Student organizations prepare for the special term

With the eventual shift of the academic calendar next school year, many student organizations in De La Salle University (DLSU) have been evaluating their schedule of activities and events for fellow students. Many have made adjustments to accommodate students enrolling for the Special Term and the loss of the Summer Term next school year.

Continued student governance

The University Student Government (USG) will be treating the special term as an extended summer term. This means that the functions of the USG will still be expected during the Special Term, including academic services and student representation.

USG President Carlo Inocencio says that the USG will still continue giving programs and services catering to the needs of the students. However, he clarifies that the activities to be implemented during the special term might be compromised due to logistical concerns and the limited number of students.

Inocencio also guarantees that there will still be student representation in committee meetings. He explains that it has been set, through the jurisdiction of the Constitution, that if the president vacates the position due to graduation or a leave of absence (LOA), the Office of the Vice President of Internal Affairs (OVPIA) will take over. He assures, however, that there will be no change in direction despite the change of power.

In addition, Inocencio also states that the USG will maximize the Special Term by focusing on the formation and training of the incoming set of officers.

Continued organizational operations

Entities under the Council of Student Organizations (CSO) follow their own organizational calendar and are independent from each other. For instance, some organizations change their officers every year, while others have the shift per academic year. For the special term, some organizations plan to hold organizational development activities.

Chemical Engineering Society (ChEn) President Gerald Ang (IV, CHE) says the incoming executive board (EB) of ChEn will take over during the special term. He explains that the incumbent EB took over during the summer term last academic year, so they opted to pattern the shift of last year and treat the incoming Special Term as Summer Term.

Ang also says that ChEn will hold workshops to train incoming officers and team buildings to promote organizational camaraderie as he considers these necessary for the functionality of the organization. He adds that although the incoming EB will be in charge, they will still be present in the workshops to observe and comment.

On the other hand, Chemistry Society (ChemSoc) President Sarabeth Uy (III, CHYB) says, “The incumbent EB finds the special term as an opportunity for a more intensive training for the incoming officers.” According to her, the incumbent EB plans to hone the skills of the incoming officers who she clarifies will be taking over during the first term of AY 2015-2016 through retreats and team buildings.

Continued performances

During Summer Terms, organizations under the Culture and Arts Office (CAO) use the time to practice for performances during the regular terms. With the extended break offered by the special term, this is no exception.

Lasallian Youth Orchestra (LYO) conducts two major performances every first and third term. Company manager Martha Arquero (II, PSY) says that they use the time beforehand to rehearse. For the coming special term, LYO is tasked to perform for the Lasallian Personal Enrichment Program (LPEP) for the incoming freshmen and a program to mark the ASEAN integration.

Arquero acknowledges that the special term is disadvantageous for LYO because not all of her company members will be present. She says that some of her members will be on vacation or may not enroll in the special term. Nevertheless, she plans on giving her members the opportunity to practice so that they may be prepared for their performances next academic year.

Continued media presence

Meanwhile, the editorial and executive boards (EB) under the Student Media Office (SMO) are still committed to continue their timely delivery of content despite changing the schedules of their summer team building activities.

Green and White (G&W) editor-in-chief (EIC) Ella Fareena Carlos (III, CAM) explains that the contract of this year’s EB has been extended to the end of the special term. Nevertheless, they have conducted their EB race, the process in choosing the next EB, as scheduled this term. The incoming EB will be taken in as “trainees” during the special term in preparation of the upcoming term.

The EB of Archers Network (ARCH) is also under a similar condition. EIC Saintrich Corrado (IV, CAM-MGT) explains, “Even if the term of the current EBs will be ending by the end of March, we have all agreed to work with the incoming EBs to help and guide them, if they need any, especially for the activities for summer.”

Internally, SMO organizations are squeezing their summer activities, including team building, around the special term. Eyeing the one-week break between the third and special terms, Carlos says that they will schedule their summer activities during the said week.

For ARCH, they will be keeping their members busy. Corrado explains, “We plan to maximize the time we have during the Special Term to keep our members busy. We will provide them with a lot of trainings and workshops in order to prepare them for the next academic year.”

Externally, SMO organizations will still continue producing their output for the student audience. “We have decided to take it as if it was any other term in La Salle. Being in media, it is important to ensure that our operations will flow continuously as possible. This means we will still be releasing shows as scheduled, since our main platform is online television,” Corrado shares.