The Veil of Power
Some Reflections on the
Use of Leverage to Revive “The Reaction” Newsletter
Background:
Pondering on
the fragility of our lives, I stumbled upon a classical question, "What is
the reason for our existence (raison
d'être)?" I have already discussed about this in my blog article
titled “On the Reason for Existence”. Now I move on to a different question
“What will I do to contribute something to the University of Santo Tomas -
Faculty of Engineering?”
I, being
somehow a non-conformist, feel that I am a simple Chemical Engineering who is
content with being a simple regular student. (My time being part of the Dean’s
List is over.) Sometimes we have to enjoy the little things, as they say.
Propelled to the Position
I was a
humble writer of The Reaction Newsletter since I joined in 2012. During the
administration of Daisuke Zabala, the newsletter was very active. There was a
system of article revision that ran like clockwork, meetings were fruitful,
almost everybody cooperated, and lastly – the team was able to release its
publication just in time. In 2013, many new members joined (or were “dragged
into”) the team but the administration was sleazy and inefficient. The general
meetings were not very much productive. I do, however, understand that internal
politics within the Chemical Engineering Society played a role in the weakening
of the allure and clout of The Reaction. In 2014, Bob Castrense became the
Editor-in-Chief but the publication team became a shadow of its former self –
an empty shell. The “general assembly” was attended by a whopping eight (8)
people out of the twenty members of the team. Cooperation was at an
all-time-low. To make matters worse, changes in the curriculum increased the
academic load of the students – making us allot less time to the publication.
We barely published an issue – an online version which, obviously, was not
well-read by the society. In 2015, I became the Editor-in-Chief, succeeding Bob
Castrense.
Now, for
reasons usually beyond my control, almost the entirety of my batch (ChE Batch
2016) knows that I am the leader of this publication team. (I’m not even a kind
of person who wants popularity. I even remember Mark Jed dela Cruz – a friend
of mine, claimed that even before we haven’t met yet he already knows me.) The
challenge to keep the publication relevant and influential is something I
accept.
 |
After four years, The Reaction newsletter issued two issues in one academic year.
(Photo by Darwin Eugenio) |
My Proposed Ways on Gaining Funds or Making the
Publication Relevant:
Plan Number 1: Collaborate with a University-Funded
Publication
You see, our
newsletter is “privately-funded” by the Chemical Engineering Society, a student
organization. The university-funded publication is the Thomasian Engineer. In
2015, this publication published their backlog issue – a badly-delayed release
of a journal dated 2012.
I met one of
their artists – a petite damsel named Novelle Sinco. I had a friend who was
close to her coax her into talking to me. Using our scant similar interests, I
gained rapport with her and she has lead me to high-ranking members of
Thomasian Engineer (TE). In order to gain TE’s trust, I used the ChESite as
leverage, saying that The Reaction and TE can collaborate on a website. “I can
advertise your amazing journal and if you like, we can share links to each
other’s websites.” I said.
Alas, many
members of TE are busy probably with academic demands. I also became busy as
the semester progressed. I had the chance to use another card off my sleeve –direct
communication with the adviser of TE who also happens to be very close to the
Chemical Engineering Society.
When the
second semester of A.Y. 2015 – 2016 started, I dropped my plan for a
collaboration with the Thomasian Engineer, citing the apparent impracticality
of forcing a recovering publication to support a smaller, recovering
publication.
You see,
after months of gaining rapport and by extension, getting a gist of the overall
financial status of Thomasian Engineer, I found out that Plan 1 will not be
financially beneficial. Yes, we might have received some good coverage on some
of our events, which is better than nothing at all, but this is insufficient in
our budgetary issues. I’ve also managed to talk to the adviser of TE and he
seems very positive on a collaboration, though I have to admit I didn’t mention
or hint any solicitation in our conversation.
Therefore, as
long as the current deficits of the Thomasian Engineer continues, this plan
shall continue be shelved.
Plan
2: Find External Sponsors (Fulfilled)
The plan to
find an external sponsor materialized with the very potent advice of our
adviser Engr. Ayesha Duavis. She led us to Manila Review Institute Inc., a
review center in Nicanor Reyes St., Manila which for years has been tutoring
plenty of chemical engineering graduates from the university.
 |
The external sponsor was able to provide sufficient funds to publish another issue
as the semester ended. Celebrating this feat are members of the editorial board and the adviser. |
Soliciting
funds from external sponsors, as long as permitted by the University of Santo
Tomas Chemical Engineering Society, is a good plan.
Plan
3: Engaging the Students
Now comes the
hard part. Given sufficient funding, it is easy to publish the newsletter but
it is hard to engage a good audience. With the advent of social media and
memes, young people are more likely to pay attention to graphic-laden news tidbits
than lengthy text such as this blogpost (lol). This is a challenge that I leave
to my successors. One way to engage the students is to make sure that news
articles are timely (hint: the GIQC
article that we published just hours after the event ended), and that the
feature articles are relevant and
can connect to the ChE struggle.
Plan
4: Making the Newsletter a Privilege
Assuming that
most members of the Chemical Engineering Society are already aware about the
existence of the newsletter, it is helpful to increase the stringency of the
entrance examinations. My reign has been a reign of compassion (due to the fact
that we were still recovering back then), but now I believe the recovery period
has ended. This is a suggestion coming from one of my friends: make the
membership status of the newsletter a privilege, make sure that everyone
contributes. I believe this can be done by inserting a new expulsion process in
the constitution. During the reign of Daisuke Zabala (A.Y. 2012 – 2013), a mere
probationary clause was used to warn incompetent dilly-dallying writers.
Usually, those who made less than two contributions to the final output were
demoted as mere “contributors” rather than writers. This does not mean that
compassion to the academic needs of the writers must be put aside, but rather
enhancing disciplinary measures must be undertaken to ensure the quality of the
staff.
 |
I hope the time will come when holders of this ID will become proud members.
|
Plan 5: Hold Seminars
Also, as part
of the plan to engage the chemical engineering students, I suggest that English
writing seminars (especially with regards to writing business correspondence)
be held with proper coordination with the Chemical Engineering Society.
Determination
is the Key
12. Be humble, and let your success proclaim your
victory.
13. Be subtly observant, for many enemies are lurking,
sometimes masquerading as allies.
14. Be resilient, for I can say that humanity is at
risk at the hands of his own inventions.
- Sayings of
Darvinos 3:12 -14
Determination
is the key to success. Try to fulfill these plans, do your best. Rise above the
ordinary but do not be arrogant! “At the end of life we will not be judged by
how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great
things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something
to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’”
said Mother Theresa, quoting Jesus Christ.
