On promises

By Ren Angelo Elevera

(Vol. XXVII No. 25, Editorial Cartoon)

On promises

It is only a matter of time and school year 2009-2010, like its predecessors, will be added to the pages of Negros Oriental State University’s (NORSU) colorful history. It is only a matter of time and the most awaited graduation rites for this year’s graduates will take place. Also, it is only a matter of time and the tenure of all Student Government positions in the university will end.

Yes, it is only about a matter of time for incumbent Student Government of Dumaguete City I (SGDCI) President Christopher Don Catacutan before he vacates his seat for incoming SG President-elect Mary Dawn Valencia who will assume the position come June this year. But the outgoing SG president is apparently not worried with the little time that is left of his administration.

Matter-of-factly, Catacutan is even confident that he will be able to realize his remaining projects before the curtain falls for his administration. His promising endeavors include the construction of a new building along the Automotive vicinity at the College of Industrial Technology (CIT) where SG’s executive branch office will be housed; repairing of the Legislative office and providing them with a session hall; landscaping of the areas beside the Administration building and near the power supply and the Tablet of Fame for the planned mini-park; a prayer room for all religions to be situated in the present SG national office; and the realization of the long-delayed mini-theater project of which he promised to build last school year when he was still the governor of the College of Arts and Sciences.

No doubt, these projects, if ever materialized, are indeed beneficial to the whole studentry by and large. But the question on whether or not these projects will be realized is one big thing we all have to be worried about. With only a few remaining days to go before the second semester closes, we cannot be blamed if we start believing that all of these promises will never be translated into deeds.

If we can recall, the SGDCI president promised the students that he will put up a bell system in the university, organize an all-black university acquaintance party, and pursue with the mini-theater project when he assumed the presidency at the start of the school year. But apparently, all of these projects are nowhere to be found hitherto. Catacutan reasoned out that the university acquaintance was not pursued because the sponsors of the event had earlier withdrawn their support, while he promised last semester to really continue with the mini-theater project before his tenure expires. In a recent interview with him, he vowed another promise saying that he will pursue with the almost two-year delayed mini-theater this summer vacation. He said that the P200, 000 budget for the project has been available and that the construction will start this summer. The project, according to him, will be erected on the greenhouse area located near the open courts.

Now, if we are going to believe that, it means that before NORSU opens its gates for another semester in June, we shall expect that the said mini-theater, together with all of his pending projects, is already visible in the campus and available for students’ use.

Nonetheless, reality tells us to believe the other way. If we look at the real situation, Catacutan is promising us big infrastructure projects such as the construction of the new building at the CIT premises and the mini-theater—these are major construction projects that cannot be done in just a few months. Of course, these projects translate to hundreds of thousands—we thought the SG is hiring only few student assistants because of its meager funding, how come they have such amount?

One more thing, the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines prohibits all government office to pursue with their projects 45 days before the day of the elections. This means that if Catacutan cannot start with the project before the implementation of the election ban, he has to postpone it until after elections. In which case, he cannot stand with his promise to finish all his pending projects before summer ends.

Indeed, time is running fast like a ticking bomb for Catacutan. With only a few more months to go before June, it is now a big challenge for him to realize all of his promises before he bequeaths the throne to Valencia. So the question now is: Will Catacutan beat his deadline? The answer is: He must if he wants a good review in NORSU’s history.

Let us wait and see.

Good news!

By Cheeno Luang

(Vol. XXVII No. 24, Editorial Cartoon)

Good news!

On a cold morning of February 1, a different euphoria enveloped the whole Main Campus I of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) after everyone was greeted with the good news written by the university president himself on the bulletin board. It was a news that immediately contained in forwarded chain text messages and social networking shoutouts of most Norsunians. It was a news that instantly became a talk in the university. It was a news that again, made every Norsunian proud of being enrolled in this university of poor but deserving students.

The good news is: NORSU’s BS Nursing (BSN) and BS Pharmacy (BS Pharm) pioneering graduates registered a very impressive performance in the recent Nurse and Pharmacist Licensure Examinations. It is beyond what was expected.

In the November 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination alone, NORSU registered a 100 percent passing rate after all of its 17 pioneering graduates successfully made it. This is too impressive and remarkable considering that the national passing rate of the licensure examination is only 39.73 percent, having only 37, 527 passers out of 94, 462 takers.

Moreover, in the January 2010 Pharmacist Licensure Examination, five out of the eight pioneering BS Pharm graduates of NORSU successfully passed the exam gaining a 63 percent passing rate which is 20 percent higher than the national passing rate. The national passing rate of the said examination was 44 percent with 1, 091 takers and only 481 passers. Adding to the good news, NORSU is now the newest pharmacy school in the Philippines after it ranked eighth nationwide and third in the Visayas among the top performing pharmacy schools based on its overall performance in the licensure examination.

Such achievements, especially from first time takers of both professions, are truly unexpected and remarkable. It is something that deserves a standing ovation paired with continuous applause from every one of us.

But like what is often said, good fruits shall only come from good trees. Therefore it is only proper that our ceaseless congratulations be extended to the entire College of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Health Sciences (CNDPAHS) for such a job well done. Kudos to the dean, assistant dean, faculty and staff, and students of CNDPAHS for bringing such an overwhelming pride to every Norsunian. Our only hope is that you continue to impress us every year.

At any rate, if there is one thing that this good news tells us, aside of course from the goosebumps it brings, it is the very fact that we, the poor but deserving Norsunians, can absolutely do more with less. It is the fact that although our university is still young, its graduates can also do what graduates of long-established universities can. It is the fact that albeit NORSU is a state university, its graduates are not far from the graduates of private universities. And our latest achievements in the Nursing and Pharmacy professions as well as being hailed as the newest pharmacy school in the country are more than enough evidences to prove such claim. As what University President Henry A. Sojor succinctly states: “the poor can rise up through this university.”

Moreover, another lesson learned here is that the less equipment and facilities that this university has, is not a hindrance for anyone to succeed—although it will be of great help if the university can provide more. After all, if we can do well with less, we can, by all means, do better with more.

But otherwise, let us rejoice for this good news. Kudos NORSU!

Be cautious

By Ren Angelo Elevera

(Vol. XXVII No. 23, Editorial Cartoon)

Be cautious

With the kind of era we are in today, it is without a doubt that we can easily find an instant friend. With just a single click, we can immediately find a date. Even with just a simple text message, we can easily make friends with someone we barely even know. But with everything easy for access, we should all be extra careful, especially in meeting new people because we might not know that that someone could be the very person who will send us to our graveyards.

Just weeks ago, Jayfel Rayoso, a Mass Communication student of Silliman University, was reported dead after allegedly meeting with his textmate. Reports said that Rayoso brought with him an amount of P20,000 which he just withdrew from a local bank before meeting his textmate-friend. Five days after he disappeared, his body, which was allegedly dumped, was found in a creek near Barangay Isugan, Bacong on January 12.

We do not really know what happened before Rayoso’s death. We do not know whether his textmate-friend knew that he had brought a big amount of money with him. We do not know if he happened to mention about the money to his textmate. We do not know how his corpse reached Bacong. Yes, we do not know about these things, but only one thing is clear at the moment: we should not trust people whom we only met through phones or internet.

Perhaps, most youths will not agree with this idea of not trusting persons they have known via cellphones and internet only. Nowadays, teenagers most likely prefer the idea of having textmates and callmates because they think that it would be fun befriending someone whom they have not yet met in person. Indeed, the idea is exciting; it implies a sense of mysteriousness in it.

In fact, not only the youths find the idea exciting. Even those who are of right age also get hooked to it sometimes.

Most, if not all, seem to be under the spell of the present technology. We all get hooked to the things that technology offers to the point that we even get to depend our short-time happiness to it. Many of us, especially the young ones, depend on cellphones, being the most common communication tool among teens (according to research), in looking for new friends and most of all, love ones.

The recent incident that happened to Rayoso is one proof that meeting people whom we only know through text is not safe. No matter how sweet a person may sound in the phone, it is still not an assurance that he is a good person.

Rayoso is just one of the thousands of students who finds technology a tool for building a relationship. He may not be a Norsunian, but his passing is one big proof that strangers are surely not to be fully trusted. Perhaps, what happened to Rayoso will serve as a lesson for all of us.

Befriending new people is not a bad thing, yet it is also not a bad thing to be cautious in meeting them, especially if we only know them through phone or internet.

Let us not wait for the same incident to happen to a Norsunian before we become extra cautious.