Editor's Note

Greetings College of Nursing!

            As our college has reached its 65^th anniversary last February 12, The Nursing Journal (NJ), your only and official student publication has dedicated our 2^nd Lampara Magazine issue to celebrate this milestone by highlighting the commemorative events for this momentous occasion while still preserving the essence of a campus journal.

Starting with its cover – a depiction of how the lamp shines through and gives light to everything we do. In the middle of our personal and academic challenges surrounding our pursuit of advancing in the profession is the lamp which illuminates and emanates the very much needed light that guides our paths and allows us to clearly see the way. With our Thomasian culture, we are able to shine amongst others and stand out as well-rounded and competent nurses.

Followed by its content, our publication was opened to hear the voices and views of the Thomasian Nursing Studentry and served as a venue where their thoughts, views, and opinions can be heard, or read in this matter, in the form of either feature articles or literary pieces. We hope that through their insights, you’d be inspired to work better not just as a student but as a full-blown nurse. We also hope that by welcoming contributions, we promote the love and passion for the art of writing. Hopefully, this would open the doors for all student nurses, not just the NJ staff, to send us their own compositions, art works and photographs and maintain their creative and expressive outlets. We believe that this is our way as your official publication to unite our college – through what we do best.

            To further celebrate our 65^th anniversary, back-to-back with this issue is our first ever literary folio housing 65 literary pieces, either previously published or current masterpieces, giving a glimpse of the life of a Thomasian nurse put into literature. These pieces arise from the thoughts, feelings, experiences or stories of student nurses or professional nurses. We hope that as you read through them, you’d be able to relate and recall your own experiences or perhaps be inspired by them and keep the desire to serve others alive.

            As the quadricentennial year was approaching and the college has turned 65 years old, the publication has truly transformed from initially being handled by the faculty, the responsibility of keeping the publication alive was placed in the hands of the students. Variations have been made to allow the flow of creativity amidst maintaining the traditions of our publication. We believe that things will only get better from here. Congratulations to all of us for a wonderful quadricentennial year and for a great 65 years!

I leave you now with a literary piece I’ve composed for the first Lampara issue last year.

Lampara,

Liwanag mo'y gabay,

nagbibigay-buhay,

sa mundong madilim.

Munting ilaw ng pag-asa,

pagyamanin

murang adhikaing nakatuon

sa pagpapaunlad

ng mga pangitain

ng kabataan

Lampara

nagsisilbing pag-asa

sa sandali ng

kapanglawan

Umaapoy

Lumiliyab

Nagsisilbing inspirasyon

sa paggawa ng kabutihan

Ating gawing huwaran

Maging ilaw para sa bayan.

-Mervyn C. Tan (Editor-in-Chief A.Y. 2009-2011)

Silence Broken, Lessons Spoken

Silence Broken, Lessons Spoken

The Nursing Journal (NJ), the only official student publication of the UST College of Nursing, has recently been involved in an issue during the university’s election season. Not quite surprisingly, this season’s atmosphere had become a miniature replica of what most of us would call “dirty politics”—the extent of NJ’s involvement had become more than what we have expected. Yes, we did not expect to become part of this hullabaloo, yet we soon found ourselves in it.

On one hand, while various rumors have circulated and have been circulating in our campus, the truth behind the incident has yet to be revealed, and the hearsays seem to be perpetuated with much partiality brought by blurry spectacles and feared predicaments. On the other hand, this was an expected phenomenon, and the NJ sees it as an opportune time for unbiased illumination.

Moreover, the Nursing Journal has always been a harbinger of veracity. It is for this reason that the circumstances had obliged us to enlighten the student body regarding journalism ethics, coupled with simple values and principles of common decency—all in a deontological sense.

The Conflict and the Motions

An unconsented affiliation between two distinct organizations was announced in public in a college event, which was set to aid the Thomasian student-nurses to practice their rights to vote.

The Nursing Journal just happened to be the other organization.

There were expressed perceptions towards the publication. One of the most striking would be something that was said to this effect: NJ’s functionality and coverage is insufficient and the staff seemed to be too busy to fulfill the task.  a

As a response, NJ exerted effort to give the concerned people the opportunity to explain their side during the event. They then responded instantaneously, speaking of their thoughts and striving to elucidate further what they have previously said. However, we had come to the conclusion that our efforts were futile, as these people seem to miss the point.

As much as it would like to submit its rebuttal within that very hour, the NJ had resolved not to prolong the interrogation. We did not wish to monopolize such an event with our cause since the event was for the students to have an in-depth enquiry of their potential leaders—not for us to gauge on their knowledge of the publication’s contents, and even its mere existence. Thus, it was decided upon among ourselves to discuss the issue later, in a setting that would be more conducive for a peaceful dialogue between the two parties.

However, as a sequel, the NJ was soon depicted as being affiliated with the candidates, even prior to their assumption of their respective positions. This depiction was apparently magnified through various verbalizations and accusations aimed at the Nursing Journal’s integrity as a student publication.

Our Stand

As an aftermath to the damage that has been done, the Nursing Journal was faced with an imperative to enlighten the student body that it should be given due respect and be seen independent of any political or electoral proceedings, as it has never collaborated with anyone in an untimely and unlawful sense.

In this context, we, at the Nursing Journal, simply wanted to reiterate the inherent nature of the publication itself and the persons keeping its mission on survival:

We, the Nursing Journal are, have always been, and will always be impartial and neutral.

 Although, we, the Nursing Journal, have been coordinating with the student council and various organizations all throughout the decades of our existence as a publication, we have always vigilantly removed ourselves from any undertaking that is of political interest. Moreover, we only coordinate or collaborate projects with any organization during the academic year when its rightful leaders have already assumed their respective positions. We have always done this to maintain our integrity and impartiality as of a campus journal, which is believably something that the general public has been made well-aware of, and which most of the involved persons have chosen to disregard.

As student journalists, we maintain our integrity by producing evidence-based articles, presenting all sides of the story without bias—a fundamental quality that has been embedded onto us, even when we were still starters.  Logically speaking, the absence of bias automatically affirms the prevalence of neutrality in a situation—in this case, our predicament. Thus, we decided to declare our neutrality to remind everyone of that inherent quality.

We, the Nursing Journal, have every right to protect our publication and declare our stand. We believe that, in the course of our “campaign for respecting the neutral grounds”, no name or any other concrete marker of identity was even mentioned. In cases where individuals were inferred to be the trigger of the issue, the existence of these so-called accusations is of the speculators’ own doing, not ours.

We do consider that the difficulties of being in the limelight and being placed under public scrutiny entail an immense pressure that can render a person’s mind to formulate a varied response or refute. However, we believe that individuals vying for such stature should be well-knowledgeable of what they dare to speak and have enough humility to admit ignorance if it was the case. It’s a simple upholding of the values that we, Thomasians, should have already inculcated within ourselves—we should always speak and act with discernment, all for the pursuit of truth.

Criticisms are welcomed here in our publication. Ideally, these criticisms shall hold proof to the assumption that our readers have been reading the contents of each issue that we release. This gives us the drive and keeps our passion alive. It makes us desire to continue disseminating information, entertaining stressed-out students and providing an artistic outlet for everyone to enjoy.

Yet, in order for one’s criticisms to reach a wholly receptive audience like ours, he or she should not only familiarize himself or herself with each sentence that is written on paper—he or she should also immerse himself or herself in the writing that it contains per se. Therefore, if a person has not been through the pages of our issues, we then fail to see his or her capacity to pass judgment even for a sentence.

Some may say that ignorance is bliss.

But the when ignorance is coupled with disparagement, it’s just plain impulsivity.

This same impulsivity was manifested with claims that NJ is destroying fellow students and worse, even the college, with our campaign for neutrality and advocating our rights. If what they claim was true, then the people involved wouldn’t be where they stand as of the moment.

Perhaps, these people must ponder on alternative reasons and realizing that using our publication as a scapegoat isn’t a rewarding means to salvation.

Resolution

As an attempt to settle these issues, the NJ staff had arranged a session with the persons involved to explain their sides and to apologize as they would see fit. Forgiveness was granted to those who admitted their shortcomings; respect was given to those who had sought ways to make amends and to improve the well-established professional relationship.

For those who refused to see a faux pas after another and accuse us of misinterpretation, it’s an opinion in which we would have to agree to disagree.

Factual Conclusion

To conclude our first/only/final statement regarding this matter, we present to you some journalism facts: (1) the reason behind the independence of a campus journal is to isolate itself from impartiality. This would make it an official student publication that releases news articles in a newsletter—which, in our case, takes the name of newsette, a name that has existed for decades already; (2) newsletters with news articles are only well-produced by journalists under a valid editorial board independent of other affiliations that are to be written for – which credits it as an official student publication of the college.

Anyone or organization can make their own publication, given that they follow the law, but they will never be inherently valid, neutral and unbiased as compared to the only official student publication of the UST College of Nursing, the Nursing Journal.

A Gavel Unbanged: A Scale Unbalanced and a Silenced Fourth Estate

“Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

A year has passed since the atrocious Maguindanao massacre took place but the litigation is nowhere near its completion and justice has not been served. The crime that ended numerous lives is deemed as one of the worst, if not the worst, crimes that have taken place in our country as Filipinos mass murdered fellow Filipinos all for political motives and an undying thirst for authority. Add to that, more than half of the casualties were journalists wanting to bring the truth closer to the people, hoping to keep the spirit of democracy alive for their hometown. Their lives were mercilessly ended, leaving the Philippines touted as “the most dangerous place for journalist all over the world”.

Unfortunately, it seems that justice will not be attained anytime soon. People believe that the progression of the case will remain sluggish as there are more than a hundred suspects and numerous witnesses are yet to be called to the stand. The estimated time of conclusion would be about a decade – a lifetime’s worth of waiting to have justice restored. Apparently, the return of the spirit of freedom and democracy may also take forever.

As long as the scare of the Maguindanao massacre is present in our country, journalists who bring the truth to the people would be apprehensive about presenting the facts to their fellowmen, especially with the threat not only to their own lives but also to their families’ as well. And as long as justice has not been met and no one is held accountable for the monstrous crime, similar callous criminals would still resort to these actions as very few of them are punished. We might never see the end of this.

This is not just a battle of political clans or journalists. It is a battle of all Filipinos. This is a battle for our rights and our freedom to speak. Time may have passed and events may have occurred in our history but we should never forget the injustices made against our people.

A year has passed since the atrocious Maguindanao massacre took place. How many years will we wait for justice to be served? How sure are we that this won’t ever happen again? What will you do? 

UST @ 400: Are You Ready?

The quadricentennial anniversary of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas is fast approaching, and everyone is preoccupied with the physical preparation and the formation of activities for this academic year. Yet, while everyone is filled with the grand desire to have a worthy salutation to the oldest existing university in Asia, there are vital aspects in the said celebration that may have been overlooked in the process. Most of the preparations focus on the physical setup and not on reliving the culture and values that brought the University to its 400 years of continuing excellence. Numerous innovative and ambitious activities have been conceptualized and implemented to accomplish anything that would sum up to 400, leaving a jam-packed academic year for the faculty and students. It would be essential to consider if these activities still fulfill the purpose of the celebration. Which is important, the quantity of activities or their quality?

Celebration of momentous occasions demands activities that are congruent with the commemoration of how UST had grown, stood the test of time and morphed into the University as we see it now. Significantly, it should uphold the values and virtues that stood as the elements of its foundation to be the globally recognized university that it is. As grandiose and booming as we want the celebration to be, it is essential that all the activities reflect and uphold the Thomasian values and principles. More importantly, these are the readiness and willingness of the university, faculty and students to be examples of true Thomasians upholding the culture of excellence it has established from its prime. If we are willing to uphold the Thomasian values and spirit, then we are ready for the quadricentennial celebration. If we have embodied the image of a true Thomasian - committed, compassionate and competent, then we are ready for the quadricentennial celebration.

Now, here is the grand question: Are you ready?

Untitled Editorial (co-written with Demi)

Filipinos have a reputation for being resilient to hardships. This quality can be traced back to the time of the Spaniards to the present. Perhaps this is because the average Filipino has, through the years, developed attitudes that allow him to still look at the bright side of things. Amidst the political conflicts coupled with the economic crises of the country, his optimism is unwavering in the sense that he still lives his life with a smile on his face, a song in his heart and a joke ready on his lips. This is especially apparent during the Christmas season, when houses and streetlamps are decorated with Christmas lights and parols. However, this year that is not the case. This year, our resiliency will be tested with a simple question: “How will we spend Christmas after Ondoy?”

            Last September 26, typhoon Ondoy (or Ketsana in other countries), devastated Manila. It is said to be the worst typhoon this year, judging by the extent and amount of damage to property and the lives it took, with a death toll of over 360 people. The aftermath, however, can be considered tremendous for those immediately affected, both psychologically and financially. Realizing this, the University offered its help by collecting donations, along with the individual efforts of each and every College to help the direct victims of Ondoy. While these have been helpful, the trauma and efforts required re-establishing routines and activities of daily living entail a longer adjustment period and continuous support from friends and family members.

            In a few days, it will be Christmas; and yet, a lot of people would say it doesn’t feel that way. Normally, preparations for the holidays start during September and end midway November, so that come December, the decorations and Christmas trees are already up and lighted, with gifts wrapped and safely tucked away under the tree. However, this year, it seems like we have lost some of the Christmas spirit. There is an apparent lack of holiday cheer to go around because there are still people trying to rebuild and recover from the damage brought by typhoon Ondoy. While it is understandable given the unfortunate circumstances, it still makes for quite a frosty Christmas. Then again, perhaps it need not be that way after all.

            Christmas stands for something more than just material things, it reminds us of our Savior’s birth. If we can recall, He was born in a stable, laid in a manger and surrounded by farm animals; humble beginnings not fit for a king and definitely not for the King of all Kings. But it is this simplicity, along with the charity of the barn owner, which should be remembered and noted during the Christmas season, especially now that we are still trying to restore our lives after the Ondoy tragedy. After all, we can do away with the bright (and sometimes musical lights), shiny decorations and expensive gifts; but acts of charity, love and friendship—these we cannot do without.