Preparedness

By Christian Edu Villegas
(Vol. XXVI No. 8, Editorial Cartoon)

Preparedness
In the next few months, Negros Oriental State University(NORSU) will finally be producing new sets of pioneering graduates.

The courses, which were born four years ago–BS Accountancy, BS Business Administration, BS Nursing, and BS Pharmacy, will finally show to the world the Norsunian version of these offshoots.

It maybe is too early to talk about graduation. But as early as now, the present situation of these pioneering students should be diagnosed so at least, if something is left undone, it can be ironed out in the little time left. In a random interview done by The NORSUnian with the pioneering students to find out whether they are ready or not to face the life outside the pylons of NORSU, not all of them nodded with confidence that they are ready to face the real world of their course.

The interviews showed that some Norsunians are not yet ready to tread out of the pylons of NORSU because they lack trainings and hands-on exposures in most of their courses. Some are not yet prepared to adhere to the incoming changes when they go out of the university. This is because, according to the respondents, they are just fed with theories and not actual demonstrations which could have helped them better than just plain classroom meetings and discussions. Others, on the other hand, are not yet ready to practice what they have learned because these are still insufficient to cover the real scope of the job that they will be doing in the outside world.

Despite the sad reality that not every Norsunian is prepared enough to graduate, some still believe that it depends on their ability to use the most of what they have learned in school. Others say that the teachers and their discussions plus the curricula that they are following are enough to equip them with knowledge for their chosen fields. Students are well-motivated to strive hard and help themselves succeed in the outside world.

These motivations are good because at least, students become enthusiastic to strive hard and be successful outside NORSU. But, it could have been better if students are exposed to the things that will help them survive their courses with full confidence of making it to the world- rather than just feeding them with pure speculations. And though the university offers good quality education, it still lacks equipment and facilities to support the students’ learnings. This has been a problem since time immemorial and it will continue to be one if nobody will pay attention to it. This problem with the lack of facilities and hands-on materials for every department in NORSU is turning into one of the major reasons why students say that they are not yet prepared to do the work outside.

There may be courses here which are given full attention with regard to the facilities they need for their departments, lucky are students who took up these courses. But, how about those who belong to the least-attended departments? How are they going to get ready for the challenges that the real world will bombard them if they are not even given attention adequate for their learning?

This problem should have been answered a long time ago because it will only worsen as the years pass by. The lack of support for “important, appropriate and usable” classroom facilities and equipment should have been one of the university’s main focus because it would help the students more effectively than supplying with a lot of projects that are, oftentimes, for our “eyes’ only.

This is also the reason why Norsunians are not that confident to face the world. Because students are fed only with theories and books (which are barely enough), and a number of facilities (which could only be used during accreditations and need a lot of request letters before usage), it is no longer questionable why students who are graduating this year are not prepared.

Education is supposed to be a right that should be given justification, not a privilege of lack and insufficiency. Thus, to have the best education that will prepare the students to share their knowledge outside NORSU would be the best thing that the university could give. This is becoming a hope against hope- that sooner, before the students step out of the university, they could proudly say that they are completely ready.

If this happens, maybe ALL and not just SOME of the Norsunians will be geared up to face the world outside. If it does not, then, it goes without saying that no student will ever be fully ready to step out of this university.

The True State of the Nation

By Karl Sheen Ates
(Vol. XXVI No. 7, Editorial Cartoon)

The True State of the Nation

“We have come too far and made too many sacrifices to turn back now on fiscal reforms. Leadership is not about doing the first easy thing that comes to mind; it is about doing what is necessary, however hard.”

Thus, said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) in her 58-minute State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July 29, 2008, interrupted 104 times by the applause from her allies in the Congress.

Analyzing GMA’s fourth Sona after she assumed the position in 2004 and the eighth since she took over former President Joseph Estrada’s administration in 2000, it is very apparent that instead of laying the true state of the nation, what she did was to deliver her general situation report on the economic and political condition of the nation that tells of the accomplishments of the government in the preceding year. More than a report to the people, it appears more to be a report of the accomplishments under her administration and what auxiliary legislation and judicial actions may be needed to attain her administration’s objectives for the coming year.

A Pulse Asia survey showed that only 14 percent of the Filipino people expected the Sona to be truthful. With these findings, we cannot help but wonder: Is the recent Sona of GMA credible? To be fair, the Sona should be credible enough because they have thousands of supplementary documents to support their specific claimed accomplishments that can be easily verified. The accomplishments that were tackled are really factual. What can put it to ridicule is if certain aspects of what was promised in the previous Sona was not realized and fulfilled.

But then, weighing over the credibility of the Sona would still always depend on one’s political orientation – whether he or she is pro or anti-administration. If the GMA administration failed to fulfill its promises in the previous Sona, her supporters can always say that the failure will be attributed to something beyond the control of the administration or circumstances beyond reasonable expectations. On the other hand, for the anti-GMA, no amount of excuses will do and no explanations are needed.

Sona is credible insofar as it concerns the specifics of accomplishments. On the other hand, it does not represent the true state of the nation. Why?

It is simply because the true state of the nation address should have focused on the real issues that concerned the Filipino people. Issues on poverty, hunger, crime rate, employment, education, health, justice, and most especially, corruption, should have been the center of GMA’s Sona. These burning issues that befuddled the nation for so long must be answered, not ignored. These must be given attention.

GMA, being too optimistic, overlooked that the following is the true state of the nation: A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey said that after eight years under GMA’s administration, 50 percent of the population of 88.6 million rate themselves “poor” in March 2008. In another survey of SWS in June 2008, it was found out that about 2.9 million families or 14.5 million people experienced involuntary hunger between April and June.

As to the crime rate, although the Philippine National Police authorities claimed that the total crime volume in the past three months of the year decreased, an SWS survey published last February said that 10.5 percent of Filipino families lost properties in a house break-in; 8.6 percent encountered pickpockets; 1.9 percent had their vehicles stolen; and 1.3 percent suffered physical violence. In health, Asian Development Bank reported that despite the presence of a few modern medical centers, health conditions in the Philippines remain the poorest in East Asia with an estimation of one doctor for every 9,689 people and only one hospital for every 809 patients.

Moreover, in the area of corruption, the Philippines appeared No.1 in Asia. A World Bank study released in June said that the Philippines is now at the bottom of the list of East Asia’s 10 largest economies when it comes to control of corruption, edging out Indonesia which scored the worst in the region in the 2007 survey. It was estimated that the Philippines loses more than $2 billion (about P88 billion) a year to corruption.

These representative figures should give us a general picture of the true state of the nation today. Unless, these issues are addressed in the Sona, the report of the President will be taken as nothing more than self-praise and window-dressing. To quote famous American football coach John Madden, “Self-praise is for losers. Always have class and be humble.”

Late Aid!

By Ren Angelo Elevera
(Vol. XXVI No. 6, Editorial Cartoon)

Late Aid!

When the proper dressing policy was implemented on June 16 of this school year, it confused and caused inconvenience to a lot of students who were barred by the guards at the gate area.

There had been no clear guidelines as to what types of clothes were admissible inside the campus and what were not. Students since then complained about its vague guidelines and the way it was implemented.

In an attempt to answer the queries of the students, The NORSUnian took the initiative of interviewing University President Henry A. Sojor regarding the issue. In the interview, the university president said that there had been no agreed guidelines yet as to the exact standard of dressing because it is the Student Government (SG) who should be formulating it. Sojor explained that it is the SG who will make the memorandum and that, he will only approve it. Sojor said that while no standard is formulated yet, they will be implementing the policy according to their “standard” of decency.

It has been a month now since the policy was implemented and weeks since the explanation of the university president was published in the student publication; and yet, the confusion goes on. For more than a month since the confusion started, there had been no move from the SG, not even a simple clarification about the policy.

According to the SGDCI President, the SG recently busied themselves in preparing the guidelines of proper dressing, currently securing the signatures of respective university heads. But it is still questionable why their move is too delayed. SG should have exercised this move the moment the confusion arose. Matters that concern the students should always concern the SG because they exist for the students. They do not need to be hit first before they do something about issues that should have been addressed to a long time ago.

It is worth reminding that the SG was created to represent the student body and are supposed to serve as the voice of the students. However, for the past years now, it is quite evident that the SG is not living up to what is expected of them. The role of the SG is not only limited to providing projects and organizing programs because, in the first place, they were elected to become leaders and not just event organizers.

Supposedly, SG should serve as the mediator between the administration and the students. It is their responsibility to voice the students’ complaints to the administration. The SG has the responsibility to champion the cause of the students and to at least clarify issues like the dress code policy, which caused a lot of confusion to the students ever since its implementation.

The SG had been silent for so long now and it is high time they wake up and face the very reason why the students placed them in their positions. The SG is the voice of the students, but this voice is still yet to be heard. Hopefully, the prescribed dress code will be defined clearly through SG’s effort in the coming days, now that a memorandum had been processed. A lot of students have already suffered and if ever the dress code will finally be defined, well, it would still be a relief to the students – but a staled one already.

SG officers should not procrastinate in aiding problems that concern the studentry because after all, the students put them there.

Education Amid Crises

By Jick K. Iñgan
(Vol. XXVI No. 5, Editorial Cartoon)

Education Amid Crises

According to the report from the National Statistics Office dated July 4, 2008, the prices of services and goods consumed by an average Filipino household rose by 11.4 percent in the month of June compared to last year’s.

The hike is noted to be the fastest rate recorded in the past 14 years which is said to be due largely to the substantial increase of rice and other food products. For the price of rice alone, it zoomed up by 43 percent which means that a rice consumer which allocates P100 in June last year had to spend up to P143 in June this year. The same thing with the prices of other food products included in the Filipino consumer basket which hopped by 17.4 percent.

Basing it on the report, the costs of living these days are indeed racing in zooming up and the bad thing about it is that, while it continually soars, the living of Filipino people is pushed downward and little by little buried into the ground. Most Filipinos remained poor and stagnant while the costs of living continuously go up. Though others will deny it, crises are indeed enveloping the Filipino nation today and have affected Filipinos in various aspects.

One of the aspects crippled by the crises is education. One vivid proof of that is the recent dwindling population here in Negros Oriental State University (NORSU). This semester, NORSU system recorded an alarming 12.47 percent decrease in which from its 17, 003 population in last school year’s first semester, it dropped to 14, 883 this year of the same period. In Main Campuses alone, it recorded a 10.20 percent decrease as the 9,169 population last school year went down to 8,234 this year. Siaton Campus gets the highest drop of 20.38 percent, followed by Bais City Campuses with 19.98 percent, Guihulngan City Campus which recorded a 16.67 percent decrease in student population, while Bayawan-Sta. Catalina Campus’ population also decreased by 6.82 percent.

Generally, NORSU is not the sole university in the country that experienced a decrease in population. Even in Dumaguete City, almost all universities and higher education institutions also experienced a similar fate.

At a glance, it is very apparent that the reason why the Norsunian population and the student population in the city dropped off is primarily because of the various crises that the Filipino nation is suffering today. There is the continual transportation fare hike because of the oil crisis, the rice price hike, and the increase of the prices of other basic commodities. It is the situation that speaks for itself that as crises continue to strike, another harsh reality also happens – education is put at stake. The number of students who will not opt to study increases as the crises envelop the nation, thus, a large number of youths’ future is also put at stake. Because of the crises, parents and guardians could no longer make both ends meet and therefore, have to sacrifice other priorities, including education.

It is so sad to note that while education is supposed to be the cure for poverty in order to prevent these crises in the future, crises are already killing the cure ahead. The crises deprive a number of students to acquire higher education, and like an infection, such crises can only be healed by curing it first. But how?

Well, the answer to that question should be put on top of the priorities of the present administration, instead of concentrating on the 2010 election. Since it concerned Filipinos as a whole and since it endangers the future of the youth, the government should be alarmed and should find ways to trace and uproot the roots of these crises.

The Sulpicio Tragedy

By Christian Edu Villegas
(Vol. XXVI No. 4, Editorial Cartoon)

The Sulpicio Tragedy

Weeks ago, the whole university was saddened when news broke out that Jayson Alegria, a graduating BS Marine Transportation student who spent his apprenticeship aboard the MV Princess of the Stars, was among the hundreds of passengers and crew whose bodies have been missing after the ship sank in the vastness of the seas near Romblon Island.

The sunken ship that was carrying 860 people on board, counting both passengers and crews, has only less than 50 reported survivors – a sad news that the Filipino nation wished was just a bad dream.

As of press time, there is an on-going operation to hopefully recover the bodies of the people (which are probably decaying now). While the families of the victims, including Jayson’s, hold a little hope that somehow, if they could no longer see their love ones, at least their bodies can be recovered.

While our hearts bleed of the tragedy and while we wish it were not true, we cannot help but ask why such catastrophe happened. Blame it to Mother Nature? No. Blame it to Sulpicio Lines? Yes.

There are two strong reasons why Sulpicio Lines should be held liable and accountable for the death of the passengers. First, it risked to sail even at the height of the typhoon “Frank”. Manila was even under public storm signal number one when the vessel left the port.

Second, we wonder why Sulpicio Lines is still in business and why MV Princess of the Stars is out at sea when in the past two decades, four of the company’s ships were figured in major sea incidents resulting in the loss of the lives of thousands of people. A painful lesson should have been learned from the history, but it seems like a wrong lesson was taught. Sulpicio Lines continued sailing – bringing numerous people to death.

To recount the sea tragedies involving Sulpicio-labeled ferries, on December 20, 1987, MV Doña Paz sank after a collision with oil tanker MT Vector. The tragedy killed more than 4,000 people, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history. Less than a year after the vessel sank, on October 22, 1988, a shocking tragedy was repeated when the untamed Mother Nature swallowed MV Doña Marilyn. The vessel left Manila for Tacloban in the middle of the storm, sailing at least 250 lives to their ends. Ten years later, on September 18, 1998, the line’s biggest ship, MV Princess of the Orient, left Manila for Cebu – again in the middle of the storm. It sank near Manila Bay and 150 lives were taken by the tragedy. Lastly, MV Princess of the Stars took its turn.

Looking back at those four tragedies, it seems like there is a common denominator – each was avoidable. In the cases of MV Doña Marilyn, MV Princess of the Orient, and MV Princess of the Stars, Sulpicio Lines had the choice to either push through the shipping schedule or wait until the typhoon passes by. But the shipping line took the risk to sail despite the likelihood of very rough seas and despite the decisions of other shipping companies to wait for the weather to calm down. In the same manner, the shipping line opted to go off in the vastness of the sea amid the bad weather and despite its tragic sinking history.

In Jayson’s case, we may say that it is the nature of his chosen field, but the fact remains that the shipping company should have prioritized the lives of the many, including Jayson’s, over their business.

It is such a sad thought that a dream of a hopeful student was suddenly capsized into nothingness just because of business interest.

The slogan of Sulpicio Lines that goes, “Bridging the Islands”, should make a stand as it is, not bridge the tragedies. Certainly, justice should be served for Jayson and hundreds of other victims.

Vague Rules

By Ren Angelo Elevera
(Vol. XXVI No. 3, Editorial Cartoon)

Vague Rules

Last June 12, the Security Department of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) posted an announcement that together with the ‘No ID, No Entry’ policy, the proper dressing policy would also take effect.

The posted announcement said that starting June 16, wearing of short pants, rubber slippers, sando shirts and tattered pants inside the school premises is no longer allowed.

On June 16, the policies indeed took effect in full swing. While the “No ID, No Entry” policy was easily defined, the proper dressing policy or wearing decent attires inside the university puzzled some female Norsunians who did not gain entry on the second day of the implementation. On June 17, the dressing policy was redefined as it prohibits students, especially females, to wear sandals, knee-level pedals and sleeveless blouses. The sudden change of the policy resulted to heated arguments between the affected students and the security officers, who strictly implemented the rule.

For the students, the implementation was unfair because there was no specification as to what really were the outfits required inside the university. They said that what was only prohibited in the policy, as specified on the announcement, was the wearing of short pants, rubber slippers, sando shirts and tattered pants. Some of them were confused why wearing sleeveless was already prohibited when the prohibition was not mentioned in the posted announcement. Others were also irked why wearing of sandals inside the campus was proscribed when the announcement only stated the embargo of wearing rubber slippers. The students complained that the surprise implementation was really unfair because they were not informed ahead of time. This according to them, made them missed their classes since the security department strictly implemented it.

On the other hand, the answer of the security officers to the cries of the students was just simple but satisfying ― they are simply following orders from the university president.

If we look closely to the main issue, there was definitely nothing bad in implementing the proper dressing policy in a strict way or into another level. It was created for good purposes ― to create a decent identity for Norsunians and to prepare them for their future professions. It was created to discipline them. However, for the policy to be fully embraced by the students, it must not be vague. It is very important that students completely understand the policy for them to fully adhere to it.

As of press time, the policy is not yet clarified.

Therefore, the authorities should do something about this because a vague policy may lead to inconsistency. An inconsistent policy, on the other hand, may lead to the defeat of its genuine purpose. A proper dress code should be well-defined specifically now because after all, everyone has each own definition of a “decent attire”. Everyone has his thousand reasons to argue and claim that what he or she wears is decent. Thus, before everyone else complains about it, the administration itself should define what it means by “dress code” and spell it out for students to understand; not confuse them with vague, inconsistent announcements.

No Ningas Cogon Please!

By Christian Edu Villegas
(Vol. XXVI No. 2, Editorial Cartoon)

No Ningas Cogon Please!

The definitions of various dictionaries to the word “discipline” can be summed up to the thought that it is a training that develops self-control.

The word “discipline” refers to the strict control to enforce obedience; treatment that corrects or punishes; training to act in accordance with established rules; accustoming to systematic and regular action; subjection to rule; submissiveness to order and control; and habit of obedience.

Rules such as the “No ID, No Entry” policy and the proper dressing policy are implemented to Norsunians with the vision of creating a more disciplined university. Except for the freshmen, these policies are certainly not new to the majority of the students because these were already introduced to them years ago. These policies are supposed to have disciplined most of the Norsunians by now. These policies, by now, would have taught students to bring their IDs and groom properly every time they go to school.

Unfortunately, the mentioned policies failed to achieve its vision of molding disciplined Norsunians. This is very evident when the Security Department of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) relived back the policies early this school year. Just as when Norsunians should have already learned their lessons from the past implementations, as observed, there are still a large crowd of students, most of them are returning, who were not allowed to enter the campus because they did not follow the rekindled rules.

The implementation of the policies was announced days before it took effect that is why it would be a lame excuse to say that students were not informed. Also, for the returning students, it is expected that they already have their IDs at this point in their university lives. And so, we wonder why Norsunians are still not learning from the past implementations of the policies? We wonder why the policies did not discipline the students yet when those were already taking effect in the past years.

If we look at the situation closely, blames should not fully go to the students. Students should not be fully charged why they are still not used of abiding the policies until the present. Most of the blames should go to the ‘ningas-cogon’ way of implementing the policies. As observed in the past, the policies suffered swift deaths after a few measly weeks of strict implementation. Or if not, it was a now-on-off implementation that only functions at some point of time.

If only the policies are implemented at all times in the campus, it would have inculcated a lesson to the Norsunians’ minds that they must abide to it; else, they will end up missing their classes. If only the policies were consistently implemented in the past, Norsunians would have been careful now to bring their IDs and groom properly. If only the policies are functioning at all times in the past, students would have cared to follow it at all times “it would have disciplined them. Unfortunately, because of the ‘ningas-cogon’ implementation, the policies failed to achieve its purpose in disciplining Norsunians.

Inconsistent and vague implementations of policies inculcate the culture of indiscipline. For a disciplined university, what is needed is an iron hand to truly and fully implement policies to enforce discipline, order and control.

As the Security Department of the university brings back the policies this school year, hopefully this time, there will be no more ‘ningas-cogon’ way of implementation. Else, if it will still be the old way, the ‘ningas-cogon’ way, it will never discipline Norsunians. It will defeat its purpose.

Soar High!

By Jick K. Iñgan
(Vol. XXVI No. 1, Editorial Cartoon)

Soar High!

The past four academic years of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) have been a period of transformation of a young budding university from a cocoon into a colorful butterfly. Those chapters of the university’s history were imbued with the mixed hues and colors of success, failures, changes, lessons, struggles and progress. If every thing that had transpired in the past will be delved back one by one, we cannot agree more that indeed, the history of the passing years was never stagnant. The flight of NORSU as a young university, like a young butterfly, had gone far. The tests of time have made its wings stiffer and durable enough to fly longer and soar higher. A lot of doors for changes and progress have been opened in the past. Significant improvements of the university in terms of upgrading its standards, instructions, facilities, equipment and other educational tools have taken a large place. NORSU mentors have made sweet noises of success not only in the Philippine archipelago but all throughout the world. In the same manner, a lot of Norsunians have continually reaped honor and brought NORSU into the glimmering pedestal. All of these significant things have taken place along with NORSU’s flight as a university. From the good things that every Norsunian is savoring now, we can indeed say that NORSU has lived up to the expectations of the people in providing good quality of education for the poor but deserving students. None of these good things, however, were achieved in an instant or in a wink of an eye. Of course, it took a lot of painful lessons and arduous toils before they were accomplished. It took some failures and pains before success was finally at hand. It took a lot of genuine efforts before changes and progress took place. Therefore, as NORSU opens its gates for the school year 2008-2009 which will be marking its fifth academic year since its conversion into a university, the flight must go on and it must be higher this time. There are still a lot of things that this university has to achieve, that is why efforts, toils and hard works must be continually exerted. There are still a lot of unrealized dreams that is why the quest to soar high must go on. Let us all work together to give this chapter of NORSU’s history a colorful and healthy page. Fly high Norsunians! Soar higher NORSU!