COLUMN

  • FEU Advocate
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  • January 20, 2026

Back to ‘normal’

Open TikTok and you will likely run into the ‘factory reset’ trend within minutes. Every video follows the same arc: queerness cast as a phase, a chance meeting with the ‘right’ partner, and a punchline declaring a return to being straight, often set to Moira Dela Torre's ‘Titibo-tibo.’ To some, the joke lands because it leans on an old assumption, one that treats sexual orientation as a temporary detour rather than an identity, erasing queer experiences and reinforcing a regressive, harmful logic.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • November 05, 2025

Beneath the blues

In Far Eastern University, Medical Technology (MedTech) students share the same dream: to wear that white clinical uniform and blue scrub suit. And as someone who was fated to wear one, I sometimes wish I were not. Because no reference book nor one-and-a-half-hour lecture would have told me that chasing the dream meant crashing down and losing myself.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • October 14, 2025

Foul play on fair pay

Two seasons ago, we saw progress. Two seasons later, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s basketball division is back to square one with a lower pay rate for its officiating heads and only a second-rate division after the men’s. As if striving for an equal recognition is not hard enough, the league further makes this goal impossible to attain.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • September 04, 2025

Pressed to the Ground

It is a very fortunate situation when a big event at Far Eastern University (FEU), like ‘Tatak Tamaraw,’ coincides with the release of a new issue by the official student publication. With more students on campus, the newspaper’s stories have a wider reach and greater chance of being amplified. However, rather than being flipped through by hands and read by eyes, it was feet stomping on it that caught my attention. 
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • July 24, 2025

Tapos Na ang Klase, Pero Tuloy ang Laban

Sa bawat sandaling lumilipas sa pagitan ng pagtatapos at kasalukuyan, laging nabubunyag ang mga katotohanan at realidad na sasampal sa kinamulatan ng bawat mag-aaral—na ang tunay na hamon ng buhay ay walang panimula at hindi natatapos sa pamantasan.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • June 30, 2025

Batang Quiapo Hates Women

Women in Batang Quiapo rarely have autonomy. They are either love interests, helpless mothers, sacrificial victims, or fleeting temptations. Their role is to react to the choices of men, to their violence, never to shape the story themselves. In contrast, male characters are given complexity, backstories, and arcs of transformation—even when they begin as violent criminals.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • June 24, 2025

A for Accepted or Acceptance? 

After two years of persevering to pass, the time has come for us, Medical Technology (MedTech) students, to take a qualifying exam that would either lead us to promotion or redirection. With every wrong shade of a letter, our chances of stepping into the next stage of our MedTech journey shrinks. Which begs the idea that our dreams rely on a 300-item exam and an at least 2.0 Quality Point Average (QPA). 
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • June 18, 2025

In Thy Silent Halls, Justice Must Speak

To convict Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte, public clamor must resound its sovereign will. But if academic institutions alone remain silent in demanding accountability, it circles back to a repressive education system that protects the elite, breeds impunity, and betrays every Filipino.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • April 20, 2025

With pride, no prejudice

The senatorial elections are just around the corner, and assembling a 12-person lineup is more or less a challenge. While trapos continue to dominate the surveys, many still hope for real change and continuously ruminate which candidates can prioritize the Filipino people’s best interests, including the LGBTQIA+ community.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • March 29, 2025

Trans women are women

In a society fond of definitive labels, it is tough to be boxed into an identity you feel unfit for. Apart from fighting for acceptance as a distinct gender identity in general, trans women also struggle to be recognized within the similarly marginalized community of women they feel tied to. Regardless of the many contentions invalidating their existence, trans women’s self-determination as women is enough to make them so.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • March 24, 2025

Mabuhay

Maraming paraan upang makapagpahinga. Maaaring ito’y limang minutong pagpikit, paglanghap ng paboritong Lucky Me Spicy Beef, o isang road trip papuntang Antipolo kasama ang tropa. Minsan, ito’y paglalaan ng oras para lumayo at mapag-isa. Ngunit para sa pagod na humahagkan sa buto at bumabalot sa kaluluwa, ang pahinga ay hindi basta pinagpipilian—ito’y isang pribilehiyo na hindi nakakamit ng lahat sa gitna ng hindi pagkakapantay ng antas ng lipunan at mundo.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • February 24, 2025

No alternatives for EDSA rising

If institutions like Far Eastern University (FEU) do not take a clear stand on commemorating the EDSA People Power Rising, it only heightens apathy among the youth—reflecting the failed education system once sought to be reformed when students amassed to overthrow a dictator and uphold democracy.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • January 18, 2025

Piece of the cake

Student organizations are what I consider as the most valuable asset of any university. So when these groups do not receive enough recognition and budget, it speaks on how truly ‘student-centered’ an institution is, especially when it results in student-leaders grappling with each other for a possible budget increase. 
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • November 17, 2024

Ako na nasa harap

Hindi alam nina Mama at Papa na tinataya ko ang aking buhay sa lansangan– nakikipagsiksikan sa kilos-protesta para lang makapagsulat tungkol sa suliranin ng masa. Buhat ito ng takot na pagbawalan ako, dahil alam nilang mabilis akong mapagod sa init at mapuspos sa dami ng madla. Gayunpaman, hindi pagtiis ang natutuhan ko rito, kung hindi ang pagtindig sa harap ng hanay ng mga sinusupil sa lipunan.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • November 14, 2024

When competence isn’t enough

The United States (US) and Philippine (PH) political landscape seem to have a striking similarity: electing ‘strongmen’ over more qualified female candidates. This trend has serious implications, not just for equality, but national progress as well.
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  • FEU Advocate
  • ·
  • July 27, 2024

In case you miss her

As the new season of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) dawns, the name Rachel Anne Daquis is still yet to be found. This marked the “Queen Tamaraw’s” third missed conference and a year of her absence from the Philippine volleyball scene. While fans are longing for her comeback, the intriguing presence of her retirement concerns many of her supporters, including me.
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