METROPOST


AUG. 5 - AUG. 11, 2018 OPINION 5 DOMINIQUE GERALD M. CIMAFRANCA


VILLAGE IDIOT SAVANT


DAVAO CITY -- I stumbled into university teaching back in 2008. I was three years out of my last corporate job, a year out of managing the pharmacy in Dumaguete, back in Davao bouncing around with no real plan, and I finagled a part time gig at Ateneo, which a year later became full time, master’s degree included. I


university teaching back in 2015. If I trace it back to its proximate cause, I strongly suspect it was when they asked me to become OIC assistant dean of Computer Studies the summer prior. Silly me, I accepted. If it hadn’t been for that year-long stint as OIC assistant dean, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take a paid semester off. One doesn’t equate to the other, of course, and I certainly never planned it that way. But this is how it happened:


stumbl ed out o f


dominique.cimafranca@gmail.com hours.


Around the time I left, the official maximum overload would take the semestral load to 23 units, but it was not unheard of for some professors to hit 30 units. Why go for overload? Overload units are paid at a higher overtime rate, about double the usual load rate. In lieu of the higher rate, a professor might parlay the overload units into deload the following semester; so for instance, if I have a three-unit overload on top of my usual


18 unit load, I could opt to teach only 15 next semester. But wait! There’s more!


another administrative position which entailed a three unit deload. And since the year prior, I was concurrently OIC director of the publications office, which entailed a six unit deload! Stacking these administrative loads, that placed me ahead by nine units. In hindsight, I think


Leaving academia


The objective business relationship between faculty and the university is defined by the teaching load. A faculty member with a master’s degree is required 18 units teaching load per semester, corresponding to 18 contact hours per week with students. A faculty member with a PhD has 15 units. The load reduction is to give the professor more time for research and engagement. However, some faculty might take overload teaching units, which translate to equivalent additional contact


Administrative positions also have a corresponding deload. This is so they can attend to administrative duties. Deans and assistant deans are fully deloaded, which means they technically don’t have any classroom contact hours; any classroom contact hours then count as overload.


counting units is liable to leave the uninitiated a little cross- eyed. But trust me, as I said, it’s at the core of the business relationship between faculty and university, and therefore, a sticking point with the union and the administration. So there I was in 2014. I


At this point, all this


was OIC assistant dean of Computer Studies. But since two years prior, I was also with the research council,


that should not have been allowed, not if the university counts hours the way they do, certainly not with the original intent of the system of loads and deloads for the purpose of research and engagement. But no one was


Did my work suffer because of the overlapping duties? I don’t think so, or at least I like to think that it didn’t. As OIC assistant dean, I attended meetings, decided on difficult faculty and student cases, applied for government grants, advanced the cause for new programs, encouraged participation in industry events, and designed new curricula.


complaining, and I was certainly happy for the activity.


director, I put out three books that year, set up a framework for book promotions, and found my permanent replacement. As


As OIC publications


member, I evaluated research proposals and defined policies; I also set up a document management system, and a survey system.


research counci l TO PAGE 14 L NIKKA CORNELIO-BAKER


SAVING FOR BOTOX


Twitter: @nikkajow


ately, my weekends have been spent at home doing nothing. Not that I’m forever out and about, but it’s very unlike me to let a month go by without at least attempting to discover something new. I spent the first few years feverishly trying out new things, seeking out new places, taking in the uniqueness of Toronto, and finding my own little comfort zone. I had the library, the grocery, and the Asian stores all mapped out, and set about finding the best places to eat at, to find


something I liked, and could stick with, like where to go if the urge to have eggs benny strikes. Or Peking duck, or ramen. These days, things seem to be rote. I’ll visit my favourite bakery in Chinatown, maybe drop by my neighbourhood jerk joint for oxtail if I feel like it, or hit up my favourite churrasqueira for Portuguese BBQ chicken (it’s the closest I’ve come to Jo’s Inato, which I have always loved and dearly miss).


humblebraggy douchebag -- what if my problem is having too many options? A new restaurant. A different, Instagram-worthy little nook. Another quirky, off- the-beaten path experience. Something. There’s always something. Sometimes all the somethings can get overwhelming, and my inability to choose becomes paralyzing.


in and watch something can be paralyzing. What platform should you use? Netflix? Hulu? HBO Go?


Amazon Prime? And once you decide on the platform, another round of choices begins. Do you watch a TV show? If so, what show? Should you watch a movie? If so, what genre? And once you decide on a genre, what particular movie?


Even deciding to stay The paralysis of choice


life is suddenly a long-ass exam comprised of multiple choice questions that don’t seem to end. So I sifted through the


It’s become predictable. I’ve slowly felt myself falling into a rut, which is not something one should fall into, not when there’s always so many things to do and to see, to explore, and to experience. But there’s only so much adventure I can bring myself to have. But -- and I’m running the risk of sounding like a


to recyclable utensils


Cebu Pacific has teamed up with the Department of Tourism to launch Juan Effect, a sustainable tourism program, aimed at engaging travelers and local stakeholders alike, to mitigate the impact of tourist arrivals on the environment.


On a national level, Juan Effect aims to encourage responsible travel among passengers, and empower everyone to change at least one everyday habit.


CebPac shifts


morass of my internal wiring, trying to see what was up. Is it getting older? Laziness? Predictability? The older one gets, the stronger the fear of missing out can become. Indecision


worst, because we all end up struggling with the inevitability of regret. Well I do, anyway. I know no matter what choice I go with, I may end up


is the It’s exhausting, like


regretting not choosing differently. And I don’t like regret. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So sometimes my answer is to end up on the couch, refusing to make a choice, knowing I’m wasting time, but doing it anyway. It’s been said humans are only capable of making a finite number of good decisions in a day. Once we pass that number, the quality of our judgment starts to decline, one main reason tech titans like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg always wear the same thing any


given day; it lessens the amount of choices they have to make, allowing them to hopefully save that mental energy to make better choices.


I used to feel a lot of frustration with people who had stopped being interested in new things, who’d stopped trying. And now I finally get


it. It’s age.They’re still interested.They’re still trying. But age and adulting doesn’t just wear a body down, it also heightens the sense that time is more precious than ever, and to waste it would be a shame, which leads to having a hard time deciding which amongst all the possible somethings would be the most worthwhile, to do. I’ve decided this is also why most older people can get cranky so easily. They simply don’t have the time to sweat the small stuff.


CAMPUS NEWS Student projects


win P100,000 grant


been awarded funding under the Research and Capstone Project Grant of the Mariano Lao Innovation, Creation and Invention Laboratory (MLICIL).


Research projects by high school and college students have


Launched last year, the grant is competitive incentive program that provides a maximum of P100,000 to projects that stimulate new and innovative ideas with an entrepreneurial value.


On a local level, Juan Effect will collaborate with island stakeholders to concerted action for the conservation of the environment. Siargao will serve as the Juan Effect pilot module, wherein the airline together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local government units and tourism associations, will work together to implement sustainable tourism action plans. The local initiatives will be rolled out before the peak tourist and surfing season begins in Siargao in September 2018. “As Cebu Pacific aims


to fly 22 million passengers in 2018, we recognize sustainable tourism as a key priority for the airline. The Juan Effect program is a call for all stakeholders to come together, collaborate and cooperate towards concerted efforts, to ensure that the tourism industry progresses sustainably,” said Lance Gokongwei, President and


TO PAGE 12


“SIREN: A Disaster Awareness Information Board, Flood Early Warning and Incident Reporting System for Negros Oriental” by Information Technology seniors Abraham Tourbier, Mark Christian Amores and Kenn Arjay Martinez “TRACKFORMEDS: A Medication Tracker to Improve Medication Adherence” by Senior High school students Maria Czarina Kinkito and Ellyza Mari Papas “TRASHFORM: A Cross Platform Mobile and Web


The winning projects are:


Application for Waste Management Awareness and Waste Collection” by Senior Information Technology students Mark Llyod Magcanta, Kyle Samson, and Austine Zillah Laman. These projects were chosen from among the outputs of the Creativity Camp held earlier this year.


graduated from Silliman University High School in 1957, attended the awarding ceremony last July 20 where he shared with the students an important lesson on entrepreneurship. “There will be several occasions wherein no matter how creative your ideas are, doubt will always overcome you and your anxiety over possibilities of failing starts to grow,” he told the awardees.


Mr. Mariano Lao, a successful business tycoon who


about not trying. Only those who dare to fail can ever achieve something great. So fail and fail countless times, but never stop trying. It is the determination and unwavering will that will bring you success.” Silliman President Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann was also present during the awarding ceremony. She reminded the participants that “necessity is the mother of invention,” and reinforced how the three winning projects have been developed in response to a human need – medication, disaster awareness and waste management. Dr. McCann also expressed the University’s gratitude to Mr. Lao for his generosity that allowed students to learn and invent applications which would be of help to the community. Mr. Lao is one of Silliman’s generous benefactors. In 2010, he set up a scholarship fund for deserving Junior High School students. Three years later, he provided the funds to establish the Mariano and Lina Lao Activity Center and the MLICIL, which is envisioned as incubation laboratory for technopreneurial ideas (PR)


Mr. Lao stressed: “One must not fear failure, but rather fear


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