Call a Spade a Spade

By Paul Anthony M. Eso
(Vol. XXIX No. 3 , Editorial Cartoon)

College Acquaintance Party. For the oldies of the university, this is an opportunity to be re-acquainted to old buddies and friends. For the newbies, this might be a chance to establish new, and possibly, intimate friendships with other students.

Normally, different governors of the various academic colleges of this institution exert great effort in organizing successful acquaintance parties. They cook up elaborate themes and rent the trendiest venues.

This year, however, there will be no such party to prepare for after University President Henry A. Sojor said that there will be no acquaintance parties.

Sojor said that students should be engaged in more relevant activities like debating, orating, public speaking, dancing, singing, and acting. He said that these activities will contribute greatly to a student’s development. He continued that acquaintance parties are not the only avenue to get acquainted with the rest of the students in the university.

It is a fact that the activities suggested by the university president will hone the skills and talents of the students. Anyway, for the past years, students complain about the inadequate food, lousy program, money-consuming motifs, and dreadful venues during and after every acquaintance party.

College governors should bear in mind that they are leaders and that they are supposed to be creative and resourceful. They should better be thinking of other ways for students to be acquainted without spending more than what they have paid for.

So here’s the rub. What will they do with the P200 contributed by each student? Won’t the amount be too much for just a series of contests? How many students can participate in such activities, anyway? It would be a certainty that colleges will only field their best students. So what happens to the rest of us? Become part of the audience? We pay P200 so most of us can become part of an audience?

Also, why did the university president allow the students to continue to pay for the acquaintance party fund, when, in the first place, he did not intend to conduct one? Why did he make and disclose of this decision just now?

Imagine buying P200 worth of junk food from a store selling them only to be given milk and bread by the vendor because he thinks it is healthy for you. Why is the vendor selling junk food in the first place?

It’s the students’ money after all. Why not give them the chance to decide on how and where to spend their money?

And would not it be best if we call a spade a spade.

PhD: A Standard and a Challenge

By Cheeno M. Luang
(Vol. XXIX No. 2, Editorial Cartoon)

It was not so long ago when University President Henry A. Sojor encouraged the teachers of this institution to have, as much as possible, an access to acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. This would not only benefit the school where they are employed in but to also boost their morale as educators. With the challenge on hand, the people concerned arrived at varied conclusions, including those who were not so up to the challenge.

With the president’s ambitious plan of sending teachers back to school, not to only teach but to study as well, is quite hard to reach as of the moment.

There are reasons at stake for such a plan. Though enticing as it seems, getting a PhD is not an easy thing to do, considering that it is the highest academic degree academic scholars can give to an individual.

First is money. Money is the worst nemesis of most teachers. As much as they wanted to pursue higher education, scarcity of money is always present. Teachers have to spend a feasible amount to pay for the transportation, the boarding house, the piles of books needed for study, the allowance and other minute expenses, and of greatest need, the dissertation.

Next is the minimal availability of universities in the entire Central Visayas Region offering PhD programs thus hindering teachers to earn a degree in their field of specialization.

The degree calls for a much higher level of critical thinking so only those who can endure the hassles and twist their brains like never before can pass.

At this point in time, after the president gave his challenge to the teachers to acquire a Doctoral degree, there should be a concrete plan and program as to what should be done next. If this university allocates millions for the development of the facilities and renovation of buildings, why don’t they try to set aside an amount for those aspiring NORSU teachers having Masters degree and support them in their Doctoral ambitions? If other universities can send their teachers abroad to study PhD in their respective fields, why can’t NORSU do so?

On the other hand, the greater help must come from the aspirants in order for them to reach the Doctorate level. According to what Dr. Henry A. Sojor said, it is the moral and professional obligation of a teacher to develop himself. He related that when he was still studying for his PhD, he was supporting himself all the way through until he finally earned what he deserved.

The university is there to help those who help themselves, to those who show great potential in their respective fields, to those who can benchmark with international standards, and to those who never make money a reason for not getting a Doctorate degree.

This is the highest academic degree offered to deserving individuals and thus a standard to look up to. This is a challenge to those who have aspired to go for the highest rank and be called Doctors of Philosophy. This is both a standard and a challenge to those who always find reasons of quitting and being contented with their Bachelor or Master’s degree.

Fight Apathy!!!

By Paul Anthony M. Eso
(Vol. XXIX No. 1, Editorial Cartoon)

What is a student publication? It is either a reading material used to inform or just pieces of paper used to kill time. It could also be used as a protection from the dirt of the benches in the open court or as head coverings when it is raining. It could even be the wrappers of your lunch boxes or a substitute of the toilet tissues. It could be the place where students who have the writing prowess could brag to other students on how good they are.

But it is more than that. The essence of having a student publication is not for the fame or superiority but in having YOU as the clientele.

You. Yes, you. You, the students, who allocate P150 every semester to provide the funding of the publication. You, who comprise the largest number of readers. You, who are the main target of the information presented in every issue.

The student publication is not bound to serve ourselves but to serve YOU. Sometimes, however, we doubt if you have even realized that thought, that we are here to do so. When your instructors give you grades that you do not deserve, you remain silent. When you are asked to pay for questionable funds, you just murmur. When you are strangled with unjustified policies, you bear with it. When you are emotionally, verbally, and even sexually harassed, you just close your eyes. When your rights are being denied, trampled and thrown away, you do nothing.

Mutes, blinds, deafs, and cowards. Is that what we all are? You must have forgotten or have just simply ignored the fact that you have a school paper that will fight for YOUR rights, OUR rights.

With this, we echo this challenge to all Norsunians today. Fight for YOUR rights! Use this school publication as your mouth to speak out what is right, as your hand to get what you deserve, as your key to release you from the clause of apathy. If you will not do it, who will? And if not now, when? Only then, we can call this institution a STUDENT PUBLICATION.