The UP Mindanao student body is a collage of different personalities and can be classified in many interesting ways. First is through bags. Bags have always been part of a student’s life because they carry your belongings. If you’re a UP Mindanao student or someone who has been there, you’ve probably seen these students with distinct kinds of bags. The students with backpacks are the hardworking students. They always bring books and school stuff in them. They are commonly seen in libraries or benches alone. During classes, they always place their bags behind them or in an empty chair, assuring that no one will sit besides them. Carrying their backpacks with them resembles turtles that always bring their home. Students with shoulder bags are the “kikays”. They always bring “kikay” kit and other cosmetics. They are more concerned about enhancing their appearance for their boyfriends or to get one, or two if they have none. Student without bags on the other hand are the lazy ones. They do not even bring notebooks and pens. They are the type that is just happy-go-lucky in their studies. Your bag choice generally connotes what kind of an image you want to show because your bag carries what belongs to you that reflect who you are as a person in general.
Next, if you are a UP Mindanao student, you generally fall into being a dormer, boarder, or resident. If you smell a distinct scent of pungent, overnight body sweat in the air, early in the morning, your seatmate is probably a resident of the E.B.L. Dormitory. They often miss their showers because the dorm normally runs out of water daily in the morning. The dormers are the ones who wander around campus in their pajamas or evening wear, but always manage to be in their rooms, in time for bed check. The dorm is also a haven of youngsters. This is because only the freshies can tolerate the excessive breeding ground of microorganisms they call the communal bathroom, and also, they are the ones who have not yet been infected with the “Water Deficiency Syndrome.” The boarders outside campus are those who have all the time in world. Because no curfew restricts them, they are the ones who can stay in the campus till dawn, or play Dota in an Internet café overnight. If you see a student with wrinkled clothes and dark, panda eyes, you have probably spotted a boarder. Downtown residents usually are the ones most well dressed and well fed among the three. Their ironed clothes, polished shoes, and healthy snacks especially prepared by mama/papa, are all topped by their fast access to resources like extra money. However, you can’t easily find the residents in campus; they’d rather spend their free time in Shoe Mart than here in UP Mindanao far away from the civilization. Indeed, after a day’s struggle in the battlegrounds of UP Mindanao, it is reassuring to go back to the security that safety, freedom, and familiarity the home brings.
UP Mindanao students have their own “ammo in the battlefield” to be judged within the community their outfits. Another way of classifying them is by the way they project themselves. There are three general types of outfits for a UP Mindanao student. They are the “Fashionista”, “Casual”, and “Latagaw” people. The Fashionista are those students who want to show off their eye-catching appearances that resemble a fashion runway even though their runway is only in school or the Kanluran grounds. They have this desire to stand out or be recognized among all the other students. They hold this uniqueness with the way they present themselves towards others. Then there are those “Casual” people who don’t show off much and just want to get along with the majority of the community. They are those who want to be accepted as “normal” people. And then, there are those students who don’t care what other people will say about them. These students are the “Latagaw”. They hold a rule that “rules” or norms don’t matter to them. They have this strange appearance as if they haven’t had taken a bath. But in reality, they do care about what others think about them, they want others to think that they don’t care. They actually have the same pint as the Fashionistas, who want to be different. Outfits therefore, are not just a necessity for they are more than that. Outfits hide our true identity and help us project our chosen personality.
Some may find this nonsensical, or immaterial for college life, academics matters more. However, that’s not true---partly. An ant functions well in an ant hill, and a hat in a head, this goes the same with students. Students need to feel that they belong, to a community, to a drawer in the UP system where they can consider as their niche. Myriads of drawers compose UP Mindanao, and they are like lactobacilli shirota strain, “Nag mu-multipy sila!” Amidst this, students have to find a place where they can be comfortable enough to function well, as students, and as individuals. Now, “Do you know where you belong?”
Next, if you are a UP Mindanao student, you generally fall into being a dormer, boarder, or resident. If you smell a distinct scent of pungent, overnight body sweat in the air, early in the morning, your seatmate is probably a resident of the E.B.L. Dormitory. They often miss their showers because the dorm normally runs out of water daily in the morning. The dormers are the ones who wander around campus in their pajamas or evening wear, but always manage to be in their rooms, in time for bed check. The dorm is also a haven of youngsters. This is because only the freshies can tolerate the excessive breeding ground of microorganisms they call the communal bathroom, and also, they are the ones who have not yet been infected with the “Water Deficiency Syndrome.” The boarders outside campus are those who have all the time in world. Because no curfew restricts them, they are the ones who can stay in the campus till dawn, or play Dota in an Internet café overnight. If you see a student with wrinkled clothes and dark, panda eyes, you have probably spotted a boarder. Downtown residents usually are the ones most well dressed and well fed among the three. Their ironed clothes, polished shoes, and healthy snacks especially prepared by mama/papa, are all topped by their fast access to resources like extra money. However, you can’t easily find the residents in campus; they’d rather spend their free time in Shoe Mart than here in UP Mindanao far away from the civilization. Indeed, after a day’s struggle in the battlegrounds of UP Mindanao, it is reassuring to go back to the security that safety, freedom, and familiarity the home brings.
UP Mindanao students have their own “ammo in the battlefield” to be judged within the community their outfits. Another way of classifying them is by the way they project themselves. There are three general types of outfits for a UP Mindanao student. They are the “Fashionista”, “Casual”, and “Latagaw” people. The Fashionista are those students who want to show off their eye-catching appearances that resemble a fashion runway even though their runway is only in school or the Kanluran grounds. They have this desire to stand out or be recognized among all the other students. They hold this uniqueness with the way they present themselves towards others. Then there are those “Casual” people who don’t show off much and just want to get along with the majority of the community. They are those who want to be accepted as “normal” people. And then, there are those students who don’t care what other people will say about them. These students are the “Latagaw”. They hold a rule that “rules” or norms don’t matter to them. They have this strange appearance as if they haven’t had taken a bath. But in reality, they do care about what others think about them, they want others to think that they don’t care. They actually have the same pint as the Fashionistas, who want to be different. Outfits therefore, are not just a necessity for they are more than that. Outfits hide our true identity and help us project our chosen personality.
Some may find this nonsensical, or immaterial for college life, academics matters more. However, that’s not true---partly. An ant functions well in an ant hill, and a hat in a head, this goes the same with students. Students need to feel that they belong, to a community, to a drawer in the UP system where they can consider as their niche. Myriads of drawers compose UP Mindanao, and they are like lactobacilli shirota strain, “Nag mu-multipy sila!” Amidst this, students have to find a place where they can be comfortable enough to function well, as students, and as individuals. Now, “Do you know where you belong?”
