WITH extensive reviews and training in History, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, and General Information, Pautakan teams may now hold the answer to every quiz question except for one: whose team will bag the trophy this year?
With “Hall of Famer” Faculty of Arts and Letters taking a leave this year, the campus is speculating which team earn the bragging rights as the University’s “alpha brains” come March 6.
Faculty of Engineering
Consistently topping the Pautakan intercollegiate quiz bee is the Faculty of Engineering, which took home the Pautakan trophies in 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001.
To regain its glory, Engineering will be pinning its hopes on Hencie Paulo Valdez, a new member and an Electronics and Communications Engineering student. Valdez dominated Engineering’s X-Factor Math quiz last year.
Although team captain Kevin Cruz said that Engineering considers all the participating colleges as real threats, the team stands has a good chance of taking home the trophy. The members hold “question and answer” simulations during their free time to prepare themselves for the contest.
College of Rehabilitation Sciences
Even though the members of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) team are busy with their internship since most of them are in their senior year, team captain GV Liabres said that the members continue to prepare and study individually.
Compared to last year when it screened applicants through mock quizzes, CRS relied on faculty recommendation to recruit members this year.
Liabres said that they will “stick with last year’s gameplan, focusing on the field of Humanities, which helped them win the trophy in 1998 and 2000.”
Faculty of Pharmacy
Pharmacy which got its first Pautakan trophy way back in 1994, learned from last year’s competition that cramming is a no-no. Since then, the team has been busy practicing every Sunday.
“Last year, we were gathered only two weeks before the Pautakan,” team captain Josef Vincent Caneba said. “But seeing our potential, the administration decided to extend in a helping hand by giving us materials and helping us in any way possible.”
The team recruited its three new members through a quiz contest conducted by the Pharmacy-based Scholia Tutorial Club during the Pharmacy Week.
College of Science
Joining four veteran Pautakan warriors are three new members recruited through a quiz contest organized by the College.
Focusing on Current Events and Humanities, the six-time champions still find it hard to “level out” with other participants due to lack of resources and study materials. However, they promise to do their best to outdo perennial finalists Nursing, Commerce and Accountancy, Engineering and Medicine.
“We try to have group practices everyday, for at least two to three hours,” said Chemistry major Jalil Aguila, Science team captain.
Aguila said that they also coordinated with the College’s academic committee in
forming a systematized framework for the selection of future Pautakan warriors.
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
The Medicine team is composed of Pautakan veterans who were participants way back in their pre-med heydays, said team captain Miguel Cristobal.
Because of this, they remain optimistic of their fighting chance against Engineering, Commerce, Science, and Nursing.
“Being medical students, we are expected to be proficient with the sciences,” Cristobal said. “Now that AB’s gone, I’m sure everybody’s gunning for the championship.”
It’s sink or swim for Medicine as they try to remedy their waterloo, Arts and Humanities.
College of Commerce
The separation of the AMV College of Accountancy from Commerce makes this year’s Pautakan tough for the latter, Commerce coach Myrna de Vera said.
“The split with Accountancy left us with no veteran members and trainees,” she said.
Despite having a rookie-laden crew, De Vera assures everyone that the team will do its best to maintain Commerce’s finals standing. The team placed second in the 2005 Pautakan.
“The members of the team were chosen through recommendations, qualifying exams, mock contests, and interviews, that’s why we are assured that all our members have great potentials,” De Vera said.
Despite the separation of Commerce and Accountancy, both teams have shared sources and books.
“Years of working together with the College of Accountancy led us to this closeness,” De Vera said. “That’s why it’s hard to detach.”
Team captain Angelito Macapanpan also said that the team has been focusing on General Information to be flexible with all the subject areas.
Alfredo M. Velayo – College of Accountancy
They may represent Accountancy for the first time, but team captain Luijies Rufon and his four other squad members are veterans of Pautakan since they were part of Commerce last year.
“The team is very much intact, and the chance of winning this year is very high,” said Rufon, who expects stiff competition from Nursing, Engineering, Science and Medicine.
Accountancy had enlisted two new members, who had emerged best in their mock quiz bee screening.
Despite the team members’ conflict in schedule, they manage to get together, even if without a member or two, to participate in mock quizzes. They focus on every area even if “there are members who are very well-equipped in History, Science, Math,” Rufon said.
Conservatory of Music
Although the Music team has yet to win a trophy, members are confident on their new recruits who were chosen from the recommendations of students and faculty members.
“We may not have topped the Pautakan competition yet, but we are still eager to fight,” said Waltan Taccad, Music team member. “The only thing we need from our College is their never-ending trust.”
Often mocked as the “perennial underdog,” the Music team is not willing to back down without a fight.
“Expect us to perform good not only in Music, but in all subject areas,” Taccad said.
College of Education
With only one new member in their club, the Education’s veteran team who are mostly graduating seniors are gunning for the elusive Pautakan crown that the College had lost for 16 years.
“We are looking forward to achieve triumph,” Luis Santos, senior student majoring in History said. “We want to leave a legacy before we leave.”
The members are now reviewing their assigned forte subjects.
“In my case, my forte subject is Filipino, which is also my specialization program,” said Alvin Ringgo Reyes, the newest member of the team. “But I am also competent in English and the Social Sciences.”
Faculty of Civil Law
Reading newspapers and watching informative shows on TV are the potent weapons of the Civil Law club this year, team captain Errol Comafay said.
Fellow member Christian Siruno watches cable TV programs like the National Geographic Channel and international news during his free time, giving him the information he needs.
Although they lack time for reviewing because they have been preparing for the bar exams in September, the five-man team hopes to reach the finals.
College of Fine Arts and Design
Despite being buried by their thesis classes and defense during the first weeks of February, the members of the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) team said they will be spending the few remaining weeks mastering their assigned subjects.
“We will do our best to defend our College,” Mary Joanne Lesaca, senior Advertising student and member of the team, said.
To cope with time constraints, Lesaca said that each member was tasked to specialize in a certain area. Hers are History and the Humanities.
And as they dab their paintbrushes on canvases while eagerly waiting for March 6, the artists caution the other colleges to “expect the unexpected.”
College of Architecture
The College of Architecture sums up its quest for this year’s Pautakan crown in six letters: beware.
Even if the crown seems elusive to Architecture, Astin Lee said that the team is trying its best to make a record.
One of the techniques that the team uses is reviewing past lessons and subjects related with Pautakan quiz bee.
“During my free time, I make sure that I read my lessons to help me prepare for the competition,” he said.
He and fellow teammates meet each other for tutorials and exchange of new information.
For Lee, his fellows’ cooperation would be their key to win.
“Our team really counts on team work,” he said. “Because if we would not believe in cooperation, we would never go far.”
Because Pautakan is marking its 30th year, each team is exerting double the usual effort in order to earn the right to have its name inscribed in the historic annals of the longest-running intercollegiate quiz contest in the country.
