Columns Opinion

Hocus bogus

By
Published January 15, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Daily Grind
asilva@theguidon.com

“Pabaon is a lie,” the people outside Leong Hall were saying during Integrated Non-Academic Formation (INAF) day. Initially, I was confused and didn’t understand what they meant. Were they trying to say that it wasn’t as retrospective as the previous batches had said it was supposed to be, or maybe it’s not about what we really experienced in our years of Ateneo education?

As it turns out, they meant it literally. As I walked into the venue for my INAF activity, I realized that Pabaon was a lie alright; it wasn’t what we expected it to be at all. According to some alumni friends, their Pabaon had some videos and messages from vital people in their college life, like their teachers, Fr. Ben, and of course, Ate Alma. Pabaon was about what they learned and what they will miss after four years of Katipunan life. Sadly, we had none of this during our Pabaon.

Instead, we were surprised to find that our Pabaon was a sort of voter’s awareness campaign, presented not by the Office of Social Concern and Involvement, but by the Sanggunian. It wasn’t a looking back; I guess you can say it was a ‘looking forward’. Not that it was a bad thing; but we had anticipated different things. It’s comparable to the popular (500) Days of Summer reference, expectation vs. reality.

For a couple of days, Facebook and Twitter were filled with status messages and posts about their INAF day experiences. Some people went as far as editing the VP’s memo to encircle and reiterate the false title of that event, then blogging about the whole experience. There was even some word going around that you will be slapped with a hold order if you don’t go.

I would understand all the people who went and were upset; not only was Pabaon misleading, it was really a big hassle for those who had to commute that day (and everyday) from Bulacan or Cavite just to go to school. Or those who didn’t even have school on that day at all. Talk about rubbing salt into a wound.

Some people were saying that Sanggu didn’t actually ask for the whole time allotment, just ten minutes to promote the initiative. Even Sanggu was also surprised that they were given the whole remainder of the free period to promote Blue Vote 2010. There were also people who said that Sanggu was prohibited from talking about what they were going to do on INAF day, which is weird considering the amount of importance that they’ve put on transparency this year.

But mostly, it was disappointing that OSCI had to resort to deceiving us into attending this event. To be honest, a lot of people only went to Pabaon anyway because they were afraid of getting hold orders. Either way, they were going to have an audience.

The point is to just be truthful. Deceiving people to go to Pabaon is hardly The Ateneo Way, and this coming from the office that tries to teach and integrate that into our daily lives, albeit in the most contrived manner, is just wrong. Most Ateneans do love Ateneo, and believe in the Ignatian spirit that they’ve been trying to ingrain in us since freshman year. But it really loses its value when the people who teach it themselves fail to uphold its meaning.

Being honest about certain things could be difficult, but telling people it’s a voter’s awareness briefing, rather than a Pabaon, hardly counts as one of those things.


How do you feel about the article?

Leave a comment below about the article. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *.

Related Articles


Opinion

October 4, 2022

Chloe

Opinion

October 4, 2022

Pet stores

Opinion

October 4, 2022

Letting your heart dance

From Other Staffs


Sports

February 19, 2025

Ateneo falters against NU, remains winless in Season 87

Sports

February 19, 2025

Blue Eagles falter to Bulldogs in four-set thriller

Sports

February 16, 2025

Ateneo suffers reverse sweep loss to Adamson in Season 87 opener

Tell us what you think!

Have any questions, clarifications, or comments? Send us a message through the form below.