Re-finding Neverland

Where the white sands and the coral
Kiss the dark blue Southern Seas

Penelope’s first ever class in her first year in college was at Com Room 1, Guy Hall. It is one of the classrooms in the whole university where someone can get the best view of the Visayan sea. Penelope’s afternoon classes in that room would often get interrupted for a couple of seconds by the loud sound of a ship telling everyone that it’s about to leave. But she doesn’t mind. The noise had become music to her ears. She also loved looking outside the window of that classroom because whenever she does she is reminded of the reason why she decided to spend her four years of college in Silliman in the first place.

And the palm trees tall and stately
Wave their branches in the breeze

Sometimes when there was nothing to do, Penelope remembers laying for hours with her friends underneath the trees near the president’s house, feeling the newly-mowed grass on their hands, the wind brushing softly on their cheeks. They would just stay there, talking about hopes and dreams and problems and love until the evening mosquitoes begin to bite them, and no one would tell them to leave. Some other times when she’s alone waiting for her class to start, she would read the words written by students on the green benches located at the same area and make up stories behind them.

Stands a college we all honor,
In our hearts without a peer

Silliman was always a part of Penelope’s favorite childhood tales. Some of her uncles and aunts have also had their chance to enjoy the beauty of the campus during their time and they would often share what they recall of that beauty with her. The Neverland of carefree people was what she thought Silliman was back then. She loved the place way before she was able to set foot on its land.

Silliman, our Alma Mater,
Ever lovely, ever dear.

Penelope is now on her fourth year and she couldn’t help but wonder these days. What has happened to her dear old university—her Neverland?

With the new regulations and changes set before the students, every Sillimanian’s right to freely express his or her self, as well as the unique artistic and laidback feel of the university, has been put at the pedestal. And Penelope worries a lot about this. There are plans of transferring her college to another building away from the fresh breeze of the sea. The benches near the president’s home have already been taken out. There are now certain areas restricted to playing Frisbee, one of the much-loved sports of Sillimanians. The Freedom Wall has recently been painted plain. New buildings are sprouting in some places, taking the space that could have been used for more Acacia trees and Gumamelas. Penelope can’t even go to her major classes wearing only shorts and slippers, a fact that she used to brag about to her friends from highschool.

And so Penelope begins to wonder--what went wrong? Maybe it’s because of the transition of time, or change of interests and development of technology, or maybe it’s because of the growing population that grounds to having a few changes in infrastructure and policies, that’s why the Silliman before is heaps away from the Silliman right now.

If students would just spend more time jamming along to old school songs at the amphitheater instead of drinking vodka at secret spots until the wee hours of the morning, if students would just kill the apathy on relevant issues and talk less of their recent test results, then Silliman could still become the beautiful Boho sanctuary that it was.