Okay, so here's my two cents' worth regarding the cheering competition back in St. Paul -- (Warning: If you're presently a Paulinian of P'que, is loyal to death to your team, is beyond reason and has not been taught to respect opinion, then please do not proceed.)



      A little past 1:30pm, AJ and I went up to the gym -- and hello, what a sight, it was jampacked. I left AJ by the entrance and squeezed past the throng of people to take my seat in the bleachers with some friends from the lower batches. We had a pretty good view of all the pep squads although of course, the cheerdancers had their backs to us.



      It was not long before the competition started. I watched. Cursed a little. Watched some more. Turned to my friends to crack a joke about some pep squad's step. Watched again. Suppressed a yawn. Forced myself to watch again. Answered a call, then texted someone. Watched some and said, "In fairness..." In the end, I seriously felt that the highlight of the cheering competition was when I screamed, "Mahiya naman kayo sa mga alumni!" That, and the moment I realized that I wanted to write about this experience on my blog.



      I have to say this for it's the truth: I was sooo disappointed that day. I had to agree with my friend when she said she should have stayed home and slept -- perhaps that would have been more enjoyable. But that's not the worst part... I think what disapppointed me most was the fact that I knew all the performers could have done better -- way, way better than the mediocrity that they called Cheering Competition 2003.



      "So what the hell is the matter?" you ask. Let me justify myself.



      I graduated from St. Paul Paranaque in the year 2000. Back in those days, many competitions helped burn the spirit of batch loyalty -- we had the Songfest (a singing contest, of course), Sabayang Pagbigkas (choral recitation in Filipino), JazzTri (a dance contest), and of course, the usual batch rivalry that resulted from Clean-Up or Newspaper Drives. The love for one's batch is essential to the life of the P'que Paulinian; everyone feels the need to stand up for their own batch at some point of their high school lives. This "spirit" is never more present than during Intramurals, specifically during Cheering Competition, where a worthy performance will forever etch your batch's name in the walls of the institution. It was a hallowed tradition that showcased the best of Paulinian creativity, talent, unity and grace under pressure -- that even the alumni would not dare miss this event.



      Until now, I could not understand why a couple of years after our graduation, this tradition was challenged. In 2002, the Intrams Committee changed the rules: they randomly assigned the students into four team colors -- hence "dissolving" the batches even during the Cheering Competition. This meant that the teams would be made up of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors all mixed up, with no rationale behind the assignment of teams.



      Now what does this have to do with the disappointment I felt? Believe me, it is the root cause of the problem.



      You see, by nature, people tend to form groups (ahem, ahem, OrCom student speaking :p). In this case, a batch is considered a group because there is a common factor among all members of a specific batch: they are of the same level in the academic hierarchy. Besides, over the years, one would meet more batchmates than students from the other batch; it's just a fact of life. Time would also strengthen the bond between the members of the batch, and from experience, this bond is most evident when the batch as a whole is being put to the test, like say, during Cheering Competition. I admit that batch rivalry (which is, in fact, a side effect of batch loyalty) has led to some pretty nasty stuff in the past -- word wars, door-slamming, students becoming 'territorial' -- but I've always believed that these things contribute to healthy competition that only serves to push students to be all that they can be.



      When the administration messed up with this age-old value of batch loyalty, everything went downhill from there. If the students are grouped randomly into team colors, they do not have anything fundamentally common among them, thus, their relationship as members of a team does not encourage loyalty or passion or motivation. Therefore, there is no drive to succeed. After all, why bother? They don't know these people are anyway, and the one month that is given for practices is not enough to foster a bond that will rival batch loyalty.



      Another thing, it is inevitable that the fourth year students will lead the teams. Seniority plays a big role in leadership -- all the more in a group of high school students. Therefore, the creativity that is utilized in coming up with a concept all the way to the carrying out of the actual performance is monopolized by the seniors. The lower batches are not trained at all, not given much chance to shine -- and then, of course, the vicious cycle continues.



      *Sigh* I see no other explanation for the deterioration of the quality of the performances during Cheering Competition in St. Paul. Some may think this is only because of my own loyalty to my batch, but no. I am speaking not as a member of Batch 2000 but as a Paulinian; just a Paulinian. I wish there were some way I could make the sisters and my former mentors realize that the Paulinians can do so much more, really, if given the chance. I wish they would look review performances of the past batches, compare it to this year's performance, and consider the possibility that they may have made a mistake along the way.



      When I ask myself why I care so much about these things, I remember how my sister always says she wants to follow my footsteps. She knows she wants to study in St. Paul. Perhaps that's the reason why I bother myself with these little things... I want my sister to receive the best education possible -- complete with an environment that teaches her how to be passionate about things and how to love "her own."



      But right now, I can only hope and pray that no one would ever have to use the phrase, "They don't make Paulinians like they used to..."