Perspectives

By RHEN DAVE RAFAEL  (FULL TEXT: Message of Thanks by Rhen Dave Rafael, UST Faculty of Arts and Letters batch 2022 valedictorian, during the Solemn Investiture on June 11, 2022) Post-truth. Adjective. A 2016-Oxford Word of the Year “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” It is said that we live in a post-truth world. While this claim is open for debate, one thing is clear: we face an uphill battle against the systemic distortion of the truth. Seeing how lying becomes normative in our social spaces, it is perhaps easy for us to question the ways of the truth. Yes, it is really frustrating to see how reputable sources of knowledge lose credibility to Tiktok and...

By Theriz Lizel R. Silvano When the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines first arrived in our borders last February, I remember releasing a long sigh of relief. I consider vaccines a great achievement,  a beacon of hope in a time of uncertainty. I had only read little information about the vaccines during that time, but I had already firmly and confidently decided to get vaccinated. Little did I know, my best friend had the opposite view. She and I have the same political and social beliefs and morals. Our sense of humor is alike, and we accept each other’s emotional capacity. We also have the same perspectives in almost everything, except for one crucial thing: getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Her refusal to get vaccinated shocked me. Needless to say, I want her to have extra prot...

By Maria Cecilia O. Pagdanganan As a self-professed Twitter addict, I have grown accustomed to seeing #____isoverparty trend. Here, you would see users bring up a celebrity’s past bigoted comments and hurl insults at said celebrity. You can get plus points if you spot the occasional K-pop fancams (videos of Korean pop idols dancing), accompanied with the word “DELETE” in all-caps. Alas, the public court of Twitter strikes again. The rise of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has made it easier for people to express themselves freely. However, this might embolden them to post offensive content. In retaliation, the bereaved party would “cancel” this person. Cancellation varies in gravity, from snarky replies to death threats. As toxic as this seems, cancel cu...

By Siegfred Aldous Lacerna The 2022 elections are just around the corner, and the heightened online discourse about politics and politicians has been ignited once again. While several users have said that they would not let politics affect their relationships with their families and friends, some are keen to simply cut ties with people who support “the wrong candidate." These acts of cutting ties or retaining the relationship with those who have different political opinions are prevalent in the current discourse of people with partisan inclinations. Even if different camps are willing to converse with those who are either undecided or already have another candidate in mind, others do not want to discuss with people who have opposing views. This often causes division and affects o...

By Patrick V. Miguel A year into the pandemic, I found myself standing in the bathroom, cursing as the bleach stings my scalp. Maybe watching Brad Mondo’s videos on Youtube reassured me that I would not ruin my "perfectly healthy locks"—but that was the dilemma. I always painted my appearance based on what my family, the people I dated, and my school wanted me to be. Clean-cut and "ordinary" like a shampoo commercial's view on "perfectly straight and manageable hair." I asked myself, how do I want to present myself to the world? The last time I was on campus, I looked like a conventional student from a Catholic school. The kind that says "Estudyante po" while handing out my fare inside the jeep. With just a glimpse, the driver would already know that I would avail of the stude...

art by JULIA DOMINIQUE YANCHA/ THE FLAME  There is an apparent change regarding the youth’s interests in participating in the upcoming elections. As people continue to grow weary due to the negative impact caused by the pandemic in the economy, education, and environment, the desire for a solution grew stronger for every Filipino in the country. With various youth organizations, influencers, and educators actively encouraging the youth to exercise their right to vote by registering for the 2022 elections, hopes that the younger generation’s fresh point of view will change the usual trend in this country’s election results emerged. In September, this shared effort to empower the youth has garnered fruit. In an online briefing with CNN Philippines, Comelec Director James Jimenez ann...

By Shana Angela S. Cervania “Walang pera sa Journalism!” has always been exclaimed over and over again not only by many Journalism professors in my three years in UST, but also by other journalists I had the chance of interviewing.  I remember a former journo, who owns a business now, said something along the lines of, “Naku, mahirap ’yan sa suweldo sa industriya. Buti na lang asawa ko [insert high-paying profession] kundi, ’di namin mapapaaral mga anak namin.” There have been similar anecdotes of journalists quitting the industry, whether a newbie or a veteran, to go for the safety net that corporate work offers.  While the exhilarating newsroom, especially when there is breaking news or the deadline for the printing of newspapers is breathing down everyone’s neck, get...

By MARIA CECILIA O. PAGDANGANAN It is always the same comment, just phrased differently. You would tell an older relative that you are pursuing an AB degree and they would probably berate you because to them, there is no money in the liberal arts. Scroll through social media and you would most definitely see posts claiming that the Faculty of Arts and Letters is inferior to the other colleges in the University. After all, what is the point of chasing your dreams when there is no money in it? It is almost as if it is shameful to call oneself an Artlet, especially since it is a label that bears such a stigma.  I remember visiting my senior high school earlier this year when I ran into my former teacher. Since I studied Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) during senio...

By LORRAINE C. SUAREZ It is a bright Sunday afternoon. At this time, most people are either lounging at home or strolling about. Everyone seems to enjoy their activities; it is, after all, a weekend, and there is also good weather to boot. As for me, I find myself yet to be awake despite the late hour. However, I have my own reasons.  As unlikely as it may sound, this reason has something to do with water shortage. I had forgotten exactly when it started, but I remember that it began in the middle of this school year's first semester. First came the water supply rotations. As someone who traveled to school in the morning, took classes in the afternoon, and arrived home in the evening, I was around the house very little, and I had to find out by experience when the wat...

By  THERIZ LIZEL R. SILVANO Hungry for many things is what we are as students. Our body is like a vehicle that needs to be filled up with several commodities—information, sustenance, passion, solace, love, and other things that we find enjoyable and valuable enough to make us satisfied. We yearn for information as much as we yearn for food to stay alive. With this, I say, we are always hungry. When we’re hungry, we don’t only search for a place to devour our cravings, but we also seek for a place where we can be comfortable. Being at ease provides us to think freely, with no pressure and distraction from others, which is the same with gaining knowledge. Isn’t obtaining knowledge comparable to developing our curiosity? In a recent study, researchers from the United Kingdom and ...