The UP Forum recently asked me to pitch in my two cents regarding the reproductive health bill and I was more that willing to oblige. Despite my staunch secularist stance on almost all issues, I’ve decided to keep mum on the Reproductive Health Bill because I thought it was a mere exercise in futility. Even if in principle the bill carried weight, the implementation would be a totally different thing. That is why I literally didn’t have the fire to fight tooth and nail for it unlike my buddies at Filipino Voices.

The format of the article was simple. It was simulated “round table” discussion with four students from the UP system – the current student regent, a fourth year law student, a sophomore from UPLB and a Medical Clerk!

Here’s how I answered the questions fielded by UP FORUM:

Q: Should a secular university take the initiative to inform its students about alternative forms of contraception?

As an entity that embraces the value of both practical and theoretical knowledge, a university should teach anything that can potentially benefit the population. Whether or not it is a secular university, an educational institution should be a credible source of information. It should not be beholden to any religious creed that, upon closer inspection, champions ignorance and quick judgment in the face of perceived social taboos. The campaign to make awareness on reproductive health and contraception more commonplace should be tailored to the population exposed to it.

It is very likely that the reasonably sophisticated UP student body is already attuned to such information, and an extensive and mandatory course on the matter would be something akin to overkill. The minority who are still not privy to the information may be addressed through information drives involving more informal and less confrontational media like reading materials and student support groups. Students also have access to references in the library and the internet for information on reproductive health.

There is a need to make the approach specific to its audience due to the relatively sensitive issue at hand. It is not a topic that most students would necessarily want to attend classes for; and forced attendance wouldn’t be that productive due to the potential apathy of the audience. The subject is also something not all people would readily discuss in the presence of a big group and in a classroom setting; thus, a more intimate setup may be needed to make the students more at ease and protect their privacy.

This strategy is by no means a concession to the archaic and myopic views of the Church. If the University goes for a shotgun approach through mandatory courses, it would be to the detriment of the vulnerable parties. A more private and informal setting may be more conducive to openness and effective communication.

Q: What are the possible benefits and/or pitfalls of such an initiative?

The benefit of such a move is an increased awareness among students of the issues surrounding contraception and reproductive health. This, of course, reduces the likelihood of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Best of all, this has a direct impact on the growing number of abortions. University students can use the knowledge to better handle the pressures of intimacy and to keep themselves safe from life-altering complications caused by ignorance and the ineffective “methods” of the church like abstinence.

As far as disadvantanges go, the only thing I can think of is contending with conservative and pretentiously morally upright individuals being up in arms. Their reactions, of course, should not be a determining factor in the implementation of the policy. The University should prioritize the well-being of its students and not be fazed by fundamentalists who continue to insist on solutions (prayers and abstinence) that are not nuanced to the needs and dilemmas faced by young people. And quite frankly, we should be willing to endure the opposition if we truly are serious about making a difference.

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I’m thrilled to have finally spoken about the issue. I think the debate regarding UP’s role is less futile since the university’s hands are not as tied-down by the church compared to those of elected officials.

If you want to read what the other people had to say, click read The U.P. FORUM ROUNDTABLE on Reproductive Health.

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It’s always interesting and exciting to deal with intelligent young people in high schools – especially those who are vocal and very willing to fight for what they believe in with much gusto and of course, logical substantiation. I received an email with an attached article. The sender has expressed his/her intent to remain anonymous.

The article is lifted (i.e. copy and pasted) from the original document with minimal changes to conceal the real name of the school in question.

HEAVEN, HELL AND SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL X

by: Anonymous

Every week in Science High School X begins with the flag ceremony, where the students hold a prayer, sing the national anthem, recite the Panatang Makabayan, hear the announcements made, sing the school hymn, and leave wearing their IDs properly, in that order. Now, is there anything wrong with this scenario?

If you answered no, think again. Here’s a hint: Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution states, “The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”

Hint Number 2: Science High School X is a government institution.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, there are two things wrong with the above scenario. First is that we actually have a prayer. Secondly, the prayer comes before the national anthem. God before country? Sure, but only if you’re Christian.

According to statistics, you probably are. 94 percent of Filipinos are Christian, 84 percent are Roman Catholic (CountriesQuest.com, 2003). Regardless, this doesn’t make prayer during the flag ceremony, or other mandatory Catholic activities held here, right. Science High School X is defined as a non-sectarian school, meaning no particular religion is practiced here during school hours. This does not mean that organizations such as PCORI and SCA are against the law; in fact, I’m all for students being given the option to practice religious activities on their own time. What I am against, however, is if, oh, say, every student in the school, Christian or otherwise, was made to pray at the start of every school week. Hypothetically speaking.

I have this teacher. He’s a nice guy, and more importantly, he’s efficient at what he does. This teacher makes us all pray in class every meeting, which, in this particular instance, puts him on my steadily lengthening “against” list. He explained to our class that regardless of this school’s non-sectarian policy, he makes us pray to, and I quote, “teach [us] moral values.” I might not get how standing up for 45 seconds with hands clasped teaches us moral values, but if Teacher says it does, then we should do it. A little discrimination against non-Catholics to teach everyone moral values? Good deal!

Another teacher of mine from last year made God and prayer a topic in her subject for an entire quarter. She told us that it was her mission to teach us all how to pray. Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here and suspect that she feels that it’s her mission because those of us who haven’t been exposed to God don’t know any better and thus need her guidance. As a morally upstanding and virtuous Christian, it is her responsibility to lead us away from eternal damnation. Makes sense, right? After all, it is the same reasoning used by Catholics when they, you know, burned witches in the 17th century.

Call it antidisestablishmentarianism. Call it “teaching moral values.” Call it saving the souls of the poor non-believers who don’t know any better. Call it what you will. It’s still inconsiderate towards non-Catholics, and it’s still against the law.

Each religion believes that it is the absolute on morals and justice. Since Catholicism is the predominant religion in this country, it has established itself as the absolute, considering all other religions to be misguided to some degree. Thus, everyone who goes against any of the Ten Commandments is a sinner, even though the Constitution only goes by two: as comedian Bill Maher so elegantly put it, “I won’t slaughter you, and don’t take my shit.” Homosexuality, premarital sex, absence at the Holy Mass, failure to pray, and drawing Muhammad in an unflattering way are not sins just because some religion says they are.

My point is that these teachers aren’t saving anyone by forcing us to do unnecessary religious practices. Last time I checked, Science High School X was still a non-sectarian institution, so these teachers can introduce us to their wonderful religion some other time. For now, as long as we Science High School X scholars don’t kill, steal, or God forbid, cheat, I think we’re pretty safe from being subject to eternal damnation anytime soon.

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If you’re a penny pincher, you’ve probably agonized about spending 5 pesos for a box of floor wax. If you have a bit more money to spare for the goal of lustrous floors, a few more pesos could help you afford the pricier liquid variants. Unfortunately, not all of us are rich and some just don’t have enough space in the budget to allocate to ensure shiny floors year in and year out. Good thing that a considerable number of people are now resorting to making their own floor wax!

By using left-over candle wax and a bit of gasoline, you can make your own floor wax at minimal cost. All you have to do is heat the candle wax over a fire, add a small amount of gasoline and in no time, you’ll be ready to polish your floors with your home-made floorwax.

You can’t argue with results! (Read on for actual testimonial and pictures)

This is Patient MR, a 44 year-old, female, gradevschool teacher from Bicol. She was busy heating and melting wax on about a dozen half gallon containers when the  contents of the pans caught fire. While trying to remove the last container from her electric stove, she accidentally spilled the entire contents of the container unto her self. She burned much of her chest, abdomen, forearms and hands.

As you can see, even her chin and parts of her neck were also seared by the boiling wax. You may think that the injuries are quite new, right? But here’s the deal. The pictures were taken last week. The accident? It was last March!

Yes, that is how a bad burn looks like. Even after months of healing, third degree burns still look like badly scorched surfaces. They hardly feel anything – that’s the hallmark of a third degree burn, the burn is so severe that it has caused considerable nerve damage. One can hope to manage these types of burns with multiple skin grafts. Plastic surgeons can harvest skin from other parts of the body, flatten it to increase its surface area and carefully position it on the badly burned parts.

That’s not why she’s in the hospital right now though.

Her fingers are fused and this condition renders her very dependent as far eating, grooming and other activities of day-to-day living. Plastic surgeons are planning to free some of her fingers in a series of operations to help her regain control of her hands.

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DANCES WITH TREES: Professor Grace Odal-Devora of the University of the Philippines celebrates World Environment Day at the Angud installation in front of the CCP grounds. The celebration coincides with the launch of the “Tree for Life: 20M Seedlings for Planting,” a project that aims to surpass last year’s Green Philippine Highway’s planting of 800,000 trees. INQUIRER/REM ZAMORA

She’s in the front page of the Inquirer website! What exactly is she doing?  She is performing the sayaw ng diwa (dance of essence[?])  para tawagin ang mga elemento (to call on the elements)! Yes. She actually made the entire class do this during our stint with her in Hum102! If you’ve seen me perform in my gigs, you’d know that I have no problem channeling music into movement even if I don’t dance that well myself. I chose Mudvayne’s Not Falling for my sayaw ng diwa and I tried my best to dislocate my cervical vertebrae by headbanging and contorting my body into different uncomfortable positions throughout the more-than-five-minute-long track. And yes, I had my eyes closed and I nearly kicked her while I was moving around.

And oh, she made us do this at the UP Sunken Garden!

Kamusta naman!? Shoutouts to Coy, Gibbs and Seph.

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