Ateneo Biodiversity Lab publishes 46 new insect species
Despite limited fieldwork opportunities amid the quarantine, the Ateneo Biodiversity Laboratory published 46 new insect species in 2020. The species’ descriptions were authored by Biology Department Research Coordinator Hendrik Freitag, PhD, Biology Department Assistant Professor Jhoana Garces, PhD, and graduate students Emmanuel Delocado, Arthien Pelingen, Marc Sabordo, Clister Pangantihon, Kyra Aldaba, and Veverle San Juan. They found 24 species of mayflies, one species of stoneflies, four species of water bugs, and 17 species of aquatic beetles. They applied modern approaches of integrative taxonomy by incorporating genetic, geographic, and ecological information for the species’ descriptions. Moreover, these species were named after laboratory members who collected the specimens “for their colleagues in mutual effort.” Other species’ names honored members from various Philippine localities, ethnic groups, and fellow associates from the field of biodiversity science. Zoey C. Atillo
Sanggu forms Seniors’ Alliance 20-21 to address graduation concerns
Sanggunian Interim President Jb Bejarin created the Seniors’ Alliance 20-21 to disseminate information about graduation affairs and represent the graduating batch in consultations with the administration and yearbook publication AEGIS. The Alliance consists of Committee Head Gideon Banzuela and members Sanggunian Vice President Kat Moreno, Council of Organizations of the Ateneo – Manila President Patricia Aquino, League of Independent Organizations Coordinator Cristina Batalla, and Scholars’ Sector Representative Jubert Calamba. The Alliance also has a Consultative Team which aims to create consultation-related initiatives such as virtual forums and surveys. Moreover, the Alliance works with the Sanggunian Department of Administrative Affairs and the Sanggunian Department of Communication to release stakeholder engagement tools and implement communication strategies for connecting with graduating students, respectively. Zoey C. Atillo
Ateneo Debate Society hailed as back-to-back debating champions of Asia
The Ateneo Debate Society (ADS) brought home the championship title for winning the 12th Asia-British Parliamentary Debating Championship (ABP) and the 11th United Asian Debating Championship (UADC). ABP 2020 was hosted by the Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking on October 3 to 4 and 10 to 12, 2020. On the other hand, UADC 2020 was hosted by the Bangladesh Debating Council on December 10 to 16, 2020. Furthermore, both events were conducted online through Zoom. ADMU 1, the winning team for the ABP Championship, consisted of Ignacio Lorenzo Villareal (4 AB EC-H) and Mikko Carlo Vitug (3 BSM AMF). They were also joined by David Africa (2 BSM AMDS) in the UADC Championship team. The UADC achievement marked the second consecutive year that the ADS has won the competition, while their success in the ABP gained them the recognition of being the back-to-back champions of Asia for both competitions. Moira V. Cayabyab
Business Cluster hosts second run of Play4JSEC: Online Tournament
The Council of Organizations of the Ateneo – Manila Business Cluster hosted in January the second iteration of Play4JSEC, an online game tournament that raised funds for John Gokongwei Student Enterprise Center employees. Now called Play4JSEC 2.0, the second tournament used the same mechanics from the first competition for both Call of Duty (COD) and Mobile Legends (ML) games. The tournament took place every day from January 25 to February 6, excluding Sundays, with games from 6 PM to 10 PM. Players from different organizations formed teams of four to five and joined with a participation fee of Php 450. Solo applicants were grouped by Play4JSEC’s Programs Team upon paying the Php 120 participation fee. Aside from collecting participation fees, the fundraiser also opened official donation channels for non-participants. Tournament winners won cash prizes up to Php 4,000 for COD and Php 3,000 for ML, which were deducted from the initiative’s total funds. Moira V. Cayabyab
