U.P. Closed to Brightest of Poor

On the third day of classes in the hundredth year of the University of the Philippines (UP), a freshman from Cotabato province, a Chemistry major at UP in Diliman, Quezon City, had to drop out. Together with his father, the brokenhearted young man went to see each of his instructors to have his subjects invalidated.

While his Math 17 instructor was deleting his name from the class list, I could see the poverty, desperation, anger and sense of resignation in their faces. It was not the disappointment of winning the lottery and being denied the prize later. The young man is a member of a minority group in Mindanao. Without any connections and in the absence of any socialized admission policy, he qualified as a freshman in the College of Science of UP Diliman, a distinction he earned through intelligence, pure hard work and perseverance amid poverty. But in a few days, father and son are going back to Mindanao for good.

The father explained they could not afford the “socialized” tuition at P600 per unit for students in Bracket C, families whose annual incomes range from P135,001 to P500,000 per annum. The father and son expected to be in Bracket D, families with annual incomes ranging from P80,001 to P135,000. Students in bracket D pay P300 per unit.

UP president Emerlinda Roman seems to be disconnected from reality, or she must be fooling herself by insisting that the new Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) is fair and proper for an “iskolar ng bayan” [scholar of the nation]. Her family should try living on P6,666.75 a month (which when multiplied by 12—the number of months in a year—equals P80,001, the lower bound of Bracket D incomes).

UP, no longer conscious of its role in society, chooses to ignore the long-term impact of offering greater genuine educational opportunities to the brightest among the poor, who are getting poorer amid the reported economic gains of the country. Socialized admission and tuition fee schemes do not lower academic standards. I’ve had countless students from public schools and far-flung provinces. They come to UP not as well prepared as their counterparts from the best schools in Metro Manila. But many later outshine the sometimes overconfident Manila-raised kids.

After the new STFAP took effect last year, UP is no longer an option for the brightest among the poor. I agree with the cab driver whose daughter qualified for UP Diliman, as narrated in Youngblood (Inquirer, 3/24/08) by Mariel Kierulf Asiddao, a UP Mass Communication student. The cab driver insisted it was ESTIFAK and not STFAP.

article reference

Vote for the Philippines Naitonal Costume Meme

I found this “tag/meme” at Life in Korea calling all Filipino netizens to vote for the Philippines’ national costume at the Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam.


***start here***

A tag for ALL Filipinos!

The 2008 Miss Universe comes to Vietnam for a night of stars and glamour in search of the most beautiful woman in the world! The winner for Best National Costume will be decided by online votes. So now, the main objective of this tag is to increase awareness for all Filipinos regarding the online voting. Let’s VOTE for our very unique Philippine National Costume worn by our representative, Jennifer Barrientos.

General Instructions:

1. Go to THIS LINK!
2. In the Menu Bar just above the thumbnail pictures of the delegates, click ASIA/AUSTRALIA.
3. Look for the Philippines’ Costume (like the picture above & it’s actually in the page 2).
4. Click its thumbnail.
5. After clicking, a preview will then appear on the right side of the page. Click “SELECT THIS DELEGATE” located just below that preview.
6. The bad things is, we are to choose 3 delegates! So be sure NOT to vote for those countries that will surely be a strong competitor for the AWARD! :)
7. After choosing the Philippines and the “other” two countries, click on “SUBMIT VOTE” located just below the thumbnail pictures.
8. Follow the SIMPLE instructions after that!
9. You’re done! Go Philippines!
* As much as possible, TAG all your FILIPINO friends.
* Copy this post from ***start here*** until ***end here***.
* Also invite your foreigner friends to vote for our national costume! LOL.
* Add your blog link below as a proof that you are one of the TEAM PHILIPPINES!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

The Team Philippines

Miss Universe 2008

Tikatlon
Aeirin’s Collections
BiznHoney
JoanJoyce
PinaysaKorea
Everything Kimchi

I'm tagging

A Simple Life

UMAK Chorale
A FilAmJourney
Bluish16
Can of Thoughts
TambayanBox
DonnadeGarcia
Jekay
Kengkay
Mommy's LIttle Corner
Marvz18
Pinay Mommy Online
Filipinos Rock
Sol Lee
Sweet Lyka
Tentay Patis
The Lucky Wan

***end here***
I like the simplicity of Korea's national costume! (uuy biased! hehehehe)

In the Eyes of Koreans

When I was in Korea, I often see people wearing eyeglasses. My vision is relatively fair but I had this crazy thought of putting one on. It’s not that I wanted to become a half-baked Korean or whatever, but wearing one would complement my style. I hope I had come across these
Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni. Good eyeglasses in Korea usually sell for a pricey 50U$D and higher, while Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses
only sells for merely 8 bucks. Moreover, I can choose from a wide selection of Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni. I’m going to consider buying a Zenni eyewear one of these days.