No cooking on Cookout

For years it has been the talk of the town as August starts. People of different ages and background come to the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu grounds to be one with its cause.

The UP Cookout is probably the most attended collegiate event in the whole of Cebu. An affordable ticket price, no dress code, guest bands and the liberty for 12 hours straight, who wouldn’t want to attend?

This year cause was about the responsible use of social media sites. Its slogan, “Reboot the system, start UP!” is a call to change one’s system of abusing the power of the internet.

The cookout started as a protest against an oppressive dean. It then became a social gathering of the students. Food was cooked to make the discussion motivating, hence the name cookout. I could imagine the soccer field filled with smoke from all the grilling or maybe a campfire.

The cookout circa 1987 was about current affairs. They looked for possible ways to correct the damaged system of politics. The friendly discussion among students who shared the same sentiments was achieved through the gathering.

Overtime, it became an annual event for students to air out concerns, discuss social issues, and spread a call to action in the community. Soon after, creative presentations were made. There were songs, dances, cultural performances, and platforms of creative expression. Every year, the vent grew bigger and better.

What was once a simple social gathering of UP students has now become a huge production.  Last Friday, the UP Cebu community once again staged the UP Cookout 2012 with the efforts of the college’s student council and Spectrum Productions.

The Mass Communication students, who are well-versed in production work more than the other degree programs, took the responsibility of developing the program flow while the student council took charge of the financial concerns.

However, unlike when it started, there is no more cooking during the cookout. No more bonfires, no more smoke from grilling. What was once an intimate discussion is now a free expression on stage.

Despite the changes – the bigger event, the performances from local bands and student organizations - the purpose of the cookout was still there. The iskolars ng bayan wanted to share the message to the public, in a manner that will be interesting to most people, that all of us must be responsible netizens.

The internet is a very powerful tool and social networking sites can be used for a lot of things, including bullying. There have been a lot of reports about the violation of the rights of some people through the internet and this has become alarming.

The internet is a vast portal filled with different types of information, both good and bad. It is a challenge for every user to click the right links, to post the right information and to share the right photos or videos.

A lot of people – UP students, alumni and even students from other schools – attend the cookout every year. But more than just a get together and a night of performances, the most important thing is we were able to share the message of becoming responsible internet users. Congratulations, UP Cebu for a successful cookout!

**Published in The Freeman Newspaper on August 14, 2012

To my great partner Writing

Dear writing,

We have come such a long way. Our first meeting is still vivid to me. I had a pink crayon in my right hand which I transferred sheepishly to the left and scribbled the letters of my name – A-N-N-I-E F-E. It was a huge feat for me, and then our friendship began.

I’m sure you still recall my hologram-covered scented diary which held you in first grade. Those were about my every day experience and my childish thoughts. I was proud when we moved on to a padlocked diary but still with scented pages. Then again I wrote my feelings, my visions, and my dreams.

Then I met reading, one of your best friends. We eventually clicked and bonded together. I didn’t neglect you, even if you felt I did. In fact, I even attempted to make my own novel in third grade. Do you remember the story of Ashley, the girl who had a pit bull and had a clique of friends? I was only trying to put myself into words.

There are many trials that we’ve conquered together. The essay writing contests in and out of school ware not easy mountains to climb. Yet, we managed to end every paper with a dot. Despite the number of wins we had, I enjoyed.

When I moved to high school, we moved from literature to journalism. We endured the long night trainings for the division schools press conference every year, writing editorials in Filipino. There were even nights dedicated to the school publication. We were partners hoping for the words to make a difference.

We also tried blogging the amateur way. But it didn’t turn out nice. Daddy read our entries as I was vaguely talking about him. He didn’t talk to me for three days, treating me as a mere lodger. I learned ethics the hard way and at such an early age.

The list could go on if I try to enumerate all our experiences together. I failed to mention my academic papers, reviews and reports for schools. Regardless of the times we actually sat down together, what I really want to say is thank you. Thank you for being the outlet of my anger and sorrow. Thank you also for being my confidante whenever my secret’s too confidential for anyone to know. You kept them all safe and secure. Even up to today, they’re still between me and you.

Sorry if I had to use you for my advantage. I used this craft against the people I hated and loved the most so I could get back at them. If only I knew the consequences of doing so, I wouldn’t have done such. But trust me; I am never going to do that again.

Many people condemn you. They say your too demanding, tiring and too much. I couldn’t care less. I have understood that this you are not a friend to be known overnight. Just by recalling all our moments together explains the number of years it took to know one another. Maybe they just couldn’t understand you, or they are too impatient to even try.

Now that we are both earning from our partnership, I only wish the best for the both of us. I hope we would not be tainted by whatever unethical scheme I might place ourselves into. I also know that with you I could reach the impossible places.

You have been a great partner, and I intend to stay the same until my hands would cease to write or write as far as technology is concerned. Reading will also be one of my closest companions, but you are always on the priority.

Keep on inspiring me to reach my dreams, writing. Together we will.

A million love and thanks,

Adagio on Strings

Annie Fe Perez

**A non credit assignment submitted on August 6, 2012

Inspire a generation

When Effie Trinket, the character of pink hair and stout stature, opened the bloody Hunger Games, the capitol cheered. While the game went on, it was broadcasted to millions. Everyone paid attention to the candidates who resorted to killing one another until only one lived.

However, when Queen Elizabeth opened the London Summer Olympics, the Filipinos did not cheer. We did not even rejoice for our athletes. The free TV coverage of the opening ceremony was unheard of. Only a few made an effort to wait for the Philippine Team to pass into the stadium and wave our flag.

For 21 years, the Philippines has been abreast in joining the Games. In fact, we were the first country in Southeast Asia to send delegates and win a medal in the 200 meter breaststroke. Although we have not bagged the big G yet, we do hold a good number of medals from the Olympics.

The Olympic Games only comes once in four years, enough for anyone to watch once or twice as a child. Maybe four times as a teenager. It is a historic event held in a chosen key city. According to legend, theOlympic Games were founded by Heracles, the son of the Greek god Zeus.

To represent the country is an honor. But to represent the country against nations is a privilege. However, the Philippines’ team of 11 seemed to be stripped of this privilege.

Instead of being fully funded by the government, Smart Communications had to sponsor the athlete’s expenses. The 2012 Philippine delegation is the smallest since our country participated in 1924. Included in the batch was 21-year-old Hidilyn Diaz, a weightlifter.

At the age of 17, she participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with hopes of winning in this year’s Olympics. Her three attempts to lift 118 kilos in the clean and jerk category threw her out of the games. She cried and offered her apologies to the Filipinos.

Being a young athlete, she wasn’t the only one who took part in the Olympic Games. Seven young athletes brought the Olympic flame to life.

The 2012 opening ceremony struck me when London’s motto of “inspire a generation” graced the passing of the Olympic flame from Olympians and coaches to aspiring young athletes with their torches. I saw how the athletes were given the task of bringing pride and glory to their country as the flame was passed on to their torches. They ran around the stadium telling the world of their acceptance to the task given. It inspired me. An ordinary flame ignited the symbolic spirit of the games through the next generation.

The London Standard reported that parents brought children as young as eight months to the stadium to watch the games. Even elementary kids flocked to the event venues to cheer for their country.

But Diaz along with the Philippine team had no cheerers on the bleachers. They did not have people rooting for them as they gave their best to the events their skill and prowess. Free TV coverage of the games might not even be the primetime in every household. The Philippine team again went unnoticed by the Filipinos.

But London’s feat to inspire a generation sparked in young hearts the flame of believing in their athletes, their nation, and themselves. Philippine athletes are barely heard of. No adequate media exposure, no support. How do we believe in them, then?

**Published in The Freeman Newspaper on August 7, 2012