Pilosopiya Para sa Masa - Going Down from our Ivory Tower

The poverty of Philosophy in the Philippines is a real deal. No one can deny the fact that not all are familiar with the discipline, only the academics, erudite, and professionals are spared from such. This urgent need leads us to the conceptualization of Pilosopiya Para sa Masa, an endeavor where everyone can get access and understanding of the greatness offered by philosophy. As a community development project, our task is to share the various aspects that are concerned with philosophy, enabling the beneficiaries to think for themselves and help them in their proper decision making, having a positive attitude, and hoping for what one can do. There is a reason why we chose Healing Path as our partner community, it is because we do believe that philosophy can offer hope to the lives of the people under Healing Path Foundation. In partnership with the Artlets Student Council (ABSC), we are eager enough to conduct the project by means of implementing the community of inquiry and a set of processing activities.

During our ocular visit on July 14, 2020, we were introduced to the house rules of the community and what do they expect us to teach and share with them. The community requested us to focus on topics of the importance of family, values, and hope against trying times. We are set to conduct it on January 22, 27, and 29 of 2020. During our first day of implementation, Zeus Suazo (Community Development Head of UST Concilium Philosophiae) gave the introductory remarks for the series of projects. It is immediately followed by the video presentation that would stimulate the beneficiaries’ thoughts on the subject matter. Afterward, we grouped them into 4 for the focus grouped-discussion and the implementation of the community of inquiry. The community of inquiry aims to strengthen the critical thinking of each beneficiary, asking them questions and letting them reflect and think for themselves. This was the central part of the project, where we share the value of philosophy as we qualify each of their questions. In order to help them in applying the reflections that they have embodied for themselves, we offered them processing activities that would enable them to see the relevance of philosophy in their actual lives. These include a pen and paper worksheet and the freedom fall. These were the cycle of programs that happened also in the second day. Some of the other volunteers include Lorenz Layao (President of UST Concilium Philosophiae), Mikaela Avelino (Community Development Head of UST Concilium Philosophiae), Paolo Manuel (VP External of Artlets Student Council), etc. We were also accompanied by some of the faculty of the Department of Philosophy like Mrs.Marella Bolaños and Ms. Gian Agbisit. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish the last phase of the project due to the sudden unavailability of our accompanying faculty for the third day, this was followed by the indefinite suspension of all off-campus activities in the University in view of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Despite this unfinished project, we still managed to learn from our beneficiaries and inculcate in them the kind of hope that they need especially in their situation. 

Perhaps, as philosophy majors and student volunteers, we can think of Hannah Arendt, a political theorist, and philosopher who believes that everyone has the capacity to begin again and resolve himself/herself against his/her past mistakes.  This gives us hope that whatever has transpired in Healing Path is a concrete sign of the affirmation that human beings will always have the capacity to begin again and our understanding and forgiveness will truly matter. Indeed, we brought Healing by going down from our ivory tower.

                                  Zeus Suazo giving the introductory remarks for the project

                                 Lorenz Layao stimulating the thoughts of the beneficiaries

          

                                    Volunteers' Photo-Op after the first day of the project

                                                 together with Mrs. Marella Bolaños      

                    

                               Ocular Visit of Paolo Manuel, Alyandra Ressurecion, and Mikaela Avelino

Project Implementors:

    Christian Zeus S. Suazo (UST Concilium Philosophiae - Community Development Head)

    Mikaela D. Avelino (UST Concilium Philosophiae - Community Development Head)

    Paolo Jericho D. Manuel (UST Artlets Student Council - VP External)

    Joe C. Todaka (UST Artlets Student Council - Community Development Head)

                                           

In Time Of Need: Contribution of the Artlets Student Council and the Artlets Community for the Victims of the Taal Volcano Eruption Through Tulong Tomasino

    Last January 12, the Taal Volcano in Batangas, erupted spewing ashes across Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and parts of Central Luzon and Ilocos Region. As a result, many families have evacuated from their homes due to the unlivable conditions of their areas. The University, with its influence and power wishes to extend its hands to the victims of the Taal Volcano Eruption through the Tulong Tomasino Donation Drive. Tulong Tomasino is a donation drive of the University of Santo Tomas led by the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office and conducted by the Thomasian students. 

    Considering the urgency of these donations, the Artlets Student Council, alongside the Central and other Local Student Councils, after getting the green light by the University and being guided by the AB Community Development (ABCD) Office, right away conducted the Tulong Tomasino Donation Drive whereby instructs the Artlets community to prepare a Tulong Tomasino box which comprises of food items, and hygiene and medical kits while the monetary donations will immediately proceed to the Lipa Archdiocese Social Action Center (LASAC). Items must be properly labelled with the donor’s year, section and major. To hasten the process of collecting donations, the Artlets Student Council advised the Societies to delegate tasks to their officers in order to accomplish them efficiently. With this set up, the Council was able to receive all donations from the Artlets community by January 24. When all the Tulong Tomasino boxes have been dropped off at the lobby of St. Raymund’s building, the Council, alongside the ABCD, then sends it off to the Simbahayan office to finally be given to the Lipa Archdiocese Social Action Center. 

"It is in times of crisis that good leaders emerge." -Rudolph W. Giuliani

PUBLICATION MATERIALS CONTAINING DETAILS ON THE

TULONG TOMASINO DONATION DRIVE

PUBLICATION MATERIAL SHOWING GRATITUDE TO

THE ARTLETS COMMUNITY FOR THEIR DONATIONS

Live To Give: Contribution of the Artlets Student Council and the Artlets Community for the Mission Areas of the Dominicans through Tulong Tomasino

    Every year, the University commemorate Paskuhan to celebrate the birth of Christ and as a year-ender party for the Thomasian community and Christ being the symbol of love, the University encourages love through sharing with the 2019 theme: “for unto us a Child is born.” Through Tulong Tomasino, the University expresses its compassion by extending its hands to those who are in need. Tulong Tomasino is a donation drive of the University of Santo Tomas led by the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office and conducted by the Thomasian students. 

    It was brought to the attention of local and central student council by the University and for the Artlets Student Council, by the AB Community Development (ABCD) Office, that our brothers and sisters in the mission areas of the Dominican needed help. With this, guided by the ABCD, the Council immediately informed its constituents, the Artlets community, of the information regarding the beneficiaries and how they can help during these times of need. 

    Upon indicating needed information on the beneficiaries and the situation, the Council then set a date to collect and receive donations from the Artlets community, advising students that they have until December 1 to December 6 to prepare donations that will ultimately be packed in the Tulong Tomasino boxes to be forwarded to the Simbahayan. To hasten the process, the Council advised the Societies to disseminate tasks for their class officers in order to fulfill their tasks efficiently. Fortunately, all the societies in the Artlets community accomplished their responsibility to donate to our less-fortunate brothers and sisters in the Dominican mission areas. After collecting and securing the donations, which must be properly labelled with the donor’s year, section and major and comprises of food items and hygiene kits. When all the Tulong Tomasino boxes have been dropped at the lobby of St. Raymund’s building, the Council, with the approval of the ABCD, then finally sends it off to the Simbahayan office. 

"You have two hands; one to help yourself and one to help others."

PUBLICATION MATERIALS REGARDING THE DONATION

PROCESS FOR THE TULONG TOMASINO DONATION DRIVE

THE TULONG TOMASINO BOXES DROPPED OFF AT THE

ST. RAYMUNDS LOBBY BY THE ARTLETS COMMUNITY

Para sa BUTIL Iskolar: Artlets Student Council & Becarios’ Partnership on BUTIL Honesty Kiosk

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." – Malcolm X

    Education for all is a goal we, as the people, dream to attain. However, it remains as one of the problems that still plague our country; the amount of money to get an education restrain students to receive an education despite it being a right. Our country has written this right in our constitution. Under Article 14, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution: “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” It is essential that these rights are cherished and defended. Despite this noble goal, the reality is far from the truth. Free education for all, is still far from the grasp of the youth. Many young people remain as out-of-school youths due to the lack of accessible and inclusive education – even more so in the tertiary level. Steps have to be undertaken to guarantee education for all.  One of these steps is to launch BUTIL Honesty Kiosk in AB. 

    The Artlets Student Council wishes to support students that are in a state of financial uncertainty. To this end, programs such as the BUTIL Honesty Kiosk have been conducted and are still being conducted to help these students. The Artlets Student Council is eager to do its part in solving the problem by participating in this program. The Artlets Student Council partnered with Becarios in the BUTIL Honesty Kiosk project with the goal of aiding one BUTIL Scholar through the capital it receives from the project. Moreover, this will also bring social awareness amongst the Artlets Community of their roles as Thomasian students to have compassion for others. The presence of an Honesty Kiosk in the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building is a hard thing to miss. This will encourage them to take part in advocacy of free education for all. They would already be helping to achieve the program area for development of equitable and inclusive education by simply purchasing products from the Honesty Kiosk. 

    With this, the Council began processing documents in order for the project to begin the implementation phase. During the months of February and March, the Council have been submitting papers to the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) in collaboration with the Becarios to hasten the processing period. Unfortunately, by the time the OSA could approve of the project, suspension of classes already took place. Fortunately, regardless of the cancellation of classes due to COVID-19, the Council, through the monetary contributions of members of the Artlets Student Council, have already donated P6,500 for one BUTIL Scholar. Finally, the Artlets Student Council aims to continue this project next Academic Year considering these times are even more challenging for all scholars alike. 

Project Implementers

Paolo Jericho Duruin-Manuel

External Vice President, UST Artlets Student Council

Joe C. Todaka

Community Development Head, UST Artlets Student Council

Rendzborg C. Bautista

BUTIL Project Head, Becarios de Santo Tomas

Pilosopiya Para sa Masa: Motivating the Rehabilitants Through Philosophy

"I Am Not Defined By My Relapses, But By My Decision To Remain In Recovery Despite Them."

Spearheaded by the faculty members of the UST Department of Philosophy, Concilium Philosophiae in partnership with the UST Artlets Student Council, the project: Pilosopiya Para sa Masa, aimed to teach philosophy to the rehabilitants through the process of "community of inquiry" which encourages critical discourse and reflection to produce a personal outlook for the participants. The Healing Path Foundation have been a long-time partner community of the AB Community Development. In line with this, the Concilium Philosophiae and the Artlets Student Council aims to sustain this project for a long term, focusing on the community's progression step-by-step. The student leaders of Concilium Philosophiae and UST Artlets Student Council envision to teaching future rehabilitants, and aiding them with this program through the help of faculty members and the AB Community Development advisers.

This project consisted of three phases which was planned to be held on January 22, 27, and 29 of 2020, at the Healing Path Foundation in Quezon City. A week before the first phase of the project, an ocular visit to the community was conducted. The ocular visit team composed of Alyandra Resurrecion and Mikaela Avelino of Concilium and Paolo Manuel of Artlets Student Council. They were oriented with the rules and regulations of the facility. The student leaders and volunteers were instructed not to take photographs of the beneficiaries and that their names were under strict confidentiality. After a thorough discussion with the community leaders about the project and inquiry on the concerns and specific needs of the community, the following topics were suggested: values formation, importance of family, and positive attitude. Thus, alongside their adviser, the team designed lesson plans, videos and processing activities specifically catered to the needs of the community. For the first two phases, the project heads and volunteers conducted a Close Facilitating and Learning Process; personally communicating with the participants through the subject of philosophy by preparing the participants to watch informative videos in which they will explain the context of and how they felt upon watching it. The activity was met by active participants who were attentive and vocal on the discussions. The topics of value formation, importance of family, and positive attitude were tackled and heartfelt dialogues arose. After every phases' lunch breaks, a group reporting was administered that focuses on the main points that have transpired in every focus group discussion and the processing activity was accomplished through a pen and paper assessment. The second phase concluded with a trust-fall exercise in which the participants state words and sentences that inspire them to be better. Overall, the first and second phase went without any other complications. The third phase, however, was disrupted by the suspension of classes due to COVID-19 despite the multiple attempts to reschedule. 

To conclude, the project, “Pilosopiya Para sa Masa” ended with only finishing two phases. Regardless of the unfinished third phase, it is still evident that this project has impacted both the project heads, volunteers, and beneficiaries, establishing a bond and understanding and ultimately giving both a better and more positive outlook on life. 

OCULAR VISIT OF THE PROJECT HEADS

ZEUS SUAZO GIVING THE INTRODUCTION ON THE

FIRST DAY

 

PAOLO MANUEL FACILITATING THE PROCESSING ACTIVITY ON THE FIRST DAY

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTERS AND VOLUNTEERS,

TOGETHER WITH DR. MARELLA BOLANOS (ADVISER) AFTER THE 

FIRST PHASE

LORENZ LAYAO ENGAGING WITH THE PARTICIPANTS

IN A DISCUSSION ON THE SECOND DAY

 

JOE TODAKA CONDUCTING THE FINAL ACTIVITY, TRUST FALL 

ON THE SECOND DAY