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T H E N E W G O O D S T U F F

College life now seems to descend into a monotonous cycle as the school year enters into its midlife. A cycle that manifest through these things you may be guilty of doing: opening your eyes in the morning without the slightest smile, stretching your extremities out, kicking the blanket realizing it’s another school day, satisfying our morning physiological needs and doing all the hullabaloo of preparing what needs to be prepared for the day and that is if the one has the initiative to do so - over and over and over again without any sign of enthusiasm for a new day. A familiar scenario perhaps, I do think so. Even the smallest of life’s beauty has either shrunk to near insignificance or left unappreciated by our sometimes stiff, programmed and tired minds. We are oftentimes imprisoned by our own busyness that we fail to see the things –new things sprouting and revealing everywhere especially in school.

With the sound of it, it seems I’m writing a self-help article but sorry to disappoint you. I’m going to list a number of facts that hope to inject in your consciousness “the new” in school, that amends what the bulletin board and memos failed to do, the new good stuff that substantiate a polytonal college life, “new stuff” that breaks us from the bondage of “programmed” living and, “new stuff” that not only makes us informed but makes us appreciate what our Ateneo community has become and becoming.

Brace yourself as you glimpse the bright shining newness of Xavier University as it nears its 75^th year of serving Mindanao and the rest of the World.

XU as the New Cultural Melting Pot – Talent Expo and the Office of Culture and Arts

One distinct characteristic of any Ateneo school is its great emphasis on arts and culture. Xavier University committed itself to this philosophy through the establishment of the Office of Culture and Arts. For a long time, the artistic activities of our school were either handled by different student organizations or in some cases, being passed around by departments loosing momentum and sustainability. After years of leadership crisis, an office was finally established to funnel and cultivate all artistic activities of the University. The Office of Culture and Arts even in its infancy has initiated numerous activities which stimulates our artistic curiosity. If you ever had the chance of looking around the campus bulletin boards, you would see the “Cinemagis”, a one month movie marathon that features award-winning international and local films. Sustaining this upsurge of cultural consciousness, the Central Student Government also initiated the Talent Exposition once very month. This serves as a talent show where art in all of its form is showcased. May it be in a metal sculpture, an abstract painting of a pen, a hip-hop style tinikling or an oratorical stage play, these masterpieces of human expression finally got a standing ovation and a new focus through the works of the Office of Culture and the Arts and the Central Student Government. A new Xavier culture may dawn which gives arts and culture center stage in our Ateneo way of life.

NEW Extra Curricular student Orgs with an attitude

A visionary leader, inspired and dedicated members and a strong cause are the perfect ingredients for the formation of a youth organization. It is extraordinary that this year, the three ingredients existed and collated itself to form three new student organizations in campus namely the Kaliwat Ki Apo Agyu, Ateneo Camera Club, and the revival of the Dulaang Atenista. A go signal from the OSA and support of the Central Student Government further pushed the bar for their creation. Kaliwat Ki Apo Agyu (Descendants of Agyu) is built upon the preservation and promotion of heritage, understanding and empowerment of the Indigenous Youth of the University. The Ateneo Camera Club pools together all camera enthusiasts in the university. Its main thrust is the artistic cultivation of photography and the promotion of social justice through the captured and immortalized moments of the human story. The Dulaang Atenista, a revived organization is also built upon artistry with theatrical talent development as its main pillar. The Dulaang Atenista showcases diversified skits and plays which touches socio-political and cultural issues of the Filipino society. The Dulaang Atenista aims more than developing talents; it also serves as social consciousness’ theatrical channel to the students. The 3 new organizations is a diversified bunch having different fields of concern yet united by an underlying common goal of social awareness, cultivation of talents, preservation and promotion of culture, and formation.

XU as a center for good governance

Impassioned by the desire to promote justice through education, Xavier University has taken a bold step in actualizing this vision through the creation of the XU Governance and Leadership Institute. Spearheaded by Ms. Maria Elizabeth Olavides-Soriano, the XU GLI is formed with numerous partners such as the Ateneo School of Government, different government agencies, NGO’s and XU internal institutions formed the institution on August 9, 2007. Leadership and Governance may sound highfaluting you may say, but this institute dreams more than creating a fancy curriculum. It aims to mould civil servants into competent, committed and conscientious leaders whose forefront are the voiceless, powerless and the sick in society.

With a better Accent! The XU English Language Communication Development Institute

Another institute ascended this year with English language development as its standard banner. The XU ECDI envisions a professional workforce proficient in English and confident in written and oral English. The institute offers the following programs: Call Center English, Corporate English or Business Correspondence, English Preparation for IELTS, Teacher Training English Program, EFL Conversational English, and Creative Writing. All aims to hone our native tongue with a global prism in its view. Xavier University has taken another bold step in enhancing the one of the 3 C’s - the competence of its students in the field of English communication with global application in mind.

We are living in a reality where constrained constancy leads to decline and where the unhampered constant formation of new and better ideas, new methods, and new way of looking at things elevates it into a new level. Xavier University reminded us of that. Our Community with its long standing tradition of excellence can never grow if new ideas are left unexplored. With these new institutions in Xavier that reflects the meaning of growth, we must be reminded that as individuals, we also need to grow a new spirit inside us every single day built upon by constant and fundamental values. And with this new realization of the “new stuff”, I hope waking up every morning acts as a wonderful reminder that another chance of doing new and better things is given to us. So dear readers, I hope we all wake up in the morning having even the slightest enthusiasm because a new day is unfolding before you and remember tomorrow is the 1^st day of the rest of your “new-conscious” life!