Taste The Rainbows

Type: Profile Feature

Category: Unpublished

"Taste The Rainbows"

by Charito Chua

"Dancing is a journey of a group of people whose moves are in their hearts and whose music are in their souls - that's what we have. We aim to inspire. And to show others how dancing and family can be used to glorify God", shared Chynna. Do you have the same passion as she does? So why don't you join Skittlez?

The Skittlez Crew started in the year 2007. Some dancers who auditioned for La Salle Dance Company - Street unfortunately did not make it through. But driven with the passion to continue dancing, they decided to form their own dance group. Thus, the Skittlez Crew was born! Until now, more people from DLSU and DLSU-CSB who share the same passion join the dance crew.

They don't run with a crew captain, or an official coach, because they consider themselves as family. They are all equal. They are well known for doing their own choreography, with some help from their friends outside the crew whom they call The Skittlez Community. When asked if they hold auditions for aspiring members, Chynna answered, "Who are we to do that? We are founded on the basis that anyone can dance as long as there is the passion to do so."

Innah, a Skittlez member since 2008, shared a little secret, "I didn't tell my parents at first that I joined Skittlez. They only knew when I told them I entered the competition. My dad kept telling me how tiring and troublesome it was for both of us during rehearsals. So, even until now, I would always tell him I would hitch a ride with a friend while I was actually commuting home, just so I could practice with Skittlez."

The Skittlez Crew has been a consisten finalist for the LSDC - Street annual dance competition "Remix". Not only that, they also brought home the gold last 2008. So how do they prepare for competitions? "We always say bawal chillax," told Innah. She shared that they work hard rehearsing late at night. "Even though we didn't win this 2009, the feeling was so good because we knew we worked hard for it."

Their genres and styles differ from krump to house, from street to ballet. They adjust to different personalities and attitude towards one another. But they all have one thing in common - the desire to dance. When not dancing on stage or practicing at the Yuchengco lobby, you can find them watching dance concerts, clubbing or simply having a good time at GP. As they said, they are not just a crew, they are also a family.

37 various people with one mutual passion. So what do the Skittlez get for being part of the Skittlez Crew? God. Family. Dancing. And more dancing. Now, wouldn't you like to taste the rainbows?

Taking Notes: How to Know if a Student is Crushing on You

Type: Feature
Target Market: Teachers
Category: Unpublished

"Taking Notes: How to Know if a Student is Crushing on You"

By Charito Chua

"It was the first day of class, and she was late. Imagine a room full of boys very loud, rowdy and naughty, then suddenly the whole class fell quiet. It wasn't because the teacher finally arrived, but because a cute young Chinita was gonna be our homeroom for the entire year," shared Rey, who graduated from LSGH crushing on a teacher.

It may be the cute looks, the hot-bod, the supportiveness and encouragement, or the impressive intelligence and teaching skills. Whatever it is that these teachers have, it appeals to some students which results to a teacher-crush. So how do you know if a student is already crushing on you? Here are some clues and hints to find out.

Miss, miss! I know! Pick me!

"She noticed me because I was making papansin in class. I would recite all through the day," Emir shared while he was crushing on his 3rd year English teacher. Now I'm not saying you should think all the active kids in your class have a crush on you. Just take note of those who appear to just want to get too much of your attention during class. Apparently, teacher-crushes make the student pay more attention in discussions. Franz, a DLSU student, also shared to me, "Of course I was KSP in her class. Recite lang ng recite. That's how we became friends." A person would of course want to impress the person he or she likes, or at least not humiliate himself in front of the crush. However, it's not the same case scenario for everyone. Charm, who was crushing on her two-week substitute professor recounted, "I was nodding during his entire class. For those two weeks, I did not learn a thing because he was just too gwapo. But heck, at least he thought I was attentive!" So having a teacher as a crush might serve as inspiration for the student, but it might be a bit too distracting as well for some.

I would like to join the glee club!

Your student never showed interest before, but now that's all he is busying about. Maybe it's because of you! Kamila shared, "I joined the English club reasoning that my friend was part of it, But actually, my teacher that I was crushing on became the club moderator. I got to spend the entire English week together with him!" It's nice that students gain more interest because of you, but wouldn't it be nicer if they gained interest on the subject itself and not on the teacher?

Hi miss! Good morning! How was your day? Where are you going?

Have you ever had a student talk to you about nonsense things, which might not even be related to your class? It's normal to talk to professors outside the classroom walls. However, some students might actally want more than just "Hi miss" greetings. A story Justin shared to us was that he would go early to class, just so he could talk to the teacher before any of his classmates were there. Gilen, a student from Letran, also shared her techniques to simply get to talk to her professor she was crushing on, "If i see him in the hallways, I'd greet him all the time. Being the friendly prof that he is, he would greet me back. I'd be asking more questions like Anong gagawin ngayon sir? May quiz ba? Saan po kayo papunta? (What are we going to do today sir? Is there a quiz? Where are you heading to?) And even until now that he isn't my prof anymore, and luckily my friends have him for their majors, I'd grab the chance to talk to him when my friends talk to him around campus."

Uuuyyyyyy............

All high school girls pass by this stage. Now this applies to all crushes, not only to the teachers. It works just the same if the campus crush passes by, the football hunk, or the cute professor. Gilen shared, "I remember this sweet smelling perfume, and when I turned to check who passed by, my friends quickly teased Uuuyyyy...."

Teachers' day = Valentine's day

Giving gifts to teacher is quite a trend back in grade school and high school. This was one sure way to get on the good side of the teacher. Maybe even get better grades! But that's not all the reason there is to spend some cash for the day of beloved mentors. Danelle remembered some of her classmates giving a cake for the professor they were crushing on. Emir also shared what he did during high school, "Every teachers' day, we'd have a couple of gifts for our teachers, mostly generic gifts for all of them. But for Ms. Pena, I'd really give her hand-picked gifts. Even if she wasn't my teacher anymore, I'd still go to the faculty office to greet her."

These hints and clues students crushing on teahcer are simple to understand. It's normal to have crushes, right? Even on a teacher. However, when it becomes more than just a crush, now that's a different story. Maybe it's time to have a little talk with your students, and have an honest confrontation to set things straight.

And Man Created Plastic

Beat: Business
Type: News Feature
Category: Unpublished

"And Man Created Plastic"

By Tricia Cacho and Charito Chua

"And man created the plastic bag.And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: "Look at this Godawful mess." -Art Buchwald

The eco-friendly product or packaging is the new business trend for the year 2010. It is time for the business world to not just think about the global economy, but to also ponder upon the best interests in terms of the global environment. More and more companies are using biodegradable packaging in order to do their part and encourage consumers to also do their role for Mother Earth; to reuse, reduce and recycle.

One of the pioneers of this trend, SM Supermalls, turned to using biodegradable plastic bags in their Department Stores and Supermarkets in 2008. And ever since then, more and more companies are utilizing biodegradable plastic bags for packaging their products. However, this does not necessarily mean these companies have the desire to make the world a greener place. Using eco-friendly packaging is one way to simply attract customers and keep up with the competition in the business world. "Some companies are actually doing it just because SM is doing it. They don't really understand how it is biodegradable," said Mr. John Clifford Tan, Executive Vice President of JTA Packaging Corp, a large national provider of plastic and polyester bags.

He shared to us that most companies do not understand that the biodegradable plastic bags are not more environment-friendly than the usual plastic bags being used before. Apparently, the only difference between the two plastic bags is the added material for the biodegradable plastics to make it faster to decompose. This particular additive to the biodegradable plastics creates the effect that makes the plastics easier to deteriorate more easily than ordinary plastic, with it having a life span of six months compared to the 100 - year life span of nonbiodegradable ones. This is what makes majority of the society believe that such kind of plastics make it healthier for our environment. However, this makes the plastic more brittle, making it easier to be destroyed, therefore less chances to be used. "If the normal plastic bags were only taught to be properly used and disposed, everyone would realize that it's even more eco-friendly than the biodegradable ones. Consumers should use these bags more than once, which make it more recyclable than the biodegradable plastics since it last longer," shared Mr. Tan.

Aside from the fact that these supposedly eco-friendly plastics are not eco-friendly after all, it does not actually benefit the company with regards to its cost production. It was also explained that biodegradables actually costs 12 percent more than the normal plastic bags used before, due to the additive to make it faster to decompose in land. Melbert Villanueva, assistant store manager of SM Supermakret stated in defense, "This additional cost does not affect the customers, but instead shouldered by the company itself."

Plastic, whether biodegradable or not, does not have a good effect to our environment. The 'biodegradable' plastics could only lessen the guilt that the shoppers might have, but it return it could make them think that it is tolerable to shop for more things from such stores that are now using 'eco-friendly' plastic bags. It is time that consumers should also stop and look at everything else around in their house and realize that majority of our products today are also made of plastic. As how Mr. Tan explained, "I don't get why everyone is attacking just the plastic bags, when actually, everything is already made out of plastic. The TV frames, PSP's, even the cellphones are made out of plastic. Why aren't they doing anything to prevent these kinds of products to destroy the world?" Not only are the plastic bags pose the only dangerous threat to the environment - it is basically all plastic products.

So before you leave a store with a biodegradable plastic bag in your hands, imagine if God were to take a look of what is inside your bag. Would He evaluate man's creation and say, "And it was good"?

HCHS Wins Over Uno 74 - 63

Beat: Sports
Type: News
Category: Unpublished

"HCHS Wins Over Uno 74 - 63"
By Charito Chua

Hope Christian High School (HCHS)'s basketball team won against Uno High School with a final score of 74 - 63 last Friday February 5 at the Chiang Kai Shek gym, for the 40th season of Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association league.

"It was a blow out game during the first game with Uno. We stomped them with 40 points. Although that was without Isaac in their team, so this one should be more exciting for everyone", explained HCHS player, Parkson Young. He said that the Hope basketball team was confident with their present standing of four wins and two losses for the entire season.

Janrey Garrido, Hope's point guard, started the game off with a two-point shot. Both teams took turns making baskets for the first and second quarters. However, Uno had difficulties with Hope's strong defense, ending the first half with the score of 31 - 23 with Hope in the lead. After the halftime break, Isaac Lim of Uno made the first shot. But he also got heated up as he was about to make a fight in the court with Hope's point guard Joshua Go, after Go making a defensive foul. The third quarter ended with a nine-point lead of Hope over Uno. The audience cheered louder during the last three minutes of the fourth quarter as the scores of both teams became closer. During the game's peak, Villar, Hope's center, was hurt due to a wrong pass. In the end, Hope won 74 - 63 over Uno, not even making Uno lead once during the game.