OPINION: Way Pu’s Ang Suga
by Jona Branzuela Bering
There is a world aside from yours.
My ears were bleeding for the negative yet helpful criticism I heard from students regarding the dead meat named Ang Suga.
The dead meat had been long dead and buried with the molds of irresponsibility and laziness. Yet, on his final bed, he summoned his offspring to stand from the sickening, depressing reputation. And they do. And that they are US.
We, the Ang Suga board of editors and staff have been doing our job to rescue the reputation of Ang Suga as a student publication.
Step by achingly yet familiar step, we make ourselves visible to the eyes of institutional and non-institutional activities and to all the big taes involved.
We merge to the society of students.
And now, if you still can’t see us, the problem is not us. Maybe, you got an idea, where the problems lie.
JUAN TAMAD
Yet, it is true that some staff got their fair share in staining the already torn-out reputation of Ang Suga. They let laziness eat them alive. And even how hard I verbally assaulted their laziness, still, they willingly dwell on its home.
Letting Juan changed his Tamad clothes into Masipag clothes is not easy.
From the time I wrote this, the names of the staff who forgot that they have respective assignments are posted outside the office with a memo boldly exclaiming: students, in case the magazine will not be published on time, kindly blame these following staff.
KAMI CORRUPT?!?
Laughed loudly, Jona, since they didn’t know what their ignorant mouth had uttered.
Corruption is here but it is not at Ang Suga.
Student publication should be autonomous. Not in our case. We are not handling the thirty pesos paid by each student, so if you got questions regarding your thirty pesos, then by all means, throw them to the accounting office. They had the answers. (I am not practicing crab mentality here; I just stand on the small ground of Ang Suga.)
We should have been paid off in everything that we sacrificed for Ang Suga yet; we (un)willingly budgeted our weekly allowance for meetings, outreach programs which should have been included on our annual budget.
We are not wearing corruption in our sleeves much more on our inner shirt.
DUGAY ANG MAGAZINE
There is also a world aside from ours.
The Ang Suga is not the end; rather it is just the starting point of a relatively confusing bidding process which personally I tried to comprehend only to realize there are matters that I shouldn’t involve with. (Especially I am looking forward on wearing my toga. Call me coward, if it suits you.)
In publishing the magazine, it takes a lot of time before the so-called bidding process accomplished a winning bidder. And there, our dilemma deepened since based on my four-year stay at Ang Suga, more often than not, the winning publishing company failed to lend a hand when required service is due.
The main task of the supply office (located at Ground floor, Admin Building) is to get a so-called lowest bidder since it is the requirement in a governmental institution like CNU---to get the cheapest, never mind the quality.
Again, there is a world aside from ours. And we can’t touch, much more penetrate them. But you can appeal to them. Ask doubtful questions just like you did to us and they will answer you.
Answer you right through your eyes.
(and they will surely lie like an eyewitness)
---julian barnes
