Kim Kenneth Roca, a junior Development Communication student, leads a 22-strong pack of writers as the new Editor-in-Chief. He succeeds former EIC Andy Phil Cortes, a Civil Engineering student.

Out of the 36 students who joined the screening, only 22 applicants were able to pass and were therefore given the job to continue the publication’s journey as Region 8’s best.

A screening committee appointed by the VSU President evaluated the results of the applicants. The staff designations were based on the results. New candidates were asked to write articles based on the topics and/or issues given by the screening committee. On the other hand, the old staff members were interviewed only by the committee to assess their insight and experience.

Dr. Editha Cagasan of the Dept. of Development Communication, together with Dr. Annie Gravoso of the Dept. of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences, and Prof. Manolo Loreto Jr., Dean of Students, composed the screening committee.

Amaranth was recently hailed as the Best Campus Press in Region VIII during the Regional Tertiary Schools Press Conference 2012 held at VSU on March 2012.

Following are list of the new Amaranth staff and their respective positions:

Editorial Board Members
Kim Kenneth Roca BSDC-3 Editor-in-chief
Elizabeth Lace Viojan BSBio-4 Associate Editor
Claire Larzen Tello BSEcon-2 Managing Editor

 Section Editors
Dulce Ilagan BSEd-3 S&T Editor
Era Christine D. Wales BSDC-2 News Editor
Rhea Jenny Ogalesco BSDC-2 Feature Editor
Joseph Pilapil BSDC-2 Column Editor
Darlyn Balaresia BEEd-3 Literary Editor
Irish Jane Calungsod BSDC-1 Literary Editor

Circulation Manager
Ivory Ace Palacio BSDC-2

Staff Writers
Rochelle Acar BSEd-2
Pia Blanca Malayan BSDC-2
Angiel Marie Gopo BSGE-2
Quirene Wenceslao BSDC-2
Camille Enriquez DVM-1
Maria Carisse Compendio BSFT-1
Roseann Fabroa BSAB-1

Photographer
Precious Joyce Ogdoc BSDC-2

Lay-out Artists
James Dale Vargas BSDC-1
Jucel Marie Guatlo

Illustrators/Cartoonists
Dionesio Degorio BSAB-1
Sydnielynn Fay Marie Baring BSEM-3

The most awaited events during our annual intramurals are the song and dance festival. A must see event for all Viscanians.  The different colleges fiercely competed in the different categories namely the K-pop/J-pop and impersonation in the song festival. Mainstays in the dance fest are the popular dance, the dance sports in the Latin discipline and the Dance Palabas.

Last year’s highlight in the song fest was a battle of the bands. This year is different because they featured the current fad, K-pop which invaded the Philippine music scene on 2005. Another different attraction was the impersonation which is another first in VSU.

But with all the teams competing, only one college reigned supreme. The C.E. Tigers continued to uphold their winning streak when it comes to showing cut-throat skills in singing and dancing. In the K-pop category, the representatives’ performed a version of Bad Girl Good Girl by Miss A.  Although the other K-Pop groups showed great versatility in being able to perform in English as well as in Korean, the Tigers outshined the rest.

While in the impersonation, Deo, as what he wants to be called, claimed center stage with his amazing imitation of Jennifer Holiday who was famous for her facial contortions and powerful voice.

As everyone knew and expected, the C.E. Tigers amazed everyone and dominated the dance festival. They proved it by winning gold in the pop dance and dance sports category.

Overall, they grabbed almost all the gold except for the Dance Palabas, since they came second to the C.M.E Dragons who out-flaired them in their red and gold outfits. But still, even if the victory isn’t that complete, they outshone everyone by winning the overall championship for the song and dance festival.

Congratulations C.E Tigers!  We will be expecting more from you next year. And as for the other colleges, better luck next time guys, it’s just another wall to overcome.

The Aggies Supersonics (of the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences) win as overall champ in the three day intramural games by dominating six major events and  two minor events.

The Aggies Supersonics total score is 320 points, followed by the Bravehearts (of the College of Engineering) with 263 points, then the Titans (of CAS, CFES, and CN) with 248 points, making these three teams place in the top three this year.  The CME Dragons got 242, the CVM Cowboys got 232, and then the CE Tigers got 179.

The six major events the Aggies dominated are Basketball (Women), Volleyball (Men), Soccer (Men), Softball (Women), and Athletics (both Men and Women). As for the minor events, they garnered first in Table Tennis (Men), and Sepak Takraw (Men).

The Aggies Supersonics also gained points by ranking either second or third in other events and they also ranked third in the Dance Festival and ranked fourth in the Song Festival.

The Aggies were expected to dominate the Intrams 2012 since they ranked second to VSU-Isabel’s Cyber Warriors last year. During the parade on the afternoon of July 17 and the opening ceremonies at the upper oval, the Aggies showed energy as if saying to everyone that this is their year. And it really is!

The Aggies are planning to throw a party just like what they did last year to celebrate their victory and to thank everyone that made it happen.

Congratulations, Aggies Supersonics! You really did it!

CVM Cowboys finally snatched the basketball championship during last Friday’s final match against the CA Aggies Supersonics.

Cloudy skies did not stop the basketball court from heating up as the Cowboys and Aggies went head to head on games 10 and 11.  Twice to beat Cowboys struggled against equally determined Aggies during game 10.  The game went on overtime as the scores tied at 67 at the end of the fourth quarter.  Spectators held their breath as the scores got stuck at 73 until the last 10 seconds when Aggies broke through the tie and made a two-point lead.  Game 10 ended with 75-73 in favor of Aggies.

Game 11 started with Aggies on the lead.  However, Cowboys narrowed the Aggies lead to two points by the end of first half.  The tables turned during the second half when Cowboys gave the Aggies the highest lead of the game at 11 points.  Aggies tried to catch up during the last two minutes despite the light rain.  But the score ended at 91-84 in favor of Cowboys.

The Cowboys have coveted the basketball championship for a long time but have always fallen short of hoops.  This year’s intramurals will definitely mark CVM history.  “It is a great blessing for us to be the champion.  That was the first time since… Team chemistry and determination are our factors of winning.  Aggies is a great team.  They gave us a game that we cannot forget.  To God be all the glory,” said Jasper Carlo Besing, one of the CVM’s top players.

Intramurals may be fun, but there is one thing that students hate, when they hear the word. And that is Intramural Contributions…

Anyway, here are the varied opinions of students regarding this question,

Do you think that the money you spent for the Intramural Games contribution is worth it, why or why not?

“Yes, kay sulit man gud kaayo ba, sa T-shirt pa lang daan okay kaayo. Then sa jersey pud ayos, sulit jud kaayo…”

-Some athletes from Titans

“Dili, dugay kaayo ang jersey. Nakakuha nami kay pag second game na.”

-Joedarlene Morata, BSCE-2

“O, kay vega ang uniform kaysa last year, infairness nalingaw jud mi especially sa ukay2x sa market.”

-Junel Pulinday, BSDE-2

“Dili kay wala man gud koy na-feel na benefit. Ang players ra ang naka-benefit.”

-Stephane Asio, BSDC-4

“O uy! Sulit kaayo. Kami tanan, bisan none players kay naa man gud makuha na jersey. Then since player man ko, nice kaayo. Malingaw pa ka ug duwa, naa pay snacks, then 290 ra tanan amo na bayran. Wala may maarkansi kay tanan naay nakuha gikan sa ila gibayad.”

-Kristel Rebacca, DVM-2

“Duha-duha jud ko. Aw, okay ra man kay 100 ra amo gibayad at least gamay2x ra kaysa uban,pero wala man gud koy gi.apilan mao na dili ko ka feel na naa worth it ba. Lingaw man pud nuon ang intrams gamay, pero ang mas maka-benefit jud kay ang players, ako man pud lagi kay nipili nga dili mo join ug mga duwa, mao na…”

-Ruffa     BSHRTM-4

“Nah! Dili jud. Mahal kaayog mga bayronon uy dayun dili tanan makakuha ug benefits…Swerte noon ang players, pero para sa dili, aw, nagsayang-sayang lang tawn ug kwarta, maayo na lang pud gani na ang uban team kay naay t-shirt at least na lang, pero kung naa man pud galeh t-shirt, mahal pud kaayog bayad. Laliman ba ka ug 400 plus kada usa!”

-Catwalk ( a group of friends from different teams )

“Dili, unfair jud. Alangan man ug kaming tanan pwede mag players, nga naa may uban nga physically not able mo duwa, luoy kaayo mi nga non- players. 250 ang bayad, dayun kami pa ang mo provide ug t-shirt dayun gipapuno dayun pagkahuman ug 10 pesos kay kuwang kuno ang bayad sa printing.Maypa ang CVM, 290 ra ang gibayad pero sila tanan, naka-jersey na.”

-Warriors of A n’ F from the Titans

“Di, unfair nga nibayad mi ug tag-200 dayun kami pa jud ang mo provide sa amo own t-shirt. Dako ra kaayo na ang 200 para sa players ug sa t-shirt printing.”

-Jose Rizal, from Aggies Supersonics

And those were the opinions of some students regarding this issue. The players will most likely say yes because they can keep a remembrance jersey or t-shirt, while the non-players usually  complain about gaining nothing from the contributions while wasting lots of money. Intrams should be for all to enjoy. Player or not, it is up to us on how we spend the three day break from acads. But then again, the different team organizers should do more effort to lessen the amounts they require the students to pay. This is a state university, and not everyone can afford expensive intramurals contributions.

Uhm…K-pop? Pagkaon na?

This year’s Songfest was different. This part of the annual Intramural Games featured contests that were definitely fresh. While previous years’ Songfests featured vocal solos and duets, and band contests, the 2012 Songfest brought in something new. No, it’s not food. Though we would’ve wished it was.

K-pop and J-pop simply means Korean and Japanese popular music.  It is a musical genre majorly characterized by gay dances, groupies, heavy eye make-up, outrageous hair and bizarre mix-ups of leather jackets and skinny jeans for men and skin, just skin, for the ladies. Nah, I’m just kidding.

Seriously, more than just that, Korean pop is a musical genre consisting of dance, electronic, electropop, hip-hop, and R&B music originating from South Korea (defined by Wikipedia). These kinds of art forms have become increasingly popular, not only in South Korea, but have even found its way to neighboring Asian countries, including the Philippines and who knows, maybe in the western part of the world. Armed with their unique sense of fashion, innovative choreography, and almost-perfect beauty, getting a lot of fans and enthusiasts is just a snap.

The Japanese and Koreans have been very prolific recently in the arts. And more recently, their productions have become more popular. Manga, Anime, Korean telenovelas and Cosplay are good examples. So what about, say, K-pop?

The Intramural Council, composed of Deans of the Colleges, GAMs and the IHK faculty, decided to introduce the K-Pop/J-Pop competition, alongside with the impersonation contest.  These new events were introduced as obstacle categories—a challenge to our college singers to see how they would fair in a foreign arena and their willingness and interest to learn new things – which, admittedly, is a good virtue. It also leaves you with no choice but to adapt and still do your best.

Though some welcomed the change with open arms, accepting K-pop as a challenge to explore students’ creativity and resourcefulness (or maybe undiscovered talent or skill), some also (in a considerable number) complained: why, of all things, K-pop?

For Mr. Joselle Cayetano, the songfest coordinator, having K-pop and J-pop is much like adding a twist to the competition and a challenge to the contenders as well. He added that it’s a matter of infusion and acquiring their culture to improve ours, in a good way. To the participants, it’s putting up a new height to their skill, singing and learning a piece from different origin and culture.

As soon as the GAMs presented the categories of the songfest, many were stunned (and yes, complained) by the sudden change. Despite some negative feedback on the K-pop and J-pop, students filled the VSU gymnatorium that night on July 18, 2012.  We have to admit, these new contests are quite interesting to see because of its novelty.

The impersonation contest was quite amusing and entertaining and had won a lot of cheers from the audience.

The students also cheered for their respective teams during the K-pop competition. Though that was the case, the lack of appreciation was still in the air since it was in a different language.

Diha ra mi maka-comment kung naay nayabag gamay. Clearly, you could never really tell whether they have mastered the songs or not. Who knows, they might be speaking gibberish instead of the lyrics. We can never really tell (except, of course, for those who are enthusiasts).

When asked if they enjoyed the songfest, 6 out of 10 students said that it was enjoyable mainly because of the impersonation contests. And 8 out of 10 of them stated that the K-pop competition was a flop. The reasons stated were narrowed into three:

LANGUAGE BARRIER

How would you expect people to develop interest, let alone appreciation, to those songs they don’t literally understand? Mas maayo pa og OPM nalang kung mauhon. It is not that easy to understand new and foreign language overtime. Actually, it would be expected that even the contenders of the said competition have some difficulty in the mastery of the song. So, unsa nalang kaha ang nagtan-aw ra?

Not nationalistic

Some of the students think that it would have been much better to settle for events that promote our culture first, rather than learning a foreign one. It is a common knowledge that the new generation is not that familiar even with our own culture. So instead of promoting other culture, it would be much better to promote our own, making it interesting to the young audience.

Facilities and guidelines

If we say K-pop, we are expecting a lot of dances (aside from the Korean language and edgy outfits) but some agreed that this was never seen during the contest proper. Who could dance well with all that microphone wires entangled on each other? Di gyud diay uso ang Lapel or wireless microphones man lang diri sa Beska? If we are that determined to imitate K-pop naman lang, we should have done it with the right way – with the right equipment. And another thing, someone complained that the guidelines were vague. The categories and guidelines were not clearly discussed to the contenders, who thought that the singing of the English song was a part of the contest. Asus, kay warm-up ra man diay daw ang pagkanta og English song uy. Unsa ba diay to. Pag-sure sunod ha?  

Thinking before implementing is a crucial part of change. Maybe not just once – but a few times over.  A lot of thinking has to be involved since the Intramural Games is not just any event.

It’s a wonder whether we should still continue these contests as part of next year’s Intramural Games. It is still uncertain.

Change is not that easy to accept. But if we really are that determined to put something new in our Songfest, there are actually a lot of ways to do that, without students getting caught off-guard. You can bring back the old contests. If we really want to introduce these new contests, maybe we can hold these side by side with the vocal solos, duets, etc. The truth is these contests have always been popular to students. It has been a tradition and we cannot simply break that.

We can also make it more understandable and friendly to our culture.  Maybe perform the more popular K-pop songs; maybe include translations or perhaps a loose Pinoy translation (like Princess Hours’ “Pag-ibig Nga Kaya”).

It all boils down to how open-minded the Intramural Council should be. Or maybe next time, we can listen more to our student leaders about their say on the Intramural Games as part of the Council. The Council Officers are usually more in touch with the tastes of the students.

But anyway, one thing’s for sure. The VSU community is not yet ready for a full-blown K-pop invasion. It may be in the near future, or it may never be. The lesson is it is not wise to force the interests of the few to everyone. The truth is, Anime, Cosplay and K-pop contests are not everyone’s thing.

I Call It Home” and “When I’m With You”, the most recent jingles produced by VSUfor this school year. It has been VSU’s practice to produce materials to package VSU and lure potential enrollees, and these jingles are only a few of the most recent additions. Let us hear what the students have to say about the jingles, which touched mainly at student life, zest, and love.   Here are their answers to the question: What are your comments on the new VSU Jingles “I Call It Home” and “When I’m With You”?

Ok rah!!! Pero mas ganahan ko sa “when I’m with you” kay cute ng concept kaysa sa “I call it home” medyo O.A ra ang show pero ok ra kai kaila ko sa nagkanta.          -Carlo R. Perez BSChem-II

Actually the new jingle is okey but medyo boring. Unlike sa una nga jingle, “VSU in my Heart” nga super jolly. Ahm medyo disappointed ko adtong pag-launching kay nag.expect ko nga mas better and mas jolly ang new VSU jingle.          –Ervie

The lyrics, editing of the video was quite good, but then the purpose of the video was made is to attract tourist and students to visit and enroll in VSU. Unfortunately, the video is more on couple dating in the vicinity of VSU, endorsing our school as a place for dating. Lastly, some of the actress and actors don’t look good in the video and don’t act naturally, they look pathetic… Next target: Liberation.     -Chiti Hunter, BSHRTM-3

The music video was nice. It gives the students the idea of how nice our school is. Keep up the good work guys.           -Agriculturist, BSA-4

The videos were fun. Damu og gwapa. Nice editing. Hope next videos will be much better. It’s more fun in Biska.          -Ako Budoy, BAS-2

Entirely, the two music videos were a hit due to their musicality. Good music, good composition and in the end, it was a “bang”. The part I like the most was the lantern flying thing. Salute to the composers and artists. Good job guys!           -Lollipop, BSDC-2

Instead of focusing on the beauty of the school, students are more likely on the kilig moments of the talents.          –Janice Yap, BSDC-2

I Call It Home and When I’m With You music videos, if I’m not mistaken  was produced to attract people or students about the beauty if our school. But, as I observed in the concept of the videos, it was more on “kilig moments” of the talents. It seems that the video was not representing the beauty the school has. But the kilig moments that most of the students do in the school. I’m sorry to say that. Hehehe. Why not focus on some concept that everyone can relate to. Thank you!           -Danica Ceniza, BSDC-2 

Nagpromote og love and friendship ang “I call it home”… as well as in “[When] I’m with you”.           –Honey, BSF

The students have spoken. They’ve both complimented and criticized “I Call It Home” and “When I’m With You”. Still, it is rewarding to receive these comments for the improvement of the jingles to come. This only means that the jingles have been establishing a name to the students and to the university as well. “I Call It Home” and “When I’m With You” should be something to be proud of, not only because of their musicality but also because it’s a showcase of the collaboration of the university administration and students. The jingles are living proofs of how talented VSUans are.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Windows. Only if it’s genuine.  Our CS 21 instructors teach us to memorize commands using Microsoft-Based applications in the first place. So what could possibly be wrong? The thing is, everything could go wrong if you’re using a pirated Operating System, or any pirated software.

An operating system is the platform by which your computer runs. Remember your CS 21? Software? Your Operating System is the Software by which all other software in your computer operates. Example: Your laptop’s Windows 7 Ultimate. To make it simple, your computer will not run without an operating system.

But how does a counterfeit, yeah, the pirated software, differ from genuine software sold in stores? Basically, a genuine Operating System, and all commercial software, comes with a license. Like in driving, a license gives you the authority to use a vehicle on the roads. Same is true with software licenses. It gives you the right to use the software. Commercial software, however, cost too much for most of us to buy, so we resort to what we can get for free, thus the pirated software. They are those that we commonly download from the internet, mostly through Torrents. Instead of the genuine license, they come with Keygen (Key Generators) or Patches instead.

So what’s with pirated software? It’s illegal. You can get arrested for that and Companies with Digital Rights Management like Microsoft, Sony, and others are doing all they can to make that happen soon. And it’s not just about the Operating System. Any pirated application can get you to jail. But even so, most computer users still use pirated software because they do not know if it’s genuine or not, or if they do, they do not have the capacity to buy licensed software because, again, it costs too much.

Here’s an idea of how much it would cost a common student to run a computer on genuine software. Let’s say you’re buying a netbook. It will probably cost you about 15, 000. But your netbook doesn’t come with licensed software, just like they usually do, so you need to buy an Operating System and the rest of the programs you will need for school work. You decide to buy Windows 7, because it’s “in”. That’s about 5,100 for Home Basic and Professional editions, and about 9, 500 for Ultimate. But then again, the Operating system does not include the office applications like your MS Word and PowerPoint, so you’d have to buy it. Microsoft sells office applications in one Enterprise suite so you’d only have to buy them all at about 5,100. Fortunately, Adobe Reader (for your E-Book and other files in .pdf format) and Microsoft Essentials (Microsoft’s Antimalware application) is free, so you won’t have to spend to have them installed on your computer. Nero (disc burning software) also usually comes with your new computer’s utilities disc, saving you from further spending. That’s about all you need for a netbook for basic school use, and by that we are talking about 26, 000 pesos.

But different students have different needs. Engineering students, for example, would need to install Autocad or 3DSMax on their computers; DevCom students would need Xara Extreme Pro, CorelDraw, Sony Soundforge, Sony Vegas, and SPSS (Statictical Package for Social Sciences). Gamers, like me, would want to install games like NBA2K12, Call of Duty, or Battlefield. Tuneup? You can go for free tuneup software like AVG PC tuneup or buy commercial tuneup programs like Tuneup Utilities. Photo buffs might want to have Photoshop on their computer. But you might want to take consider this: Autocad-171, 785, Xara Extreme Pro-12, 875, CorelDraw X5-16, 492, SPSS-96, 750, Photoshop—8,557. See? Why do you have to spend thousands of pesos if you can just download from Torrents and have the installer for free the next day? Again, the license. But why do you have to spend thousands of pesos for licensed software if you can have it for free? Yes, you can have a licensed Operating System and other necessary software for free—The Open Source.

Open Source software are developed from open access Source Codes. Open means that the Source Code of a program is shared to anyone interested, for free, for the purpose of improving it. Any developer can work and expand the program based on the Source Code and add features he wants to incorporate into the program. Source Codes, by the way, are skeletons of software, the framework by which programs are built and developed, like the blueprints engineers use to construct buildings. The collaboration of developers eventually gave birth to free Operating Systems and other applications like Ubuntu and Linux OS. Open Source software might be all you need. Here’s why:

1. It’s free. Counterfeit software thrives because of one single big reason: genuine software are expensive. Some computers do come with a bundled Operating System or office applications when you buy them. But most? Nope. And these bundled Software are often the lower versions, like your Windows 7 Starter with limited capabilities. Buying the versions? Forget it, too expensive. That’s just for the Operating System. The Open Source software is your free alternative, no need to pirate; everything is legitimate, OS and other important applications, and all other applications you might want to add. All you have to do is download it; nothing to pay for and no more spending for you to be worried about. Install, and enjoy.

2. It’s all in one. Unlike other platforms, Open Source Operating Systems come with necessary applications. When you run your computer on Ubuntu for example, office applications like Libre Office Writer (The Ubuntu counterpart for MSWord) are already installed. No need to buy a separate enterprise package for other office applications. Plus, Ubuntu has a software center where you can download any other Open Source software you want, any Open Source software you need, all for free. No need to pirate programs anymore, just download it from the Software center and it’s all yours to use.

3. It’s multiplatform compatible. What happens when you have to open a .docx file using MSWord 2003? Unless it’s in compatibility mode, it won’t open. That’s for the windows platform. In the same manner, files and processes created using the Windows platform cannot run on other platforms like Solaris or Mac, save for Open Source platforms. How is this useful? Your .doc or .docx files can run on    Libre Office Writer. Same is true with .xls or other files created using MSOffice. Files created using Mac and Solaris also run on Open Source applications. This helps you save time converting files or saving them in compatibility mode before you can use them on earlier versions of an office application or when using a computer running on a different platform. Even our university network servers at ODREX run on Open Source platforms so our network can accept connections from computers running on different platforms (Mac and seldom Solaris for foreign visitors, and mostly Windows for students, faculty and staff).

Another good thing about an Open Source Operating System is that it can run inside a windows platform. Heard about dual boot? If you are using a computer running on Windows 7, you can either try using the Open Source software like Ubuntu of PC Linux OS without altering anything on your system, install the Open Source software inside the Windows platform, or Replace your Windows 7 with the Open Source software you are using. Don’t worry, all files you create using Open Source software will be opened using their Windows-based application counterparts.

4. It’s Virus free. It’s not totally virus free, but out of the Millions of malwares infecting computers running on the Windows platform, only 8 has been found in the Open Source platform. 8 minimum risk viruses. What does that mean? This means that you won’t have to worry about antivirus and antivirus updates anymore. Running on Open Source platform also gives you the power to remove threats and retrieve files on your drives and portable devices. Infected Flash Drive? Plug it on a computer running on Open Source and delete worms and Trojans just like deleting any other useless file, or sweep your hard drives and hard drive partitions to remove threats. No sweat.

5. It’s open for development. You can’t add features on software in the market. But you can add anything you want on open source software. If you’re not a programmer, you’ll just have to wait until a developer adds the feature you want. Just wait for the update, download it and use it as your own. Free and legit; nothing illegal. Even your Operating System is regularly updated too, just wait, download, and use it. Ask your friends who use open source applications and they’ll tell you open source application work better and even have better features than the expensive software sold in stores. Another good thing about Open Source software is that they give credits to people who help develop a program. If you are knowledgeable at programming and you get to add a feature in an Open Source software, your name will appear on the product credits. I have a friend who happened to design graphics for a particular version of PC Linux OS and until now, when I use that version I still see his name on the credits.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with running your computer on Windows. If and only if your Windows is legitimate. If not, then it could get you to all sorts of trouble, sooner or later. Get legit or use Open Source—the sweet alternative. Some say using it is difficult. It’s not; it’s difficult only if you think it is. Give it a try and you will find out how cool it is. Trust me, I run my laptop on Ubuntu 11.10, I should know.

The University Supreme Student Council (USSC) of the Visayas State University would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the VSU studentry, our constituents, our boss. We thank you for supporting the programs and projects of the present set of USSC officers and for the time and effort you have extended to make them successful. We thank you for a school year of action, improvements, and challenges.

We understand that some criticize the council. We have continuously faced these criticisms positively and humbly admit that we also have our share of lapses. Your officers will not make excuses, but strive harder to serve you better instead. Excellence, as others say, is not about doing best in everything, it is about giving the best at doing everything that can be done.

There have been questions as to what the USSC has been doing. As we end our term of being your bridge to the VSU Board of Regents, we would like to update you of our major accomplishments this school year.

Our first major achievement for the school year is the improved relationship of your student council with the Amaranth, your student publication. The USSC and the publication, by nature, were created to watch each other to ensure check and balance in student governance, but we have realized that things would work better if we work together to forward the cause we were sworn into office for: to serve the VSU studentry.

The unity between the two autonomous student serving bodies is a proof that in a setting where excellence is valued, teamwork plays a vital role. Together, the pub and the council have made projects and activities possible. At present, we are in the middle of paving the way for a Constitutional Convention to improve the structure by which the USSC works. In the same way, we will also be assisting the publication to ratify their charter.

The Student Council has also been staunch in protecting nature, in support to VSU’s being a Darkgreen School. We have launched a project dubbed “Basura mo, Pera natin.” Through your College Supreme Student Council (CSSCs), the USSC was able to collect recyclable plastic bottles and sell them to generate funds for USSC projects, helping preserve nature at the same time.

With your participation, the student council has also extended help in maintaining the cleanliness of the VSU Ecopark. Each college now maintains an area in the Ecopark. This project is still ongoing and has relieved the administration from the burden of making sure that the Ecopark is kept clean and in order. Students take an active role in a premier university; this project is absolutely the proof to that.

We have also been active in extending help to people outside the university. Together with the Holy Spirit Parish, we have extended help to the Victims of typhoon Sendong through the donations of VSU students, faculty and staff. Being in the university does not cut us, students, off from our fellow countrymen. It increases our responsibility to give back, instead, and the USSC is glad that through us, the VSU studentry was able to give back to our fellow Filipinos who have not only lost their properties, but their loved ones as well.

While doing all these projects, we have also made sure that we do our most important task, to bring your concerns to the VSU administration. We have successfully held a Student Federation Assembly and General Student Assemblies so we can voice out our concerns to the authorities concerned. We have also gathered the students to discuss, enjoy, celebrate, and spend time together on parties, consultations, and convocation. These activities would not have been successful without your support, and we thank you all for that. We also thank you for allowing us to extend financial assistance to some CVM students facing a legal charge. Truly, VSU is a place where people live a lifestyle of excellence.

We would also like to reveal that the student council has sent a letter to the Office of the President (OP) through the Office of the Vice President for Instruction (OVPI) requesting to increase the stipend of the scholars and we are hoping that they will grant our request. This request is a product of the last Student Federation Assembly. Again, we will live true to our oath of bringing your voice to the administration.

Lastly, we would like to inform you of our latest project, the construction of a covered walk to shelter students using the Market-Mango Avenue walkway. This joint project between the student council and the VSU administration will hopefully be complete before the school year 2011-2012 ends.

The University Supreme Student Council (USSC) would like to thank you all for helping the council live up to its mandate of leading and serving the VSU studentry. We assure you that we will live up to that until the end of our tenure in office. Until then we will continue to fight for your rights. In closing let me encourage you all to take part in our campaign to improve our system of student governance. Be a part of the change.

Snakes…we can see them slithering on the gutter of the road, swimming in the canals, hiding behind a rock, snuggling under a dense bush and sometimes gliding from a tree! No, don’t take it figuratively because this is not about deceitful, vile people. We are talking about the limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles also known as serpents.

Our university is blessed to have a picturesque forest for a campus that it’s even proclaimed as a Protected Area for wildlife. Among the diverse wildlife are snakes which also come in many different species. Because there isn’t much pollution around, there are many crevices to hide in and there are plenty of food resources, snakes are quite common here.

Since they are common, encounters with snakes are inevitable. This is where the problem starts. When we see a snake crossing our path our first reaction would either be to run out of sight at the speed of light or to grab a stick and strike the hapless snakes to death. This is because when we see a snake the fear of the potential danger it can inflict immediately registers in our mind.

All species of snakes in our country are protected by law specifically by the Republic Act 9147 also known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. It is stated in Section 27 ‘Illegal Acts’ that it shall be unlawful for any person to willfully exploit wildlife resources and their habitats or undertake acts such as killing and destroying wildlife species. Except when done as part of religious rituals of established tribal groups, when wildlife is afflicted with incurable communicable disease, when it is necessary to end the misery suffered by the wildlife, when done for authorized research/experiments, or when done to prevent imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being, it is considered illegal. It is clear on the law that snakes and other wildlife should not be harmed or killed for their mere presence or existence.

Unfortunately, some people deliberately kill snakes just to prove their masculinity so they can have the bragging right that they have killed something feared or hated by most people. But why are snakes even worth conserving and protecting? Some might say ‘They are dangerous creatures. They’ll bite you with their fangs and kill you with their venom. Snakes are the embodiment of evil!” People who say that were probably sleeping during their ecology class or maybe they never were in one.

For those who need some enlightenment, not all snakes are venomous. In fact, there are more species of nonvenomous than the venomous snakes. The nonvenomous snakes catch their prey by first securing the prey in their mouth then coiling their body around the chest of the prey to suffocate it, hence their other name constrictors.

The venomous snakes on the other hand subdue their prey by injecting venom into the flesh. The venom is actually highly modified saliva containing a combination of enzymes and other proteins. There are two major classes of snake venom, the neurotoxins which target the nervous system to cause paralysis to the prey and the cytotoxins which generally attack blood cells and muscle cells usually causing cardiac arrest.

Although a number of snake venom is fatal to humans, it is very rare that snakes would ever use their venom to defend themselves against humans. Venom is very valuable to the snake so if it ever bites a human, the bite would usually be ‘blank’.

Snakes are very much essential to the ecology of its ecosystem. They belong to the secondary and tertiary consumer levels in the food chain. They predate on small mammals such as rats – which are considered pests in agricultural and residential lands – amphibians, small reptiles and fowl. They also serve as prey for animals higher on the food chain like birds of prey, other snakes and even humans.

It doesn’t matter whether you believe in the symbolisms people tag with snakes or not. If the snake population of an ecosystem declines or goes extinct the whole ecosystem would collapse leading to the extinction of many other species. Sadly, snake populations around the world are declining and the Philippines is on the top list.

We are lucky to have our university as a good habitat for these awesome creatures and we can make it great by not harming them and providing them a better environment to survive in. They may be snakes but they too need respect.