When our days are punctuated by countless readings and exams, the little extracurricular freedom provides escape to our taxing academic lives. Sure, there are the usuals, but if you’re up for some alternative quenching (and a dose of education), then we’ve got it for you.
These special-interest organizations might have slipped past your radar during Recweek, but now we’ve taken the liberty of unearthing them from their underground status—because it’s only a matter of time until they come to a booth near you.
Litsoc
When you hear someone say that they are part of a “literary society”, you assume that they probably have glasses on, talk about the work of Dostoyevsky, and scoff at the mere mention of Gossip Girl. However, Nicole Tantoco, president of LitSoc, tells me otherwise. “During the formation sessions last year, we had a Gossip Girl theme, a Hannah Montana thing.” You don’t exactly expect that from an organization that prides itself on the appreciation of literary arts.
LitSoc is an organization that is more than just a mere “book club”. For one thing, it is more centered on all aspects of literature beyond the printed work we stuff into our bags and read in between classes. Members of this organization get together in coffee shops (where free coffee is provided for them, mind you) and talk about anything that is of interest, be it be a blog, Dorian Grey, or even the significance of the X-men series.
“There was [coffee talk/formation session] when we talked about Twitter,” Nicole adds. “The thing is that we don’t limit ourselves to books. Anything can be a text.”
LitSoc’s definitely got the soft spot for variety, as it immerses itself on pop culture and the classics, and have a diverse set of people as members, from SOM to Bio majors to everything else in between. Accreditation pending aside, this org really does what they do for the love of literature—no bells and whistles attached. When asked what else she’d like to add as the interview winds down, Nicole cheerfully quips “Join our org. We have free coffee!” I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.
Toujin
Touhounoyuujin (literally ‘Friends of the East’) was originally pitched as an animé organization. Animé wasn’t –and still isn’t– exactly a hot topic around campus, having been branded as juvenile and peculiar; its Japanese roots couldn’t hope to compete with omnipresent Western ideals. Still, Toujin carved a niche with its motley crew of enthusiasts and routine Friday animé viewing. The group is a testament to ‘being yourself,’ but it only served to further alienate those wary enough of Japanese cartoons. Labels started pouring in, ‘lazy’ and ‘useless’ being the most prolific.
After five years, Toujin rebranded itself as a homage to Japanese culture in its entirety, although shaking off their roots had become a daunting task. To borrow from the Japanese, they were now otakus, people who spend all their free time on just one thing –animé for instance. Otaku or not, animé lovers tend to get singled out simply because of the expressions they pull. “[Anime lovers] tend to exaggerate,” shares Tessa Villanueva, one of Toujin’s presidents.
Ridicule their animé geekiness if you must, but don’t deride Toujin’s passion for Japan. It had already introduced one aspect of Japan’s underground culture –the host bar, a romanticized version of the maid café– to Ateneans, and their Kira Kira Matsuri (literally Sparkly Festival) was a promising ‘walking tour’ of historical Japan, from shrine maidens to tea ceremonies. If Toujin pushes it far enough, an Eastern mindset might just radiate throughout campus.
Apart
Art is around us, everywhere, every day, and is more predominant now that it is so accessible. The appreciation of art, however, is on a whole different territory. “Liking” an artsy photograph is not entirely the same as appreciating it for its aesthetic beauty, for the technique and skill that was invested into making the photograph something that transcends the flat, one-dimensional world and come alive.
“You can take art seriously,” says Pars Warren of APART Visual Arts Collective (though it is more simply known as APART). Its members are composed of a pool of visual artists—traditional and contemporary, along with digital artists, photographers, and painters. “You name it, we have it,” Pars adds.
With a year-long art skills workshop, passionate members, and the support of the School of Humanities Sanggunian Board, this organization is well on the fast track of becoming accredited. “Sometimes it feels like people don’t think as highly of you if you’re not a COA-accredited org, and this affects member retention.” Despite this, members that stay appear to remain unfazed by the hindrance of a stereotype. “We’re just happy to do what we like to do, and there’s a lot of freedom to it.”
In the spirit of free access, there is room for everyone in APART; it is a place where art becomes sublimation for the rigors of college life, and the members celebrate the beauty of the world around them, along with the worlds they create in their work. “We celebrate the freedom, the diversity, and the chance to be a part of a community,” Pars says. And that’s certainly one art that we’d like life to imitate.
