Volume 10 Issue 1

Vol. 10 No. 1 21

20 Expressions

Going beyond the plight of ignorance

I gnorance has played quite a paramount degree in society’s dopy decisions. It has long affected the populace

with its negative inclination—in homes, governments, hospitals, schools, organizations, almost everywhere.

Just recently towards the end of last year, the DepEd functionaries decided to downscale literature and

humanities in the new “K to 12” program. They sought to combine 21 st Century Regional Literature and World

Literature, the two core subjects in Grades 11 and 12. This decision appeared to have been done overnight without

the consultation from CHED and from experts of the subject matter. Also, it is said to have overruled Education

Secretary Armin Luistro, the foremost enforcer of the “K to 12” curriculum.

For an average person, this issue may not be something of interest as it appears to simply affect the artistic side

of learning. “The arts are only subjects of simplicity and don’t contribute much in a practical world,” the average

person may say. However, this is not the case for many English majors. For us, the issue is detestably alarming.

Taking into consideration our years of studying literature, we could well say that combining the two subjects is

unmistakably difficult. The two subjects differ so much from the concept that they each aim to convey. Other than

that, each subject by themselves necessitates a considerable amount of time for study as each would cover a wide

array of topics. One cannot simply cater their individual needs in a wasteful manner. Aside from these, literature

allows room for a learner’s imagination and creativity which in turn would aid him to thrive in everyday life. It also

allows him to see viewpoints outside of his own, hence, honing his critical mind towards improvement.

With its remarkable influence to cultivate a person’s mind and values, literature cannot be belittled. To anyone

who wishes to downscale literature, perhaps you could think first about the worth of your decision. Are your

motives based on credible grounds? Maybe you could shed more light to your decision. Ignoramus, after all, is a

word fit only to describe the ignorant.

Editorial

Vol. 10 No. 1 1

H ave you ever been

commended by a

teacher for being one of

the top scorers in an exam? Yes,

probably. How did it feel? Did it

feel right? Or, did it feel wrong?

How about commending you in

every activity in class?

One of the teachers of the XU

English Department practices a

radical way of commending

students in every single activity

and quiz. Belonging to one of

those classes, I felt so awkward at

first. I thought it would only be

done once; surprisingly, the

commendation was repeated

again and again in all our quizzes

and activities.

The commendation was certain

in that teacher’s sense of purpose;

however, the effects to the students

were relative. Who, then, shall

decide that the outcome is good or

not? Maybe Social Sciences hold

better abstract answers for that: in

Psychology, commending a person

to his/her excellent performance

must produce an excellent

repetition of the action, more

familiarly known as “Operant

Conditioning and Stimulus-

Response Theory”. If the teacher

commends a good score, she

anticipates a repetitive action,

demands that the action be

sustained in the next activities to

come. In Sociology, it supports the

idea of Aristotle that Man is a

social being, competent and pro-

ductive. If the teacher commends

a good score, she challenges oth-

ers to do better, be competent and

productive with good social inter-

actions. In philosophy, doing the

“good” thing requires the five (5)

Rs: in the Right time, to the Right

Person, with the Right reason,

through the Right way, and to the

Right extent. If the teacher com-

mends a good score, she knows

that person did a GOOD job in the

activity or quiz.

The commendation of students

in every activity creates

confidence among achievers and a

sense of fulfillment to excellent

students in a particular activity.

Also, it fosters a friendly competi-

tion among the students. It felt

alright. I even tried it in my

practicum class twice already, it

never felt awkward, and others

who were not called were

motivated. One striking point was

the fact that I saw smiles of those

students who were called and

commended and with their eyes

on me, as if proudly saying,

“That’s me on the Top List today.”

By MARC ROWEEN V. DELOS REYES

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T he anticipated change in

the PH academic calendar

still gives many the confu-

sion of its big impact. Students

always have something to say

about this trending topic, since we

are the most affected population.

But, will the sudden shift help the

most pressing problems of our

educational system?

Surely, the international

students will benefit from the

twist because the change will

facilitate academic exchanges,

joint researches, and quality assur-

ance benchmarking in global com-

petency and perspective. How-

ever, its influence will never be

statistically significant to a regular

Filipino student as the problem of

expensive tuition fees (and other

fees) and the lack of funding for

school facilities will still continue.

Also, the internationalization fac-

tors are achievable without the

change in the academic calendar.

Besides, proper management and

timely research are just some of

the countless strategies. And, the

said “integration” about the

Philippine economy with the rest

of the ASEAN (Association of

Southeast Asian Nations) is not

really justified with this academic

calendar shift. It will only force

the Filipino graduates to compete

with those from other ASEAN

nations for the few jobs available

in our country.

The summer vacation which is

from June to July will also betray

the meaning of the word since

those months are rainy season.

Even though many say that it is

one of the reasons in order to

lessen class suspensions, only a

few want to spend summer vaca-

tions at home. The bright sun on

the beach is always the best

definition. It will also discriminate

students who solely depend on

agriculture for their funds,

because the vacation months of

the current academic calendar

(April and May) coincide with the

harvest and planting seasons for

many food crops. With the majority

of Filipino farmers not having

access to modern technology and

machinery, the additional labor

provided by these students is

badly needed by their families.

As of now, Xavier University

has not made any confirmation

about the issue. Even University

of the Philippines, which easily

agreed about this academic

calendar shift, is reconsidering

their previous decision because

they want a careful and thorough

study about the effects.

The new pattern of the

academic calendar will open wide

doors for students globally. Yes, it

will help us expand our experience

of new horizons, especially in our

academic lifestyle. But then again,

these anticipated achievements can

also be accomplished without this

sudden shift.

The twist is not really necessary.

It is not. Really.

By MARJORIE F. ESPINA

Vol. 10 No. 1 3

S eptember 7, 2013—the English

majors and the XU English

Department faculty members filled the

Aggies Building room 401 with the

color pink for XELLO's First General

Assembly. The theme of the event was

“KEEP CALM AND BE AN ENGLISH

MAJOR,” which served as a reminder that

the AB English students aim to be flexible

and approach their problems calmly. It

also served as an effective mantra for

them to uphold their identity. Throughout

most of the assembly, collaborative games

were played. In turn, it united the

students and the faculty members.

N ovember 16, 2013—the XELLO

members once again gathered for

the Second General Assembly at STC 601,

which was also attended by the faculty

members of the English department. Its

theme was "ENRICHING AND EMPOW-

ERING THE ENGLISH MAJORS.” During

the event, the English majors who excelled

academically were recognized and awarded

with a certificate for making it to the

Dean's list in the previous semester’s

final grading. One of the first honors in

the entire College of Arts and Sciences

was Quenee Lavern Pongcol, a second

year AB English collegian.

The two events commenced the bond

between the English majors and the

faculty members of the English Department.

It aimed to promote camaraderie for a

positive outlook of the current academic

year.

N ovember 30, 2013—the Xavier

English Language and Literature

Organization (XELLO) made a fruitful and

heart-warming community building at Our

lady of Divine Love House of Orphanage,

Camaman-an, Cagayan de Oro City.

The event was actively participated by

the XELLO members and by the children

from the orphanage. Many kids proudly

showcased their talents. They were so

enthusiastic in taking part of the different

fun-filled games.

Mary Saint Terissa Damapal, a senior

AB English collegian, rendered a story

to the orphans using a big story book. The

children eventually raised questions, and

were also given the opportunity to share

their insights.

XELLO’s 2014 community building not

only built a stronger bond among the

organization’s members but also proved

that XELLOnians are willing to extend

their service to become men and women

for others.

XELLO on the Go!

English majors, DELL faculty connect in 2013 general assemblies By PAULA LUZ JUNTILLA

1st General Assembly. PHOTO BY Maryza Quiblat 2nd G.A. PHOTO BY Charezze Pabayo

XELLO shares love to orphans By CHAREZZE PABAYO & SALMAH BORIONGAN

Pho

tos

by

Ch

are

zze

Pa

ba

yo

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J anuary 25, 2014—Professors Nancy

Cocamas and Andrei Dominic Peralta

of XU’s English Department freshened up

the collegians’ skills on the basic parts of

speech in the Grammar Refresher Seminar

and Workshop at A601.

Professor Cocamas served as the first

speaker in the workshop. As an introduc-

tion, she presented some commonly

mispronounced words. She retained the

participants’ attention as she discussed

about the four basic parts of speech, as

follows: noun, pronoun, verb, and adjec-

tive. Throughout her talk, she engaged

the participants in lively dialogues and

pen-and-paper activities that enabled

them to apply the five basic parts.

Professor Peralta spoke in the remaining

half of the workshop. His talk covered the

four other basic parts of speech, namely

the adverb, the conjunction, the interjec-

tion, and the preposition. Much like the

first speaker, he also engaged the participants

in dialogues and writing activities. The only

difference was that the participants were

tasked to do the activities by themselves

and were just later on rejoined to check

their answers. This enabled the participants

to apply what they learned and to enjoy the

challenge of recalling their grammar

lessons as well.

The workshop was open to all bona

fide students of Xavier University-Ateneo

de Cagayan, and twenty (20) collegians of

different year levels from the various

colleges of XU participated. They went

with diverse purposes. One of the partici-

pants was Czarina Van Bokingo, a senior

BSBA student, who said that her reason

for attending was her interest in improving

her grammar skills since being a graduating

student entails her to make research

papers and the like. She wanted to hone

her grammar not just in doing school

requirements but also in preparation for

whatever lies ahead after graduation.

When asked about their experience in

the workshop, the participants deemed it

interesting. Among them was Melvin Ray

Raña, a senior BS Psychology student who

stated, “I find it helpful as there are ideas

limited by the incorrect use of grammar. I

also enjoyed it as I got to ask questions

from the speakers.”

The Grammar Refresher Seminar and

Workshop was a project of Xavier English

Language & Literature Organization.

“Writing was never an easy profession,”

Prof. Garcia reminded an assembly of

writing enthusiasts as they listened to

him attentively.

F ebruary 15, 2014—The English91.1

practicum class, in cooperation with

Xavier English Language and Literature

Organization, conducted a creative non-

fiction (CNF) writing seminar entitled

“Causeries and Commentaries” at A601.

Creative nonfiction writing, also

known as narrative nonfiction and some

other terms, is a lesser known form of

writing. Professor Roger Garcia, a member

of the English faculty and a prolific writer

himself, came to shed light on this

obscure yet interesting topic.

The lecture took off with an introduction

of the topic, and then proceeded to the

different forms of creative nonfiction

writing, the ways of writing it, and its

objectives. A discussion on the rudiments

of fiction and its application to CNF

writing eventually followed. Prof. Garcia

was also kind (and bold) enough to read

his detailed example of a CNF piece which

garnered a reaction of astonishment

and interest from the spectators for its

honest yet shocking content.

The seminar concluded with an open

forum to cater the curiosity of the

participants.

Cocamas, Peralta dissect parts of speech in grammar refresher By KAREN JOY ONIHOG

PHOTOS BY Maryza Quiblat

Writing enthusiasts gather at CNF seminar By KLARYSSA CATUBIG

PHOTO BY Nadine Hendrikka Legaspi

XELLO on the Go!

Vol. 10 No. 1 5

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XELLO on the Go!

For the Love of Arts By MARY JOSEPHINE BALSARZA & KAREN JOY ONIHOG

“In reciting a poem aloud, you are not like an actor, coming to understand, and then to feel yourself in a dramatic part, a fictional person. It’s rather that you come to understand, and then to be, the voice of the poem itself.” –from “Committed to Memory” by John Hollander

F ebruary 6, 2014—The English

91.1 practicum class, in collaboration

with Xavier Center for Culture & the Arts

and Xavier English Language & Literature

Organization, hosted a poetry performing

contest titled “Recite Night” at the XU

Little Theatre.

The event showcased poems that

have been written by famous poets

like Pablo Neruda, William Shake-

speare, and Edgar Allan Poe. It also

showcased poems that have been

originally written by students of

Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan

(XU-Ateneo).

The two categories were performed

well by fourteen (14) contestants from

the different colleges of XU-Ateneo.

Six (6) contestants vied for the 1st and

2nd ranks in the published poems

category, while eight (8) vied in the

original poems category. One overall

contestant was also awarded for “Best

Written Poem” in the original

category.

Guest performers from within the

university also enlivened the event.

There were Prof. Tyron Sabal who

performed “Mangyari Lamang” by Rico

Abellardo, Prof. Christine Faith Gumalal

who performed “Si Barbieg Si Tarzan”

by Merlie Alunan, Old Time Fling who

sang “Code of Conduct”, Dr. Maria

Teresa Sharon Linog who performed

“The Children’s Hour” by Willliam

Wordsworth Longfellow, and many

others.

The winners of the contest are as

follows:

Published Poems Category:

1st Place – Gabriel Matthan Luceño “Long Distance Love” by Sarah Kay

2nd Place – Edison Lacea “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Original Poems Category:

1st Place – Jefrey Polo Robles

“It is Near”

2nd Place – Jan Rupert Alfeche

“Unravelled”

Best Written Poem:

“Unravelled” by Jan Rupert Alfeche

Photos courtesy of Rizyl Dinogan

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XELLO XELLO XELLO A.Y. 2013A.Y. 2013A.Y. 2013---201420142014

in Picturesin Picturesin Pictures

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