MAROONED
Four years of being cradled into the arms of UP made me a very ethnocentric person who will fight for even a small blemish thrust in the name of the university I already fell in love with.
It was during that first step into the corridors of Rizal Hall when I felt the first sign of misfit. It seemed that whatever I try, I will not be able to fit myself into a very complicated puzzle. Prior to that first step, I have heard so many things about UP that made me dread to even enter its gates: Frat wars, mobilizations, academic pressures, the exercise of freedom, demon professors, and many other reasons. What just pushed me to enter U.P. is the prestige of being called Iskolar ng Bayan. The futility of that reason now makes me want to die of shame--- because I do not understand what those words truly mean that time. Well… I was just a freshie then. No one can blame me because I have not been exposed to the realities of life that a U.P. student is made to face.
And you know what is the first question I asked our Freshmen Block Coordinator when she had informed us about the frats and sororities?
“Nananakit ba sila?”
Pathetic. To think I have now a lot of friends who are members of fraternities. Not only that, I have seen what they do and my misconceptions have been put into the trash bin after I got to know them. In fact, they have done the university a lot of service, which I know I could not have done. I have not even witnessed a single frat war in my four years of stay. I hear about them, but I haven’t seen any.
And I was wishing during my second year to witness one.
During my sophomore year, I have been a member of a 'tibak' group. It wasn’t really my intention of joining it, but I did because of my friend.
After one year, I did not renew my membership. I felt I was being unfair to the organization because I could not really relate to their way of advocating for something, which is usually through mobilizations. I came from a Catholic high school and I admit that I still keep my conservative values, however that is not the reason why I did not continue with my membership. It is just that I believe that there can be other ways of advocating for something. I could not just continue being a member of a group because it has such great visions… but I just could not live them.
Though I salute the students who join mobilizations because they have the heart to fight that way, which I lack.
Cramming is something I have mastered in my four years here. It is just so hard not to. A student just can’t understand how a professor’s mind works or how professors’ minds work. This week they will not give a sign of any coming long exams or papers. Of course as a student, you will feel relaxed; you have nothing to do. Then here comes their minds. Suddenly, all of the papers, projects, long exams will come pouring in… all at the same week! Even though they are from different departments, it is just so hard not to be suspicious that they have a certain device, which connects them. We have no choice then… we have to cram!
Academic pressure is really a common feeling that temporarily diverts students from their social lives. It is really hard to survive in U.P. if you do not have the spirit to even try to cope with the pressures. U.P. is the last place you want to be when it is toxic week.
But then the irony of it all: We feel flattered when people talk about how hard academics are at U.P. Our ruined egos because of the results of our grades are always lifted whenever people say, “Bagsak ka? Ang hirap talaga sa U.P. ,no?”
Because we all know that if we are one of those unlucky others, if we fail an exam, what we’ll hear is always, “Ano?! Bagsak ka? Ang dali dali ng exam, e.”
It is an advantage only U.P. students can get. We have an excuse if we fail.
I failed my Math 11 during my first take, (though I don’t exactly blame only myself because the professor is always talking to the black board); my parents did not even reprimand me. I just showed them my manual and they said they understood me already.
But of course I passed my summer class. I got a 3.0, but believe it or not, I was so happy I even cried.
It is only in U.P. where you experience real BRAIN DRAIN. As in REAL BRAIN DRAIN. And just like a quote from a text message said: “In U.P., it is not just nose bleed… It is BLOODSHED.”
This hell- kind of academic life actually created a lot of the nations’ most controversial and greatest people: national leaders, national artists, journalists, and many others. If they haven’t experienced this kind of life, believe me they wouldn’t be where they are right now because they will not be taught to stand and fight for what they think is right even though what they fight for are not always the right thing for everybody.
Because in U.P., we are taught to live a life of freedom.
It was actually my first time to watch the UAAP Cheerdance live last 2007. It was the most exquisite feeling. U.P. has seven constituent universities and it is inevitable that there is an existing competition among them.
Ever seen the t-shirt, “U.P. na, Diliman pa”? Or something to that effect, because I haven’t really seen it; I just heard about it. What does that mean?
And to think a credible source told me that that is why another version of the “U.P. Ako, Ikaw?” shirt came out, (where the U.P. Manila was changed to U.P. Maroons) is because of the reason of being able to cater to all U.P. campuses.
Or how about the “U.P. na, Med pa”? Or something to that effect because I haven’t seen that also.
During the cheerdance, I did not feel that I am from U.P. Manila nor did I feel that my brother and his friends are from U.P. Diliman. I did not feel I am from CAS, nor a new acquaintance named Yña, is from College of Pharmacy; nor my brother is from CSSP. You know what feeling ate me up that time?
I am from U.P. … from the UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES.
We become a system not because we need to or we have to. We become a system because we feel it.
I experienced that feeling again after a few months: during the U.P. Centennial kick-off celebration.
That was different. It was not just a cheerdance the whole U.P. community is celebrating… it is the 100 years of academic excellence of the county’s premier state university. It created goose bumps incomparable to any goose bumps I experience when watching the horrorest horror movie. Seeing the whole U.P. community singing “U.P. Naming Mahal”… the solemnity and the grandeur of that moment will never fail to touch the heart of every U.P. student, professor, and alumnus every time that moment will be relived.
Many people who will read this might raise their eyebrows or might even critique the way I have written this; but all of these are true because these are what I have seen, heard, and felt in my almost four years of stay at U.P.
And yes. The words I used are very simple. Way too simple than what the best U.P. writers have used because I want everybody to feel the pride we, Iskolars ng Bayan, feel for our university using the simplest, but most meaningful and familiar words.
“Man is the highest form of animal. He is made to be above all except God.
So no matter how eagles soar high and how falcons attack;
How bulldogs bark and how aggressive tigers are;
THEY WILL ALWAYS SUCCUMB TO THAT ONE NAKED MAN, STANDING WITH HIS ARMS WIDE OPEN…”
I do not know if my fellow Iskos and Iskas will believe me; but it is I who made that quote. It was actually made because a friend from a rival university in cheerdance sent me a quote after the 2005 cheerdance, provoking me to get angry. Instead of answering back, however, I made this quote and sent it to every U.P. student in my phonebook. It was made out of pride and out of love and dedication to the university, which had opened my eyes to the realities of life.
ISKOLAR NG BAYAN--- a dedicated person who surrenders himself or herself for the service of the nation in his or her way; may it be big or little.
UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS.
U.P. ANG GALING MO!
One blood.
One color.
One symbol.
One seal.
One pride.
MAROONED.
It was during that first step into the corridors of Rizal Hall when I felt the first sign of misfit. It seemed that whatever I try, I will not be able to fit myself into a very complicated puzzle. Prior to that first step, I have heard so many things about UP that made me dread to even enter its gates: Frat wars, mobilizations, academic pressures, the exercise of freedom, demon professors, and many other reasons. What just pushed me to enter U.P. is the prestige of being called Iskolar ng Bayan. The futility of that reason now makes me want to die of shame--- because I do not understand what those words truly mean that time. Well… I was just a freshie then. No one can blame me because I have not been exposed to the realities of life that a U.P. student is made to face.
And you know what is the first question I asked our Freshmen Block Coordinator when she had informed us about the frats and sororities?
“Nananakit ba sila?”
Pathetic. To think I have now a lot of friends who are members of fraternities. Not only that, I have seen what they do and my misconceptions have been put into the trash bin after I got to know them. In fact, they have done the university a lot of service, which I know I could not have done. I have not even witnessed a single frat war in my four years of stay. I hear about them, but I haven’t seen any.
And I was wishing during my second year to witness one.
During my sophomore year, I have been a member of a 'tibak' group. It wasn’t really my intention of joining it, but I did because of my friend.
After one year, I did not renew my membership. I felt I was being unfair to the organization because I could not really relate to their way of advocating for something, which is usually through mobilizations. I came from a Catholic high school and I admit that I still keep my conservative values, however that is not the reason why I did not continue with my membership. It is just that I believe that there can be other ways of advocating for something. I could not just continue being a member of a group because it has such great visions… but I just could not live them.
Though I salute the students who join mobilizations because they have the heart to fight that way, which I lack.
Cramming is something I have mastered in my four years here. It is just so hard not to. A student just can’t understand how a professor’s mind works or how professors’ minds work. This week they will not give a sign of any coming long exams or papers. Of course as a student, you will feel relaxed; you have nothing to do. Then here comes their minds. Suddenly, all of the papers, projects, long exams will come pouring in… all at the same week! Even though they are from different departments, it is just so hard not to be suspicious that they have a certain device, which connects them. We have no choice then… we have to cram!
Academic pressure is really a common feeling that temporarily diverts students from their social lives. It is really hard to survive in U.P. if you do not have the spirit to even try to cope with the pressures. U.P. is the last place you want to be when it is toxic week.
But then the irony of it all: We feel flattered when people talk about how hard academics are at U.P. Our ruined egos because of the results of our grades are always lifted whenever people say, “Bagsak ka? Ang hirap talaga sa U.P. ,no?”
Because we all know that if we are one of those unlucky others, if we fail an exam, what we’ll hear is always, “Ano?! Bagsak ka? Ang dali dali ng exam, e.”
It is an advantage only U.P. students can get. We have an excuse if we fail.
I failed my Math 11 during my first take, (though I don’t exactly blame only myself because the professor is always talking to the black board); my parents did not even reprimand me. I just showed them my manual and they said they understood me already.
But of course I passed my summer class. I got a 3.0, but believe it or not, I was so happy I even cried.
It is only in U.P. where you experience real BRAIN DRAIN. As in REAL BRAIN DRAIN. And just like a quote from a text message said: “In U.P., it is not just nose bleed… It is BLOODSHED.”
This hell- kind of academic life actually created a lot of the nations’ most controversial and greatest people: national leaders, national artists, journalists, and many others. If they haven’t experienced this kind of life, believe me they wouldn’t be where they are right now because they will not be taught to stand and fight for what they think is right even though what they fight for are not always the right thing for everybody.
Because in U.P., we are taught to live a life of freedom.
It was actually my first time to watch the UAAP Cheerdance live last 2007. It was the most exquisite feeling. U.P. has seven constituent universities and it is inevitable that there is an existing competition among them.
Ever seen the t-shirt, “U.P. na, Diliman pa”? Or something to that effect, because I haven’t really seen it; I just heard about it. What does that mean?
And to think a credible source told me that that is why another version of the “U.P. Ako, Ikaw?” shirt came out, (where the U.P. Manila was changed to U.P. Maroons) is because of the reason of being able to cater to all U.P. campuses.
Or how about the “U.P. na, Med pa”? Or something to that effect because I haven’t seen that also.
During the cheerdance, I did not feel that I am from U.P. Manila nor did I feel that my brother and his friends are from U.P. Diliman. I did not feel I am from CAS, nor a new acquaintance named Yña, is from College of Pharmacy; nor my brother is from CSSP. You know what feeling ate me up that time?
I am from U.P. … from the UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES.
We become a system not because we need to or we have to. We become a system because we feel it.
I experienced that feeling again after a few months: during the U.P. Centennial kick-off celebration.
That was different. It was not just a cheerdance the whole U.P. community is celebrating… it is the 100 years of academic excellence of the county’s premier state university. It created goose bumps incomparable to any goose bumps I experience when watching the horrorest horror movie. Seeing the whole U.P. community singing “U.P. Naming Mahal”… the solemnity and the grandeur of that moment will never fail to touch the heart of every U.P. student, professor, and alumnus every time that moment will be relived.
Many people who will read this might raise their eyebrows or might even critique the way I have written this; but all of these are true because these are what I have seen, heard, and felt in my almost four years of stay at U.P.
And yes. The words I used are very simple. Way too simple than what the best U.P. writers have used because I want everybody to feel the pride we, Iskolars ng Bayan, feel for our university using the simplest, but most meaningful and familiar words.
“Man is the highest form of animal. He is made to be above all except God.
So no matter how eagles soar high and how falcons attack;
How bulldogs bark and how aggressive tigers are;
THEY WILL ALWAYS SUCCUMB TO THAT ONE NAKED MAN, STANDING WITH HIS ARMS WIDE OPEN…”
I do not know if my fellow Iskos and Iskas will believe me; but it is I who made that quote. It was actually made because a friend from a rival university in cheerdance sent me a quote after the 2005 cheerdance, provoking me to get angry. Instead of answering back, however, I made this quote and sent it to every U.P. student in my phonebook. It was made out of pride and out of love and dedication to the university, which had opened my eyes to the realities of life.
ISKOLAR NG BAYAN--- a dedicated person who surrenders himself or herself for the service of the nation in his or her way; may it be big or little.
UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS.
U.P. ANG GALING MO!
One blood.
One color.
One symbol.
One seal.
One pride.
MAROONED.
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