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