It's more fun in COE.

I remember one of my instructors telling me that in their college, the word "KI-AT" is  justified in the truest sense of the word. Then he went to ask: "Kamo sa COE, unsa mo diha, ga-uga?"

I agreed with him. Yes. It's because "KI-AT" is not justified in COE. What we prove instead are the words "MAS KI-AT."

1. Take for example our sports events. It caters to the sports minded, the athletic, even to those who want to lose weight, wear a tan or stalk their crush.

1.1. It is the only time where make-up and sports converge on a focal point. Play volleyball non-stop and get a free blush-on from sunburns.

1.1.1. Nobody ever complains. The sweltering heat is nothing. The "KI-AT" takes it all away.

        

1.2. It is where we actually see how kinematic equations are used in real life as our professors calculate the trajectory of a basketball for a sure shot.

1.2.1. Okay, they can't really think that fast but hey the one who scored the three points is a board topnotcher, holds 2 master's degrees, a Ph.D and a membership  to the Integrated Bar.

1.2.1.1 It's more KI-AT when you see your professor who otherwise slouches in the classroom suddenly flex out his muscles and try to score for the team.

1.2.1.1.2. You thought he has arthritis, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, or even worse, KJ syndrome. You're wrong.

1.3. The sports events provide a perfect opportunity for fanboys, fangirls and fangays to scream 'I Love You" to their cherished crushes without the usual embarrassment. 'KI-AT' indeed.

1.3.1. We are known not for our players, but for our players who are good-looking. And yes, they don't mind the sunburn. They might even play under the threat of a solar flare.

              

1.4. Put all the elements of a sports event together and add the COE inoculum: TRASHTALK.

1.4.1 Other colleges get irked. COE students get high. We dare say COE TRASHTALK is the strongest in the land. So strong it could destroy logos. Ha ha.

2. How could one 'KI-AT" in a literary event?

2.1. I remember judging a literary festival as part of the celebration of Civil Engineering Week. One of the events was CHAIN STORY TELLING and one of the judges (from the same college as my instructor in the beginning of this post) went on announcing that the notion that CHAIN STORY TELLING must be FUN is a gross misconception. It need not be fun, it need not mention Naruto and his bunshins.

2.1.1. He was right. In theory, not all stories are fun. But I disagreed with him simply because he was in COE. And chain stories in this part of the universe exist to elicit laughter. Serious chain story telling? Get lost.

    

2.2. Quiz shows and spelling bees are taken to the next level. Others have tagboards. We have buzzers and light bulbs. Others simply flash the question on the screen. We play tic-tac-toe and picture puzzles.

2.2.1. The best quiz shows and spelling bees are in COE. Others assign summa cum laudes as quizmasters. In COE, the quizmaster is a comedian.

3. And finally, the most KI-AT of them all: the CULTURAL NIGHT.

3.1. Dreams come true.

                           

3.1.1. One gets to be J.Lo. The other, kissed by his crush. Still, one wins a solo performance or simply have a photo with a beautiful, beautiful lady judge.

                            

3.2. Gays become girls and boys become gays. Everyone shows some skin.

                            

3.2.1. This is the COE signature. At least one of the performances should involve straight men acting as gays, or  performers taking their clothes off. To others, these mean three letters: D-S-A. But to COE these mean yet another three letters: F-U-N.

                              

3.2.2. Fake boobs fall off, baby fats wobble, wigs get detached and people whom you thought only know how to implement process control on digital microcomputers surprise you with their toned bodies, back-flips and sexy dance.

3.3. There's a buffet. And it's eat all you can.

3.3.1. Admit it. Some, if not most girls and pa-girls, don't see the Ginoong Inhinyero candidates as people. They see them as delicacies. Ha ha.

    

3.3.1.1. After the show, either you get a hoarse voice from screaming how beautiful the body of that particular candidate was or you get a dry mouth from repeatedly swallowing your own saliva.(Makapanulon kag ahat.)

Back to the question. Is it dry and dull in COE? It crossed my mind to drag my instructor to one of these shows just to answer his condescending question.  After all, what could be more KI-AT than this? But I guessed it's not a good idea. One has to be a COE student to fully appreciate the fun. Something which he could never be.

                                                               Ki-at diay ha.

Photo Courtesy of James Gordo.