Sports, Culture and the Arts invigorate Founding Anniversary; Bloodletting Drive captures donors

It has been a yearly tradition for Eastern Visayas State University’s Foundation Anniversary to indulge in Bloodletting activity spearheaded by the Campus Director of Carigara Campus, Dr. Ronald Madera.

The Bloodletting Drive with the theme Dugo Mo, Kinabuhi Ko was done in partnership with active agencies outside the university: Kusog Sinirangan Eagle’s Club, Ratnet Five, Office of the Civil Defense, Eastern Visayas Medical Center, and Tacloban City Hospital. These are composed of doctors, nurses, and volunteers/ workers.  

As a heroic deed, this activity can help people extend their lives when they need this essential component in their body system, especially if the critical stage eventuates. “Blood donation campaign has been in effect since 2012, even when I was still the Head of the Student Affairs, and it continued until I was reassigned as the Director of the Extension Services,” explicated Dr. Ronald Madera, the overall chair of the activity.

This came to realization upon the suggestion of the latter during the logistic preparation in relation to the foundation week. For him, this is not only a simple activity but a gesture of noble deeds. Even so, this time, that scarcity of blood in the blood bank has been a perennial problem.

Moreover, this bloodletting activity aims to contribute to the limited blood supply in the region, and its main objective is to save lives. It implicitly posits that one’s blood would save somebody’s life.  

Doing it for the first time, an early bird donor, Jenny Pauline Jaway, shares her thoughts regarding doing a selfless act: “Kinukulba…Basta happy po ako nga ‘tak blood makakabulig ha iba, she elucidated.

This activity will anticipate over a hundred donors who will receive food packs and hygiene kits afterward.

Optimistic about the event’s success, Dr. Madera would like to extend his gratitude to those ‘living heroes’ who donate their blood. He further wishes that the donated blood be helpful to extend the lives who need it most. He encourages other people to participate in the event, and communities nearby are welcome to donate blood.

KARA-SI-KAS flaunts EVSUNISTAs Talent

In line with the 116th Founding anniversary, the Culture and the Arts office, in cooperation with Culture and the Arts Department and Physical Education Department, spearheaded KARA-SI-KAS Concert 2023 at Miguel Romualdez Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday, February 15. 

Karantahay, Sinayaway, Kaskasay (KARA-SI-KAS) concert brought a new taste to the people as this emblazoned various talents entrenched in Culture and the arts.

This is the launching year with the nomenclature KARA-SI-KAS. In the previous years, Faculty Show was the common term, thereby foregrounding the talents of the teaching personnel.

In addition, KARA-SI-KAS encapsulated skills such as dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments that will lead the audience to fall in love with the richness of culture that our region offers.  

Prof. Jerry Mores, the overall chair, proudly presented KARA-SI-KAS as one of the most anticipated events for this year’s foundation celebration. “We have a medley of genres, dance, hip-hop, folk dance, contemporary dance, choral singing, and soloist,” Prof. Mores posited.

Aggrandizing culture and the arts in the region, this activity is open to all without an admission fee. Meanwhile, performers underwent a screening process to ascertain the quality of the presentation they would give to the audience. Select faculty and students dominated the dance floor as they exhibited unparalleled flair. 

Culture and art events are always vital components in every significant activity of the university. This was highlighted during the charter celebration and the foundation celebration positioned the spotlight on the KARA-SI-KAS concert this year and was highly supported by President de Paz being a strong catalyst of art. 

Despite the seemingly lack of resources, the team did not see it as an excuse to restrict this big event from eventuating. “We started from brainstorming, planning, and budgeting. That is why we did a lot of twists,” admitted Prof. Mores.

As the university moves forward and beyond, it will always look back to where it started, which defines the genuine legacy that it upholds- culture and the promotion of the arts.

Variety Show Highlights SLS Day Celebration

Keeping the momentum up for this year’s foundation celebration, the EVSU-Secondary Laboratory School evinced what they got on the dance floor as students per grade level demonstrated their talents at the Inner court before the EVSU Administration, faculty personnel, and supportive parents.

The trope of the field demonstration was centered on love, in consonance with Valentine’s day celebration,  where each grade level was given a specific theme that served as their roadmap in coming up with a splendid performance:  Grade 7-Love for God, Grade 8-Love for Nature, Grade 9- Love for Humanity, Grade 10- Love for Family, friends, and loved ones, Grade 11-Love for the country, and Grade 12- Self-love.

Dr. Herminigildo Badion, Dean of the College of Education, delivered his welcome remarks, setting the tone for the day’s momentous activity.

He highlighted the integral role of the SLS community as the living artifact in nurturing students geared towards achieving quality education through cultural and artistic presentations.

Delighted by the vibrancy of the students with their well-adorned costumes and indigenous-inspired motif, Dr. Dennis C. de Paz underscored the fundamental role of the SLS community as it left footprints of excellence through the years in various spectra of both academic and professional prestige “ As your president, I have seen how Secondary Laboratory School became a support partner in many institutional activities. Your community has made a significant contribution with a vast array of culture and the arts in our university,” Dr. de Paz said.

The performance was a mixture of tribal dance and cultural acclimatization cum contemporary genre. “We conceptualized a story line because it will touch the heart of the audience,” narrated Prof. Rexon Jay Balo, overall choreographer of SLS Day Celebration 2023.

Asked anent the feat of the field demonstration, SLS Principal Dr. Grace Camasin beamed with pride to the team who abstracted everything to make this presentation a reality. “We cannot have the beautiful show without the full cooperation of the students because they really wanted to dance, and their parents were also supportive of the costumes, time, and effort. It is a collaborative effort of everybody in the SLS,” Dr. Camasin explained.

She further recounted that they had only a week to prepare for this grand performance, yet classes were shortened so that students could have their practice from 3 pm onwards. “The effort is 101 % coming from choreographers, students, and the teachers,” she added.

President’s Cup 2.0 fosters sportsmanship

Sportsmanship, camaraderie, and unity!

These are the recurring themes that the President’s cup envisions achieving among the EVSU community. Comprised of EVSU personnel from teaching and non-teaching, players were invigorated upon stepping on the court as they were more than eager to demonstrate their prowess in the basketball exhibition game on Wednesday, February 15, at the Inner Court.

Dr. Dennis C. de Paz welcomed the participants with a short message just before the exhibition game began. He extended his gratitude to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which he is a member of, through hand gestures.

In an interview, Mr. Aries Mercullo, the event organizer, stressed that the main goal is to embody ONE EVSU spirit through sportsmanship. “This is to promote camaraderie among employees of EVSU,” he stated.

The exhibition was a face-off between the Fraternal Order of Eagles and EVSU Blue Crocs. The official series of this game ended on February 3, when the latter brought home the bacon, proclaiming them as the overall winner of the President’s Cup 2.0.

“We have other plans for a league which will be organized by the admin; the rules are not set yet, but we are going to invite other agencies,” Mr. Mercullo added.

The exhibition game is not official and not a part of the competition; however, it is exhibited for entertainment purposes, without any serious effort to win, but just to showcase a repertoire of athletic strategies that may benefit the audience.


Photo Credit: The Industrial Wheel