Jessica Hermengarde

This House Believes. By Jessica Hermengarde

THBT BJ is God’s gift to mankind.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me speak to you about the wonder that is BJ! He or (she) is God’s gift to mankind.

Mankind defined as UP debate society, as only those of superior intellect deserve to be called human.

Gift defined as a beautiful parcel waiting to be unwrapped.

God defined as the mystical force that created BJ.

Let us discuss the nature of a gift. A gift is hardly a gift unless it’s a fancy package. It has to have un-grepa wrapping paper, and ribbons that frame the box as wonderfully as yang’s hair frames his face. BJ clearly meets this standard, Madam Chair, as he is evidently good looking and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. His hair is amazingly clean cut, leading others to believe he is heterosexual.
His eyes pierce right through you, whether or not he intends it to do so. His smile brightens up any place, that’s why they don’t bother to turn on the lights in the Econ walkway when we debate. If BJ were straight, he’d have a long line of chics waiting for their sigsheets to be signed and their sorry asses asked out on a date. Hahaha.

But more than the fancy package, a gift has to be of use, and for it to be of use, it has to be unwrapped. BJ is being mercilessly unwrapped by the application process. His repetitive adjing for countless tambay and graded debates, his precious time spent in front of his laptop poring over applicant requirements, his endless need to sign this and sign that, his efforts to organize everything, show us ladies and gentlemen, that he serves his purpose in debate society, that he is a gift to them-- unwrapped all too harshly it’s almost like stripping. ;)

THBT the MAC committee is the anti-thesis of power tripping.

Frankly, I expected the members of the MAC committee to be scary, applicant-eating, people whose end goal is to make all of us cry like motherless babies.
Instead I met wonderful, even-tempered upper classmen who spent their time getting to know us, and encouraging us to improve all throughout the application period.

Thank you to BJ, Yang, Biboy, Celeni, Jovan, Nico, Pluto, Dimple for not giving us hell… well not yet at least. Haha.

TH does not regret applying.

I remember asking my fellow applicants one day if they feared the idea of not getting in after all the hard work (because I certainly did). I thought they would immediately nod and vent out their feelings; instead, I got such mature and objective answers, which reminded me once again of how one should handle oneself in the world that is college.

They told me that ‘of course it would suck,’ but that they think the application process is its own reward. We learn a lot of things merely by applying to UPDS. We learn to speak constructively, to matter load and actually ANALYZE and USE the matter, to work with different people, to listen and filter ideas, and above all, to be patient and persevering all throughout the application period.

We were also able to test ourselves, to see how far we can go. On my part, I never thought I’d face such a long and tedious process in my first semester of college. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the things we had to go through as debsoc applicants. I felt I was investing my time and effort in something worth it, something I can always look back on as a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.

Above all, I cherish the friends I’ve made, both members and co-applicants alike. I remember sulking during the early part of the school year, because unlike my friends in other universities who had blocks to regularly hang out with, I only had random acquaintances from classes. When I started applying to UPDS, I took comfort in the fact that I could go to their “tambayan” if I had nothing to do or no one to stay with. I liked that I was able to build relationships, beyond a simple conversation or a class-related question. If ever I don’t get in, what would suck the most about it is the fact that I’ll miss everybody.

Overall, I say the application process is worth it. I wouldn’t have chosen any other way to start off my life in college. =)

Mike Chuva

Crazy Diseasebyromancingwiththedrums

BJ is this infectious disease affecting all UPDS applicants and members. Its symptoms include being a good adjudicator, giving constructive whip speeches and choosing Nigel or Levi as a debate partner. While many of us applicants very much hate adjudicating and still could not master the formula behind it, having the BJ disease makes you superhuman. With debates that don’t seem to possess any clash, the BJ- infected being would not approach it with a boggled brain; rather, there is a certain level of lucidity. This disease generally infects women, but yes, also those who have come out of their closets. Much scarier than SARS or Anthrax, its effects are irreversible. One becomes insanely rational. No amount of Gray’s Anatomy or House could cure this, but of course, once you’ve entered Deb Soc, it would not make much of a difference.

For some reason, MAC members are so sexy that they are the ones usually on people’s Human Bingos. Who wouldn’t be, since the amount of work they do is designed to make living zombies out of them. But of course, they have mastered that art of grace under pressure. Even with the numerous holidays and classes suspended, they have persevered in proceeding with the projects necessary for the app period. Their methods would probably give Tim Yap a run for his money. MAC members are certified “Eventologists.”

Deb Soc would not be Deb Soc if the app process would not be ruthless. It requires not only the passion for debating, but also the determination and will to succeed. The process equips one with a new lingo that the rest of mankind would not understand: adj, break, motion, cap, etc. So many THBTs on papers, rebut, rebut, analyze and substantiate. Deb Soc turns one into an alien- but a very happy one, just like Kokey. An app makes a few wimpy friends in the process, and ends up gaining much more- the ability to confuse people. Because of the numerous 7- minute speeches, one could be labeled as a machine gun. That’s the beauty of it, guns and roses. Matter exams would test one’s guessing abilities and pure luck, since it’s always the case where you study so hard, but you never seem to get any question right. And staring at the paper for 20 minutes doesn’t help- the exam is only 30 minutes long. The Graded Debates… Ooh, there is a reason why many just abhor IR motions. There just seems to be a naturally low pain threshold to arguing about militarization of whichever rogue nation or the policies of seemingly defunct and largely politicized organizations such as the ASEAN and the UN. Once you don’t have matter on an IR motion, consider yourself done.

For me, this experience is out-of- body mainly because I’ve gone back to something I really liked doing back in high school. This made me realize how debating isn’t limited to the four corners of a classroom- it could even take place in the weirdest of places. Most of the time, you feel like you’re floating in a cloud, from the lack of sleep or the anxiety that your team just got boxed out of a debate. I certainly loved meeting new people, even though I am pretty shy. Maybe I didn’t get the Deb Soc crush, but as mushy as it sounds, it doesn’t really matter since I’ve got much more, namely friends. Deb Soc has made me forsake my remaining driving lessons, forget about spending my birthday with some friends and even looking for love. I sure do hope it’s well worth it, and so far, it has been.