Akimbo
Barely a few weeks ago while my dad and I were driving our way home, and tuned in to DZMM’s broadcast of TV Patrol World, I heard this news about him. When his name was mentioned it reverberated inside my head and my brain immediately scanned through the pages of my memory bank, leafing every single folio of the names of casual acquaintances I’ve met in three years of my stay in UP. Unfortunately his name wasn’t scribbled in it. Then I found out after two, three days that the guy I overheard from a news flash report was my friend’s classmate.
He was, my friend said, a very nice guy – by nice I presume it meant something else, but I didn’t bother interrupt my friend when she was in reminiscing mode. “Medyo close lang naman kami,” my friend recalled while gazing upwards on our tambayan’s tent’s ceiling. Although I’m from CAL – the College of Arts and Letters, the acronym being the most commonly used jargon in UP – I rarely go to the College’s building unless I have official business to do there, i.e. class, and I am always present at the AS building – the Palma Hall, non-UPians. Being a devout loiterer of the AS building I am pretty sure I have seen Cris before, when and where and how it happened I already forgot. In case you didn’t know Cris Anthony Mendez died from serious internal hemorrhage incurred from fraternity hazing. My thesaurus didn’t find the word “hazing” itself, but it suggested a related term, “haze,” meaning state of obscurity, dazed, tranced. If these were the implied definitions in fraternity hazing, it could be that neophytes, just inches away from being true-blooded members of their respective frats, are supposed to be in a considerable level of being out of kilter. This is only a theory for I am no frat man myself, but if you analyze the term and it’s contextual projected use, there should be no mention of the word that starts with a letter D and rhymes with Death (you get my point, I presume), right? But it happened, had recently happened, and it will continually happen IF authorities concerned would just shrug their calloused shoulders in the faces of the victims’ bereft. Of course, we see some valuable effort in trying to figure the whereabouts of the perpetrators, but it just isn’t enough. You can have all alumni drop off their membership, and the stench remains. We don’t have to wait until every aspiring brod turns into an amorphous mass of tissues and muscles, unless of course they advocate the idea in which case we have to assault them with battering rams. I couldn’t be so pessimistic and apathetic – he’s from my school, I should give a fart. Let’s hope the investigations carry on and all efforts will not be futile. Don’t raise that white flag yet or I’ll have to stuff your throat with a flagpole. We can’t bring Cris to life, but we can do something to revive the hopefulness of the distressed.
My friend fondly remembers Cris having danced the song “Bebot” in their class. He cavorted with glee, and I guess a little feeling of embarrassment, but they had fun. Now, Cris will be fondly remembered.
Horrifying news in UP. Smoking is now banned – can you believe that, in UP? Last Thursday my friend Anne and I were having snacks at one certain canteen at the
Mike allegedly clacked away to post this
on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 8:26 AM.
I doubt that smoking ban will work in the long run. Too impossible. It's doesn't even work in my campus, and we have less than a hundred students. What about UP the big-ass university? Just give it time, it will go away. Haha.
Smoking didn't kill Cris. Why don't they ban fraternities instead?
Smoking banned na sa UP Campus... hmm thats' a jeep away para lang makapagyosi.
wala namang sinabing bawal mag-marijuana or drugs sa campus di ba?
Smoking has been banned for a long time in our campus: UP Manila. It's about time they implemented such measures in yours... just to be fair! lol! But I guess the administration has been acting on prevention instead of cure, in terms of health conditions. As for the safety situations regarding fraternities, I think they don't have the balls to dissolve organizations (with well-known, rich and respected people as members) that has been around for years...
LOL at Billycoy. Well, you do have to smoke in order to take in marijuana, not unless you like to eat it (like I do). The rule did not say "smoking cigarettes are banned." I guess this implies that every form of smoking is banned: smoking marijuana, smoking from a bong, smoking cigarettes... Hmm, but that does mean that I can take Ecstasy in the campus. It's just a small tablet anyway. Hurrah!
juice: it wouldn't. it really wouldn't. even the guards who are supposed to reprimand those who are caught are seen puffing and all. how's that for sheer irony?
billycoy: hindi na kelangan magjeep kasi kahit sa may mga tindahan lang pwede na magyosi.
marijuana. wala. siguro okay dun.
skye: they're impinging our rights! boo! hihi. but like i said, they wouldn't be able to monitor everyone. and that's for sure.
Wala pang smoking ban sa LB. But well, malalaki naman ang puno dun so I guess it's not going to be difficult for smokers to hide.
At my campus, smoking is strictly prohibit. Obvious naman eh kasi Catholic school.
Teka Mike. May nagsabi sakin na kayang bagalan ng paninigarilyo ang metabolism ng isang tao? True?
wow
smoking banned at up?
hehe
ust had a success in banning smoking in the campus but at the single moment you step out of the campus,smoke gets in your eyes,literally
wakekeke
good luck for up
hehe
kaya yan...
wakekeke
Haha. Oo nga raw. 'Yun din ang balita ko. Anyhow, matagal na siyang banned sa UPM. Peste, nasabe na pala 'yun ni Skye. Haha.
Hmm, sana naman inaasikaso ng UP administration 'yung case ni Cris Mendez. Biglang tumahimik eh. Anu na palang updates?
Kinilabutan ako...
Laughtrip lang 'yung pagba-ban ng yosi e si manong guard nga nagyo-yosi.
» Post a Comment