Monday, August 9, 2010

Outstanding Engineer Addresses 2010 Grdauates


Engineer Jeffrey Mijares, a 2001 Outstanding Chemical Engineer Awardee, addressed and inspired the nearly one thousand and five hundred Augustinian 2010 Graduates last March 2010.

A NIGHT WITH MJ AT TEKNO


A NIGHT WITH MJ AT TEKNO
Ian J. Aragorat
Beat it, Thriller, Bad; who could ever forget these songs that once and still makes its listeners go wild and crazy on the dance floor? Who could say that he/she is not a fan of the legendary King of Pop Michael Jackson? I must say “none”!
The college of Engineering and Architecture, a college known for its uniqueness and being “Astig” showed everyone that something or someone really lasts and is worth remembering as they paid tribute to the Legendary Michael Jackson. The CEA staffs and students thought of something to be done as a tribute to an icon, an extraordinary first that stands out among the others, a first that will catch everyone’s attention, and a first that will once again prove that “Basta Tekno Astig” –the first ever “Tekno’s King of Pop”.
Six Michael Jackson aspirants from their respective departments wowed the audience as they showed themselves dressed like MJ for the first time. Each of them had their own way of satisfying the audience’s expectations and as expected, they never failed to amuse the crowd for the every signature MJ move they made on the floor. Everyone in the crowd had their own pick and favorite, especially when it came to the question and answer portion. The contestants left its audience stunned in amusement as they showed their brainy side in answering the questions given to them.
After a not so long time of waiting, the results were out, and everyone’s hearts pounded like drums. Everyone was shouting their own bet’s name and number, but the results were unchangeable. The minor awards were given first. The Best in Production Number and Best in Talent was bagged by the representative of the Architecture Department while the Best in Question and Answer was given to the ECE Department. The surrounding was covered with silence as everyone waited for the winners of the major awards. Gimvy Pinuela, a 2nd year Architecture Student was hailed 2nd Runner up among the others. But tension only got higher as the 1st Runner up was bagged by the Representative of the Interior Design Department, Fritz Campost, a 2nd Year ID student. Everyone’s questions were answered as the first ever Tekno King of Pop was named in the person of Julius Caesar Salazar, the Michael Jackson of the ECE Department. The program ended with a satisfying smile on everyone’s face.
But the event didn’t end there as the CEA staffs gave out a raffle promo sponsored by Smart Telecommunications.
Some may have not brought home the bacon, but it was still a satisfying night full of surprises and Entertainment.

A Remarkable Tekno: Reyjohn Lorca

A Remarkable Tekno: Reyjohn Lorca
by Elijohn S. Alcaraz

Of the many definitions I found online of the word remarkable, one struck me as the most fitting for this certain tekno I’ll very soon introduce - although I’m certain almost everyone knows him already. Remarkable was defined as: a state of being striking or extraordinary. My friends, Mr. Rey John Lorca, a graduate of B.S. Architecture, Batch 2009.
What made Lorca remarkable is not only did he bring honor to our College, but he brought honor to the entire University as well. He did so by becoming one of the Top Outstanding Student of the Philippines (TOSP), Region 6, Batch 2009. And to become one is not at all easy. As a matter of fact, of the hundred plus years existence of our university, only four yet has been able to qualify as a TOSPian, with Lorca as the latest. His three predecessors were Mr. Jigger Latoza, Mr. Eric Divinagracia, and Mr. Johnny Esmilla – all of which are equally remarkable.
But Lorca didn’t purposely aim for TOSP when he got into college; actually, he had no idea about it. He simply did his duty as a student, and may I add he did it with excellence. He was a consistent dean’s lister, and in no time, he rapidly became recognized as a student leader. Lorca joined various organizations and became active in them. He went up the ranks, and was soon juggling both academics and extra-curricular activities. A few of such organizations he joined were the USA Rotaract Club, ATELIER, and USA Badminton Club, all three of which he became its president. He was also a USA Student Council officer, and of course – our very own EACO. These are just some of the many organizations he joined, and with these he was molded and trained, to become and achieve what he has now. So what exactly are the requirements needed to become one of the Top Outstanding Student of the Philippines?
First, and the very basic, one has to be nominated by the University. Of course, the University was more than happy to nominate Lorca as he was very productive and contributed much to the University. Second, one has to have exemplary performance in three categories: Academics, Leadership, and Social Responsibilities. To be able to have an exemplary performance at academics, one’s GPA must be at least 1.5 or 90. And this comprised 30% of the criteria – oh yes, it had a criteria. For leadership category (30%), every extra-curricular and co-curricular activity including leadership trainings fall here. As for the third – Social Responsibility (30%), one is asked: “What sort of impact have you affected on your society?” One’s contributions and good deeds done for the community is acknowledged here. The remaining 10% goes to every quiz bee one has participated in.
Okay, so to be able to present all this, one has to compile everything – a list with details of everything that an applicant has participated in, be it a minor or major event so long as it was official, reinforced with proper proof that the applicant has been there, such as certificates and awards. Without these so called proofs, the activity the applicant has joined will not be acknowledged, and will be considered void, even if he has been truly there. All of these will be compiled and be neatly arranged in what they call: the Bid Book. The Bid Books are what the screening committee will be mostly looking at, choosing among the applicants the best of the best, considering only those who are noticeably worthy. Bid Books passed by TOSP applicants are so thick, they have to put it in a hardbound cover so that its contents won’t spill. And Lorca wasn’t far behind when it came with his Bid Book.
Of course Lorca was after all human too, and he didn’t have that much confidence in his own book. What if the others had greater feats accomplished than him? What if they had international events participation and his own weren’t enough? It was normal he felt that way, and it only added to the excitement of this whole event. Of course Lorca too had notable accomplishments that simply cannot be waived off. When Lorca graduated, he was awarded with the Academic Distinction Award. He was likewise a National Board of Director of the United Architects of the Philippines Student Auxiliary – a national institution for Architecture Students. And get a load of this: he was a scholar of the Association of Filipino Architects in Washington D.C. And to be chosen as one among many architectural students in the Philippines is quite challenging because one should simply stand out. After all, Lorca turned out to have international feats too. Furthermore, he was the founder of the Recycle-Mania Project. A healthy competition among schools in Iloilo City wherein the “Pera sa Basura” concept is materialized, and total waste in Iloilo City is significantly reduced. These are just some of the events that according to Lorca, were memorable and precious to him. He didn’t want to say others more because surprisingly, he was shy about them. Now there’s one trait every Augustinian should possess: humility.
So now came the big TOSP event on the fourth week of April which lasted six days and five nights, where twenty chosen applicants in the region will be reduced to ten. It is here in this event where applicants are further enhanced as individuals, and are explained to them that every person there is not competition, but a fellow TOSPian as well. It was very pressuring for Lorca on the first day especially when he found out that among twenty of them, he was the only one without Latin honors. Talk about minor insecurities on his part, well of course in that situation, anyone can feel the same way. But that soon disappeared when explained to them about the non-competition-among-fellow-candidates thing. Meaning, if you were already there, you were already considered a TOSPian regardless of the end results, and everything that you do from day 1 to day 5 doesn’t add points to the probability that you can belong to the upper ten. It was a series of activities and training with no point system that simply helped individuals become better persons. So why not just get along with fellow companions, right? It all came down to the last event though, the interview part where the candidates will be interviewed one by one and will be judged according to how well or sincere he or she answers them. This is the basis for becoming the upper ten.
The days passed by smoothly for Lorca as he enjoyed the activities and discovered new friends along the way. Everyone turned out to be okay, and how everyone wished each one would belong to the upper ten. But that can’t be as they were twenty, can it? So everyone wished each other luck, and wished it sincerely.
The interview day came and all were crossing fingers. Each marched into the room and answered the questions as best as they can. Lorca was no exception to this. When it was his turn, the interviewers first asked him ice-breaker questions, to help him relax. It was a series of questions that looked out for inconsistencies and fluctuations in one’s answers. But Lorca did just fine. When he was asked with the final question, he passed it with flying colors as he knew the answers by heart. It was a very simple question really; he was asked what his plans for the community were after this whole TOSP thing is over. He answered truthfully by saying he wanted to help build a wastewater treatment where wastewater is treated organically, and as well further his recycling projects. It was but normal for Lorca to answer this way because he has a special and profound concern for the environment that I wished everyone possessed, including me.
The last day came, and the upper ten was revealed. Of course, Lorca belonged to them. Though he was the only one without Latin honors, it didn’t stop him from becoming one. When I asked him what he wanted to share to his fellow Augustinians who aspire to become a TOSPian, or rather an achiever in general, he had this to say: “Passion, motivation and determination are your tools that will aid you reach what you want. Always think right, and don’t stop until you reach that which you desire, for everyone can be outstanding too if he only wills himself to be so. Above all, look to God for guidance. Pray, for He will never leave you nor forsake, and give Him that which is due His.”
This is an invite to every person out there: we can be whatever we want to be as long as we put our hearts and minds to them. Problems and tribulations will surely come, but everyone gets them, don’t we all? It’s just a matter of how we would react to them. And if there’s one thing that I find is common among achievers that is worth acknowledging, is that they know what they want, and they reinforce it with preparation and proper action. In short, they’ve got intense goal setting. Lorca has it too, and he truly is a Remarkable Tekno. He is an inspiration, and there’s something in him that we should learn. Whatever that is, only we ourselves can tell. But what I do know is this, we are Teknos, and we sure do have the capability to be outstanding.

A TOILET CONFESSION

A TOILET CONFESSION
Goldwynn D. Navarro

Sometimes people just have to admit: the toilet should be the first-floor nominee for the number “man’s best friend” Oscar’s. It is not the fuzzy dog “bungee-jumpying” on your lap and licking you toes sticky wet earl at four in the morning for an anticipated meal, nor is it the pair of headsets lazily hanging around your neck while unleashing catastrophic head-bangs in complement with the music playing.
The toilet is the real breathing room. It is in this six-faced, eight-cornered (I am thinking of the rectangular type) enclosure that we are given a chance to catch freedom for the first time and for a while, jitters of contemporary tickling sensations racing past each other from between our groins, and back and forth our ear lobes every after kick of pleasure.
It is just then that we realize that to experience happiness, true of its kind is not solely confined to two of the trite ideas that are never hesitant to leave the mind with a crunch and clutter: love, with which everybody goes madly gaga about, dreaming to have one for keeping; and victory, which obviously on the other hand, is the bottom target of every person of strict directives, and of stress.
They are to enter later. They are not hurried. They wait.
Now is the only pun to answer and “Now” is the only answer you can get.
The toilet is nonetheless the personification of what sort of life most people exhibit this very instance. We dump, we let go and move towards a more savory and restored satisfaction. We lock ourselves in secrecy behind the uncanny company of the toilet and mock, laugh, wonder and reflect on the memories of the day fascinated and absorbed.
This material world of vanity and excuses is just a guarantee that in the “other end of the rainbow”, in the other light of profound understanding; there exists another abode that is perfect, just like the toilet. The comfort room we say.
Every event with which we are sailing on is naught but an ephemeral encounter with merriment and a second to sin, and eventually of fear and disdainful pain. Despite the grey matter, it is not all life has to offer: we still have the privilege to hope and to change for the better persons we can be, don’t we?
And as you flush the toilet bowl following an energy-depriving-mustering battle with your “despicable”, and watch them plummet down to the darkness of the soil pipes, have you every thought: “I am normal. I am sane and capable of happiness. Why shouldn’t I make a stand today?”
FLUSH!!! Worries are gone for good.

Athletics ‘09

Athletics ‘09
Ian Aragorat, Data by Vice Mendoza

Courage and determination are the common pictures seen on the faces of the participants during the Athletics events as part of the Intramurals. Each player participating bore the name and pride of his own college, making them more competitive and eager to bring home the bacon.
The Intramurals is an annual event for students to improve their skills and competitiveness with each other. They are trained to be effective athletes of their own Colleges. The Intramurals happened last August 2009 and was officially opened by the Mr. and Ms. Intramurals. Sportsmanship is always the first rule of this event and it’s an opportunity for players to show their hidden skills and capacities as grown up individuals and potential athletes of their generations. And after a long heart pounding series of eliminations, our CEA players rose and hailed as follows:

Chess, Men – Champion
Chess, Women – 2nd Runner-up
Table Tennis, Men – Champion
Basketball, Women – 2nd Runner-up
Football, Men - Champion

Attesting to an Aged Splendor’s Flight

Attesting to an Aged Splendor’s Flight
John Michael Elritz Gallo

“Virtus…Scientia”
Merely new people are those who wonder what these Latin words mean. These words just hang there, overhead, on the gates, with Virtus on the left and Scientia on the right. Running on both sides of the main entrance were giant trees that seemed to guard a fortress. The vintage building that first welcomes the eyes of the visitor makes an impression that the place has aged.
The College of Engineering and Architecture, formerly known as College of Technology, lie on a not so long walk from the main gate, but a few steps from the side gate. Its building structure stands for its name: Technology – modernism.
This academic year, a long list of freshmen finally learned that Virtus and Scientia mean Virtue and Science (not entrance and exit), and they are to attest that some things don’t change; they don’t age. Along with the revival of our college paper, six freshmen gets a head start in revealing their own thoughts about certain issues in the University and in their present college life.

Danny Gicano
Civil Engineering 1
“When I first took glimpse of the University, I found it pleasant, tranquil and grand. When it came to adjusting to college life, I found it easy because, firstly, my college mates are somewhat similar to my high schoolmates when it comes to the way they act and do, and I could interact with them easily. Secondly, the teachers are very approachable and are people I can relate to. If I compare my high school life to college life, I think college life is better, because if we consider and weigh the things that we learn in college, they comprise most of what determines our future.”

Neal Andrius Sevilla
Architecture 1-A
“My expectations were somehow satisfied. Remember, this is college so the teachers do not reach out their hands entirely to us. Our learning depends on us. On my part, I am challenged and forced to persevere more. When it comes to adjusting to college life, at first, it was hard because you get to meet unusual people, but eventually, time just passed by unnoticeably. I now feel comfortable because people here seem to be more mature and easy to be with. If I were to choose between high school and college, as what is better, I choose high school. I had more freedom when it comes to studies. I could choose to study hard or not, and I could study only before examinations. If you are in college, you have to review your notes almost everyday, seriously.”

Nanette Marie Caputero
Architecture 1-A
“College is somehow similar to high school, but this time I must show more enthusiasm and confidence to do what I like and show my talents for it is a bigger world with bigger opportunities. The University, the first time I set my eyes on it, looked old and unwelcoming. On the first day of class, the same silent and boring ambience was felt inside the classroom. I felt really awkward about it. I was expecting to see some kind of exceptional talent displays. I was expecting to meet brilliant people, but I became disappointed. I was also expecting the teachers would really give us hard times with plenty of home and school works and activities, and this time I am very glad that my expectation turned down.



Nikka Grace Yoro
Interior Design 1
“The University of San Agustin is big and wide. It’s one thing I had to adjust to. Adjusting to the whole new world was hard for me, and I even got hit by culture shock. Another thing is that this university teaches Catholic Christianity, and I believe in a different religion. My expectations were satisfied. The teachers are fine and fair. They teach very well, but of course I also expected that they will care less to students because this is college. Somehow, actually, college seems to be like high school, and as a freshman, I like high school more.”

Steven Mel Isturis
“When I was just an incoming college student, I got excited thinking about how much vacant time I can have when I can finally step on the world of college. During the day of enrollment, I was nervous. It was only me who roamed around for the entire enrollment process, having difficulty with how to’s and where to’s. one thing I like about here is that the buildings are near each other. What I noticed that’s so unpleasing for me is the lack of uniformity and unity in buildings and classrooms. As time went by, I adjusted and I started to realize that life here is fun.

From the writer:
“Age does determine the quality, but to this University and to our college, our stamina and strength for rising up to the skies and reaching for the stars are as high as the number of years this University has stood. This is how I see it. Everyday, I see determined dreamers who persevere just as I used to see in high school. There is no stop in dreaming as you breathe. Everyday, people live by rules. They keep order and harmony. Everyday, I see little previews of tomorrow students and teachers show. Our teachers are guidance. We are the learners. We control our lives. Everday, I see life as the same as before and maybe after – a series of learning and discoveries. College is just another beginning. It is but a little time yet gigantic weapon we can use as we face the challenges of life. So it is now time to set a goal and do what an Augustinian student must do. We can never tell what’s best until we experience every bit of everything, until we travel every second of time. We can never tell what’s best until we reach our destination, but we can always choose what to treasure most as we go along the journey. Let Virtus et Scientia be our sword and shield in facing the new tomorrow awaiting us.

Basta may Tekno, Hapos!

Basta may Tekno, Hapos! –by Elijohn S. Alcaraz

It’s quite amazing how technology quickly caught up with us students of the CEA. After all, we’re called TEKNOs – Technology for short. Here and there you’d see Teknos fiddling with gadgets and every lighting and blinking thing of a jig, doing whatsoever from downloading music, enjoying games or finishing school requirements. Even the basic calculator is now upgraded; the famous fx-991ES by Casio with natural display and can quickly solve calculus and quadratic formulas. Almost everyone has it. And what about school papers? Almost everyone passes school papers typewritten. Still know anyone who does it by pen and hand? Exactly my point, right? Imagine the times when our professors were still students and they had to do everything manually, from plates to equations. God only knows what if the students of today be forced with the same experience. Even I can’t imagine it as I myself am very dependent to the blessings technology bring. Plates can be easily projected with design softwares such as AutoCad and Staad. Calculation and tabulations quickly solved via Excel. There’s even a course offered in our college that basically revolves around computers and gadgetry. Whatever you need to get things quickly done, it never hurts to put some digital aid to nudge things a bit – unless of course you’re doing it to “illegally” come up with answers in one of your morning pop quizzes, if you know what I mean.
Technology brings good will to us all if only we’d use it rightly. On the other hand, technology can likewise compromise us if we over depended on it. It’s a double edged blade. Like in my case one time, I didn’t do my requirements ahead of time because I was confident that with the aid of computers, I can get it done in a zip. But then when I was about to work on it the night before the deadline, a blackout came down all over the city and I didn’t know what to do about it. The blackout lasted all throughout the night, and I was able to come up with nothing. Hence, passed nothing. Luckily our professor was kind enough to give an extension, so I lived.
This was just a simple example of how unaware we are sometimes of our over dependent on technology. I just hope that nobody out there gets a harder realization than what I had. Of course it’s still best to learn the fundamentals and work on it first before fully shifting to computer-aided work. Work on solid ground first, as we engineers always say. And also, a little exercise won’t hurt. Sitting in front of a computer all day is not so healthy too, we shouldn’t give all the exercise to our fingers and wrists alone. So every once in awhile, flex, stretch and pump our bodies to give us the exercise we need. And most of all, keep on learning. For technology doesn’t stand still and linger. It expands and upgrades itself to a far more advanced state, so as users we also should need to keep ourselves open to the possibilities and just go forward with technology. Keep it fun, and in no time learning wouldn’t be so hard after all.
There’s nothing in here that you don’t already know, it’s just a simple reminder that we should be the ones using technology, and not the other way around. So if sometimes you find yourself struggling over something, ask around. Because sometimes we can be also unaware that there’s already something created out there that exactly suits our need. Because who knows, with technology the possibilities are limitless!

C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S

C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S C O N T R I B U T I O N S



AN ENVIOUS PERSON, by anonymous

I envy the singers for they can express themselves through music,
I envy the lawyers for they can defend other peoples’ rights,
I envy the athletes for they live healthy lifestyles,
I envy the scholars for they all seem so intelligent,
I envy the models for they walk with such confidence.

But you know what? Hell with envy!
I can express myself through writing,
I can defend my friends in my own way,
I can eat without worrying about my weight,
I can be silly,
I can walk the way I’m comfortable with.

Life is too short to be discouraged with my own imperfections.
I love the face that I am not perfect.
It is because of this that I learn to value my life and enjoy who I am.

P.S. At least, I can still sing in the shower!


AN OLD MAN’S WISH, by anonymous

How I wish to bring back the past,
Too bad, cause time is running fast.
All I can do right now is ask,
Did I live my life to the fullest, at last?


A PINKY SWEAR by someone from Arch 3

From the very first day we fastened our hearts,
We’ve been keeping this promise: “we will never be apart”
I’ll be holding you tight in times worse than worst.
It’ll always be “me with you” even in life’s greatest curse.
My shoulder you’ll cry on during the saddest nights.
We won’t just end in goodbyes after silly big fights.
Our fire would keep on burning,
It will be our everyday strength.
I want you here beside me in every single event.
It’ll be you who’ll always own me.
My love and care I’ll always share,
I’ll be keeping you in my heart forever,
I’ll stay with you
Pinky Swear!


LOVE POEM by Jomaila Garrido

1. The more I think of you, the more I
2. Love you; I cannot see how anyone could
3. Hate you. You have been always to me an
4. Honest, faithful friend, and I hope my love is not always an
5. Object. It is true that once I said
6. I would never marry, but that was before
7. I loved you. That assertion I know was
8. Uttered in a bragging manner, in fact not, but
9. A lie, and I do not know why I made it. If i
10. Could even pluck up enough courage to
11. Offer you my hand I know very well you
12. Would be surprised, and I doubt it if you
13. Would accept it. I do not think I would
14. Listen from a refusal from your lips, and
15. Thus make my whole life miserable. To die
16. Without even expressing my love for
17. Would be preferable than that. If you write to me,
18. I shall be happy. But if you do not,
19. I shall be miserable and gloomy. Your letters
20. Are a source of my pleasure, and a failure to get them
21. Always makes me feel like committing suicide.

(read the poem again, but only the odd numbered lines.)


WHEN I MET HER by anonymous

A child’s play:
Jealousy, greed, fantasy.
The horror of the game:
Seeming angry mob, snob, sob.
We all go through this bridge of time.
For once,
You are free of thinking,
Of worrying,
Of reasonable crying.
For once,
You are free to touch,
To experiment,
To play games.
Now as I remember
The moment I pulled her hair
And made her waste
A tear of pain,
As I remember
How plays turned to quarrels,
And in a sunshine came a rain,
I spend a worthy tear drop
To mark my regret
And tell myself “Don’t forget.”
The child’s play –
Now part of the novel
Entitled: “The Past.”
The horrors now, still,
Won’t be forgotten –
Stuck at the heart
Of a mere dear conscience.
Since you hearth is far
From vision,
From feel.
Not heart,
Oh how I long
For waters to dry up
So I can travel by sweat
And by the time
Our spirits have again met,
We can play again.

SHE IS HOPE by ‘93

She turned on the lights on my concert stage.

While my fingers lingered on the keyboard,
She handed me her electric guitar.
She closed my fist on it,
Told me to close my eyes.
I did.

I see the other phase of me,
Naked,
Calm,
Alive, but
Will I ever have my audience?

At least,
She is hope.




ENDINGS by ‘ninety Three

A song forgotten – a song revived.
A beauty faded – a beauty remembered.
A leaf rotten – a soil cultivated.
A life gone –worth, remembered, revived?

WHY CONFESS? (YOUR LOVE) by ‘ninety Three

If you foresee the future,
The future when
You body lies
On a bed of thorns
While there is hope in the sun?
You are ruptured
By word and thoughts
No, turned to sins
And you are left
To travel the road
To find bliss (love), yet
Pain still sounds
For your mind,
Heart and soul?

Because you will not feel
The water’s heart beat
If you don’t
Jump in.

ONE SUMMER NIGHT by anonymous

Teardrops wasted
Unfelt mouth water overflowing
Silent noise of the cry
The blanket now damp
Raindrops pouring
Strong to the ears, calming to the eyes
The sky in sympathy
There was one li’l star.

LOST by anonymous

When it seems that the indoor star shines on you,
And the crowd screams for your bearing knack,
When it seems too exciting for the pounding heart,
The bearer in vanity shall be singing with pride.

He who glistens in brightest day will never
Outshine the all-elite sun and starts,
Yet he tries to shine brighter and warmer,
Thus making himself plead for time to stop.

He felt so ready, so neatly cleansed and burned,
He felt calmly, so sweetly kissed and mourned,
Yet feelings altered when morning twilight
Starts arising, overpowering, conquering,
Deducing

Cornered by haunting pain and lust, and jubilee
When bids goodbye and turn its back away,
So odious the sensation that creeps inside, and
He is so solitary imprisoned while mend is on the
Corner lost!

TECHNOLOGY: WHY US?

TECHNOLOGY: WHY US?
Carmelo C. Soriano, Jr.

More Innovations. Developments. Improvements. Advancements. Modernizations. Convenience. These are words the we could associate to the future. You might be also thinking the same word I’m thinking that is synonymous to all those mentioned above – TECHNOLOGY. But what is it really? How does technology really help us improve people’s lives especially to us actors of change – the youth?
I know this is where the circle of specialization of the different courses in our college relies on. We’ve been through the years of amazing breakthroughs, high-tech equipments and fascinating inventions that could help us make our chores easier as we go deeper and deeper through time. It’s all because of unending imaginations of brilliant minds working together to form a single objective. This single objective really played a great role in our society at present. Government officials, manufacturers, industrialists, businessmen, and even a simple individual is in search of these innovations to help develop their own businesses, so as to compete in the fast-approaching urbanization. As tools increased in complexity, so did the type of knowledge needed to support them. It required libraries of collective information that has continually increased and improved. Engineers often require decades of mastery of sophisticated general and specific training.
Fact: Recent technological developments have lessened physical barriers to communication and has affected society and its surrounding in a number of ways especially for us engineers and architects. We all know that we are goal-oriented in making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical means and often we say technology is a consequence of engineering, thus we are called technologists.
Technology is a broad concept that deals with knowledge of tools and crafts. We can say that it really evolves faster than we think. As long as there are creative minds, it will exist and will never be diminished – even before the first discovery of the ability to control fire that increased available sources of food, the advancement of clothing that helped humanity to interact freely into global scale, there exists technology.
It was not so long ago when I started using Nokia 5110 (big cellular phone with antenna). But now we have recorded the smallest cell phone small enough to fit our secret pockets. We don’t really need to waste our time manually weaving our clothes and get pricked by needles, we have computerized weaver providing us accurate and perfect stitches. Manufacturers don’t need to manually pack our foods one by one; we have large machines ready to render their services for packing. Accountants don’t need to count millions of pesos manually. Instead, we have electronic counting machines ready to count even billions of it. We don’t need to mix large amount of sand, cement and gravel using shovels in order to build large infrastructures, all we have to do is mix them all in mixer ran by motor and alas! One big commercial building. Large desktops converted to pocket-size computers, gasoline-powered into electric cars, expensive texts to unlimited calls, coal-fired to electric stoves and many more. More developments everyday and indeed, we could say it is very conducive to our lifestyle.
The distinction between engineering and technology is not always clear, meaning technology is not usually exclusive products of engineering work, because they have to satisfy our utility, usability and safety. To be fair and just of what really is the perspective of our future innovators, we divided opinions to three faces:

THE TECHNICIST
“I believe that humanity will be able to control the entirety of existence using technology. We students will someday be able to master all problems and possibly even control the future using technology.” –Prexy, 20 y.o., CE4
THE OPTIMIST
”Technology over the years is having the beneficial effects for the society and human conditions as a whole, as long as it is used for constructive purposes. For me, technological development is morally good. I myself is a witness on how technology evolves and makes life a lot easier.” –Valkyrie, 20 y.o., CE4

THE PESSIMISTS
“I believe that technological societies are inherently flawed because this results to become even more technological at the cost of freedom and psychological health at the first place. Someday, everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it.” Anonymous, 19 y.o., HRM3

Whatever your opinions may be, it will serve as a challenge for us actors of change on how to balance, preserve and develop what God has given. Technology influences and influenced by such societal issues of factors. If we could recall the law of alchemy, if you want something, then you must sacrifice something in order to acquire it. Same as we speak of technology, there are benefits but there are costs opposite to benefit. In this lies the right question to all these interrogations--- Why you? Well it will remain a hanging question for us as we face technology through time.

CEA Leaders in Agbayan 2

CEA Leaders in Agbayan 2
Joshua Louise Navarro

The Prefect of Students, University of San Agustin, together with the Colegio de San Agustin, Bacolod held Agbayan 2: Joint Leadership Training last July 24 – 26, 2009 at Castel Sant’Agostino-Benedicto Retreat House, Salvador Benidicto, Negros Occidental with the theme: “A Community of Friends Unite towards Nation Building” headed by Rev. Fr. Pederito Aparece, OSA, USA Prefect of Students, and Ms. Fely Caturas, Prefect of Students Secretary.
Various sessions, lectures and workshops were conducted in the 3-day training, wherein the CEA leaders attended and actively participated. This training, which was participated by student leaders from USA and CSA-B, created and developed a new friendship and networking among Augustinian Community.
Among the CEA leaders who attended were Joshua Louise Navarro and Carmelo Soriano Jr. of EACO, Neil Jeffrey Reyes of IECEP, Cendy Reyes of ACES, Elijohn Alcaraz of YBS and PICE, Eric John Seran of JPSME, Ronnie Sangalan of CHeSS, Jun Ray Canonicato of IDeA, Rowell Escarez of Atelier and Mac Leo Capre of JPIA.

LOOK WHAT’S BACK!

LOOK WHAT’S BACK! ……… tech ….. tech …... tech

Is TECH RECORD something new for TEKNO? A new treat for TEKNO students? Or is it just a new hobby of another newly formed group? WELL, the answer is a big “NO”!
TECH RECORD first of all is our very own college publication; and another exciting fact is that, it is older than any of us TEKNO students enrolled in our dearest CEA in the present! Though for the past five years, we have never set our eyes on a “TECH RECORD”. It has laid low for quite some time; which became a reason for our question of its existence – its EVER existence.
As for a reality check, upon seeing that twenty pesos fee for TECH RECORD every enrollment, we begin to wonder why we never get to read one. (Maybe to some, they just thought of it just now, upon reading this, right?)
But wait and hold on, ‘coz for the Academic Year 2009 – 2010 and counting, TECH RECORD is thankfully BACK, fully REVIVED and will once again RISE to its new glory! It promises to be better, more dynamic and bolder!
Merging the freshest talented young minds of its newly selected publishing team, TECH RECORD will not only give YOU the crunchiest CEA news bits, but it will also get you UPDATED to what’s new and what’s gone through the ages! And also featuring the TEKNO talents in literary writing, TEKNO achievers, TEKNO activities, trivias, some fun fun fun and a lot more!
So, don’t be left behind my fellow TEKNO, get to know you college better! Let us be your tour guide and we guarantee to keep you on track.
So, give it a hooray and let us all say “Welcome home TECH RECORD!”

…… RECORDed

USA Bags Third Place in PICE Quiz Bowl, Regional Eliminations

USA Bags Third Place in PICE Quiz Bowl, Regional Eliminations
by Elijohn S. Alcaraz

Each year, the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) holds its National Civil Engineering Students’ Quiz Bowl to encourage the competitiveness between different schools and universities all over the nation towards uplifting the course and profession of Civil Engineering in our nation and ultimately, the world.
This year, our University has once again received an invitation from PICE for this year’s quiz bowl. With the University always complying and submitting to these types of invitations, she sends Edward Joseph Sudario and Buena Gloria Amor Regino - both Fifth Year Civil Engineering Students - together with their adviser, Engr. Eryl Lazarte, to compete in the Regional Eliminations. Held in the University of Negros Occidental last October 7, 2009, the Regional Eliminations was divided into three categories: Easy, Average and Difficult. Composing of the common subjects in civil engineering, Math, Fluids, Hydraulics, Surveying, Transportation and Design are basically the mathematical problems that are to be tackled with during the quiz bowl.
Sudario won third place during the Regional Eliminations by scoring most points in the difficult level, as correct answers credit more during higher levels of difficulty. He could have won second place, if not for the barely credible, if not irrelevant, tie breaker which was a race to write down what the acronym PICE stood for. Unfortunately for Sudario, his opponent was a faster writer. But how that is a measure of intellect and competence, it’s really quite a blur. Sudario comes home with a trophie, certificate, cash prize of Php1,000, and ultimately, the honor he bestowed to the University.
When asked how he prepared for the quiz bowl, Sudario modestly replies he read notes during his vacant periods, and highly depended on his stocked knowledge for the event. Truly our College is capable of producing competitive individuals, and Sudario is but one of them.

AR. GUERRERO HOLDS STUDENT’S SYMPOSIUM ON GREEN ARCHITECTURE

AR. GUERRERO HOLDS STUDENT’S SYMPOSIUM ON GREEN ARCHITECTURE
Angela Katrina Cham

“With great power comes great responsibility… Architects are like God, we can either create or destroy.” This is a quote emphasized by the guest speaker for the Green Architecture Symposium, a quote that opened a deeper understanding to a more responsible designing and building.
Architect Miguel C. Guerrero III, a fellow and APEC architect, conducted a Students’ Symposium on Green Architecture last September 18 at the University of San Agustin Training Center.
Thru the cooperation of the United Architects of Philippines Iloilo, Hamili and Marikudo Chapters, the event was made possible and successful. The symposium was attended by Architecture students from the University of San Agustin and West Visayas College of Science and Technology, architects, teachers and Interior Design students as well.
Green Architecture has become a trend for most designers and builders since it brings about immense factors to reducing the devastating climate change and more over Global Warming.

HAGGARD TEKNO NO MORE

HAGGARD TEKNO NO MORE
Marianne Therese Prado

College is bad for your health! Students feel way too busy to eat right, exercise and get enough sleep.
This may be a very boring adage, but health really is wealth. Your academic performance relies greatly on your health.
You will be a haggard Tekno no more if you try to incorporate these small but healthful habits into your college life:

1. Don’t skimp on z’s. Getting enough sleep is the biggest relaxation aid of all. Caffeine can make you alert only for a given period of time, but enough sleep can give you a more lasting energy. If you can’t always get a good night sleep, work regular naps into your schedule.
2. Eat sensibly. College students often gain weight due to late night eating and overindulgence of junk food. Instead of sodas, drink milk. Instead of potato chips, munch on fruits.
3. Don’t skip breakfast. Breakfast is your fuel after eight hours of fasting. Skipping breakfast because you will be late for the first period will make it hard for you to concentrate in class. Plus, it contributes to weight gain, tension and nervousness.
4. Drink water. Most of us do not get nearly enough water. Resist the lure of iced coffee and sodas. They only dehydrate the body. Get a water bottle and carry it around with you.
5. Work in walking. This is the simplest yet most rewarding exercise you can practice everyday. After all, you go up and down the stairs of Blanco Hall.
6. Get mental counseling if you need it. Take advantage of the counseling services of Ma’am Marjorie Calagsing (yes, we have a new guidance counselor). Students frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, and homesickness, and student counseling services are usually equipped to help these issues.
7. Take supplements. Sometimes, what we eat is not enough. Take multivitamins everyday. These are very effective stress-busters and ailment-shields.
8. See your doctor. Get regular check-ups. You never know what you have missed until you seek a professional. Also, do not take for granted a slight fever or frequent headaches. They can be warning signs of something worse.
9. Breathe in more oxygen. Whenever you feel stressed, inhale deeply and exhale fully. Just a few minutes of breathing can banish stress –fast!
10. You are not superman/superwoman. It is unrealistic to believe you can do it all. Multi-tasking is like living at half-attention. You tend to lose your focus and end up giving half-baked outputs. The rule of the thumb is to do things one at a time so you can be efficient and concentrate more on what you are doing.
11. Kill the guilt. If you make a mistake, fix it and let the guilt go. After all, to err is human.
12. Start practicing these steps now. I mean now!

HOT SPOT

HOT SPOT
Angela Katrina Cham

The usual scenario in an Architecture class having a deadline: crammers bumping into each other trying to accomplish EVERYTHING! So… why do we have to cram? How can it ever help us? Or will it ever?
We usually get challenged if we are cramming; our juicy ideas get squeezed all the way – a fact which appears to be a very old and super overused explanation of why we cram! But, are you that fastened with the idea that this is all that you could have done?
Crammed ideas for me are usually too shallow. Sometimes, we come to realizations that there could have been a lot of better things that could have struck our FRESH minds – that is, NOT a crammed mind – if we just worked on stuff IMMEDIATELY and most of all, we never have to worry of being late for SUBMISSION time! So, I bet we all know what the usual ending to this situation is now, huh? REGRETION! Who would want to feel this, right?
As to myself, it’s undeniable that I’m a total crammer. So everything that fell here is based on experience. Some may be used to cramming; some may want to change that oh so unpleasing habit. Through it all, this is just an opinion, not ought to be applied, but is ought to aim for the better.
…Cram time? Not anymore…

A SMALL CHANGE, A BIG DIFFERENCE

“A SMALL CHANGE, A BIG DIFFERENCE”

Ina Ravena

The USA gymnasium, packed with Tekno students, rumbled as the light bulbs flickered and the light flashed, and loud music filled the hall. “Engineer Reynaldo Asuncion,” the emcees threw their voices out to the crowd, “the Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture!” – the scenario of his introduction during the general orientation of our college.
It was December of 2008 when Engineer Asuncion was given the news that Engineer Maura P. Basco will hand her title down to him as the new dean of the college for the upcoming school year 2009-2010.
Handling the whole college, including the social relationships with his teachers and students, requires a big sense of responsibility. This goes to show that he possesses good leadership qualities. Being dean does not only mean sitting behind the desk and doing paper work all day, but also making sure that not only one’s files are in order, but also one’s people as well. Despite all the busy working times in the office, he never misses the fun too, like mingling with the faculty, sharing fun moments with them at the same time gaining their respect.
If you were to be given a responsibility this big, you sometimes doubt your own capabilities. In his part, sure though that he felt excited and enthusiastic, behind his head, questions keep coming up like “Could I live up to the expectations of the administration?”.
He was nervous at first, but in the short course, he seemed to be getting used to the job, and also even loving what he does for the good of all. His aspirations are that of the betterment of the college. He aims to improve the board performances of graduates and then to be accredited once again. Even if handling all this could take a lot of pressure, he would take them one at a time. Like they say, small things lead to bigger ones.
He would not always be seen inside his office, because he usually goes around, checking on classes to see if everything is in order. Sometimes, when he passes by classrooms with ongoing classes, he would give a smile or a brief sign of acknowledgement to the teachers and the students. His attitude and bubbly demeanor makes him amiable and easy to approach in case of problems.
Although we may not be used to him being the new leader and all, nothing is permanent but change. Let him be our inspiration for our future success!
“For walking the pathway is different from knowing the pathway.”

NO ERASURE

NO ERASURE
Goldwynn D. Navarro

There are certain points in our life that we are made to agree that moving forward with eyes impassionate is rather better than skimming back to the past, especially when nothing in the before-memorabilia is worth remembering at all.
We take a long stare on the unfilled test paper before us. Staring sternly. Staring blatantly. Unaware of the pounds of perspiration profusely leaking from our pores. Shaking hands. Shaking. We gather all the courage left in us and then finally, feeling the streak of friction igniting between our pen and test booklet. Slowly at first, then smoothly. We are going fast. Thank God we have somehow reviewed the lessons, that answering was beyond the question of failure. You stand up as if the next supermodel in Hollywood when all the audience can testify is “Holy Wood!” the moment your professor dismissed the class with a P.S.: “Have you read the instructions carefully class? Erasures, considered negative.”
Frosty arctic monsoons wipe your forehead to metal. Your ego corroded with sulfuric emotions and rust. The glimmer on your muttonchops grin, decay to a bite. We find an escape.
As Paulo Coelho imparts, “We make a lot of detours but always end up in the same destination…” We make a lot of side bends and lopsided breaks just like in the middle of a traffic jam, but still in us, we are aware where we are exactly destined: too take a cup of coffee and sigh, to warm-up and to have a cuddly slumber.
“Home…” Where is home?
The roads, pavements and slums collectively, we trek every day are mere man-made commodities, reluctant in themselves of what direction they really are served to lead. It is the lone man who decides which road seems to be less travelled that would make pacing an ease to the thighs, and it is the superior him who knows where his heart resides.
Home… Just like old school days when little kids enthrallingly drove their bicycles on a diffused, clement morn to their respective classrooms. Home… Just like a newly-tendered lawn so fine to sprawl onto with its awns frolicsome with our skin. Home… beyond infinity and further towards the blue skies, a million miles away from the hectic streets of the urban suburban, a smoke-freed zone, and the illumination of a weary soul.
Home…
It is where we try to redeem ourselves after the tedious evenings we have laboriously and vexingly finish our plates up to the last call, with an examination waiting for us the next day. For the last hour, we haphazardly scan our notes hoping that we could save some mental tidbits of the topics included. There was a need to weed a nerve.
Home…after a day’s test, that we thought we were able to pass, another spirit-challenge solved, we sat on a couch and munch corn kernels. We forgot to read the instruction – “NO ERASURE” in bold and capital letters.

PIChE – Panay held Mangrove Tree Planting

PIChE – Panay held Mangrove Tree Planting
Joshua Louise Navarro

The Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers Panay Chapter (PIChE-Panay) conducted a Mangrove Tree Planting and Coastal Cleanup last September 13, 2009 in line with its 4th Chemical Engineering Week and 21st PIChE-Panay Day last September 13-19, 2009 headed by Engr. Chamaigne Luz D. Jamandre, PIChE-Panay President. This activity was participated by Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering Students from University of San Agustin, and other Chemical Engineering students from Central Philippine University, University of the Philippines – Visayas and John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University. This tree planting activity aimed to help preserve the mangroves and clean the coastal boundaries of Dumangas.

THE AWARDEES FOR THE CHEER DANCE COMPETITION AND MR. AND MISS INTRAMURALS 2009

THE AWARDEES FOR THE CHEER DANCE COMPETITION AND MR. AND MISS INTRAMURALS 2009
Vince N. Mendoza

The University of San Agustin was filled again with the spirit of sports, talent, beauty and intelligence during the opening of intramurals in the celebration of the Patron Saint’s Day.
The contest was held last August 29, 2009 in the Lopez Hall under the office of the Physical Education Department, Sports and the office of the Co-Curricular Activities. It was started by an opening game of basketball for men followed by Mr. and Miss Intramurals 2009 and lastly, the cheer dance competition. The USA Gym was filled with Augustinian not only to witness the battle between beauty, intelligence and talents, but also to support their contestants in Mr. and Miss Intramurals 2009 and in Cheer Dance Competition. The champion for the Cheer Dance Competition was awarded to the High School Department. All contestants were very good in all aspects but there can only be one Mr. and Miss Intramurals 2009. The following are the winners in the said event.

MISS INTRAMURALS 2009 – Syra Ann Ycoy, BS Accounting Technology (CBAA)
MR. INTRAMURALS 2009 – John Kevin E. Jereos, BS NURSING (CN)
First Runner up – Donna Marie Robles Luces, BS NURSING (CN)
Floyd Sulleza Susarno, Grade VI, St. Joseph
Second Runner Up – Rhona Angela Maceachen, BS Medical Technology (CPMT)
Jeremy Jasper Cembrano, BS Architecture (CEA)
Third Runner Up –Mary Rose M. Longno, BS Tourism (CAS)
Don Caesar Santillan, BS Accountancy (CBAA)
Fourth Runner Up – Julie Roseanne Alcarde, BS Hotel and Restaurant Mgmt. (CE)
Jan Paolo Amigo, BS Information Technology (CAS)

The College of Engineering and Architecture Bags 3 Crowns

The College of Engineering and Architecture Bags 3 Crowns

The College of Engineering and Architecture cornered 3 titles during the Patron Saints Day Celebration last August 27 – 29, 2009.
The CEA was roaring as they topped the Binalaybay contest, thanks to Mr. Joevic Monejar. Meanwhile, during the contest of Mr. and Ms. Intramurals, not only did the CEA cheered, but other departments as well, when Jeremy Cembrano was awarded as 2nd runner-up for Mr. Intramurals 2009-2010. Likewise, Marigold _____ and Christopher John Cuenca garnered 3rd runner-up for the Dance Sports, Latin Category. Indeed, the CEA department is full of talented students. We just hope that we will win more awards next school year. So let us keep our fingers crossed!

Three is to One

Three is to One
Marianne Therese Prado

Chew on this: for every four CEA students you bump into, three are males.
This is the mathematics you have to learn by heart each time you stroll by Blanco Hall into hundreds of virile and imperious slacks-and-polo undergraduates and hardly any womanly skirts-and-shoulder-bags educatee. But you can see a more vivid picture in the chapel if there is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist sponsored by the College of Engineering and Architecture.
If you are one of the students who always go inside the CEA office, whether or not you are related to the dean or Ma’am O, or if you’ve established a good relationship with any of the working students, you can ask for a simple census and be overwhelmed with the data.
Before reporting to my first period, I dropped by the office to get what I need: tough evidence. Yes, I was overwhelmed by the face that in the first semester of this academic year, 804 males were given the CEA registration form and only 240 female were given the same piece of paper. Simply put, this the population of the male and female Teknos respectively.
Now, push the buttons of you calculator. You will arrive at a three-is-to-one ratio of male to female. This is no plain statistics. It conveys a deeper message. It shouts two words: MALE DOMINION.
Again, this echoes “why” questions.
Some researchers contend that males have a solution-oriented brain, and have a greater ability to understand math. Here comes the “math genes”. (However, I doubt this.) Since CEA courses are jam-packed with a great dozen of square roots and Greek-lettered variables, it follows that guys tend to take this route. Girls, stereotyped as vulnerable, selfless and empathetic, prefer to walk through the other path.
Another reason, perhaps, is that either the male structure is made for construction and mechanical work, or construction or mechanical work is made for the male structure. (This is justifiable.) This environment is designed as second nature for CEA graduates.
Still, another theory is that males claim to be more immune to both internal and external stress, thus enabling them to survive five or more years of strenuous study. (Still, I beg to disagree.)
To really understand the mystery behind the ratio, do not ask a Tekno, rather be a Tekno.
Whatever rationale led to the ratio, at the end of the day a picture of CEA males rather than females will most probably flash in your mind when you will be slapped with the phrase “basta Tekno, astig.”

Angela Katrina Cham

*******
Angela Katrina Cham

It’s just right there, not even two, three, or four meters away from you, so just go near it, and give it to ‘em!
It’s the trash can vs. CEA students I’m talking about, I know you’re wondering. It’s another usual scenario, a very visible dilemma, and one of the “hardest” things to do – disposing trash properly. Well, I can’t seem to explain why. Do people see trash cans as monsters? Eat you up when you get near? It’s sometimes weird thinking why we have to leave everything to Manong Bai. We are one college, what one does affect the other; we are entitled to our own trash; you trash, his trash, my trash, sum it up is what we should see as the monster. It is one of the most painful facts that trash rules our surroundings, people bring about this huge problem, so people must also learn to get out from it.
A question for you my friend, how do we lead to this “GREEN WORLD” if we cannot even keep our smaller worlds a place we can call ours? It’s for you to think and act upon.
So why not HELP and START maintaining cleanliness? It’s the least thing we could do for our second home – Blanco Hall.

WHAT’S YOUR GADGET?

WHAT’S YOUR GADGET?

Get your booty and mind equipped to witness the awesome gigs that’ll surely intrigue you. Here are my top three flaming gizmos on my list that some of our own, fellow Teknos use:
TOP THREE: NOKIA 7610 Supernova, a slid quad-band hand portable phone, supporting EGSM 850/900/1800/1900. It has changeable Xpress on cover and a 3.2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom. Theme colourizer and have a Nokia Maps. USB port 2.0 in full speed, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR with Bluetooth stereo. Flash lite 3.0 and MIDP Java 2.1 with additional Java APIs. Charger connector 2.0mm and Battery model BL-4S (3.7V-860mAh). Talk time up to 6.4 hours and on standby time up to 12 days. The maximum user storage 64MB, Memory card type Micro SD. Maximum memory card size 2GB,, Maximum heap size 2MB and maximum JAR size 1MB.
TOP TWO: PSP 3000, this one came into its own CPU (motherboard revealed to be TA-90v2). Due to motherboard having its own PRE-IPL where it checks the firmware thoroughly that prevents unwanted modification to the system. PSP 3000 has a “Lite Blue Tool” battery which allows you to boot into service mode and does not start homebrew on the new PRE-IPL that is yet to be cracked. The Lite Blue Tool was deterred from distribution due to legal action by the SONY Company. But in sometime, the Datel changed the name from Light Blue Tool to Max Power Digital and change the descriptions. PSP 3000 was compatible to custom firmware 5.03 GEN-A and it allows users to play game backups (ISO/CSO), PSI Games, and includes access to PSN, USH, and recovery mode.
TOP ONE: Sony VAIO SZ Keyboard, the first to use switchable graphics. Combination of smooth screen, anti reflection coating and high efficiency lens sheet, smooth finish provides sharper screen display. Lens-sheet provides 1.5 times the brightness improvements over traditional LCD designs. The motherboard continues an integrated Intel graphics chipset, with discrete NVIDIA GPU hardware on an expression card. The SZ series could be used for less power consumption and greater battery life whereas the latter would be used when greater graphics processing power is needed. A switch is used to toggle between the graphics but required a cold boot.

DYK? SONY Company has a new PSP model, the PSPGO.

KTS’07

Saturday, August 7, 2010

CEA Core Values

UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
ILOILO CITY

CORE VALUES

We believe that our College’s Vision and Mission can only be achieved if we create a working, teaching and learning environment in campus that is characterized by the following core values, appreciated by all and lived by everyone:

1. Constant Quest for Excellence

Excellence is not mediocrity. The faculty members, non-teaching staff and students of this College will strive to constantly love their work through mastery of the basics and constant upgrading of knowledge and skills. Good enough should never be enough for us.

This search for excellence will be rooted in a deep humility that moves us all to use our God-given talents, to learn from one another, to help each other improve, and to reject all forms of arrogance as we grow in knowledge, skills and values. All striving for excellence must aim to give glory of God and to serve people selflessly.

There is such a thing as good ambition. And we encourage everyone in school to strive to excel in academic performance and interscholastic competitions. Everyone, students and faculty members, should get eagerly involved in these competitive activities, that help us hone our academic knowledge and skills always with a spirit of genuine sportsmanship and friendly companionship.

2. Passion for Integrity

Integrity is the quality of a person who has a keen sense of moral principles, that are perennial and objective, and who adheres to them unwaveringly. We also know that nobody is perfect and we are all capable of making mistakes. Yet in spite of our weaknesses, we are also aware that we are all called to seek moral refinement in the exercise of our profession. And only with God’s grace is this possible.

Students must strive to be honest always in their school work and interpersonal relationships. Honesty as the only policy rejects all forms of cheating, plagiarism, forgery, false excuses, lies, and hypocrisy, cruelty, unkindness, etc.

Faculty members, staff and administrators must be role models in the practice of integrity.

Teachers must reject any form of favoritism that grants good grades without commensurate effort. They must avoid asking favors from students in exchange of passing or better grades. They definitely should not encourage students to gamble, to engage in lewd conversations and actions, to get intoxicated through liquor and drugs, etc., during activities within and outside school.

The administrators must also do their jobs with fairness and objectivity. They must respect the authority of the teachers in reference to their classes and their students. They must not harass teachers and influence them unduly in favor of some selected students who claim to belong to a privileged status.

3. Spirit of Service

Service to God and to people are our highest motives for working. All other good motives (success, security, growth) are subordinated to these highest motives. Evil motives for working should have no room in our hearts.

Our spirit of service pushes us to work hard to transform all activities in campus to real learning experiences for students. This is the main aim of education: the acquisition of truth with certainty in a manner that is virtuous. Scientia et Virtus.

Everyone in campus must serve the students. We shall do these with utmost availability and constant willingness to do more for our students.

Teachers must strive to prepare their lessons well seeking ways and means to maintain their student’s interest and to demand from them serious and constant work. Every corrected paper with its corresponding grade, passing or failing, should be for a student a learning experience still.

4. Spirit of Teamwork and Collaboration

The Vision of the College is an ennobling goal. It cannot be achieved by one person alone. All of us, teachers, staff and students, must strive to make it a reality. It is this goal that unites us.

Since we want this vision to become a reality, we will constantly cooperate with one another, supporting each other mutually. We must reject that debilitating scourge called indifference. We refuse to treat anyone with indifference. We will show genuine concern for the good of all students and colleagues,

These spirit of collaboration is premised on trust and confidence in one another. We will work hard to trust everyone, with vigilance and cooperation. Let us acknowledge each other’s strength and help one another overcome our weaknesses.

We reject all forms of individualism that lead to disunity. There should be no room in our hearts and working environment for envy, crab mentality, and all forms of selfishness.





5. Love for Discipline

Honorable behavior is best characterized by self-mastery with the sound principles of integrity as our guide. Self-mastery is nothing else but the practice of self-control and self-discipline.

Thus we are all committed to follow diligently with refinement the rules and regulations of our School and College. We will wear our proper uniforms and follow the dress code strictly. We will avoid being noisy when it is the time for serious study and work. We will contribute to keep the school premises clean and comfortable for all to use.

Time should be of paramount importance to all of us. We must be punctual always in all our activities. Refuse to extend classes that will delay the next classes or force students to arrive late at their next classes.

Teachers will strive to discipline their students without shaming them. This requires a refined spirit that rejects both a laxity that debilitates and a strictness that belittles. A balance must be struck. This type of discipline is reasonable and acceptable by students. It must, in the end, teach them how to discipline themselves.

6. Genuine Respect for Others

Genuine respect for students will lead teachers to be considerate and demanding at the same time. Willing to help students pass and get good grades without spoiling them or tolerating poor quality. Students must do their part and cooperate with their teachers in all that helps them become good students.

Emotional maturity helps us to treat each other with refinement and charity. We must avoid giving in to emotional reactions that hurt others and make the working environment very unpleasant. Anger must be tamed. Hatred must be avoided at all costs. Fear should not be taken advantage of.

We must be willing to help one another constructively and not allow a teacher to continue doing the wrong thing to his great disadvantage. We must correct one another delicately but firmly. We should allow ourselves to be helped and not make things difficult for people who are correcting us through emotional over-reaction.

CEA Mission

UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
ILOILO CITY
M I S S I O N

We are committed

To maintain
a collegial body of faculty members
who serve their students with genuine dedication
through their competence
characterized by constant professional growth
and through their unwavering commitment
to high ethical principles
in all their relationships
within and outside the academic community.

To establish
a relevant and dynamic curriculum
which ensures quality education
and provides graduates
with the necessary knowledge, skills and values
for the responsible practice of their profession.








To acquire
high-level teaching skills
through subject matter mastery
enhanced by personal work experience,
through timely preparations
aimed at developing effective learning strategies,
through classroom management styles
that are demanding and encouraging,
and through a constant willingness
to listen to students with objectivity
and answer their questions
with scientific accuracy.

To provide
students with the required facilities and equipment,
properly maintained and regularly upgraded,
and with the required training
that would allow them to use these resources
with real effectiveness
necessary to acquire global competitiveness,

To establish
a research program
that would allow faculty members
to engage on basic or applied research
contributing to the upgrading of the curriculum
and to the enhancing of their professional expertise.

To adopt
an extension program
with sustainable and developmental projects
responsive to the needs
of the less-privileged members of the community
and other interested sectors of society.

To create
a Christ-centered academic environment
conducive to conscientious learning activities
characterized by intellectual honesty and creativity,
imbued by a refined charity
leading to friendly and wholesome relationships,
characterized by the love of discipline
manifested in our self-mastery
and in genuine respect for others.

CEA Vision

UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
ILOILO CITY

V I S I O N

We envision ourselves
to be a college
constantly responding to the needs
of industry and the community
as we provide an education characterized
by academic excellence and ethical refinement
that aims to produce graduates that are
morally responsible and globally competitive
in the exercise of their profession.

History of the College of Engineering and Architecture

HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE (FORMERLY THE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY)

The College of Engineering and Architecture (formerly the College of Technology) offers five Engineering Courses (CE,ChE, ME, CpE, ECE), Architecture, Fine Arts and Interior Design. Three of its engineering programs, CE, ChE and ME are PAASCU Accredited Level II.
For almost six decades, the College had produced 62 Board Topnotchers and 89 graduates with Latin Honors - a proof of its unwavering commitment to academic excellence.
Quite impressively, the College had a long list of students who had served as Editor-in-Chief of the Augustinian and the Augustinian Mirror or as president of the USA Student Council.
The real crowning glory of the College however, is the impressive number of its successful and distinguished alumni who have carved their names in various areas of endeavors – be it in Science and Technology, Industry, Academe, Government Service, Business, Arts, and many more.

After World War II, when the political and social scenarios were already normalized, Father Rector Dolse Garcia convoked the House Chapter on July 1, 1946 to deliberate on the opening of the College of Engineering. Realizing the need for men and women of science and technology who would help in the rehabilitation of the war-ravaged Philippines, the Augustinian Fathers approved the opening of the College of Engineering. The College started admitting students in July, 1946.

Only the first two years of Civil Engineering were offered during the school year 1946-1947, with forty-five students enrolled as freshmen. Foreseeing however that more students would enroll for school year 1948-1949, another year was added to the Civil Engineering course. The foundation years for courses in Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical Engineering were also opened.

By school year 1951-1952, complete courses for Civil, Mechanical and Chemical Engineering were already offered by the College. Laboratories had been put up and equipment for the different courses had been acquired.

School year 1953-1954 saw the opening of the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. At this stage, the student population tripled, with marked increase in the female population especially in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.

A major step was taken by the College in school year 1956-1957 when it introduced the Bachelor of Science in Architecture course. The College was named College of Technology from then on.

The College of Technology etched its name in the history of the University of San Agustin when in 1957 it produced a First Placer in the Chemist Licensure Examination in the person of Nelly Pontino-Hibionada. Two Technology students, Nelly Pontino-Hibionada and Lydia Buyco were conferred Latin Honors(Cum Laude) during the Commencement Exercises of 1957.

The Architecture Department followed the steps of the Chemistry Department, when in 1962, it also produced a First Placer in the person of Jose A. Dureza.

Producing board topnotchers was an easy task for the College. In 1965, Rolando Siendo landed 5th Place in the Licensure Exam for Architects. The following year, Remegio Salanatin landed 2nd Place in the Licensure Exam for Civil Engineers.

The College of Technology produced two successive First Placers in the Licensure Examination for Mechanical Engineers in 1972 and 1973. Arturo Tuvida and Elmer Surriga stole the limelight when they topped the board examination for Mechanical Engineers in 1972 and 1973, respectively.

The Chemical Engineering Department produced a Fifth Placer in the person of Raul Go Lee Tian in 1975.

The tradition lives on for the College in producing board topnotchers.

In 1982, the Department of Chemistry was chosen as the lead institution for Chemistry in Western Visayas by the National Science and Technology Authority. The Civil Engineering Department produced the only Summa Cum Laude the College of Technology ever had, in the person of Sandra Anotado.

Cognizant of the emerging demand and popularity of computer related courses, the College of Technology offered the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering in 1995. During this time and in the successive years, the enrollment of the College swelled.

In 1996 the College applied for PAASCU accreditation of the three engineering programs namely, CE, ChE and ME and was granted initial accreditation for these three in 1998.

The University of San Agustin ranked sixth and seventh nationwide among schools offering Architecture when it registered a high passing percentage in the January, 1999 and January 2000 Licensure Exam, respectively.

Rapid advancement in the fields of electronics and communications challenged the College to offer a new course Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering in school year 2000-2001. It was also in the same school year that the College of Technology was renamed College of Engineering and Architecture.

The Chemistry program was transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences (formerly College of Liberal Arts) effective school year 2001-2002.

The Chemical, Civil and Mechanical Engineering Programs were accredited Level II by PAASCU in 2001.

Two more new courses were offered in school year 2004-2005, and these are: Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Painting.

The Architecture Department made the University of San Agustin the Third Top Performing School for two consecutive years when it registered a high passing percentage in the January 2004 and January 2005 Licensure Examination for Architects.

The College of Engineering and Architecture is a recipient of the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) where Smart Communications, Inc. donated a Wireless Laboratory to the College. Said laboratory was inaugurated last June, 2005.

ADMINISTRATORS

When the College opened in 1946, Fr. Dolse Garcia appointed Civil Engineer and Architect Benjamin Hilado as Head. His designation was later changed to Dean in 1952. Dean Hilado was largely responsible for the design and construction of the physical plant of the post World War II Colegio. He designed and engineered the Herrera Building (Administration), Rada Hall, Mentrida Hall, Aguirre Hall, Gamboa Hall, Blanco Hall and Gymnasium.

During the school year 1956-1957, upon the introduction of the Architecture Course, Fr. Rector Isaac Insunza appointed Engr. Francis L. Padilla Assistant Dean and at the same time, Head of the Physics Laboratory. Engr. Padilla eventually assumed the deanship in school year 1972-1973. In the following school year Engr. Joven Gonzales was named Assistant Dean.

In 1983, upon the retirement of Engr. Padilla, Engr. Conrado A. Silvederio was appointed Dean.

In June of 1998, Engr. Maura Pamposa Basco was appointed First Lady Dean of the Department. She still holds the position at present.

ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

The College of Engineering and Architecture (formerly the College of Technology) has always been alive with students’ activities and organizations. It pioneered an exclusive fraternity for Technology students called Epsilon Sigma Alpha, forerunner of the present-day Epsilon Alpha Chi Organization (EACO). Other organizations in the College include: Atelier (Student Organization for Architecture Students), Augustinian Computer Engineering Society (ACES), Chemical Engineering Student Society (ChESS), Institute of Electronics and Communications Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), Junior Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (JPSME), Young Builders Society (YBS), PUBUKAD Artists Group, Circulo Artists Group, United Architects of the Philippines Student Chapter (UAP-SC), Philippine Institute of Architects Student Auxiliary (PIA-SA) and Pen and Ink

Its first college student paper was The Chemical Digest, which was subsequently replaced by The Tech Record. The Tech Record had for several times won as the Best Departmental Paper in Western Visayas.

The College had produced a number of outstanding students who had made a mark in the national scene. On top of them was Wilfredo L. Segovia, who was named one of the Ten Most Outstanding Students of the Philippines in 1967. He had also served as the National President of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines. Other students who made it to national distinction were: Charito Erecre who placed first in the UNCTAD National Poster Contest in 1975 and Naomi Cosette Rigor-Luis who bagged the Grand Prize in the 1988 Rizal National Essay Writing Contest. Aquilino Cabrias, Jr. landed First Place in the National Civil Engineering Quiz Contest in 1998. Mr. Cabrias was also one of the pioneer recipients of the Ayala’s Call to Leadership Conference in 1999- such conference was a gathering of the best and brightest students culled from colleges and universities nationwide. In sports, Kristine Cabasac was recognized as the Most Be-medaled Swimmer in the 2006 National PRISAA held in Lingayen, Pangasina where Western Visayas emerged as the Champion. In the field of Arts, Nil Capinianes and Arthur Jusa qualified as finalists to the 37th Shell National Students Art Exhibition in 2004.

The College of Engineering and Architecture is an active member of the Philippine Association for Technological Education (PATE) and the Council of Engineering and Architecture Schools in Western Visayas (CEAS-WV). It is also in active collaboration with professional organizations like PIChE, PICE, UAP, PIA and PSME among others.