Study Hub Hunt in Elbi

As the midterm exams are fast approaching, you might want to find a cozy place to write your papers, conduct meetings, and study for the first wave of exams this summer. Pressured? Fear not because here’s our review of six study hubs near the campus.

CIA reviewed them according to affordability, ambiance, availability of Wi-Fi, quietness, and business hours.

McDonald's

Most of us might have already dined at this affordable fast food restaurant not just to have a quick meal but to conduct group meetings or study sessions. This 24-hour “study hub” offers food and beverages ranging from as low as P25 to P172, and since this is basically a diner, don't expect that it’s gonna be quiet. So to keep your head cool while studying, you might want to enjoy a McFloat or a sundae with friends.

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UPLB's Got Talent 2014 (Top 40 Talents in UPLB)

We asked over 13,000 UPLB students what their talents are. Some students are asking why we need this information. Some even argue that they don't have talents. Well, we ask this because we know how talented UPLB students are and we want to get to know them better. At the same time, we use our talent database to give opportunities to students so they can bring their intangible assets into play.

In the past, we've asked students to showcase their talents by performing during university events. These performances range from singing, dancing, acting, stand-up comedy, and even staged surprise performances. Last year, we looked for potential Communication and Infotech Assistants (CIA) in the talent database. These students are now getting paid to write articles and develop components of the OSAM System for us.

Here are the Top 10 Most Popular Talents in UPLB:

Rank	Talent	Frequency (N=13130)
1	singing	26.87%
2	dancing	21.71%
3	drawing	10.26%
4	writing	8.21%
5	acting	5.40%
6	playing basketball	2.85%
7	cooking	2.73%
8	musically inclined	2.48%
9	playing the piano	2.43%
10	public speaking	2.12%

The complete list of the 40 most popular talents of UPLB students form the UPLB-shaped visual representation below:

Surprisingly, sleeping has gained so much popularity that it's now a popular talent among UPLB students.

While we were tabulating and looking for trends in the talent database, we couldn't help but notice some unpopular talents that are worth mentioning. Here are 15 of these talents:

We don't really know how you do these especially fixing a broken heart and competitive eating but thank you UPLB students for sharing this with OSA. We hope that you would continue to hone your talents so you can use them to better serve the Filipino people.

And we apologize for deceiving you, there is no OSA-hosted talent show just yet. But feel free to let us know in the comments if you want us to host something like this!

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5 Reasons Why You Should Vote in the UPLB USC-CSC Elections

For the past couple of weeks, our classes have been visited by familiar colors and faces for one reason: to campaign. The student council election is coming!

University and college student council candidates have been consistent and insistent in making us remember their names, faces, credentials, and colors, encouraging everyone to vote for them.

Aside from supporting your friends and earning incentives on some subjects, here are five reasons why you should vote on February 19 and 20, 2014.

1. Voting is not just a right, it is a responsibility. As students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, it is one of our responsibilities to choose reliable student leaders who are bold enough to raise our concerns, fight for our student rights, and represent the student body. Good governance starts from good decisions and responsible actions. If you are a responsible and sensible UPLB student, vote!

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What's Up this February Fair?

Activities of student organizations featured in this article are based on the activity permits processed by the Student Organizations and Activities Division.

The 2014 UPLB February Fair is here with the theme Youth Revolution: Advancing our Unified Call for Social Change. The event aims to educate the sectors not only of UPLB but also the surrounding communities about the present social issues, importance of collective leadership in instilling nationalistic values, and the democratic rights, we, as a people have to assert to gain genuine social change.

Every year, the UPLB community looks forward to the events in Feb Fair. What’s in store for us this year?

photo from UPLB Feb Fair 2013 Facebook page

Isko't Iskas love their music. This year, over twenty musical acts will perform in the fair. Watch out for Up Dharma Down, Callalily, Sandwich, Imago, and indie bands like Penguin, Maude, and Hidden Nikki. Hip hop listeners will be buzzed to see artists like JLP, Gnarrate, Protege, and Zaito. Watch out for the special performances by Theater Horse and UPLB’s very own Kairos Band. This year’s special guest is political activist Juana Change. On Valentine’s day, be ready to rock on to Rock United, a concert organized by The UPLB Jocks. The UPLB Development Communicators' Society will also hold their annual Star in Carillon singing contest. Indeed, 2014 February Fair is the ultimate concert experience!

The much anticipated pageant is here! On February 12 and 14, watch the Gorgeous 2014: Classy, Stunning, Empowered of the UPLB Nexus Filiae Sorority. Sixteen beautiful ladies from various student organizations and sororities in the university will battle it out on the stage to be crowned the next Gorgeous.

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Greet any UPLB student this Valentine season!

You heard it right. We'll let you text using our SMS facility again this season! Messages you submit until February 13 (4PM) will be delivered to your intended recipients on February 14.

Services such as this may be out of hand but rest assured that what we do at SOAD undergo careful planning and development. This service is used by our office to test our SMS facility. During the initial implementation last Christmas and last New Year, we tested the capability of our facility to send scheduled SMS.

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