february 2012 U.P. Newsletter 5

The newly-renovated Geographic Infor mat ion Systems and Dig i ta l Cartography Laboratory (GIS Lab) of the Department of Geography of UP Diliman�’s (UPD) College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) was inaugurated last January 25.

The event was led by Department Chair Darlene Occeña-Gutierrez and attended by UPD Chancellor Caesar Saloma, CSSP Dean Michael Tan, CSSP department chairs, faculty members and students of the Geography Department.

The GIS Lab was constructed in 2003 and was upgraded to meet the increasing demand for GIS as a geospatial technology.

Saloma said in his message that like any other technology, GIS involves constant upgrading.

Tan said that GIS is gaining recognition for application in social sciences. Not only is it being used in resource management, urban and regional planning, demographic studies and others, it has also been recognized as an indispensable tool and technique in disaster risk reduction and management.

Sa loma added tha t GIS i s an interdisciplinary program that could be used in research on risk management, including that of the Diliman campus.

The GIS Lab is primarily used for

instruction and research, particularly in the Geography Department�’s GIS, Digital Cartography and Map and Air Photo Interpretation courses. Classes of Quantitative Methods in Geographic Analysis are also held here as statistical software is required in teaching the said subject.

The department also uses the laboratory when offering short-term courses on GIS applications to members of the CSSP faculty and staff members, non-government and community organizations, private individuals and government of cials who are involved in development-related programs.

UPD Department of Geography inaugurates GIS Lab

for Nationalism and Democracy-UP (CONTEND-UP) said that Filipinos do not tolerate killings. According to Atty. Julian Oliva, private prosecutor from National Union of People�’s Lawyers (NUPL), Palparan cannot ask for special treatment while in hiding.

As regards the transfer to Fort Bonifacio under military custody of Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, two of Palparan�’s co-accused, NUPL said in a press statement that �“All of the accused in the disappearance of Empeño and Cadapan must be jailed in an ordinary civilian penal facility where they rightfully belong.�”Harassing students at fi eldwork

Conti said that the bias of the military and law enforcers against UP students is quite alarming. Other than the College of

Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) which requires its students to engage in community work, the College of Medicine and the College of Law also have extension activities in various communities.

This �“bias�” was manifested in a recent incident in Porac, Pampanga. Rafael Anton Dulce, national vice-chairperson of Anakbayan and one of the three BS Community Development students of UP Diliman who were harassed by the military, relayed their experience while they were doing eldwork as required for their graduation.

Initially based at �“Katutubo Village,�” Dulce�’s group was harassed by alleged military elements in the outskirts of upland Kamias where they were invited by the Aeta into their ancestral lands for a celebration.

UP community demands justice for HR victims

What is of UP, by UP, and for UP? The answer is iskWiki (http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/Main_Page), an open-purpose community wiki for the UP Diliman community and a collaborative platform for instruction, research and UP life.

Created and maintained by the Diliman Interactive Learning Center (DILC) and of cially launched in February 2009, the iskWiki is a community-wiki that serves as a platform and archive on anything and everything about UP Diliman. Any UP student, faculty member, scientist, artist, researcher, musician, administrative of cer and staff member�—in short, anyone with a UP Webmail account�—can add to this stockpile of knowledge.

According to�—what else?�—Wikipedia, a wiki is �“a website whose users can add, modify or delete its content via a web browser using a simpli ed markup language or a rich-text editor. �” Wikis are �“typically powered by wiki software and are often created collaboratively by multiple users.�”

iskWiki is not exactly Wikipedia though, says DILC Director Peter Sy. �“Wikipedia is about building an open encyclopedia. [iskWiki] is a community. We�’re taking account of our stock of knowledge [about UP] and of our activities.�”A wiki for iskos and iskas

Sy describes wikis as �“the closest thing to a do-it-yourself website�” and the closest thing to a commons area or central lobby for UP Diliman students, faculty and staff alike, where any bit of information or knowledge about

UP�—from the serious to the trivial�—can find a permanent home. iskWiki�—a contraction of �“a community wiki by and for the iskos and iskas of the University of the Philippines�”�—began through the DILC�’s efforts to come up with an ef cient information distribution/dissemination system for the UP community. �“We looked at how information is distributed in other universities such as Stanford, Case Western, Columbia and Cornell, and how these universities use wikis,�” Sy says. �“Then we gave careful thought on the tack we were going to take. We saw the potential of [wikis].�”

Wikis today are used for a variety of purposes: as a library cum storage space for information about speci c disciplines; as a means to expand knowledge about

certain topics, including entire books, through inputs from as many authors as possible; and as a community center for a wide array of elds, interests and fandoms. �“The wiki is now the platform of choice for a lot of things online,�” says Sy. �“The problem with [traditional websites] was that they were so hard to maintain and to update, and you ended up with silos of knowledge and information. Now we can start with something grand and we can just populate the platform, put in a lot of stuff and aggregate it for you. That�’s why we�’re presenting iskWiki as anything about research, instruction and the UP life. Basically anything UP.�”iskWiki for UP students

Anything UP it is, as iskWiki is designed to ful ll a function for any member of

the UP community. For UP students, iskWiki is a place where information on student organizations, such as histories, membership rosters and calendars of activities, can be uploaded. Information, press releases and materials about events organized and sponsored by UP students or UP student orgs can also up uploaded on iskWiki, which should complement whatever they may already have on their of cial websites or on social networking sites. Groups of students doing projects and reports for class may also document their work process and upload these on iskWiki, from the preliminary research work to the nal product, and maybe even a �“behind-the-scenes�” narration, album of photos or video.

Finally, UP students can also upload their

Continued from page 1

A ‘wiki’ for the UP Diliman community Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta

Continued on page 7

According to Dulce, his groupmate Marie Gold Villar was casually asked by a soldier in civilian clothes who introduced himself as �‘Paul�’ of �‘DPWH region 3 of ce�’ what they were doing in the area. The seemingly casual questions turned into accusations that the students were NPA guerillas. They were detained and released only after one of their groupmates broke into tears. After issuing threats, the alleged military elements noted the cellphone number of one of the students and, according to Dulce, the military has been contacting and harassing his groupmate via text messaging since then.

In a statement, Anakbayan condemned �“the physical assault and terrorizing�” of three UP students �“at the hands of members of the 70th Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army�” and called �“on the DOJ and the

rest of the Aquino administration to end the climate of immunity by immediately arresting Palparan and prosecuting other �‘butchers in uniform�’.�”

�“This incident threatens the viability of our programs and derails the practice of our legitimate profession,�” said CSWCD in a statement that denounces �“in the strongest terms the harassment done to (our) eldwork students�” and calls �“on the military chain of command�” to �“conduct a thorough, swift, and impartial investigation of the harassment incident, and deal accordingly with those at fault.�”Ongoing people’s manhunt

The manhunt for Palparan started last year when an arrest warrant was issued against him and his co-accused. In December 2011, Karapatan Alliance for

the Advancement of People�’s Rights and members of Desaparecidos and other supporters started disseminating �“Wanted Palparan�” posters online and of ine.

During the same month, the University Council of UP Diliman issued the statement �“Release our students and alumni�” stating that �“these UP students and alumni are the country�’s assets rather than its liabilities. Their detention and disappearance, while UP�’s loss, are the nation�’s too.�”

During the January 26 press conference, different sectors of UP reaf rmed support for the people�’s manhunt. Prof. Michael Francis Andrada, president of All-UP Academic Employees Union Diliman, said that every UP student brings with him the mark of the militant history of UP, making him or her seem like a �“threat�” to the government.

Felix Pariñas, national president of the All-UP Workers Union, said that they experienced the same harassment during their participation in the celebration of Mangyan Day last summer.

President Alfredo Pascual urged the alleged perpetrators to face the charges and also expressed support for the call for justice.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino, former UPD University Student Council chairperson, appealed to the UP alumni, to the House of Representatives and to the Aquino administration to help in the manhunt. Palatino filed House Resolution 2055 to urge representatives, of which 68 are UP alumni, to help in the manhunt. He added that if the Aquino administration shows determination in the investigation and proceedings of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona�’s impeachment, it should also harness the political will to hold human rights violators like Palparan accountable.

Student Regent Conti explains the human rights violations experienced by UP students, as Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino, Prof. Mykel Andrada of AUPAEU, Anton Dulce of Porac 3 and Felix Pariñas of AUPWU wait for their turn to speak.

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february 2012 U.P. Newsletter 7

A conference was held recently at U.P. Diliman to discuss issues relating to the University�’s General Education Program (http://www.upd.edu.ph/~updinfo/dec11/index9.html). From the tenor of the discussions during that conference, one can detect a measure of concern among the participants that the GEP has not been living up to expectations.

I share this apprehension. The GEP has been in place since the late fties. But questions are now being raised as to whether or not the program should be continued at all. As one who has played a minor role in the GEP�’s inception and early implementation �– I was part of a team that put together the economics module under the direction of the late Philosophy Professor Ricardo Pascual �– I ask myself these questions: To what extent has the GEP met its objectives? What lessons have we learned from the over fty years of experimenting with it? Objectives

There is little disagreement over what the ultimate goal of the GEP should be - that of turning out liberally-educated and well-rounded graduates. But there is much less agreement on how this overarching goal should be operationalized. To borrow a concept from management, what are the relevant key result areas with which to assess the program? What in measurable terms are the acceptable criteria of success?

One thing is certain: there are limits to what can be achieved in the two years or so of exposure to the program. The most that can be accomplished is to sow a few seeds in terms of basic knowledge, skills and competencies that will eventually take roots to ensure lifelong learning for the graduates.

There are fundamental differences between knowledge on the one hand, and skills and competencies on the other. These should be developed separately and differently, and the GEP should

concentrate only on knowledge creation.Knowledge has to do with understanding

the world around us. It re ects the ability to make informed judgments and opinions, and to take actions that can potentially change things. Explicit knowledge is transferable and can be taught.

Skills and competencies cannot be taught; these, along with tacit knowledge, are either learned from experience, through continued practice, and by effective coaching, or they are genetically wired in us. In implementing the GEP, tacit knowledge, skills and competencies, including communication and thinking skills, can be honed in on the students through their own active participation in the learning process - through open, interactive discussions of current issues and by requiring them to hand in written reports on topics that are of interest to them. I see no reason, therefore, in offering separate courses for this purpose.

There are two statements of objectives that must be rejected outright: (1) �“to ensure, in theory, that the U.P. Graduate is both jack and master of all trades�” and (2) �“to develop pro ciency in elds outside of the students�’ chosen course.�” I stress this for the reason that they run counter to the logic of specialization that has been articulated by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations. In the societal context, and from a longer-run perspective, the Program should aim instead at developing, in addition to individual capabilities, values and attitudes that are conducive to the sharing of individual knowledge and specialties such as openness and a trusting attitude towards others.

Perhaps a more relevant criterion is that suggested at the conference by Professors Cynthia Bautista and Ma. Serena Diokno, that of �“develop(ing) the ability to adapt and change.�” I shall dwell on this subsequently.Integrating framework

A major characteristic of current

Commentary

Rethinking UP’s GE program—yet again

Niceto S. Poblador, Ph.D.

Rizal and the Woman Question�’ that San Juan asks: �“What is Rizal�’s ultimate assessment of women�’s actual virtue and potential?�” In this essay, San Juan explores through a historical-materialist lens the subaltern marginalization of women with the advent of colonialism and its apparatuses.

To explain this pivotal moment in Philippine history, San Juan turns to Engels and his treatise, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1844; 1891) which states that in the patriarchal, monogamous family based on private property, women were �“relegated to the private sphere of the kitchen and the boudoir.�”

San Juan opposes this situation to pre-Hispanic Philippines where women�’s productive function gave them autonomy and parity with men. San Juan says that women were �“relatively sovereign thinking, and enjoying subjects like men,�” in a communal setup which was destroyed by the advent of colonialism and its regulation of women�’s bodies by the church and private property.

San Juan asks: �“(W)as Rizal�… a contributor to the maintenance of the patriarchal order or a critic of the effects of the social division of labor in class

society which is the condition of possibility for male supremacy�… ?�” In the following sequences, he re ects on the role characters such as Maria Clara (as a mediating instrument to satisfy the demands of lial piety), Juli (as a gure of women�’s de ance), and Sisa; in addition to the role of real women in Rizal�’s life such as his mother Teodora Alonzo, Leonor Rivera, Segunda Katigbak, etc.

San Juan also paints a clear picture of Rizal�’s admiration of his mother, who he calls �“a woman of more than ordinary culture.�” Hence his mother�’s humiliation and detention on a false charge when Rizal was merely 11, pushed Rizal to create characters who sublimated his mother�’s painful experiences in order to resolve the trauma. San Juan writes:

�“Sisa�’s walk to the barracks is Rizal�’s re-enactment of his mother�’s torture, an unforgiveable outrage. It was not just an empathetic reliving of the mother�’s agony but a mimetic performance of the ordeal.�”

Sisa�’s sense of honor, however �“testi es to an inherent human dignity,�” according to San Juan �– qualities which Rizal recommended Filipina women to acquire. San Juan then draws from Rizal�’s studies of the manggagaway (witch) and the

undergraduate or graduate theses�—or even particularly good term papers produced for certain classes�—on iskWiki and make these available for their fellow students and researchers from outside. iskWiki for UP faculty, researchers and artists

iskWiki can also make life easier for UP faculty members. They can upload their pro les on iskWiki, including educational background, current and past positions, teaching interests and expertise, lists of published works and journal publications and hardcopy versions, photos and videos of papers they read and lectures they delivered. They can also set up iskWiki pages for their course work, including syllabi, reading lists and schedules for the entire semester. They can create a collaborative environment for class projects and at the end of the term can showcase their class output through photo and video galleries, essays and so on.

Through iskWiki, UP artists, writers and musicians have an additional venue for their art work, literary work and musical or dramatic performances via photo and audio/video uploads and as a multimedia archive of their collective works. UP scientists and social scientists, on the other

Scholar tackles Rizal and the woman question

approaches to the teaching of GE courses is that content is organized by discipline or specialty. This is true among the speci c sciences and disciplines within each of the three broad knowledge domains, for example, chemistry and physics in the domain of mathematics, science and technology, and economics and sociology which fall under the domain of social sciences and philosophy.

As currently implemented, the GEP also offers little opportunity to capture the inter-relatedness among the three domains of knowledge (for example, the strong links between the evolution of the human species on the one hand, and the development of human society and culture on the other). This manner of designing courses gives a fragmented view of reality, and students fail to perceive and appreciate the complex interconnectivity among the diverse and limitless elements that comprise the world around us. A uni ed perspective of reality cannot be developed in this way not only because the different sciences and disciplines employ different terminologies and methodologies, but also because they are founded on different assumptions about the nature of things.

As an alternative, we propose that courses in the GEP be designed around certain issues or problem areas. For example, under social sciences and philosophy, we can identify topics of current interest such as poverty and social inequality, sustainable development, crime and delinquency, and corruption in public service. Under mathematics, science and technology, the issues of climate change, the impact of Information and Communication Technology on society, and the promise of genetic modi cation loom large. We believe that by designing courses �“laterally�” �– that is, by issue or problem area �– rather than �“vertically�” by discipline, the GEP can develop a better appreciation of the relevance of the various sciences and disciplines in addressing the entire range of issues confronting society today. Moreover, we believe that this approach makes better pedagogical sense. By introducing concepts and theories in the context of problems and issues, especially those with which the students are familiar, new ideas are better internalized and learning therefore becomes more lasting and meaningful, much more so compared with forcing our students to suffer our boring lectures and humdrum PowerPoint presentations.

But how can we perceive a semblance of unity in a world characterized by confusing diversity? We strongly believe that the GEP can achieve the required coherence by adopting Complexity Theory as an integrating framework. By viewing social, biological and physical phenomena as Complex Adaptive Systems, and noting the essential commonalities among them (for example, their extreme sensitivity to initial conditions, their self organizing criticality), we are able to discern order in what appears to be a convoluted and aimless world, and to understand better the dynamics of systems change.

We have earlier noted Professor Bautista and Diokno�’s suggestion to focus on change and adaptation. By long-standing tradition, we have mistakenly adhered to the notion that we can manage or respond to change in a manner that brings predictable results. The realization that we live in a world of complexity, instability and unpredictability requires us to think differently in interpreting and dealing with today�’s realities, and to learn how to live and work more productively in a world characterized by incessant and unpredictable change.

Nick Poblador, A.B. �‘58, is a retired Professor of Management and until recently taught knowledge management at the School of Economics. At the time of his retirement in 1998, he was head (with the rank of Associate Dean) of the then newly-organized School of Management at U.P. Mindanao. Comments are welcome at nspoblador@yahoo.com

A ‘wiki’ for the UP Diliman community

Continued from page 5Continued from page 4

Continued on page 11 Continued on page 10

Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban (center, in black), the new president of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and a UP alumnus (BS Math ‘81, MBA ‘83) is greeted by UP President Alfredo Pascual, with Profs. Joey Balmaceda and Honesto Nuqui from the UP Institute of Mathematics on his visit to the university last January 5.

Photo by B

ong Arboleda

10 U.P. Newsletter february 2012

may nagla lakad sa bangketa . may nagyoyosi sa brickwall. may naghahagilap ng id. nagsisigawan ang mga dispatsador. naghihiyawan ang mga tibak. nagiiyakan ang mga busina. may nagbabantay na guwardiya. may naka-shades na matanda. may jeepney na pumara. nagtitilamsikan ang mantika. nagliliparan ang mga palara. naglalakbay-kamay ang mga pera. may dumaang lrt. may nalaglag na kendi. may nagsindi ng panibagong yosi. tuloy tuloy ang ikot ng magulong mundo. sabay sa walang puknat na pagtakbo ng oras. gising na gising ang kalsada. buhay na buhay ang diwa. andun ako. andun ka. isang maikling yakap. ako�’y nabigla. magulong mundo�’y parang tumila. doon nagsimula. ang love story sa faura.

�“Love Story sa Faura�” by Dannyboi Rallonza, http://oble.ph/articles/190/

love-story-sa-faura/UP is a strange place. Viewed from afar,

it is the national university, the country�’s premier institution of higher learning�—a place where the leaders and achievers of the land are nurtured and trained; a center of research where the best scienti c minds work to expand our knowledge base; and a haven of freedom for the country�’s premier artists, writers and musicians. All very formal, distant and grand.

But UP viewed up close is also the backdrop for a hundred thousand stories about real people. It is the noisy classrooms, the echoing hallways, the sun-warmed benches, the tree-lined streets, the grassy elds, and the venerable buildings that have witnessed the awakening of a hundred thousand passions, the unfolding of a hundred thousand lives, and the joining of a hundred thousand hearts. And after over a hundred years of nurturing youthful passions and budding romances, UP has become a place where the dream of �“happily ever after�” can�—and often does�— nd a home.

This, many UP faculty, students, staff and alumni can attest to. Dr. Jose Wendell P. Capili, assistant vice-president for public affairs and director of the UP System Of ce of Alumni Relations, can list several prominent UP people from among different generations who have found their life-mates on campus. In fact, UP has become something of a family tradition as well for many of its alumni. The fact that the UP Alumni Association (UPAA) established the annual UPAA Multi-Generation UP Alumni Family Award in 2008, giving special recognition to families who have produced three or more successive generations of UP alumni, is a testament to this.

The highlight of my UP student days was meeting Butch, my college sweetheart, the love of my life, my future husband, while eating beside Rodic�’s Diner at the UP Shopping Center with my dorm-mates. Memories ow as I recall the days we strolled the UP campus before our dorm�’s curfew. Locking our hands together, we often sat by the grassy knoll of the Sunken Garden and watched the sunset as we wove dreams of being together forever and having babies one day. Amidst the Beegees �“How Deep is Your Love,�” time stood still for love-struck us.

By Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, http://aboutmyrecovery.com/my-up-centennial-

celebration/The standards of a typical UP love story

are unmistakable: becoming block mates during the freshman year; meeting each other through a campus org; getting to know each other over dozens of sticks of isaw and kwek-kwek; helping each other through hell weeks; marching side by side during rallies and demonstrations�—all the hallmarks of UP life are there. (In fact, as an example of a quintessential UP love story, one can look no further than a wedding video of a couple who met as students of the UP College of

Engineering. The video has been uploaded to iskWiki [http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/iskWiki!:Community_Portal], and features banana-cue in a way all UP people can relate to.)

But UP love stories spring from deeper reasons as well.

�“In the past, many UP alumni found their husbands and wives in organizations like UP Student Catholic Action (UPSCA), Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP). They met because of the community�—the orgs, the groups, or the disciplines they came from,�” says Capili. �“In many of our campuses, students come from far-away places. Since they live far away from their families, they look for surrogate families and alternative families. It�’s easy for them to have best friends or barkadas, and from these friends and acquaintances, they end up nding their respective boyfriends, girlfriends, even lifetime partners who are morale boosters and romantic interests at the same time.�”

There�’s also something to be said about college romances, as opposed to that other rose-colored idealization of the past, the high school romance. For one thing, college romances could be considered more stable and more likely to last. Compared to high school, �“there�’s a greater deal of maturity in college. You get exposed to socio-political realities and you tend to nd common-interest friends, many of whom become your partners, close friends and surrogate families,�” says Capili. During the chaos of Martial Law, for example, many people found themselves growing closer because of shared political ideas and common ordeals.

Their dates would consist of playing and talking at Freedom Park or going bowling in the Student Union Building. They would also hang out with their friends in their �“tambayan�” or go swimming at the hot spring resorts. One date I could not forget was when they went for a hike in Makiling. The sweethearts carved their names on a tree. Papa wrote, �“RICO,�” then the shape of a heart, then �“DEL,�” meaning Rico loves Del. Every time we went to Los Baños, he would tell us that story, and we would attempt to nd that tree.

�“First Kiss�”, Romina Puno, from 50 Kwentong Peyups, UP Press: 2009

Of course, all these love stories have one more thing in common: the environment. �“Actually, UP campuses in general tend to be very romantic, because they are some of the few places in their respective localities where there are trees and open spaces,�” says Capili. This is especially true of the larger and older campuses with long-standing traditions, such as Diliman, Los Baños, Mindanao, and Miag-ao, Iloilo. UP Baguio, too, is known for its close-knit constituents, pine trees and mountain air. Capili adds that UP Manila, although now rather hemmed in by buildings and a train-track, can also be considered romantic, particularly back in the day before World War II.

An article on �“Romantic Places to Elope�” on the website LoveToKnow Weddings (http://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Romantic_Places_to_Elope) lists the characteristics a place must have to be considered romantic: it must offer the couple some privacy; it must give the couple opportunities to spend time together and focus on each other; it must be unique; and it must have romantic touches. With its trees and greenery, its campus hangouts, restaurants and cultural events, its unique architecture and its romantic scenery (see: sunsets and evenings on campus), UP�’s campuses certainly t the description. No surprise then, that UP campuses tend to attract non-UP lovers as well to its sheltering

grounds, especially couples seeking a more affordable date alternative to beach resorts and island getaways. As a matter of fact, PinoyMoneyVantage.net has listed stargazing in UP Diliman as a good idea for a Valentine�’s Day date for the cash-strapped couple (http://www.pinoymoneyvantage.net/2011/02/pre-valentines-treats-dating-on.html). The UP Diliman Of ce of the Vice-Chancellor for Community Affairs received around four requests to conduct romantic or pre-nuptial shoots on campus, with the Lagoon, Sunken Garden, the Carillon Plaza, the Academic Oval, and Quezon Hall-Oblation Plaza as favorite spots.

The romantic atmosphere of the UP campuses may prove detrimental to academic success at times. �“There was a joke in the 1980s that the soil in UPLB has high protein content,�” Capili says. Seriously, though, �“I�’ve heard of a lot of stories of people who found lifetime partners in UPLB. Mt. Makiling is very conducive...�” to extracurricular activities, apparently.

I thought that our diverse opinions on things, being products of an open-minded institution like UP, was also what made us click. I don�’t know if it was a UP kind of love, but whatever it was, I became a willing victim in surrendering to its beauty.

�“UP Love�”, Maffy Carandang, from 50 Kwentong Peyups, UP Press: 2009

It�’s not only UP�’s physical environment that makes it conducive to romance, it�’s the culture as well. In UP, one is not con ned to the traditional concepts of love and sexuality, for one thing. For instance, �“Diliman, regardless of political, social or sexual orientation, tends to be a little more tolerant, and you have a greater chance of getting respected vis-à-vis the outside world,�” says Capili. Things such as love

and courtship may run a bit more on the conservative side in many other places, but �“UP will always have people who will always deviate from the norm, and they will stick to it and ght for their convictions, despite people not sharing their values.�”

The beauty of UP lies in its willingness to tolerate, if not embrace, diversity. �“You will nd god on campus, and you will nd atheists on campus. No need to camou age or trim down your identity, because people will respect you for who you are,�” says Capili. He adds that the perceived culture of permissiveness among UP campuses �“can be attributed to the fact that we tend to challenge existing norms, to think outside the box. People in UP tend to be more creative, and to problematize a lot. It�’s part of the upbringing of UP students and faculty�—the UP community in general. People don�’t go for emotions. [In fact], people think too much in this campus,�” he adds with a laugh.

Part of this process of questioning, analyzing, exploring and experimenting extends to sexuality, religion and the very concept of romance. Because of this, there is room in UP for the traditional and the alternative, the conservative and the liberal, the common practice and the experimental, and everything in between. UP is home to people who are happily married and happily single, people who are devoted to their partners and to their research on abstract theory, and people who are committed to their interpersonal relationships as well as to their creative and advocacy work.

�“I think in general, UP is a fertile place for romantic interludes,�” says Capili. �“There is academic freedom [here] that enables people to respect each other�’s feelings while at the same time, be less inhibited. [In short], UP is a wonderful playground of love.�”

hand can upload research abstracts, pre-prints, papers and reports on iskWiki for a quick and handy reference.

Iskwiki being a platform for collaborative work, UP researchers can upload pro les and descriptions of their research projects, give updates on their progress in order to invite open collaboration and feedback and restrict public access to only a few authorized researchers. And while research ndings may eventually end up as a publication or a report to funding agencies, a good deal of useful materials that are not included in nal reports or publications need to be archived or shared with colleagues�—and iskWiki is just the platform to do it.iskWiki for UP administrators and staff

For the many academic units and

administrative of ces in UP, there is such a thing called �“institutional memory.�” Of cers and staff may come and go, but the administrative processes, internal operations, administrative roles and functions, and university policies remain. iskWiki can serve as a platform for storing and documenting these processes and policies, as well as intra-unit updates, memos and newsletters, thus providing an archive of that of ce or unit for easy retrieval.

The DILC itself keeps its documentation in iskWiki. �“For instance, we [in the DILC] have developed a template for how to respond to requests from the faculty,�” says Sy. �“Even if we have a change in our staff, the template is still there. And that�’s another special feature of iskWiki. You can restrict access to information so that the public

A ‘wiki’ for the UP Diliman communityContinued from page 7

Continued on page 11

Celeste Ann Castillo LlanetaUP as a fertile place for love

Photo by O

cs Alvarez

Fertility Tree

february 2012 U.P. Newsletter 11

Christian Merer, cultural counsellor of the French Embassy in the Philippines, visited UP Visayas (UPV) and met with Chancellor Rommel Espinosa and other university of cials last January 20.

Merer briefed the UPV of cials on the 40-year partnership between France and the Philippines in the areas of education, arts and culture. There are 350 Filipino students in France on scholarships, most of them are enrolled in Mass Communication courses. There is also a link between French institutions and Philippine museums in the propagation of arts and culture between the two countries.

He noted that UPV had been cooperating with the embassy in a study on the Epics on the Silk Route, which include the Hinilawod epic of Central Panay in 1996. Merer believes that there are still more possibilities of cooperation between the university and his embassy, particularly in the areas of lm, food security and student scholarships.

Also present during the meeting were Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Emilia Yap; Vice-Chancellor for Administration Nestor Yunque; Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension Ricardo Babaran; College of Arts and Sciences Dean Ma. Luisa Mabunay; School of Technology Dean Emeliza Lozada; College of Management representative, Prof. Christine Hernando; and UPV Committee for Culture and the Arts Chair Roman Sanares.

After the meeting, Merer visited the UPV Art Gallery.

UP Visayas (UPV) Chancellor Rommel Espinosa and Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges in Region 6 (PASUC 6) President and West Visayas State College of Science and Technology (WVSCST) President Luis Sorolla signed an agreement nalizing the sale of the Multi-Purpose Fishery Training and Research Vessel TRV Sardinella by UPV to PASUC 6 last January 19 at the UPV Iloilo City campus.

The agreement is on an �“as-is-where-is�” basis in the amount of P8 million. Only P5 million of the total amount will be paid by PASUC 6, with the remaining P3 million to be donated by UPV as a charitable act for the association. The vessel will be used as a training facility for research and maritime programs of the PASUC member state universities and colleges.

Former UPV Chancellor Minda Formacion, UPV College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Dean Carlos Baylon, and presidents and representative of PASUC 6 member-institutions witnessed the signing of the agreement.

The TRV Sardinella was made by the Nippon Kaiji Kykai. It has a length of 114.35 feet, a breadth of 28.95 feet, and a depth of 10.75 feet. It has a gross tonnage of 411.35 tons and a cruising speed of 11.5 knots. The TRV Sardinella arrived in the Philippines as a donation of the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency to be the research and training vessel of the College of Fisheries.

French Embassy counselor meets with UPV offi cialsAnna Razel L. Ramirez

Anna Razel L. Ramirez

UPV turns over TRV Sardinella to PASUC 6

babaylan to reveal the fate of women unable to assimilate to the roles assigned to them by the syncretisation of the church. San Juan claims that colonial society ascribes its �“vices, crimes and ignorance�” to a portion of the female population and in doing so, �“acquits male authority of any wrongdoing.�” In Rizal�’s novels, the sacred and profane are but two sides of the same coin and it is his duty to �“enlighten his women compatriots...of the need to liberate themselves from...mind-forged manacles by their own collective effort and initiative.�”

The author then returns us to Rizal�’s address to the young women of Malolos where he pinpoints Rizal�’s revelation of the ef cacy of colonization�’s subalternization of

women. Rizal bewailed �“blind submission to any unjust order�” and urged the use of the rational faculty in all facets of their lives. This rejection of the stereotype of �“modesty, passivity, and docility�” is also an attempt to include women as quali ed participants in the fashioning of the �“General Will.�”

According to San Juan, motherhood for Rizal is not merely a natural attribute but an acquired social role. He would then praise the civic consciousness and unity of Spartan women �– their �“austere independence�” and their �“giving birth to men who were willing to sacri ce their lives in defense of their homeland.�”

Finally, the reader is called to the legend of Maria Makiling, who, betrayed by her mortal lover, took revenge and left the world of mortals thereafter.

Invoking Rizal�’s suggestion that perhaps she was incensed by the attempt of Dominican friars to strip her of half the mountain, San Juan says: �“The original harmony of humans and the ecosystem is sundered by predatory acquisitiveness, by the exploitation of nature to yield subsistence�…�”

�“And so,�” San Juan claims �“did Salome abandon her home in the forest, so did Sisa and Juli depart from the fallen world�… And with Rizals�’ ultimate sacri ce, Sisa�’s revenge is viewed through his plea to pray or �“our unhappy mothers who in bitter sorrow cries.�” And after honoring the role and exposing the suffering of women, San Juan, quoting Zaide, poses a challenge to their children: �“The furrow is ready and the ground is not sterile!�” (1984, p. 74)

cannot access it. It�’s really very exible.�”iskWiki for everyone

And that�’s just the serious, academic/administrative side. However, the members of the UP community are also known for their vibrant creativity, witty humor, the UP angas, and the willingness to open the university to the rest of the country. Again, iskWiki serves as a platform for all of these.

For visitors to UP, iskWiki can serve as a repository of relevant and useful information, such as seminar and conference venues (with locations, rates and contact information); hotels, hostels and dormitories; schedules of art shows, theater and musical productions and other events; alumni reunions and events; short courses, workshops and community recreation programs, and the like.

There are other aspects of UP life that people outside nd fascinating and useful: the many restaurants and assorted cuisine for food-trippers; date-spots on-campus for lovers or would-be lovers; historical landmarks for day-tourists; jogging and sports facilities for athletes and the health-conscious; even the collections of clever graf ti, humorous witticisms and �“only-in-UP�” anecdotes that set UP people apart, and, for UP alumni, bring back fond memories of their own UP experience. All of these are waiting to be written up and archived in iskWiki.

While these are not considered �“of cial�” information, �“these are still part of the knowledge-base of UP,�” says Sy. �“So where do you aggregate them? Certainly not in the front page of the of cial UP website. There

has to be a place where [information such as these] can be shown, and there�’s no other place like iskWiki.�”iskWiki for the UP community and beyond

In addition to being a powerful storage facility for documents, photos, media and video les, and a repository of every bit of information about UP, iskWiki has many other advantages. The most prominent is that information uploaded in iskWiki is easily collected, sorted and aggregated into any category. Entries about student organizations, for instance, can be aggregated into a directory and may be further sub-categorized. UP faculty pro les and directories can be aggregated according to elds of specialization. Theses, papers and conference materials uploaded on iskWiki can be sorted according to subject, author, date or any other category, which makes it easier to do content analyses of theses and research work. It also makes it easier for UP faculty to create lists of publications or published papers, and for UP administrators to access such a list when considering promotions.

IskWiki�’s capacity to aggregate data can be invaluable. �“It [makes things] very ef cient,�” says Sy. �“You can maintain this little piece of information, you can make

it accurate, and then it could be aggregated to some other category.�” Data categories depend on how the information is tagged, and �“there is no limit to the number of tags you can put. For as long as we have categories, and that our tags are accurate, then we can have many choices�” with regard to categories of data.

In addition to this, iskWiki is extremely exible and easy to use. (To contribute content, simple visit the Contributor�’s Page [http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/Iskwiki:Contributors_Page] for instructions.) It is easily indexable and search-engine optimized. It is also immune to vandalism, since its restriction to people with UP Webmail accounts makes it easy to track down changes. It can also be updated quickly, which gives UP a means to respond promptly and ef ciently to the public�’s need for information during crises such as natural disasters.

With regard to traditional websites, libraries and social networking sites, �“our aim is complementation, not competition,�” Sy stresses, adding that iskWiki can be used to address the gap between the need for information and the comparative lack of updated information about the University. In fact, given that iskWiki is more easily updated, UP units and student organizations

are encouraged to upload their information and update these via iskWiki as well, and maintain these alongside their websites. Information stored in iskWiki also tends to last longer than information stored in social networking sites, especially once the DILC�’s off-site backup system is up and running. (Although Sy does make it clear that iskWiki is neither a blog nor a microblogging site. Lolcats and other Internet memes not related to UP are also not allowed.) iskWiki ng bayan

Beyond its promise of being the go-to place for anything UP by anyone UP, iskWiki will be an invaluable tool for enhancing the sense of community among UP constituents, as everyone is encouraged to add to the body of knowledge and information about the university. �“It has to be a community effort. It takes a village to maintain a wiki, so it takes the whole UP community to maintain iskWiki,�” says Sy.

The DILC is currently working to expand iskWiki to other UP constituent units, thereby creating a UP System-wide iskWiki. But there is a greater aim to this. �“The larger vision [for iskWiki] is to open this to all knowledge producers,�” says Sy. �“We have a lot of knowledge producers in the country. We have to nd a way to document all this [knowledge].�”

Scholar tackles Rizal and the woman questionContinued from page 7

A ‘wiki’ for the UP Diliman community

Continued from page 10

A recent photo of the research vessel

Photo courtesy of U

PV-IP

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