false alarm

False alarm. I did pass on the V exam! Ha-Ha-Ha. I thought my application number was 70. When i looked at the site, my number was nowhere to be found. However, last night, the V texted me. I qualified for another round. Whew! Looked like my memory did not serve me right. My applicant number was 75, not 70. So there. :D

so what?

I've had enough downfalls, another one won't hurt me...


I did not pass the V exam! Ha-Ha-Ha. What a shame? Tss. It did not hurt me that much because i was not expecting anything. Yes, of course I wanted to join the University publication. However, if it was not meant for me, then fine, at least I tried. (Am I just consoling myself? Ha-Ha-Ha)

"There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose."

Why do we have to learn the hard way?

"It ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb"

decency and decadence: where does PDA take the youth

This article is a pre-published story which I wrote for The Flame, the official publication of Faculty of Arts and Letter. My editors are still editing this report story, however I'm quite excited to publish this in my blog.

The lovebirds in Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) seem to care less in exhibiting their affections to the public despite the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras spread within the University grounds and the conservative nature being upheld by every Thomasian.
Public display of affection (PDA) according to Filipino professor Roberto Ampil, is the couples’ exhibition of affections, like kissing, which are not meant to be seen publicly.
These actions can now be commonly seen everywhere, but the Philippine society, imbued with conservative culture and views, sees PDA as a social etiquette problem.

PDA redefined
As early as the 60s when mere holding hands is considered forbidden, the University had a policy that the corridor and stairway of male and female students are separate.
But the changing times meant a change of perception. Today, majority of the AB students believe that holding hands while walking (HHWW) is tolerable. The students perceive HHWW to be common, normal, and non-disturbing.
The classic holding hands may be deemed normal, but extreme ‘making-out’ like necking, petting, and torrid kissing is crossing the line of what is considered tolerable to see in public, according to the majority of AB students.
“What is wrong with holding hands? Girls can do that to each other, anyway,” argued Sean Agapito, a junior Journalism student.
His classmate and girlfriend for a year, Charrize Cruz, agreed that holding hands is okay. “[What is disturbing] is showing unnecessary display of affection like kissing in public without caring about the people who will see it.”
“It depends on your arrangement. We do things separately when inside the classroom and it’s only after class hours that we get together,” the pair, who agreed to be civil inside the classroom, said.
Another couple from the Political Science major who refused to disclose their names said that they, too, are well-mannered inside the classroom. They have been in relationship for 11 months and according to them, no professor has been disturbed by their relationship.
For Ampil, students who have romantic relationships do not disturb him as long as they behave inside the classroom.
“As long as they do nothing bad [like excessive ‘make-out’], and don’t harm others [it’s okay with me]. All they know is they are only being affectionate,” he said.
According to Ampil, the very own culture of the Philippines seems to betray its people because “Filipinos are naturally intimate, sentimental, and emotional.” He added that the value given by Filipinos to their relationship is another factor why couples have the tendency to exhibit their affection.
“Close family ties is part of our culture, we tend to look after one another,” Ampil said in Filipino, adding that Filipinos are naturally expressive.
The same goes for Student Welfare and Development Board (SWDB) Chair and Professor Florencia Ledesma. She said she has not yet encountered students displaying their affection inside the classroom.
“The students know that it [PDA] is prohibited,” Ledesma said. “There are just students who can’t control themselves.”
Ledesma also stressed out that being ‘malambing’ or affectionate is different from exhibiting extreme PDA.
“[The spread of PDA is] because of the media that the youth see, you don’t even have to tell them [students] how to do it,” Ledesma explained.
Although the SWDB refused to disclose any PDA-related cases, Ledesma said that once a student is reared with decency, he or she would not behave inappropriately in school.

Draw the line
Meanwhile, some AB students viewed extreme ‘make-out’ session as unethical and uneasy to see.
“There are lovers at times seen in compromising positions [on stairways and corners],” some Economics students said, “At least, get a room.”
Although the ABSC does not handle any PDA case, President Vince Cifra is stern about student professionalism.
“One should be professional. There is a right place where couples can kiss and show their affection,” he said. In fact, he ordered the placement of a mirrored-window in ABSC room, “for transparency,” he explained.
For Communication Arts junior Khristine de la Cruz, a student in uniform must embody the values of the school.
“They are putting our university in disgrace,” she said.
However, several students seem to be immune in seeing people exhibiting affection in public. AB Student Council (ABSC) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Felucci Asuncion and ABSC member Gemilyn Apuad, on the other hand, believe that PDA is a normal sight.
“I was shocked to see students displaying their affection during my first year in school, but I eventually grew accustomed to it,” Asuncion said, “I think PDA is caused by the alteration of the youth’s culture.”

In the handbook
According to Security Detachment Commander Joseph Badinas, the installation of CCTV cameras last June has been very helpful in lessening PDA cases inside the University.
“As soon as we see lovers about to do something, we immediately send a guard to warn them,” Badinas said. The University has six civilian guards roving and giving warnings to those couples who are caught doing PDA.
As Badinas would put it, people may have the tendency to be forgetful and cross the line. But on the other hand, Ledesma warned that there is no valid excuse in forgetting the policy given by the University.
“The fact that there is an orientation and everybody has a handbook, they should know,” she said.#

*photo taken from google pictures