Day: March 20, 2009

RH Bill Tackled in Multidisciplinary Forum

panel

The Department of Social Sciences of MMSU-CAS initiated a multidisciplinary forum to tackle House Bill 5043 or the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act, one of the most controversial legislations pending in congress.  It was held at the CAS lobby, March 4.

Prof. Mario Singson and Mrs. Marchita Singson represented the Catholic Church, which poses the strongest opposition to the bill.  The couple is with the Diocese of Laoag Commission on Family and Life.

Dr. Violeta Alonzo presented her economic analysis on the bill while Prof. Fides Bernardo Bitanga delivered his philosophical discourse.

Also present were lawyer Erme Labayog and Dr. Leonisa Silvestre, MMSU health services chief, to shed light on legal and medical issues respectively.

The resource speakers delivered short speeches on their respective stands.  After which, a vibrant open forum ensued. Continue reading “RH Bill Tackled in Multidisciplinary Forum”

CLOSURE: A PARADOX?

by RMDascil

Is it a door that closes yet remains unlocked,

or a door we leave behind – a quiet sending off?

Is it a door that closes to hide the unknown,

or a door we close that the unknown is won?

Is it a window that closes against the darkness,

or a window we close that we may own the light?

Is it a window that closes and darkens the rest,

or a window we close that darkness may rest?

Is it closed by hands – one timid, the other obstinate,

against the past’s strength that has since failed?

Is it closed by the hand whose future has come,

against the other’s present, without end?

Is it the dead-end of a road – then, nothingness,

or the emptiness lurking at the next bend?

Is it about a bridge burned after a brief passage,

or the end of a passage over an unseen bridge?

Is it a silent denial of the peaceful depth of night,

or a doorway into dawn drowning its own peace?

Is it a choice over a dream after a sudden awakening,

or an awakening of the will – of being-unto-death?

Is it the soul’s solemn attempt on the level of pure thoughts,

or of pure thought’s attempt to understand the soul?

Is it the coming of inspiration when it is no longer sought,

or the seeking of inspiration for which one has fought?

Romantic first pot

Reacting to the article ‘Legalize Marijuana’, my friend Mars of Kalinga Province, sent me this piece detailing about his first encounter with marijuana. ***kilig mode***

The summer vacation before school began for our fourth year in high school… Hector (a childhood friend) and I spent a lazy afternoon by the river. He was talking about the future – his future – and how impatient he was to get there.

I listened, like I always did. We were sitting on a rock, and our eyes were fixed on the rushing water below us, but I simply drowned out the sound of the shallow water as I concentrated on what Hector was saying.

I noticed that he was rather more focused that afternoon. Calm.

Then he reached into his pocket and brought out what then looked, for me, to be a crudely rolled cigarette. I asked what it was and he said “I smoked MJ for the first time this morning, and I thought I might share it with you… it felt good, and you might want to try it.”

I simply stared at the joint he was beginning to light with a match. Then, he brought the other end to his lips, palms forming an enclave around the stick. He inhaled. Deep. Eyes closed. Moments passed before he exhaled, and out went some smoke.

“That is, if you want to…” he said, as he opened his eyes and saw me watching intently.

Hector and I grew up together. We shared a lot of things, and he never even gave a damn that I was, well, “different.” Not wanting things to change (knowing that upon graduating from high school, we would grow apart as he would pursue a totally different field), I smiled at him, placed my hands over his, gently took the red-tipped joint from him, and recorded that day as the first time I smoked pot.

An hour later, we were still talking… with him gazing at the horizon… and me, studying the movements of the clouds above as I had my head resting on his lap.

Every time I transport myself back to that day and again feel what I felt then – river, rocks, clouds, future, Hector – I feel like I could write a book about just that episode.