The celebration ended with the
socialization of alumni, students and
Rape of Volunteer Nurse condemned
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr., Nursing
Optometry bags Quiz Bee top honors
Who is known as the father of the
psychological horror tale? This was
the question that was keeping the
audience at the edge of their seats,
the one question that thickened
the suspense filled in the air and
the question that determined the
Champion of the 2nd Centralino Quiz
Bee held last September 9, 2010.
Held at the Tanchoco Auditorium
from 1 to 4pm, the hall was
overflowing with supporters from the
different colleges rooting for their
teams, as well as chanting the names
of their college’s representatives.
LOCAL NEWS
faculty members who showcased
their talents and performed in the program entitled “Jam Pack” at the FDT
Quadrangle.
The Executive committee headed by Mr. Cyrill Consuelo and faculty
members organized the program.
The College of Nursing Student Council with its Advisers
The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) demanded justice for
a 21-year-old volunteer-nurse who
was gang-raped near a municipal
hospital in Maguindanao recently.
PNA president Dr. Teresita Barcelo
said the incident was highly deplorable, especially since the victim,
out of patriotism and compassion,
had only volunteered to serve in
South Upi town in Maguindanao
but ended up being abused.
The Professional Regulation
Commission’s Board of Nursing
(BON), for its part, said the incident
was “condemnable to the highest
degree.” The victim is a volunteernurse under the Nurses Assigned
in Rural Areas (NARS) program of
the Department of Health (DOH),
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), PRC and PNA.
So far, a total of 10,420 nurses
have already been dispatched to
far-flung areas across the country
for a six-month tour of duty. The
victim, who hails from Cotobato,
was assigned to South Upi town
two months ago.
Police have arrested six suspects but a manhunt is still on
for other suspects. The PNA expressed fear that nothing would
happen in the case since some of
the suspects belong to “influential
families” in Maguindanao.
However, nine volunteer nurses have already been pulled out
from a town in Maguindanao province after the gang-rape of their
colleague in the area. Barcelo said
in a news report that the volunteer
nurses have left South Upi town in
Maguindanao for safety reasons.
She likewise expressed dis-
may that the health of the town’s
residents would be compromised
due of the pullout of the volunteer
nurses. The provincial health officer of Maguindanao earlier warned
of massive pullout of the 138 government nurses in the province following the gang-rape of their colleague.
Justice Secretary Leila de
Lima said the case of the rape of
a Maguindanao volunteer nurse is
not closed despite the surrender
of a militiaman who confessed to
have committed the crime along
with another man. During a visit to
the victim, De Lima said she even
told police authorities not to rule
out reports about the son of a politician being involved in the rape. As
to the six suspects initially arrested
by the authorities, De Lima said
there has been no evidence so far
implicating them to the rape.
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael
Mangudadatu said Maguindanao
authorities were determined to
bring the culprits to court. De Lima
said that when the victim recovers
fully, she will be asked questions
to pin down the culprits. She said
among the police’s first tasks when
they face the victim is to show her
photos of the arrested suspects.
Sources:http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/
view/20101009-296844/Maguindanao-rape-case-not-yet-closedDeLima;http://ph.news.yahoo.
com/gma/20101009/tph-9-nursesleave-maguindanao-town-aftece44f36.htm;http://www.philstar.
com/Article.aspx?articleId=616765
&publicationSubCategoryId=67
Anti-Corporal Punishment Bill Gains Support
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr., Nursing
Three House of Representatives committees and a child rights
advocacy group pushed the swift
passage of a bill banning corporal punishment to protect children
from unwarranted harm in the
name of discipline.
The three House panels — on
revision of laws, welfare of children
and appropriations, unanimously
approved House Bill 6699 or the
so-called Anti Corporal Punishment Act of 2009, seeking immediate plenary deliberation on the
measure.
Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao, chairman of the revision of
laws panel said they have asked
the House leadership to schedule
the measure for plenary deliberations. He appealed for the inclusion
of HB 6699 in the list of priority bills
to be approved by the chamber before the end of the year.
Reps. Nikki Prieto Teodoro,
principal author of the measure
and chairperson of the committee
on welfare of children, aired hopes
that the proposal will be treated by
the chamber with the same urgency it has demonstrated in approving the Anti-Child Pornography Bill.
The Child Rights Network
(CRN), whose members include
non-government organizations and
international institutions, lamented
there is no law prohibiting corporal
punishment.
“Parents, teachers and every
person exercising parental authority must exercise positive discipline
to children in guiding their behavior while respecting their rights to
healthy development and protection from violence,” CRN co-convener Hope Tura said in an article on
the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines website.
She said the bill, once passed
into law, will address the limitations
of current laws in dealing with the
issue of corporal punishment especially in the home. Tura cited a
study conducted by Save the Children-Philippines, indicating 85 percent of Filipino children surveyed
in 2005 were reported being punished in their homes.
Of those surveyed, 82 percent
said they were hit in different parts
of the body.
For her part, Save the Children country director Rowena
Cordero said studies around the
world have shown that corporal
punishment does more harm than
good. “It hurts children physically
and emotionally, destroys their
self-confidence, damages their
relationship with their parents or
guardians, and instills fear, mistrust and hatred. Corporal punishment also teaches children that it
is acceptable to use violence to resolve conflicts and control others.
More importantly, corporal punishment violates the rights of children.
Like adults, children have equal
rights to physical integrity and human dignity,” Cordero said.
She cited reports released
by the World Health Organization
(WHO) that corporal punishment
kills thousands of young children
each year. It also injures more and
contributes in developing violent
behavior among children.
Source: http://www.gmanews.
tv/story/147566/Child-rightsgroup-pushes-anti-corporal-punishment-bill;http://www.mb.com.
ph/node/220450/anticorporal-puni
Pinoy as a Global Brand
News
3
College of Nursing
holds Quiz Bee
by Neirra Lou Sulit, Business Administration
In celebration of National
Marketing Month every year, the
Philippine Marketing Association
(PMA), which aims to provide an
avenue for exploring invaluable
insights and contemporary ideas
that will complement what the
students learn in school has successfully launched its annual strategic marketing seminar entitled
STRATMARK 8: “The Pinoy as a
Global Brand” held last July 30 at
the Aliw Theatre in Pasay City.
Marketing students from
MCU and various Colleges and
Universities across the country, who are an active affiliate of
Philippine Junior Marketing Association (PJMA), and educators
were gathered and filled the entire
venue. PMA drew together some
of the country’s global brands, as
seen and shared by some locally
and internationally recognized PI-
NOY brand ambassadors to talk
about burning issues of today’s
marketing and business industry
like:
• Illac Diaz – “Pinoy CSR as
a Global Social Enterprise Brand.”
• Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, artistic director, Ballet Manila “The
Global Goes to Juan Dela Cruz.”
• Pinky Lee, Marketing Director, Goldilocks “Goldilocks as
the Global Food and Bakeshop
Chain.”
• Robert Trota, President,
MAX’S “Max’s as the global Restaurant Brand.”
• Anton Diaz, Internet Marketer, Our Awesome Planet “Our
Awesome Planet as a Virtual
Global Brand.”
• Jovel Cipriano, Founder,
Web Entreprenuer www.pinoydelikasi.com “Pinoy Delikasi as a
Virtual Global Brand.”
by Reynalene R. Pascual
Nursing
Ilac Diaz, founder and managing director of My Shelter Foundation delivers his talk.
• Jeffrey Remigio, Assistant Vice-President, “ABS-CBN
The Filipino Channel (TFC) as
a Global Pinoy Cable TV Global
band.”
The above-mentioned globally recognized people had equally
shared substantial information regarding Filipinos who venture into
Medtechcopes holds Jobstreet.Com’s Career Congress held
Aerobics Activity
by Rizzi Anne B. Miñoza, Arts and Sciences
by Lois Marie A. Baltazar,
Medical Technology
In pursuit of the MEDTECHCOPES
(Medical Technology
Community Program Extension
Services) mission that is to participate actively in community
and public service programs, the
College of Medical Technology
headed by Dean Petrona Benitez,
MECTECHCOPES adviser, Prof.
Maria Dolores Evangelista, in cooperation with the MCU P.E. Department, hosted the first Aerobics
Program in Barangay 81, Zone 8,
District 1 in Caloocan City last September 4, 2010.
Residents from various group
and age stood up, stretched their
knees and arms and jived to the
beat as they followed the exercise
routines led by the P.E. professors.
The Faculty, Officers and students
from the college also joined the
crowd. After four rounds of strenuous physical activity, the CMT distributed breakfast packs to the participants. Everybody was sweaty
yet full of life. The event lasted
from 8:00 A.M. up to 12:00 noon.
In the succeeding months, the
MEDTECHCOPES program will
continue and the activities will target areas such as literacy, health,
environment, livelihood, medical
and dental services. The sessions
will be incorporated in the students’
NSTP and Community Development classes. Through this, the
college hopes that the objectives
of the program will be met.
TOP PHOTO: Residents of Brgy 81
participates lively on Aerobics program.
BOTTOM PHOTO: MT students distributes
snacks to the community
business that likewise aimed to
generate profit and sales income
and promote the Filipino-made
foods, products and services to
several countries globally.
Over the years since it was
founded in 1954, PMA has continuously provided a unified goal
of student advocacy to marketing students by producing events
like the annual Stratmark, which is
now on its eighth year.
Boys Night Out DJ’s from famous FM radio station Magic 89.9
hosted the event while Business
Mirror, Business World, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, Mang Inasal, Goldilocks
and Schützen were among the
sponsors of the event.
The College of Nursing in
celebration of their 63 years,
organized a quiz bee on September
30, 2010 participated by Nursing
students from the second, third and
fourth year levels.
With an objective of culminating
and enhancing the critical thinking
skills of nursing students, the quiz bee
was held at the FDT- AVR (BSN II),
PGT- AVR (BSN III) and Centennial
Gymnasium (BSN IV).
The quiz bee consisted of three
levels namely the Easy, Average and
Difficult rounds, each comprising
of ten questions derived from their
lectures depending on their year
level and curriculum. The clinical
instructors who also served as the
judges of the ceremony facilitated the
quiz bee.
Section 13 represented the
Champions for the 4th year level,
Section 2 for the 3rd year level and
Section 2 for the 2nd year level. The
first placers are Section 11 (seniors),
Section 4 (juniors) and Section
4 (sophomores) while Section 8
(seniors), Section 3 (juniors) and
Section 5 (sophomores) placed
second.
The
winners
and
their
corresponding
section
received
incentives and prizes according to
their rankings.
WORLD NEWS
South Asian Superbug
by Angelo M. Iñigo, Nursing
Attendees of the Jobstreet Seminar, College of Medical Technology with Adviser, Prof.
Ferdinand Mortel on Jobstreet Photo Booth
With the theme, “Building
Leaders: Developing Future Leaders
in the Work Force,” Jobstreet.com,
a job search and online recruitment
website, held its Career Congress
for student leaders on September
3, 2010 at the SMX Convention
Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex,
Pasay City from 12:00 PM to 6:00
PM.
Manila Central University with
other NCR Colleges and Universities
attended the said event. From MCU,
delegates were from the College of
Arts and Sciences (CAS), College
of Business Administration (CBA),
College of Medical Technology
(CMT), College of Dentistry (Dent),
and College of Optometry (Opto).
Topics during the leadership
CMT: Great at 48
by Lois Marie A. Baltazar,
Medical Technology
Alongside Medical Technology
and Public Health Schools in
the country, the MCU College of
Medical Technology celebrated its
48th Foundation Anniversary last
September.
The First Day of the event held
last September 22, 2010 started with
a Mass and Opening Ceremonies
followed by a Scientific Seminar
from two successful alumni of the
College. Ms. Jemaima Bajaro, RMT
and researcher of Tohoku University
and RITM who discussed details on
the phenomenal AH1N1 pandemic flu
virus and Mr. Jefferson Halili, RMT
a cardiac perfusionist at Philippine
Heart Center who shared the process
Mr. Halili judiciously shares his experiences as a perfusionist
seminar were about Leadership, Top
Attitudes Companies are Looking
for, Putting Strengths to Work, and
Stories behind the Success.
Speakers were Mr. Francis
Kong, Inspirational Speaker and
Trainer; Ms. Grace Zata, Corporate
Executive Search top brass; Ms.
Chona L. Torre, McDonalds HR
head honcho; Ms. Marilyn Siy,
Senior Executive of Accenture; Ms.
Grace De Castro, Nestle Philippines
HR lead; and Ms. Grace Colet,
Country Manager of Jobstreet.com.
The leadership seminar was
held to help the students discover
and develop their leadership
potentials to the fullest and help
them become the best leaders of
the country’s future workforce.
Students enthralled on
listening to the topics of the
speakers
of perfusion during bypass surgery.
In the afternoon, students enjoyed a
film showing entitled “Outbreak”. Both
events were held at the PGT AVR.
On the next day, a community
program, free blood typing, urinalysis
and fecalysis were offered to the
public. Next was a poster presentation
of the research studies done by the
senior students were showcased at
the PGT grounds. In the afternoon
the college enjoyed parlor games at
the Centennial Gymnasium wherein
mostly freshmen students won the
events.
The activities were simple but
meaningful – inspiring and uniting
the CMT family. The program was
carried out with the cooperation of
the organizations within the college.
These were the CMT-Student
Council Association, Junior Medical
Technology Officers and Humanities
Guild Organization- Klubba Scientia
Organization.
A recent development on the
SE Asian superbug that prompted a
worldwide health alert has risen in
China.
Authorities there have reported
the nation’s first three cases of a multi
strain drug resistant bacteria containing the gene NDM-1 (New Delhi
metallo-lactamase-1). It was found in
samples taken from two babies in the
northern province of Ningxia and in
an 83 year old man in the southeastern province of Fujian.
The 83 year old man has already died of lung cancer on June
but it is still not clear what the superbug’s effect on the man’s death was.
The two babies meanwhile were last
reported to be in relatively good condition.
The New Delhi metallo-betalactamase-1, according to Wikipedia,
is an enzyme that makes bacteria
resistant to a broad range of beta-
Dirt Rich
lactam antibiotics. These include the
antibiotics of the carbapenem family,
which are only used when other treatments proved to be unsuccessful.
The bacteria first got a hold of
the world’s attention when it was detected on a man in a hospital in India
infected by Klebsiella Pneumoniae
– one of the common bacteria that
make the NDM-1 enzyme. Subsequently it claimed its first casualty
in Europe when a Belgian man who
despite being administered with a
potent antibiotic still succumbed to
his death because of the bacteria. It
has then been found in other parts of
the world including the United States
and Australia.
According to the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) drugs that
could treat the NDM-1 bacteria would
still be unavailable for at least the
next 10 years.
by Angelo M. Iñigo, Nursing
It was sort of a reality show.
Thirty-three miners trapped underground for 69 days in subhuman
conditions and in perpetual darkness. From the inspiring note with
the words “Estamos bien el refugio los 33” (All 33 of us are okay in
the shelter) that led to their discovery to their eventual rescue, the
cameras never let up. The whole
world watched as the drama unfolded in front of their very eyes.
Now rescued from their ordeal the miners have struck
gold above ground. Earning just
around $900 a month whilst working at the mine they are now expected to bring in the cash with
a multitude of product offers and
endorsements. Some of the offers include endorsements for liquor, chocolate, and even a sex
enhancer pill. This is all thanks
to the careful engineering of the
Chilean government that led to
the intense media interest.
Left for dead underground
the miners persisted before being
confirmed alive 17 days after they
were trapped. To survive the miners had to devise routines to ensure them of their health and sanity. With only two days worth of
rations available to them, the men
made do with only a spoonful of
tuna and a gulp of milk each, every 48 hours for two weeks. They
dug their own water and played
dominoes to kill time. After 69
days they were finally hoisted up
and emerged above ground with
their Oakley Iridium covered Sunglasses. Not to mention the brand
new iPods they were given while
underground courtesy of Steve
Jobs.
Regardless, all of the accolades and the privileges enjoyed
by these men now are more than
well deserved. In a time when violence and negativity permeated in
the news these miners gave the
world something to rejoice for and
showed that the endurance of the
human spirit triumphs where light
would not.
4
Editorial
Opinion
PROBE TO
PROVE
lois marie a. baltazar
Medical Technology
With our unending campaign to promote responsible
journalism, we, The Pharos still and will always live up to our goal
of being the eyes, ears and voice of the student body and be the
bridge to its various stakeholders so that we may achieve unity.
Class Room, Class-Doom
EDITORIAL
Pride before Prejudice
To be a true-blue “Centralian”, one should know his roots. And
after the MCU community celebrated its 106th founding anniversary last
December, we will once again look back on how Escuela de Farmacia
del Liceo de Manila, a private review class for pharmacy students, has
grown into a venerable educational institution over the years. Thousands
of professionals who have peopled this university for the past years are
living proof of how efficient MCU is in living up to its mission of “developing
people”. But believing the old maxim that “age doesn’t matter”, we new
breed of Centralians are still troubled by questions which seek to find our
own identity. Has our beloved school really changed in a considerable
magnitude since 1904? Are these changes sufficient enough to give us a
clear understanding of what it is like to be a Centralian and how to take
pride from such identity?
Nothing and no one in this world is perfect; MCU is not an exception
to the rule. But this imperfection is an indispensable part of a process
that leads to long-term growth and improvement. Our university has
been trying its best to give students relevant facilities and opportunities
to make their learning experiences even more worthwhile. As a matter
of fact, the Learning Resource Center and the Students’ Day were both
launched last semester to cater the Centralian students’ increasing needs
for knowledge and leisure. Nonetheless, the process of change for MCU
has never been a cakewalk. A lot of students are still finding a lot of flaws
both on the internal and external aspects of our school. We often nitpick on
the school’s policies regarding our uniforms, our “lack” of involvement in
sports activities outside the school, and a lot of things here and there that
sometimes lead us into questioning our school’s 106 years of existence
inconsiderably. Do we really have anything to be proud of as a Centralian?
On a true-blue Centralian’s point of view, this question would be a walk in
the park. The key lies in our past.
We all have our own fair share of a ‘dark past’ and again, MCU is not
perfect to have none. During the Second World War, MCU temporarily
closed its doors and, as a result, the Japanese forces occupied its
buildings and systematically looted its facilities, laboratory, equipment,
museum, among others, leaving only the shell of its two buildings. But
history showed us how our school turned out to be a “phoenix” that rose
from its ashes. Since then, MCU has produced well-rounded professionals
and topnotchers in the fields of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy,
among others. But in reality, producing topnotchers on a yearly basis is
not the true measure of ‘quality education’ that MCU holds on to. Our
school always ensures that the quality of education it offers reaches every
student, average or superior in I.Q., who wants to fulfill his or her dreams.
It’s the true essence of education that will last a lifetime, not the accolades
that involves only few portion of a school’s population. And no matter
how imperfect things are, we are lucky enough that the administration
has been very open to every student’s suggestions and criticisms, using
The Pharos as the critical avenue of communication over the years. From
comfort room renovation to a newly synchronized university clocks, we’ve
seen enough to believe that MCU has been striving hard to meet or even
exceed our expectations. We may not be involved in UAAP or NCAA but it’s
the balance between studies and sports that we still promote. We should
remember that there is always a perfect time for everything to come into
place. MCU is not perfect but it always aims for perfection.
In reality, it’s not the school where you came from that will secure you
a place in the job market. It’s on how you utilize that knowledge your Alma
Mater has apportioned for you. Many years from now, we will realize that
being a Centralian is not just carrying a school’s name. It’s all about being
the best that we can become, rising above every adversity that comes our
way, and acknowledging the fact that although we knew nothing, MCU
was there to give us the “fruit of knowledge” with a shelf life of forever.
That’s the true “Centralian” spirit that has inhabited this institution since
1904. Hence, we don’t have the right to despise MCU after its 106 years of
fruitful existence. We have myriad reasons why we have to take pride on
our name. All we need to do is to review our timeline and choose between
pride and prejudice. It’s about time to choose pride.
I have always been considerate
on how the MCU classrooms appear
and with both thumbs up, I agree to it
being a place conducive for learning
– until today.
It was the second to the last
days of final examinations and with
the schedules different from the
usual ones, confusion on the room
assignments is unavoidable. Some
rooms particularly in the PGT building are already occupied by its regular users, however the same room
number is listed as the room we
should use for the test. So we gave
way, we searched for a vacant room
only to find out, at 1:00 P.M. several doors were locked. With that,
we have to wait for the janitor who
keeps the keys to be able to start
digging onto the exam papers. We
ended up standing outside the room
and scattered on the corridor. We’re
not the only class in such dilemma;
two or more other classes have their
students even sitting on the floor, on
their skirts, patiently waiting. It hit me
on the head and I got me thinking,
why must I be deprived the use of a
classroom when it is supposed to be
available for our use always?
I have asked few of the room
keepers, our ‘Kuya’ that you can see
loitering around, checking rooms and
carrying their walkie-talkies. I have
also inquired with janitors and janitresses. Our Kuyas said that they
check rooms every time to ensure
that the students in there are the
class scheduled to use the room. If
not they ask these students to get
out and turn off everything. This is
to avoid conflict with the scheduled
users who in turn may suffer be-
cause somebody else is using their
room. On the other hand, janitors
and janitresses seem to lock the
vacant especially during break time
and lunchtime so that nobody uses
it. This maybe because there were
cases when students litter in rooms
they occupy.
Fine. I understand these reasons. But to think of it, isn’t there
other ways to resolve the situation
in prohibiting the students to use the
non-scheduled rooms? Let’s face
it. Not all the students who use the
rooms are there to loiter. Some do
review, since not all students can be
accommodated at the LRC library
and it is not practical to climb up and
down one building to another in a 10
to 20-minute breaks.
Secondly, not all rooms are immediately cleaned for the next occupants. Some rooms are still dirty
after several hours. So what’s the
fuss of locking it not to be ruined
if cleanliness isn’t always actually
maintained?
Thirdly, I do not think that unauthorized persons will have the guts
to stay in the room when a bunch of
people with a professor is entering
the said room and will be having a
class there.
Fourth, MCU does not have
benches in the corridors to allow students to sit and wait. Uniforms are all
white and the girl wear skirts, how
can we position ourselves while waiting for a classroom?
Lastly, if we cannot do our stuff
inside a decent room, we might as
well just leave the school, and instead of staying in the campus, go to
malls and leisure parks.
The Crusade
Against
Reason
The church almost always seems
to dip their fingers in on every matter
they can get their hands on. With the
talks on the RH bill gaining ground it is
sure to fuel the age old feud between
the state and the church.
Although there is a clear separation of powers between the two by
the standards of our constitution the
brains of our holy brethrens seem to
elude this fact. Behind the guise of
morality they strong arm their way,
even going as far as threatening to
excommunicate the President. I don’t
mind the church giving their two cents
on issues that matter but when do we
say too much is too much?
I guess it can’t be helped
though. Ours is a predominantly
religious country with the church
having a great amount of influence in
our lives. It goes as far back to the
start of our history when the church
exerted control from education to
the laws that govern the land during
the Spanish colonial times. And now
that the RH bill issue is heating up it
is reviving long held disdain for the
Spanish friars and even stimulating
anti-clericalism.
We admit it. Yes we litter, yes we
gatecrash rooms that are not ours
sometimes, and we even lie when
asked “May klase ba kayo dito?”
simply because we enjoy to be in
a room. We need that space – for
studying, for chatting, for all other
stuff a student does and for the reason I first mentioned above, it is a
conducive place to learn. We like our
rooms – it’s a simple venue to unite
a class and to help us hear our professors more since it’s sort of sound
proof. We just want to stay in there.
And given the proper precaution
in a proper manner, we will listen if
asked to leave it because somebody
is about to use it. We will throw our
garbage properly.
If the administration can’t grant
us our plea, we may as well hope to
find a sanctuary where we can be
free. A breathing space wherein loud
reviewing and discussions is entertained, or life stories is okay to be
laughed at or shared, or somewhere
just as peaceful enough to write reviewers or even love letters. Within
those four corners is where learning
transpires, it may be lessons from a
book or from the teacher, or a lesson on love from a friend’s lips, or
a lesson of hope from a mind full of
dreams from sleep.
My fellow students, even if we
will still be restricted from staying in
rooms that are not for our use, let
us maintain respectful to the school
personnel by not leaving garbage or
by obeying to leave once told that
somebody will hold classes there.
With that, we can show how sincere we are that we mean no harm to
our valued rooms. To our Kuya, please
do not shout at us when asking us to
leave the said rooms. And as mindful
as you are in shutting down the air conditioners, please be mindful too in turning these on. As for our dear janitors
and janitresses, we hope you can be
punctual when opening locked doors
so we may start our classes on time.
Even if a room is scheduled for cleaning while we are around, please don’t
sweep as though we are not there and
ask to stand where we are seated as
you align the chairs – a clear indication
that you want us to leave and get out
of there.
Hopefully with understanding
from one another this will be resolved,
as people living under one roof, let
us be united and sensitive to each
other’s needs.
VANTAGE
POINT
LUISITO BATONGBAKAL, JR.
Nursing
Kill Bill: The Saga
The battle for the RH bill is
yet to meet its final conclusion.
From Carlos Celdran’s picketing at the Manila Cathedral to
the Church’s alleged threat of
ex-communication against PNoy, the public is left wondering what the next chapter will
be for this seemingly endless
saga of the year, aptly coined
by others as the “Kill Bill” controversy. But as massive media attention continue to pour
on the issue now, concerned
citizens like me demand more
resolutions than debates. The
continuous clash of opinions
between the pro-RH bill legislators and the Church is
becoming more and more exhausting to watch, prompting
me to wonder if all the fuss
about this law really deserves
the magnification made to it
by the mass media. As far as
its scope is concerned, I know
that this law will concern Filipinos from all walks of life, but
having our President ex-communicated for an issue that involves condoms and informed
choices means that there is
something left untouched. As
I have discovered lately, the
crucial issue now is not on
whether we are a pro or an
anti, but if our understanding
of the arguments from the two
parties concerned is enough
VINDICATED
PERSONALLY
SPEAKING
Nursing
Arts and Science
ANGELO IÑIGO
We as a people have come
to still rely on religion to guide our
actions in our personal lives. And
who’s to disagree? In school we are
taught that religion teaches us to do
good and shun what is evil. And just
the same we want our government
and government officials to live by
this principle.
The problem lies in when modern
problems clashes with archaic beliefs.
Let’s get the facts straight –
the Philippines is an overpopulated
country. Our ever growing population
puts a strain on our resources and
the country is not a rich one. This
then leads to poverty that we are all
too familiar with. Just take a stroll
outside and count the number of
grime riddled children wandering the
streets dodging traffic and you’ll get
the idea. And with increasing poverty
comes an increase in crime as more
and more people turn to unscrupulous
deeds to put food in their mouths.
Others may argue that corruption
is the main reason for the poverty
experienced by our countrymen
and not overpopulation. In part that
is right. But when a family grows to
for us to make a logical and
reasonable conclusion. From
my own vantage point, each
side of the card reveals its own
gray areas and corresponding
strengths. All we need to do is
to dig deeper on the issue to
fully grasp what RH bill is all
about and make a compromise
for the conflicts that has been
arising between the two opposing forces.
Pro-life vs. Pro-abortion?
Much of the clamour made
by the bishops against the bill is
largely based on the sanctity of
life; they are adamant regarding their stand that the newly
revised RH bill might promote
abortion by intervening in the
natural process of procreation.
But what is the real thing about
abortion? I think the problem
here is our lack of concrete
definition of ‘abortion’, which
is basically the termination of
life within the first 12 weeks of
gestation. When does life really start? Is it as early as conception like what the Church
believes or during implantation
like what majority of the medical profession are accustomed
to? Obviously, there’s no point
about opposing the RH bill on
the basis of morality if it’s not
clear to everybody whether it
is a law for the legalization of
abortion or not. Church’s in-
a point when it’s financial capacity
to have access to food, health
services and education is diminished
isn’t that also a problem? Poverty
and overpopulation are strongly
connected and often in the Philippines
the poorest have the highest number
of children.
Our modern times call for modern
actions. For the longest time the
Catholic Church has imposed its stand
against government campaigns on
reproductive health and has marred
true progress regarding this issue.
Now more than ever our legislators
must not be afraid. The RH bill does
not promote immorality contrary to
what its opponents believe. What it
simply does is to provide information
to those that need it with regards to
planning the size of their family and
give them assistance with in choice.
It falls on the government’s
shoulders to control the rapid
population growth of the country and
uphold the reproductive rights of the
people. And it must remain strong on
its path even if the Roman Catholic
Church continues in its incessant
meddling.
RIZZI ANN MINOZA
True Key to Success
“It’s not by might nor by
power but by my Spirit, says
the Lord Almighty.”
(Zechariah 4:6).
I am reminded of a true
story I heard when I was
young, about a young lady
who had just graduated
from a university in Manila
and was to take the Nursing
board exam.
Anna is an active worship
minister in their church. And
being engaged in the music
ministry, she had to go to
the church every weekend
for their practice. One day,
Anna decided to temporarily discontinue attending
their practices. She wanted
to spend more time reviewing for the upcoming exam.
Anna wanted to pass it, and
she promised herself that
she would give her best and
do everything in order to succeed. So she did everything
she could. She studied very
hard and became very busy
preparing for the exam. She
even missed attending Sunday services. She had studied so hard that she had also
almost forgotten to sleep at
night because of being so
focused and determined to
achieve success.
Days and nights had
passed and her most awaited day had come at last.
Equipped with all the knowledge she had in mind, Anna
was very confident that she
would be able to answer
everything in the exam. So
Anna took the exam. And
5
volvement on this matter is
clearly understandable due to
the moral dimensions that the
bill contains. However, will it be
more “pro-life” if the Church or
the government just focus on
the existing issues of malnutrition, homelessness, joblessness, and environmental degradation rather than searching
for an elusive answer for a
long-standing question?
‘Sex for Procreation’ vs.
‘Sex for Recreation’?
What bothers me the most
is the fact that the two parties are arguing regarding the
legalization of contraceptive
use when in the first place, we
already know that condoms are
part of a modern man’s sex life
and no one gets to jail by using
it nowadays. It is completely
‘legal’ if you are to look at it in
the context of our present society. Yes, sex is for procreation
and that is how God wants it
to be, but as long as people
have the freedom of choice,
sex for recreation will always
be an option regardless if the
RH bill will be passed or not.
I’m not into premarital or extramarital sex but the point is,
people don’t need a law that
will dictate them on what kind
of sexual lifestyle they are supposed to have. Killing the RH
bill will not promote “sex for
procreation” in the same way
that passing it will not promote
“sex for recreation” due to the
simple reason that we are humans, not puppets, entitled to
have the freedom to choose
what we want in our lives.
Informed choice, Population control, Gender equality: Are these for real?
RH bill is becoming more
of an issue of the “right to
choose” than the “right to life”.
According to Davao City Rep.
Karlo Nograles, we don’t have
to legislate population management when in fact, even
without it, our people have always been free to do what they
think is best for their family. RH
bill, as what its proponents define it, is all about giving people informed choices about the
family planning methods, be
it natural or artificial, that they
can use to determine their desired number of children and
in the long run, to control the
nation’s population. Consequently, the Church has been
protesting against the bill’s
information dissemination aspect, which they fear might
impose threat to our society’s
suffering morality. Again, the
Church seems unaware that
health teaching is already one
of health professionals’ integral roles long before RH bill
has started to receive massive
media attention and that informed choice is already being
received by couples when the
need arises.
When it comes to the issue of RH bill being used as
a population control, its proponents seem to be missing
some points. Cutting down the
national population is not the
“cure-for-all” solution; eradicating corruption and appropriate
allocation of our national budget could be a better strategy.
What about the so-called
gender equality that RH bill
promises to provide, especially
to women? Well, at first it may
sound good but if women will
have greater control over their
reproductive power, then they
can choose when to have a
child and men can copulate
with them as often as they want
without fear of being pregnant.
Moreover, if women are provided new roles aside from being a mother and child-bearer
due to the employment opportunities that not having a child
provides, it also means less
hard work and stress for their
husbands who have been the
sole breadwinner ever since.
Now, do you think RH bill will
really promote gender equality
in the long run?
With the issue of RH bill
continuously escalating to the
national consciousness, some
of us are still bewildered about
the real importance and relevance of this issue in our own
lives. We are all concerned
about the children who are going to receive the sex education and the possible changes
that might happen in our culture once the bill has been
passed. But we have to listen
to both sides in order for us to
have a clearer picture of the
story. This is a national concern and it involves virtually all
of us. The Church and the RH
bill supporters have their own
say of the issue but it doesn’t
mean that one should always
end up being better and more
influential than the other. We
have a president and P-Noy
is a leader for all Filipinos, not
just for the Church or Catholics
but also to those who have different religious ideologies. The
RH bill issue reminds us all
that our spirituality and morality should always take part in
every major decision that we
make for ourselves and our
country. But as Jim Paredes
underscored in one of his blog
entries, the “Kill Bill” controversy makes one thing clear:
there is great wisdom in the
principle of the separation of
Church and State.
when the results finally came,
she was surprised, because
she failed. Anna was so
disappointed, because after
doing everything she could,
she still didn’t make it. She
gave her best and prepared
so much that she had to give
up her ministry.
Anna prayed and talked
to God about her disappointment. The Lord answered
her through His message
from the bible that says, “It’s
not by might nor by power,
but my Spirit.” She was reminded that she shouldn’t
rely on her own strength and
knowledge alone. Anna felt
God’s presence at that moment. She then admitted that
she had made a mistake for
giving up her ministry when
she should have prioritized it.
She was also reminded of a
bible verse that says, “Seek
ye first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness and
all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).”
Anna then planned to take
the board exam again. But
this time, Anna was already
holding on to the true key to
success. She came back to
serving the Lord. She had
become active in the ministry
again. She decided to spend
greater time for the Lord,
and had spent enough time
studying for the board exam.
Anna prayed hard and studied hard as well. The Lord
blessed her and finally, she
passed the exam without so
much difficulty.
Many say that success
requires persistence. Yes,
that was what Anna showed
us in the story but it was not
enough. Sometimes, we are
like Anna relying on our own
strength. We forget that we
have a Father who cares for
us and who will never fail us
if we put our complete trust
on Him. One of my favourite
verses says, “Trust in the
Lord with all your heart and
lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your path (Proverbs
3:5).” and another one says,
“I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me
(Philippians 4:13).” So if we
put this two together, it tells
us to trust God completely,
and he will strengthen us for
us to be able do all things.
But of course, if we trust Him,
we should have the faith that
He is going to give the desire
of our heart. And this faith
must be accompanied with
deed, because faith without
action is useless.
Each of us has our own
definition of success. But
however we define it, the
key to true success cannot
be found in our own hands
alone. For me, it is on the
hands that uphold us all of
our lives; the hands of the
One who created us – the Almighty God.
I believe that the true key
to success is seeking God
above all else. If we prioritize Him, surely, we can never go wrong. We will reach
more than success! It is not
by our own will, force, or
strength alone because without Christ, we can do nothing. But if we trust Him and it
is His will, we will be able to
do and achieve what we are
praying for. Let us always put
in our minds and our hearts
that it is in the Lord where we
will find the true key to success.
8
literary
Kiss of a Fallen Angel
by Ian Love Gregorio, Nursing
PROLOGUE
It was the 21st of April, and today's a really special day. Today is
her birthday! I was walking down a narrow isle towards her house. I'm
carrying a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates that I bought earlier
on a nearby store. "Three kilometers more..." I sighed. I was walking for
the past 20 minutes, but I’m still a few kilometers away from her place.
Just when I was about to turn to another alley, I heard a thud. A footstep
actually, but I wasn't sure because the sound's almost inaudible, like a
whisper in the dark.
Rain began to pour, slapping the pavement and soaking me. I'm
making my way up to another street when I heard the footsteps again.
No, not just ordinary footsteps but heavy footsteps, and they are following me. I tried to hide in a nearby passage way, it is dark and deserted.
I was shaking, I don't know if it is because of the rain or because of fear.
A shadow flies past me, "Who's there?!" I called, my voice trembling.
No response. Something leaps over me, knocking me backwards. My
vision began to blur, and everything went black.
PART 1: THE UNKNOWN
I am vaguely aware of where I am or who they were. I can hear
their voices. They are speaking in such a low voice as if they do not
wish to be heard
“Are you sure he’s the one?” said a voice from the farthest end of
the room
“Everything is sure the moment Marcus sees him” I heard another
said.
I have no idea what they are talking about. But surely, they are
talking about me. Both seem to be aware of my wakefulness now and
stared at me with bold eyes. What creatures are they? I asked myself.
Although they both have human forms, something is wrong with their
face. Their eyes were unusually big. The color was unusual, too. They
are the deepest shade of red. They are so red that I immediately remembered the flames of hell
“He’s here!” announced the guy sitting on a great chair.
Alarm struck me. Who’s here? What do they want from me?
A chill went through my spine. Just when I was about to ask the
question, both men stepped to my side, lifted me through my arms, and
carried me towards the door.
Without further notice, the great door opened.
Many questions flooded my brain, all seeking for answers, answers that seem to be very familiar to me yet I can’t find them. Answers
that I feel belong to a special part of me. For a moment, I was caught
in my thoughts
“…okay?” Iris said in the stairway. I haven’t heard what she said
but I didn’t bother asking. I was too relieved of not having to talk alone
with the man and at the same time, I was too attracted to her. Her
grace, her beauty, her hair - everything about her keeps holding my
eye. But now, more than ever, she’s pretty. Her long blonde curls fall
down to her waist. Her simple pale green dress matched her hair and
her emerald eyes. Her chin was held high, with an air of confidence.
And her lips, as innocent as ever! What made her even prettier is the
contrast between her and her surroundings. The atmosphere of the
house is too dark for her bright personality. The sets of furniture, the
floor, the carpet – everything is black, so masculine for her femininity.
Both men disappeared just as soon as I was set down to the floor.
As I looked around the foyer I found her portrait hanging on the wall. I
was shocked, surprised and at the same time, mesmerized.
“Is this the place where she lives?” I asked myself. I wasn’t expecting it to be like this. “Welcome!” a huge voice boomed from behind my
back- I shuddered. A tall man came into sight from up the stairs; he is
wearing a different kind of dress, a cloak actually. His features look so
strange, as if he is more than century old. It’s not only his dress that
caught my attention, something’s wrong. The mere presence of him
made my flesh crawl, “this isn’t right.” I thought. He looks familiar, too
familiar even though I can’t remember his name; I know that we’d met
before. “I’m here to visit Iris.” I said. His face suddenly changed, as if I
said something wrong. “She’ll be down in a moment.” the man replied,
“but for now, let’s just have a little chat. Shall we? It’s been a year since
I last saw you Nathaniel.”
I was surprised when he mentioned my name, he knows me. I’m
right; we had met before, but where? And why?
What made an even more contrasting is the man standing beside
her – the man in black cloak, looming largely in the stairs. His eyes,
unlike hers, is the deepest shade of red like the two men holding me
earlier. His sharp features made him more frightening. “Frightening?”
yes, that’s what he is – terrifying I said to myself. And Iris, is far too
angelic to be with him and much more, to be in this house. It is as if I
have found an angel living in hell!
I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts when I caught a tear escape from her eyes. She was scared, that I am sure of. But why would
she be scared especially that she’s in her own house? Why?
I started to reach for her, to comfort her, but to my surprise, she
stepped back. And she trembled all the more. “Why?” I asked myself
again.
The answer came to me as I looked in the gigantic mirror on the far
end of the hall. My eyes are different. They are as red as the eyes of the
man standing beside her. They are so fierce as if I had always wanted
to kill. As if…. “What?” I asked myself.
And the answer came as a surprise – As if I am a DEMON!
TO BE CONTINUED…
Apocalypse And Beyond
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr, Nursing
Imagine yourself alone in a devastated city perfectly resembling
a post-war portrait. Towering rubbles and decaying bodies scattered
everywhere you go; a harrowing scene that describes a nightmare at
its best. Imagine that this is real. In a blink of an eye, the world as
you know it is now an ash land devoid of its flora and fauna, leaving
you and other few survivors the choice to either live or die, to survive
or to perish, to go on or to lose hope. The choice is yours. And with
all the integrity left of your humanity amidst the harshest of all human
conditions, what will you choose?
This is a hypothetical question that has been haunting me ever
since I learned of Nostradamus, the Mayan prophecies, the four
horsemen of Revelations, and all the events that will lead to the “endof-the-world” phenomenon. They call it the ‘Apocalypse’.
It was during my senior year in high school when the subject first
tickled my imagination. I remember watching the movie Left Behind
and witnessed how the “believers” of Jesus Christ suddenly vanished
without a single trace, leaving the “non-believers” behind. Then along
came the biblical prophecies: the parable of ten virgins, the “second
coming”, the satanic 666, and the symbolical “beast of the sea and
earth”, which will turn out to be the “anti-Christ” couple at the end of
times. I can still recall how it shook my spirituality and left me sleepless for some nights.
Fast forward to the present time, I’m still in awe on how stories
from this specific genre still capture my interest. It makes me wonder
about the fate that awaits our world in the future. But no matter how
rich the literature is, only few fictional stories really moulded my perception about the ‘Apocalypse’ and the ‘life’ beyond it.
It was a sheer chance encounter. The cover shows a man hugging his child in a very dark and heart-breaking backdrop. Upon reading its back cover, I found out that the book has a post-apocalyptic
theme so I grabbed it right away. The Road is actually Cormac McCarthy’s magnum opus and was even awarded the 2007 Pulitzer
Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction
in 2006. Nevertheless, I found it too vague to absorb the first time
I got hold of it. But after giving it a second try, I was fully prepared
for the emotional maelstrom that lies underneath its pages. I fell in
love with this heart-wrenching masterpiece not because of its ‘goodness’ but of the ‘darkness’ that deeply engulfed my imagination and
left me emotionally disturbed for quite some time. I even watched its
movie adaptation that stars Lord of the Ring’s Viggo Mortensen way
back 2008 and was equally surprised by its compelling power and
substance.
Using a cryptic but clear style of writing uniquely of his own,
“You remember what you want to forget and you forget what
you want to remember” is the novel’s battle cry that speaks for the
bleak and gloomy mood that the story has to offer. It is not the ‘bad
dreams’ that one should be worried about because that means you’re
still fighting, as said by the father. Pain is a key to survival. The message is so powerful it was etched to my memory. It reminds me of my
fellow countrymen under extreme conditions yet still manages to survive on a daily basis. Perhaps the pain of hunger is the main catalyst
why most poverty-stricken Filipinos are able to think of myriad ways
to survive or, if they’re lucky enough, come out of it and make “ragsto-riches” stories out of their own lives.
But by just reading between the lines, I fully captured what The
Road intends to impart
McCarthy tells the story of a father and his son who has survived an
unknown cataclysm that left the world shattered and almost lifeless.
Bringing only a grocery cart containing all of their belongings, they
took the road and started travelling towards the south with hopes of
finding safe haven in the end. Their profound journey continues as
they struggle to survive in a world that is now dominated by cannibalism, hunger, death, and hopelessness. And as they come faceto-face with death every day, they would learn that keeping the “fire”
within them still proves to be the best way to overcome seemingly
insurmountable odds and still be “human” after all.
Our planet is a “ticking time bomb.” Some scientists might say
that the end is yet to come because its expiration date may still be billion years away. But times have changed and our planet’s irreversible
extinction may be sooner than we actually thought. Beyond the unconditional fatherly love that the book portrays is a lesson that human
civilization has been struggling to learn for ages. We’ve been warned
about the green house effect, the hole in the ozone layer, the continuous threats of the global warming, and all the man-made phenomena
of the here-and-now. They are the backbone of every natural disaster
that has shaken the whole world. And if we don’t start changing our
ways, the world as we know it will gradually turn into a dark ash land
and just like Robinson Crusoe, we might be left behind with nothing
but our instincts to survive. Who knows? Considering the entire environmental catastrophe that our generation have been witnessing, it
could be any time soon.
Without a doubt, The Road is a haunting tale of survival, love,
and most importantly, life. If my history professor taught me one thing,
it would be the reality that life is all about choices. I’ve always been
fascinated about the ‘Apocalypse’ but to tell you the truth, it is the
darkest parts of our past that thrills me the most. From the terrifying
Holocaust of WWII to the horrendous 9/11 attacks in the U.S., all of
these human tragedies have proven how futile a single human life
can be once the universe conspires to take such a huge quantity of
casualties. These could be the ‘signs’ that we ought to take heed of
and behind all these is our power to live our lives to the fullest while
it’s not too late. The entire human race is running out of time. No
one really knows how much time is left but The Road gives us two
choices: We can either take the road of creedless comfort or the road
to painful survival, with our own integrity still intact. Two roads. Two
destinations. The choice is ours but we better choose NOW.
literary
9
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr., Nursing
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
Lionel would never forget the four words inscribed on that little piece of
paper. Aghast, he moved his eyes from the paper to Lucas who was sitting
across him and doing one of his outstanding idiosyncrasies: nail-biting. His
eyes shows depth he could never seem to fathom.
Lucas, what do you mean by this?
He just stared blankly on the piece of paper like he’s unaware of what
he just wrote. Seconds later, he continued again doing his dirty old habit of
nail-biting. Lucas had been notorious for being mistrustful; he never communicates with unfamiliar people. But Lionel, who had been his nurse for almost
two months now, was very pleased for such a sign of improvement albeit the
message was eccentric that he couldn’t figure out what step to make next.
Lucas, your message is quite alarming. Mind if I ask you to explain it to
me?
No response.
You can write it down again if you want.
No response. Lucas seemed undisturbed.
Look, I’m here to help. I’m your nurse and I’m ready to listen to you. I need
to know if there’s anything that bothers you.
Still no response. The clock ticked and without a hint, its 8:00 AM already.
Alright. If that’s it, we’ll see each other again tomorrow for our morning
session. Nice seeing you today, Lucas.
Two men assisted Lucas to his room after he took his medications while
Lionel, still not recovering from the shock he got from that interaction, went
straight to the nurse’s station and searched through piles of old and new charts.
Although their patients have different psychotic characteristics, Lionel knew
that there was something left untouched. After few seconds, he got hold of the
two-inch thick of compiled documents and started flipping its rugged pages.
Patient Name: Lucas Mendoza....Family Background....Medical Diagnosis: Schizophrenia, paranoid type...Criminal Case No. 04567, Homicide, two
counts.
Lionel was as cold as ice. It was the start of emotional maelstrom that
would soon take the best of him........
Pugadlawin is the name of the place. It’s a secluded psychiatric hospital
standing within a mountainous area in Quirino. And being a hermit himself, Lionel was more than glad after learning that he earned a probationary position in
the said asylum. However, the atmosphere of the hospital was eerier than anyone could ever expect. The stench smell of rotting flesh was all over the place
and the medieval style of its buildings was reminiscent of an ancient cemetery.
How’s your experience here so far?
Lionel had a lot of things going on inside his mind that he almost forgot he’s talking to Dr. Luis Vitug, a.k.a. ‘Mr. X’, chief owner and supervisor of
Pugadlawin.
Ahm.... pleasant, but not quite.
Really? What’s alarming you? Mr. X asked again as he gently caressed
his long, white beard.
Never mind. It’s just the patients.....They’re too...you know what I mean.
Don’t worry. If you have anything you want to say or ask, feel free to do so.
Oh..yes...sure
Want to say something?
No.
Okay. I’m just a knock away if you need anything. You can also approach
any nurses.
Okay.
See you again tomorrow.
Okay.
That night, Lionel momentarily forgot how to sleep. He couldn’t help
thinking about his next session with Lucas. No matter how he dismisses his
thoughts, there’s something or someone within him that won’t stop searching
for answers. He wanted to let go of his helter-skelter assumptions about Lucas
but would soon realize that his instincts were right from the get-go.......
RUN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
The two looked at each other. Lionel, who wanted to look beyond this
patient’s cryptic message, had high hopes he would finally know what’s inside
Lucas’ mind. But the normal
routine continued to prevail; Lionel asked verbal questions
but still got no verbal answers,
only written command. He
was on the brink of hopelessness when, suddenly, just
before the clock hits 8:00 AM,
Lucas rose from his seat
and leaned over to Lionel
across the table to whisper
something strange.
Under the glass, he
murmured just before he
went to his room. Lionel would never forget
Lucas’ smirk as
he looked directly
to the glass of
water sitting to
his right just before he left.
He then carefully looked
around him
and made
certain that
nobody’s
watching his
every move.
He grabbed
the
glass
and without any
sweat, he
noticed a slip of paper
pressed underneath it. What was
written there
baffled him even
more.
S E C R E T
ROOM, ROOM
OF DOOM
Lionel felt like
he’s slowly becoming
a cryptographer of
some sort trying desperately to search for
clues. The difficulty of
the mystery he’s
facing is beyond any
scientific studies he
had been through in
his past. Moreover,
he didn’t have any
inkling about the
whereabouts of this
“secret room” and if
Lucas meant this
literally or figuratively.
But
right after wrapping up his daily nursing
tasks, something dawned on him that
night.
Perhaps Lucas
needs more privacy and
requires
a
secluded place to open
up, he
thought. So
off he went to Lucas’
r o o m
while
the
rest of the asylum was
in deep
sleep.
Surprisingly, the
door was
unlocked
when he came.
I knew you are coming, said Lucas who was sitting on his bed while dangling his feet.
I’m glad you finally speak to me.
Why do you think you’re here?
Because I want to listen.
You know, I have no time for nonsense chit-chat. I’m not crazy.
What do you mean?
You shouldn’t be here. You must get out of this place as soon as possible.
Are you crazy? I have a job here.
Do you want to know the truth? Everyone here except you is a member
of a Satanic cult that kill new recruits as its sacrificial lamb. And you know what
the best part is?.... You’re the next in line!
As Lucas spoke, Lionel began to hear myriad of unknown voices, all crying for help, from the four corners of that room.
On the left far side of the corridor, you will see a room with a black door.
That is the secret room...the place where we do the ceremony, Lucas said asa-matter-of-factly.
Lionel knew the moment he left Lucas that he was, indeed, telling a truth.
Outside the asylum, a storm was raging steadily and blew even harder with
every step that Lionel made towards the secret room. But the moment he faced
the black wooden door at the end of the gloomy corridor, two unknown faces
came out of the shadows and grabbed his arms with unparalleled strength.
The person to his right covered his mouth until he can barely breathe while the
second to his left took hold of a fluid-filled syringe and plunged it slowly to his
upper arm. The sound of thunder reverberated to the ancient walls of the building, increasing its intensity with each passing of time. That was the last sound
Lionel heard that night.
He woke up in a room beautifully lit up by a grand chandelier. Mr. X was
sitting right across the room, puffing one of his expensive cigars while looking
at him.
How do you feel?, Mr. X asked while slowly reviewing a patient’s chart.
Get me out of here! Lionel shouted angrily as he struggled to rise from his
bed; his head still crippled with pain.
Don’t worry, everything is under control now. Your visual hallucinations
peaked last night that’s why we have to calm you down with stronger meds and
put you on strict security.
What?! I don’t get it. What do you mean by that? You know I’m not crazy.
I’m a nurse working here! Lionel said in disbelief.
You don’t understand. You keep on telling us that you’re a nurse when
actually you’re not. You are a patient who has been confined here for almost
two months now.
I don’t believe you. Lucas already told me everything about your rotting
hospital, doc!
Lionel, listen to me. Two months ago, you murdered two people while
they’re making love. The woman is your wife and his lover was a staff nurse
working in the same hospital where you worked for the past 6 years. His name
is Lucas and he’s always been a part of your visual hallucinations. You have no
way to talk to him because he’s.....
Stop! Oh my god. This can’t be true!, Lionel sobbed as he covered up his
ears, attempting to block all the other things he was about to here.
Lionel you were a doctor before. We can help you but you should help
your...arghhh..
In just a snap, Lionel wrapped his hands around Mr. X’s neck and attempted to choke him to death before someone else could hear his cry for help. But
Mr. X, who was determined he won’t face death in such a manner, mustered all
his strength to push the insane man away from him. Lionel accidentally hit the
huge windowpane on his back and fell towards the ground, 20 meters below.
Lionel! No!...Help! Somebody help!!!
On his way to the ground, Lionel suddenly realized that the pieces of his
life’s puzzle are finally coming into their proper places. He’d always heard that
the entire life of a person flashes right in front of his eyes the second before he
dies. In a split of a second, he saw his unadulterated childhood memories, his
flirtations in high school and med school, his romantic moments with his dear
wife, and the darkest hour of his life: the moment he pulled the trigger that killed
his wife and his best friend, Lucas. But beyond all these was the unexpected
sense of fulfilment that he got for solving one of the greatest mysteries he had
ever faced: his own life.
Mcu’s New Battlecry:
Edited by Lois Marie A. Baltazar
Medical Technology
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In 1883 the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa put so much dust into the earth’s atmosphere that sunsets appeared green and
the moon appeared blue around the world
for almost two years.
Any clue about shortest complete sentence
in the English language? Its, “I Am.”
Refrain from using shades of blue color because mosquitoes are attracted to this color
twice as much as any other colour.
How did the ‘dollar’ ( $ ) symbol
originated? In the pioneer days,
the symbol for currency was
‘US’ - the “S” was placed directly
over the “U” and in time, instead
of “US” overlapping, it was shortened into today’s “S” with two lines
through it.
Over a 12-day period your body generates
a whole new set of taste buds. (This process continues until you are in your 70’s.)
A crocodile
can’t move
its tongue
and cannot
chew. Its digestive juices are so
strong that it
can digest a
steel nail.
The first kind of pencil was a bunch of
graphite sticks held together by a string.
Then someone decided it would be better
to push the graphite into the inside of a hollow wooden stick.
- JOSEPH RECHENDORFER was the first
person to think of putting a piece of rubber
•
•
•
•
•
onto the top of a pencil that makes it real
easy to rub out mistakes.
- An average lead pencil
can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or can
write almost 50,000 words
in English.
Babies are born without
kneecaps. They don’t appear until the child reaches
2 to 6 years of age.
Apples are
more
efficient than
caffeine
in
keeping people
awake in the
mornings!
You
will
have
to
walk 80 kilometers for
your legs to
equal
the
amount of exercise your eyes get daily.
The most productive day of the week is
Tuesday.
You use an average of 43 muscles for a
frown and you use an average of 17 muscles for a smile, and it is thought that every
two thousand frowns create one wrinkle.
Sources:
Copyright © 2009.Indianchild.com.
Hubpages Inc.
Phil Brodie Band 2004
If you witnessed the opening of the MCU Invitational Tournament last October 23, 2010 you might be
wondering about the stuff printed on the shirts of the organizers which displays a tagline “We develop people.”
and a caricature of a person in growing heights in bright
gold and purple hues. Finally, the newest icon and tagline of MCU was approved and is ready and encouraged
to be used in all MCU correspondences as per memo of
Dr. Lydia Taganguin, VP of Academic Affairs. To know
more about it, we read:
ates to meet the challenges and opportunities here in the
Philippines and around the world.
We train students to develop the means to build
the future they dream of. The knowledge and ideals that
we plant in our students will provide them the skills and
confidence they need to achieve.
The MCU graduates’ track record of success and
excellence is a testament of the mission that we in MCU
have bestowed upon ourselves.
In MCU, We develop people.
TAGLINE RATIONALE AND KEY MESSAGE
“We develop individuals into well-rounded professionals with desirable personal traits through leadership
in education, competent instruction, research, and the
creation of centers of knowledge for their chosen fields
of specialization, thereby enabling them to participate
actively in community and national development for the
love of country and dedication to public service.”
This is the mission of Manila Central University. It
underscores the University’s key objective that is to mold
selfless individuals that will contribute to society’s growth
and prosperity.
MCU began as a private review class for pharmacy
board examination aspirants in 1904. Since then, MCU
has become a pillar in health science and professional
programs in the country.
MCU is committed to do its share in improving the
lives of individuals. The University constantly raises its
standards and improves its facilities to enable its gradu-
“I challenge you to serve your fellowmen with all
your heart and work fervently to become instruments of
lasting peace, progress, and love in accordance with the
moral prospects and ideals of social consciousness that
the University has imparted on you.”
Dr. Aristotle T. Malabanan
President, Manila Central University
MCU Commencement Exercises
April 10, 2010
“We develop students to know, understand and
discern their courses of action and assume a more synergistic rather than adversarial path when confronted by
divergent frames of thought.”
Dr. Aristotle T. Malabanan
President, Manila Central University
Inaugural Address
March 25, 2009
10
features
LITTLE
LIVES
REYNALENE PASCUAL
Nursing
Dorm Alone
The word “independence” may mean
different things depending on a person - it
may mean standing on your own feet, doing
your job or simply being alone and living your
own. In any case, being independent is one
thing that every individual, especially young
ones, aspire for.
Home Alone, a Hollywood film released
during the mid 90’s, is a talked about and
remembered movie during that time, dealing
with the story of a child who was accidentally
left at home with no one to depend on but
himself. Regardless, he was able to handle
life according to what he wishes and enjoys
and showed a great independence. Though
fictional, it somehow touches the reality of life
for some students, such as those who live in
dormitories. They can relate to this story of
being without help like the child and they be
aptly called “Dorm Alone”.
Practicality wise
Neil Patrick, a senior student of the
College of Nursing lives in Bulacan City,
Bulacan where he takes a one and a half
hour ride to get to school. Because of the
frenzied and unpredictable schedule he has,
he decided to live in a dormitory just a stone’s
throw away from MCU.
Q: What are the advantages of living
near the school?
Marami din kasi una sa lahat may
freedom, hindi nakakapagod magtravel at
may mauuwian o tatambayan ka pag maaga
ang uwian at mahaba ang break time.
Q: Are there struggles you face on
the dorm?
Minsan mahirap makisama. Maingay
kung minsan at may mga bad influence na
dorm mates. Ang pinakamahirap at super
struggle ay ang magbudget ng allowance.
Q: What are the disadvantages of
being alone?
Nakakapraning (laughs). Mahirap
magisa kasi you need to really stand alone,
maglaba, magplantsa, etc.
Q: How do you manage stress and
cope with your situation?
Maglaro ng computer, magplay ng
guitar, mag-aral, manuod ng movie with my
dorm mates at pumunta sa kapitbahay at best
friend ko.
Q: Message to those who are
planning to “dorm alone”:
Masarap magdorm pero you have
to know your limitations at you need to be
responsible.
Choice to survive
Grace is a sophomore student who we
can literally say is alone. Her parents migrated
to Dubai and are living there for five years
now. Despite this, she chooses to continue
her studies here even if she is all alone.
Q: What are the advantages living in
dorm?
Freedom. You can do everything you
want and you handle things at your own time.
Q: Are there struggles you face on
the dorm?
First Things
First
As I began writing this column, I faced the computer and
connected the internet cable. I
thought, I‘d just check my Facebook account “for a while.” It was
11:00 in the evening and my time
allowance to finish writing for that
night was one hour. After checking
the home page, I checked out who
was online and saw that my classmate was. I started by chatting her
with a simple “Hi”. Then our babblings grew so delightful that one
kept replying with another. I said
that I would proceed with my task
but find myself not wanting to withdraw from the giggly conversation.
As it turned out, the chat ended
up on 12:30 A.M. and I, realizing
it was too late, decided no longer
to proceed with my task, as it will
be difficult to wake up early for the
next day.
I believe you have your own
story when you are about to do
something but instead you resorted to other activities that seemed
more inviting and comfortable.
We experience it so many times.
Starting or completing a task may
give us an uncomfortable feeling and anxiety that we divert to
other unimportant things such as
surfing the net, strolling around or
watching TV. A psychologist once
termed it “completion anxiety”,
some call it procrastination, in the
Filipino context, it would be “mañana habit” while some psychologists may describe it as the inability delay gratification. Whatever it
maybe called, this habit has been
developed and ingrained in us that
it is usually hard to change. The
“I’ll do it for a while” moments usually extends into hours and even-
I’m already used to it, budgeting,
household chores, time management, dorm
mates and even environment. The struggle
for me is when I miss my family and long for
their comfort.
Q: How about disadvantages of being
alone?
Well, this is my choice so I don’t have
any right to complain. I think managing your
time and doing every single thing like ironing
clothes would be the disadvantage.
Q: How do you manage stress and
coping?
I eat a lot and go to malls with my friends.
But what really diminish stress is focusing and
enjoying.
Q: Message to those who are
planning to “dorm alone”:
You should weigh your options.
Ask yourself if you really can cope and is
determined in surviving on your own. It’s hard
but it’s worth it. So, I can say just enjoy and
you really have to learn managing your time
and focus.
Longing for freedom
Tricia known as the “unica hija” by her
friends desires being independent very much
and having freedom. She just turned 18 last
March and wants to prove to her parents that
she can now handle things by herself without
their constant help.
Q: What are the advantages living on
your own?
it is really enjoyable, you can do what
you want when you want. Like going out and
being with your friends and wala kang dapat
pag-alamanan. And last, there is no curfew.
Q: Are there struggles you face in the
dorm?
I miss my mom kasi when I wake up in
the morning I need to do everything by myself.
Kailangan ko magluto or go out para bumili ng
breakfast. I need to iron my clothes and I need
help waking up with an alarm.
Q: Message to those who are
planning to “dorm alone”:
Enjoy at know your limitations kasi
there’s no one else you can depend on but
yourself and occasionally a few friends.
Psyche’s
Plea
Mary jane guba
Arts and Sciences
tually eats up our time. As Sean
Covey, author of the book, “The 7
Habits of Highly Effective Teens”
said, cramming to accomplish
things often leave us with mediocre performance, highly stressed
and burned-out. Sometimes, we
even try to justify ourselves by believing that we can only “we work
best under (time) pressure.” Sean
Covey illustrates how unimportant
stuff crowd out the time for doing
the things that really matter using
the Big Rock experiment. “You get
a bucket and fill it half full of small
pebbles. Then, you try to put several big rocks in the bucket, on top
of the pebbles. But they don’t all
fit. So you empty the bucket and
start over. This time you put the big
rocks in the bucket first, followed
by the pebbles. The pebbles neatly fill the spaces around the big
rocks. This time it all fits!”
The Big Rock experiment
teaches us that in order for everything to fit, the big rocks must first
be placed followed by the small
pebbles. The big rock represents
our priority while the small pebbles
are the everyday small things that
suck our time. The moral of the
story is, if we do not schedule our
big rocks first, they won’t get done.
Now we will look at these three
steps that could help us manage
our time.
1. Plan things ahead and prioritize.
As Sean Covey tells it, we
must identify what are our big
rocks and small pebbles are. Plan-
ning directs our steps and helps
us clear out what we need to do.
This is the third habit in his book in
which he describes as putting first
things first.
2. Be aware of time-wasters.
In the story, the small pebbles
could represent time-wasters. As
teens, checking what the top news
on Facebook is, liking various
pages from such as “I hate 7 am
classes” and making comments on
photos and status of friends could
easily waste our time. We have to
trim down time on this or consider
doing this after we have accomplished what we have to do.
3. Consider the result of delaying.
When we realize that sleeping late, cramming and procrastinating, can lead us to having mediocre grades, stress and burnout,
then it is logical to kick off those
destructive habits and have time
management. After all, the momentary pleasure that we get from
sneaking in these things is nothing compared with the amount of
stress we had that resulted from
postponing what needs to be done.
Along the way, time management may be challenging but its
results are very rewarding. This
will help us avoid unnecessary
stress and rush and leave us time
for the small pebbles to fit in correctly. So now, may we be ready
to discard the self-defeating habit
of delaying and get ready for the
excellent results that we will get if
we just do the first things first.
MULTIPLE
CHOICE
NEIRRA LOU SULIT
MCU Chorale:
features
11
Centralian Music At It’s Best
by Luisito E. Batongbakal Jr, Nursing
Business Administration
Disclosed Irregulars, Irregular Disclosures
Students are seen with few
positive and negative facets or image
while inside the academe. Like for
example, there are some known upbeat
ones who are frequent library users,
active university officers and consistent
scholars while on the other hand,
those “pasaways”, indolent and subject
repeaters dominate the downbeat
ones. These faces are everywhere
with no exceptions as to what kind of
educational institution it may be - a
catholic coed, an exclusive all-girls
one, famous state university, public or
private schools etc. They seem pretty
much the same but of course, the
difference spells to be the interesting
stories behind each one.
A typical college curriculum usually
comprises of a block section each year
level. While it favors students because
of a “high school ambiance” of constant
togetherness, there are occasional
irregular ones who get tagged along.
Ask them why, common answers would
be “I shifted from another course.” “I’m
a working student.” and “I failed and I
retook the subject.”
Four-year course took eight
years to finish
I have a male classmate, he is an
irregular student and our block section
gets to see him in four out of seven
subjects each semester. Though he
refrained from uttering his real age,
“Cholo” obliged to talk about a piece of
his story. He is a CBA old student and
luckily, graduating on April next year
from his college degree which took him
eight years to finish.
Cholo is a half-chinese who
enjoyed comfortable life until the familyowned hardware suffered bankruptcy.
At that time, he was a college student
and was then forced to look for a parttime job in order to continue. To date,
he is a sales man at a department store
under a famous brand of school bags.
Q: How’s your typical day would
be?
A: “It’s hard kasi minsan hindi
ako nakakapasok sa school. Pag
natatapat na morning yung weekly
scheduled routine shift sa work, for
sure magsusuffer yung isa.”
Q: What if there’s a surprise
quiz, or project for example?
A: “I reached out to my classmates,
I do ask them through text, or chat
through facebook at night. If I really
need to attend my class pag conflict
sa work because we have a quiz, I
ask permission from my supervisors. I
will compensate it by working after my
class and extend til overtime. Minsan
galing ako sa work, then pasok sa
school for three subjects, then balik uli
sa work.”
Q: What is the hardest part that
you have faced so far?
A: “This year because I’m
graduating. We have business plan as
our thesis and that’s the toughest part.
Every graduating student knows how
hard it is! Nahuhuli kami sa phasing
ng topics compared to the other
groups. Eh lahat kami sa group mga
working students. You can imagine how
conflicting our schedules would be to the
extent na bihira kaming makumpletong
magkakagrupo sa klase. Laging may
kulang sa amin. Minsan nga kaming 3
pare-parehong absent.”
Q: Congratulations in advance.
You are graduating next year.
A: “Thank you. I’m extremely
delighted! After 8 years, I’m finally
graduating! It was a bittersweet journey.
I never give up and in a few more
months, I’ll be marching with my head
up high, I’m so proud to accomplish
something I’ve worked so hard for.”
“Rich kid took Physical Science
not just once, but thrice!
This good-looking guy is giggly
almost perfect. He’s parking his car in
front of his college building, is tall and
obviously from a well-off family. But
looks can be deceiving - He may be
physically Adonis, but (to my dismay),
he is a no-brainy after all.
He has two restrictions upon this
side of his story and that includes
#1.His real name; and #2, he doesn’t
want to his college be printed for safety
reasons that girls might get turned off of
his revelations. So let us call him under
a name sung “Mr. A.P” (Almost Perfect)
When Mr. AP was a freshman,
he struggled to adjust on his new
environment. And since he never took
an extra effort to improve his poor
academic performance back in high
school, in no way he did it in college
as well. He treated his subjects lightly
and his final grades revealed an awful
verdict, a failing 5.0 grade in Physical
Science. He retook it on his second
year and got the same failing grade
again. Though he blamed the subject
professor and claimed he was a victim
of parody, he was courageous enough
to learn from it.
Fortunately, in his third attempt, he
succeeded. Finally.
Q: How come it took you three
attempts to pass the subject?
A: “The subject was really difficult
and because it was taught the harder
way also. That is a common complaint
ng mga students. Even from the other
course kasi nga it’s a G.E subject I hear
the same stories. But honestly, naging
pabaya din talaga ako.”
Q: How did you feel about it?
A: “This is an eye opener for me. I
know hindi naman ako matalino pero I
got depressed that it would reach to a
point na I’ve to repeat a single subject
thrice. It’s embarrassing on my part.”
Q: What adjustments did you do
to amend your mistakes?
A: “I try to find time to study
and read notes, especially the third
time when I got scared of failing
again. It helped that some topics was
already familiar the third time around
(chuckles).”
Q: What’s the toughest part of
being an irregular student?
A: “Because I have block section
as my classmates, I was often na
a-out-of-place during class. I also shy
away from being asked kung bakit ako
irreg. I don’t want to be stereotyped as
“pasaway” but I can’t blame them, it’s
my fault though.”
On the brighter side, lucky are
those who lived a normal life as a
student who doesn’t need to sacrifice
and face difficulties while others were
struggling just to survive. Let us all
value our education we are privileged
to have for someday, it will define our
accomplishments when we look back
and we grin, not regret.
The MCU Chorale: Centralian’s finest voices
In an era when almost every university in the metro has their own chorale or
singing group, Centralian students were
left asking themselves: “What about us?”
A question that seeks to prove that even in
an institution mostly made up of medicallyinclined students and professionals, music still exists and will always stay as the
universal language of our souls. We are
very passionate to the idea of something
good representing our beloved school: a
musical group that might be the school’s
answer to U.E.’s UE Chorale or even to
U.P.’s Madrigal Singers. Of course, all
great things must start from humble beginnings; it is a universal formula. But what
matters most is, after the long years of
waiting, our school is finally ready to unveil its latest discovery: the MCU Chorale,
the university’s budding musical prodigy.
The Inception....
The group is a brainchild of Office of
Student’s Affairs (OSA) under the direct
supervision of its head, Ms. Lourdes Cruzat. It was formally introduced during the
official launch of “Student’s Day” last June
25, 2010. Being a part of the Creative Arts
Group (which also includes: photography,
dance, theatre arts, and bands), it has
the aim of recruiting musically-inclined
students and developing their skills and
techniques in singing. Mark Ross Rubio,
the Student Program Coordinator (SPC)
of OSA, underscored that the major goals
of the chorale is to become the “ambassadors of the university that will represent
the school in activities outside” and “expose talented students in singing engagements/competitions inside and outside
the school which will provide avenues for
them to hone their skills”.
Meet the Mentors.......
MCU is too far from being a ‘musical school’ or ‘observatory of music’ so
one shouldn’t presume that the members
of MCU Chorale (comprising of almost
40 gifted individuals) already have advanced techniques in music. That’s why
to make sure that everybody’s hitting the
right notes, two people are always behind
the group to back them up. Ms. Sharon
Abesamis, a member of the prestigious
Philippine Madrigal Singers, is MCU Chorale’s current choir conductor, alongside
Mr. Leo Lucasi, who serves as the group’s
assistant choir conductor.
Although Meriam-Webster originally defines ‘chorale’ as a hymn or psalm
sung to a traditional or composed melody
in church, Mr. Lucasi wants the group to
develop versatility while they’re still in the
getting-to-know-their-repertoire
phase
of development. “We want them to be
exposed to the different genres of music
ranging from Period music to Gospel, international folk songs, Filipino folk songs
and OPM, to name a few. The Filipinos
are known for their versatility and love for
different kinds of music and we hope that
through the songs in the repertoire we
will be able to educate the chorale members and the listeners. We are also careful to choose songs that have a positive
message and promotes good and right
values”, he said during one of our online
interviews.
So far, so good.....
Biases aside, MCU Chorale has
been showing promising growth over the
past few months despite being a novice
in terms of technicalities. “It helps a lot
that they are very enthusiastic and fast
learners....”, said Lucasi “...It has been
a challenge because most of the choir
members have little or no knowledge of
choral singing and so we had to start with
the basics the most effective way we can
while making sure that in the short span of
time they would be able to sing or perform
for the scheduled events in school and
other engagements.” But being a fastlearner is not the sole key towards achieving excellence in their craft. According to
Rubio, “wala pa kong masasabing ‘edge’
ng MCU Chorale towards other groups,
but so far being hard-working and fastlearners are the two most admirable qualities of the group”. Fortunately, the group
has been able to reap what they sowed
as the school community has started to
recognize their potential.
So far, the group has showcased
their singing prowess both inside and outside the school premises, performing their
The MCU Chorale
S.Y. 2010-2011
Ms. Sharon Abesamis
Choir Conductor
Mr. Leo Lucasi
Assistant Choir Conductor
Pearl Angelette Mariano (BSP 41)
MCU Chorale Coordinator
Charlotte Eguaras (BSP 21)
Assistant Chorale Coordinator
Jenkins Abellera (PD 21)
Treasurer
Diana Gali
Assistant Treasurer
Range Leaders
Donald Ampis (PH 41)
Tenor
Loydee Santiago (OP 21)
Bass
Micah Ramos (N1-4)
Soprano
Xyrile Ylarde (N4-14)
Alto
Jampack: The College Of Nursing Socialization Day
by Roberto Castro and Niko Anjo Caballero, Nursing
A typical nursing classroom - a clinical instructor holds a record book or acetate of the lecture
while discussing the lesson, but on October 1,
2010, at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon a socialization event took place that set the tone for a
fun and stress free day for everyone. Prior to the
start of the program a quiz bee was held in the
morning followed by a party in the afternoon for
the winners.
The program started with an opening remark
from the Dean of the College of Nursing, Dr. Lina
A. Salarda RN MAN, who later rendered everybody speechless with her God given talent. She
performed a medley of Christmas and Filipino folk
songs on the piano that left everyone open jawed
and this resulted in spectacular applause. If the
dean left everybody with her remarkable talent the
rendition of our national anthem and some
popular songs. Notable of these performances are the following: 2010 Capping,
Pinning, and Candle-lighting Ceremonies
of the MCU College of Nursing (August
6), Coro et Al Festivals at the PhilAm Life
Theatre (August 15), “Students’ Showcase of Talents” at the MCU Tanchoco
Auditorium (August 23), World Teacher’s
Day and Let’s Get Danscene (September
24), and most recently at the Senate of the
Philippines , where they sang their own
version of Celeste Legaspi’s “Mamang
Sorbetero” in addition to the national anthem last September 27. Mr. Rubio also
disclosed to me that the MCU Chorale is
also scheduled to sing during the school’s
founding anniversary and in major malls
around the city in celebration of the Christ-
Clinical Instructors together with the ACF dancers
grooved to the beat of “Nothing on you” by b.O.b.
that made the crowd roar with the spinning and
turning of hips.
A tribute was then made by elected key participants who sang in tune of “Iingatan” by Carol
Banawa while clinical instructors were given flowers each – a symbol of the warm appreciation of
the students to them in keeping the torch of knowledge burning. The programs were then preceded
by performances of the winners in the Let’s Get
Danscene, followed by a song by the MCU band.
The whole program was hosted by Mr. Arthur Fetalvero and Mr. Mark John Vitug.
The afternoon was an experience that would
surely be the hallmark in a Nursing student’s stay
in the University.
mas season, all of which will happen late
this year. In terms of out-of-the-country
events, he also added that “it’s really possible and we’re looking forward to that.”
Not bad for a budding group of singers.
The Visionaries......
In response to the increasing competitiveness of local schools in terms of
their chorale groups, Mr. Lucasi also sees
potential in MCU Chorale as early as now.
“I believe that if they will be committed and
are willing to work hard they can and will
be able to achieve this.....I am blessed to
have been given the opportunity to be a
part of the lives of these eclectic bunch
of wonderfully gifted singers.” Considering the short period of time that they’ve
been exposed to the musical scene, it’s
very hard to doubt the potential that these
young individuals exude. Nonetheless, no
matter how positive we are for the chorale,
time and hard-work are still not enough to
get them to the top. They also need fullblown support from us and the school administration.
What is music to you? For me, it is
the universal language of our souls, a
glimpse of heaven, and a touch from eternity. MCU Chorale, in its most basic intention, is just a simple reminder that genuine
music is passionate, inspiring, and above
all, priceless.
MCU Chorale still opens its doors for
recruitment. Registration and auditions
are held during weekdays at the Office
of Student’s Affairs (OSA). For details
or inquiry, please look for Mr. Mark Ross
Rubio.
12
PHOTOJOURNALISM
PSYCHE’S
PLEA
MARY JANE GUBA
Arts And Sciences