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Sillimanians
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2 Sillimanians on Asian Literary Award Longlist Two Sillimanians are among those longlisted for the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize, currently the biggest award for Asian novel in English. The Administrative Committee for the award released July 22 its longlist which includes Silliman creative writing instructor Ian Rosales Casocot for Sugar Land and alumna Lakambini Sitoy for Sweet Haven. Two other Filipino writers have also made the cut, including Alfred Yuson for The Music Child and Miguel Syjuco for Ilustrado. Casocot’s Sugar Land is the story of three denizens of a small Visayan city whose lives come crashing together one August night at the height of the traditionally festive annual celebration of the city’s biggest university. Each one comes to terms with his and her own story, and prepares to finally confront the secret that binds the three of them together. Sitoy’s Sweet Haven tells about Narita Pastor who abandoned her bastard daughter to fulfill her dream of independence in Manila. Raised by her grandparents and aunt in the peaceful university community of Sweethaven, Naia grows into a spirited teenager. Now the family are thrown into turmoil when pornographic footage of the 15-year old spreads through the internet and cheap CDs sold by sidewalk vendors. This longlist of 21 unpublished works of Asian fiction in English will be reviewed and evaluated by the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize judges, who will announce a shortlist of works in October 2008. The winner will be announced on November 13 at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The judging panel for the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize is composed of Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor General of Canada; Nicholas Jose, writer, scholar and former Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in China; and Pankaj Mishra, acclaimed Indian writer and thinker. The 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize longlist was chosen from submissions received from all over Asia. The largest single group of submissions was from India, followed by the Philippines. The rest came from other countries throughout the region. The Prize received submissions from well-established as well as first-time authors, and entries included translated works as well as works originally in English. Peter Gordon, Executive Director of the Man Asian Literary Prize said: “The long list, which contains unpublished works from throughout the region from Japan to Pakistan, demonstrates once again the depth and diversity of Asian contemporary writing. We were pleased that many of the works on last year's long list were published or are scheduled for publication, and we hope that highlighting Asian writers will have a similar effect this year and in the years to come.” Man
Group plc is the sponsor of the Man Asian Literary Prize, the prestigious
Booker Prize in the United Kingdom, and the annual Man Hong Kong
International Literary Festival. (Credits: Man Asian Literary
Prize / SU Cultural Affairs Committee) Scholars Gather for Thanksgiving Celebration Over 500 scholarship recipients gathered July 24 at the Silliman University Church for a thanksgiving celebration themed “SU Scholars Consecrating their Gifts and Celebrating their Lives for Christ.” The scholars, who are enrolled in different courses in Silliman University, are beneficiaries of scholarship programs funded by the University, Silliman alumni and friends, the Philippine government, and Silliman’s corporate and institutional partners. According to Ms Roiselle Nacu, Scholarships Coordinator, the event was conducted by the Student Scholarships and Aids Division and the Student Aid Committee to reinforce in the scholars “the virtue of thankfulness for all the blessings that they have received from our one source and giver, Jesus Christ.” Vice
President for Finance and Administration Prof. Cleonico Fontelo,
who was an academic and a work scholar in his college years, served
as the speaker. PolSci Major Bags Prize for Essay Supporting Family Planning “The right to family planning is an indispensable requisite for economic, political, and social progress.” This was one of the concluding lines in the winning essay of Political Science major Alvin Clyde Gregorio titled The Population Problem: The Culprit Luring in the Shadows. Gregorio’s essay was ranked second in a writing competition organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in celebration of World Population Day. “As concerned citizens of this country, we should take it upon ourselves to demand that the government steer us in that direction – otherwise, we will succumb to the fate of continually disregarding the population problem: eventual self-destruction,” Gregorio ended his piece. Gregorio, who writes for the student paper the Weekly Sillimanian and a member of the Silliman University Debate Society, received a cash award from SGV President and Founder Washington Sycip in an awarding ceremony held July 11 at Edsa-Shangrila Manila. The awarding was graced by former Philippine President Fidel Ramos. [ Back to top ] [ Home ] US Ambassador visits SU United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney addressed Silliman students at an All-University Convocation held July 1 at the Silliman University Church, marking the formal opening of School Year 2008-2009. “It’s an extraordinary honor for me to get to address the convocation of Silliman University because I was not in my university days the best student. I was not the student you would have picked to inspire the other students,” the Ambassador said. As a student, she revealed how she often arrived late at class. “I got reasonable grades, but I often arrived late at class. I spent a lot of time talking with my friends rather than doing my homework.” “My teachers might well have been a little bit frustrated and thought I was the student who wasn’t paying attention,” she added. But the Ambassador shared how she was pushed by her mentors to take “very diverse” courses. While a political science major at Clemson University, she took classes in agriculture, biology, and an introductory course to engineering. The classes she took outside of the political science curriculum eventually “proved incredibly useful to me…because I think you don’t know, when you’re starting out, what direction your life will take.” “So I urge all of you who are students: take a wide range of classes. You don’t know where your life will take you, and you want to be as prepared as you can be,” the Ambassador stressed. The Ambassador also emphasized the importance of making friends, and getting involved in school activities. She said as a student, she was with the student government and was active in sports, like baseball and basketball. “I did a lot of things that may not have been a part of my formal education, but they taught me a great deal about how to get along with people,” the Ambassador said. She shared how her friends during her university years continue to be among her best of friends to this day. “They are the people that I turn to when I have questions, when I’m making big decisions.” The Ambassador then shared five “rules for success,” rules that she said she chooses to live by: • Love what you do – “You should not choose a future, or a profession, or a course of study, if you don’t love it. You’re wasting your life. You should pick something you love to do, and you’ll be good at it. And your enthusiasm will show. And people will want to be with you. They will want to hire you. They will want to work alongside of you. But it doesn’t mean that you necessarily would love it every single day of the year. But in general, if you love what you’re doing, you’re excited about the path you’ve chosen, the studies you’re taking, the friends you’re making, the career path you’re choosing, you would do extremely well at it.” • Be your best – “Don’t ever settle for being anything less than you’re best. Each of you is a very unique person. You have extraordinary talents. You probably have talents only you know you have. Develop them, insist on it, push your teachers, ask questions. Get out there. Make yourself the best you can be, and keep doing it throughout your whole life. Don’t ever settle, or let anyone else let you settle, for being anything else than the best you can be. You owe it to yourself every single day.” • Play fair – “You have a lot of chances in your life to do the right thing, to be a hero in your own daily existence. Take those chances. Don’t ever get ahead at the expense of someone else. Don’t ever cheat your way ahead. Because at the end of every day, you have to live with yourself. And you have to feel that you have achieved things because you have achieved them on your own right. Not because you pushed someone else aside, not because you cheated, not because you in some way went around the rules. You will not be proud of yourself, if you achieved any victories any way but the right way.” • Make a difference -- “Be a player. In sports terms, you didn’t join to sit on the bench; join to make a difference. And think about that throughout your life: How can you make a difference? Solve problems. Join something. It may be quite simple as starting a recycling program in your dormitory, or tutoring someone who’s having a problem. But step up, don’t wait for life to offer you opportunities, or wait for someone to suggest. You have an idea or a suggestion or a way in a which you can make the world around you better, do it. You didn’t join life to sit on the bench.” • Be proud of yourself – “Every day, all of us do something we’re proud of. You should be proud of the fact that you were accepted at a wonderful university, that you are enrolled in an important course of study. Proud of the way you behave as a student, as a friend, as a colleague. And you should celebrate those triumphs. You might not celebrate everyday or publicly, but again, when you go sleep at night, you should think: ‘I did some things well today. Good for me!’ Don’t dwell on the negative, dwell on the positive. Each of you has a lot of talent. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. Dwell on that, celebrate it, and be proud of yourself each and every day.” A daughter of a school teacher and a US Military Veteran, the Ambassador also enjoined the students in giving a hand to the faculty and staff members of the University. “These are the real heroes of every academic institution,” she said. In closing, the Ambassador made a personal appeal to the students. “As you go out in the world, as you develop your leadership skills, as you become leaders, think about giving that leadership talent back in public service.” The Ambassador, who has served in Jamaica, Switzerland, Argentina and Ecuador, began her career with the US Department of State in 1981. “I’ve given my life in public service, and I won’t earn as much money as people who are out in the private sector, but I’ve never regretted one single moment of it. It’s a real honor to serve your country and to try to make a difference in the world.” The visit of the Ambassador to Silliman fell on the same week of the celebration of American Independence Day and the Philippine-American Friendship Day. “It’s my honor to be at an institution that really is at the root of the great friendship of Americans and Filipinos based on an official level and a person-to-person level,” she said Silliman is the country’s oldest American university, founded on August 28, 1901 by American Pesbyterian missionaries. [ Back to top ] [ Home ] Silliman
Assists Iloilo Typhoon Victims
There was no fire to put out, but it did not need one to put a fire truck’s water-holding and pumping capability to the same life-saving use. Silliman University in Dumaguete City sent June 27 its fire truck to Iloilo City to assist in transporting water from a town in the province of Iloilo to the city where efforts to restore electricity and water supply were ongoing. Iloilo is one of the worst hit areas in the country by typhoon Frank. Serviced first were affected members of Silliman’s sister school, Central Philippine University, the local United Church for Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), and Silliman alumni. Silliman is a protestant university affiliated with the UCCP, but with a predominantly Catholic student population. It is the country’s oldest American university. A truck was also sent by Silliman containing donations of food and clothing from Silliman students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. Cash donations through voluntary salary deductions from its faculty and staff members were transmitted two weeks ago. A second shipment of clothing and food items was sent this Monday. The call issued June 25 by Silliman University for all “to act as one community” also sparked support from government officials. Negros Oriental Governor Emilio Macias II and Negros Oriental Second District Representative George Arnaiz, both of whom are Sillimanians, donated rice for the flood victims. “This is our way of responding to the call for us to assist in the best way we could to our fellow Filipinos in the neighboring province of Iloilo,” Silliman President Ben Malayang III said. While Malayang said the country is hit with other tragedies, “we need to assess our resources and capabilities, and determine how we can best maximize them and benefit more people in one area.” Silliman has an active alumni chapter in Iloilo City that gave counterpart support and assistance for the flood victims. The support that Silliman extends in times of national calamity and tragedy is not new. In 2006, when a flashflood in Leyte left hundreds homeless and grieving, Silliman donated a portion of its university Christmas party. [ Back to top ] [ Home ]
2 Qualify
for TOSP Final Selection
Two Silliman students are among the 30 finalists around the country for the 2008 Ten Outstanding Students in the Philippines (TOSP). Lycar Flores and Rolando Villamero, who both graduated magna cum laude with degrees in Management and Secondary Education, respectively will be at Malacanang on July 17 for the final selection. Established in 1961, the TOSP program recognizes outstanding Filipino youth for academic excellence, exemplary leadership, community involvement and good moral values. [ Back to top ]
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