AJA!!! [Part 2]
Part 1 is the entry below this.
Anyway, moving on.. since I've discussed my first battle in the previous entry, let's proceed to Battle no. 2: The never-ending discrimination against Mass Com students.
What do non-masscom people have against us? Here are examples of the hirits I got today.
"People in masscom just make pa-cute."
(When I mixed up Newton with Galileo) "Ano ba yan.. Masscom ka nga."
Well, yeah I know.. those were jokes. I'm used to these types of hirits actually. Like, when I told somebody that I'm usually stressed out, he replied: "How can you be stressed out? You're in Broad Comm". Yeah.. another joke. Pag pinatulan mo, either pagtutulungan ka ng other non-masscom people around or tatawagin ka namang defensive.. So what do I do? I just usually laugh.. kunyari no offense taken. But after some time, these comments become annoying instead of funny. Lalo na pag sunod-sunod at parati mo naririnig. 
Why such comments? Is it because we don't have Math? Haller... Just because we don't take higher math, does that make us less intelligent?
Is it because we crack corny jokes? Are our jokes too low for your taste?
Is it because we don't take "difficult" Science subjects?
Do you think our courses are easy? Do you think it'll be easier a person to walk through college if he/she took a masscom course?
They probably forgot that even if we didn't take higher math, Media was instrumental in overthrowing two presidents.
They probably discount the fact that even if we didn't have an in depth study of the constitution, Media continue to serve as the watchdog of our democracy. (The full coverage of the impeachment trial.. People running to media when they want to expose something... Freedom of speech being exercised through Media... etc.)
How can students of something so powerful be looked down upon?
I just don't get it. People tend to form this stereotype against Masscom. If you must know, the cut-off for my course is 1.75. Oh Well.. Broad Comm would like to maintain its high standards. But people will always have something to say about us. If we get high grades, they'd say, "e masscom lang kasi." Well, Masscom isn't as easy as they think it is.
In other courses, you have to memorize complicated math formulas or bills or articles in the constitution, names...etc. True..that's hardwork. But the thing is...IF YOU'RE A DILIGENT STUDENT, YOU WON'T HAVE PROBLEMS. You only have to deal with yourself. You're taking the exam, and of course, You're the one getting the grade too.
In Masscom, especially in a production class.. no matter how diligent a student you are, even if you've memorized all the equipment controls, the flow of the script, and the step-by-step execution of commands, YOU WON'T GET A HIGH GRADE BECAUSE OF INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. You will always have a crew, and the success of your production depends on the effeciency of your crew. The director is the one graded, but the grade depends on the over-all result of the production. If your camera operator screws your shot during a live on-air production, you won't get a perfect score. If you come in late, you get a zero on that production. If you only have 15 seconds left before air time and your technical director hasn't arrived yet, you will have to grab anyone available to fill in (even if that person hasn't read your script yet and most probably wouldn't know what to do) and just pray for the best. Point is, our courses entail teamwork. That I think is more complicated than simply taking an exam because if you fail an individual exam, you have no one to blame but yourself. In our production classes, you have to make sure that everbody functions well. There are 15 of us in the class.. which means we will be equally worrying about 15 productions. Because aside from practicing our own script, we also have to make time for practicing our crew assignments in the other productions.
In other courses, during exams, if you get one number wrong, you will always have other chances because there are other numbers. In my production class, we automatically get the lowest score if our production is undertime or overtime. Kahit one second overtime or undertime lang. Talk about pressure. So... I hope at this point, masscom wouldn't seem as easy as people think it is. But wait.. there's more...
I'd like to think my course is a combination of different courses. In my Broad Com 121 class, we're required to submit:
-A script with camera shots and/or editing guide (Masscom)
-Story board (Fine Arts)
-Camera and Talent Blocking (Theater)
-Crew Assignment
-Rehearsal Schedule (A bit of Math kasi all productions involve precision.. you have to know how many seconds to allot for camera one, for camera two..etc. How to divide the minutes so as not to be undertime or go overtime. By the second ang bilang sa production. Believe it or not, every single second matters.)
-Production Design: listing and illustrations, location sets, props, costumes (Fine Arts ulit or pwede rin Interior Design or pwede rin Theater, or pwede rin Architecture, or pwede rin Economics kasi you have to work within a limited budget if you're shooting something outside the studio or kung gagastos for the props).
And here's the best part.. we have to do all that.. WITHIN A WEEK! Kaya niyo yun???? Ako hindi yata.. 21 units ako this sem. So along with all the requirements I've just mentioned, I have BC 103 which requires us to write scripts every week... I also have BC 102, a Radio production class, I have Comres 101 which requires a group report, and a research paper (sort of like a mini-thesis) by the end of the semester, I have COMM 120 which gives us readings full of courtroom jargon, I have Journ 101 which asks us to write straight news articles on the spot, and I have FRENCH 10. So.. yun ba ang madali? 2 script/news-writing classes.. sabay-sabay. 2 performance classes.. we have to edit videos pa pala for our TV prod.. Wow grabe. Ang pag-eedit nga, it takes more than one night. So hindi na kami matutulog. At hindi lang ako ang alam kong ganitong klase ang paghihirap.. almost everybody I know in my batch are taking up 21 units. Yung iba may PE pa sila ha..
It's not easy being in Masscom. Yes, I know that in other courses, you also have sleepless nights because you need to study a lot of things. But our sleepless nights are literally SLEEPLESS too. We usually hold overnights not because we want a slumber party or just to make pa-cute.. we usually have them so we can rehearse a drama production, or we can brainstorm for the class production..etc. Nagsisimula kami bago pa lumubog ang araw.. and guess what.. lumabas na ulit ang araw, di parin kami tapos. Ganun kahirap. It's not just about memorizing.. It's about putting into action and practicing what we've learned with our fellow classmates.
I may not know who invented gravity, or how to graph the square root of 10, but it doesn't make me less of a person. I don't think it makes me less intelligent than non-masscom people either. The reason why we don't take higher math is because we won't use it in our course anyway - the very same reason why someone from Molecular Biology and Biotechnology for example, don't study direction procedures or camera techniques and movements. If you're not going to use it when you work, then why study it?
I'm not saying masscom people can live without math.. that's impossible. But the thing is, basic math is enough for our course. It's not like we intentionally run away from math.. in fact, I encourage other people to take a Math subject for the science GEs. But please... Don't think less of our course just because it's in masscom. Siyempre... pagtatanggol ko course ko.. mahal ko to e! AJA!!!!
I'm not saying there are easy courses and there are hard ones. I think that as long as you don't have the passion for your course, you will find that course difficult.
I have to go and start reading about the First Ammendment of the US constitution and the Espionage Act. I'm currently reading a photocopy of a court's decision on the case of five russians who were accused of inciting rebellion against the US because it waged war against Germany. (O, diba pang-Pol.Sci din kami?  ) | 
I can't blame you guys... I have to admit, it IS strange to be reading an entry from someone who once said: "I DON'T BELIEVE IN BLOGS. I have my own journal, and unlike blogs, the things I write there are uncensored." But then again... here I am, typing my very first entry. I am fully aware that by giving in to the blog bandwagon, I am swallowing not only my words, but my pride as well. So what? Sue me if you must... haha 
Umm.. Why do I sense raised eyebrows?..... FINE 
"feeling popular". There! You happy now??!! haha... joke. 
God, I still can't believe I have my own blog! haha.. Oh well... WELCOME AND ENJOY. 