Lex Obiter: The Fashion Issue

Noel Cagigas Felongco I Weeks ago, the Lex Circle President came into the classroom, together with her minions, carrying with her bundles of shiny and attractive slicks. I thought it was, again, one of the resource-building projects of the law school student body, but it wasnt. It was for free, nay, not really for free: we had already paid for them upon enrolment. My first impression of the magazine was that of amazement and disbelief. I amazed for I was not expecting that some law students could be that artistic. Blame me all you want, but honestly I still subscribed to the stereotype that most law students are serious, logical, monotonous and, I must admit, fashion criminals until I saw the publication. I was in disbelief because I thought I was looking at a publication by the CAFA department. No, I was so sure: it was by the College of Law. It was called Lex Obiter: The Fashion Issue. Admittedly, I admired the way the people behind the publication used their sense of design and creativity in expressing the idea of law in the cover photo and how beautifully (I must admit also, the cover girl is indeed beautiful too!) they shot the image and configured it to be as elegant and glamorous as it can be, embellished it with style and class; without, however, sacrificing the main attraction: the idea of justice, the law and being a Carolinian. But before this paper turns into a design review, on the more profound side of things, there are some particular things which caught my attention aside from the stunning design and presentation of the publication. One of which was the remark of the Editor-in-Chief about the recently published magazine. He said that it was the most controversialLex Obiter to date. Then I wondered why. Is there something wrong with a fashion issue? Well, perhaps such question was indicative of my being a neophyte in law school. I forgot. I was new to the school, and I had not seen past publications of Lex Obiter. But what intrigued me more was the fact that one of our professors asked us to make a reflection more like a scrutiny to me about the publication. Then it occurred to me: it was not just any other publication after all it was the official publication of the College of Law in the University of San Carlos. So, I thought, There must be something... As guidelines, our professor posed three different questions to help his students go about their reflection on the publication and its variation. One question is to be answered by each subtopic. The True Carolinian Embodied? One of the main questions posed is that Does the Lex Obiter: Fashion Issue reflect the Vision of the University of San Carlos of a true Carolinian? At the outset, it can be clearly seen already that this is a question which seeks the justification of having a fashion issue for a school publication, and not only justification but the correlation between the fashion issue and the essence of the mantra, which the school adopts in leading the students towards the path of life and preparing them for the greater scheme of things. If we take a look at the Vision Statement of the University of San Carlos, it can be concluded that what it expresses, in the very pith of its spirit, is the desire to lead the world into a new perspective of life, a new manner of looking at things, and a new way of dealing with the things of the world: USC students are called to attract the world, not to the deeper recesses of abysmal remorse brought about by sin, but to the joys of creation, of reality, of the gift of life, and of the existence of God. This implies that USC students must know how to reach out to people. Of course, in my own view, given the modern times, a

young person is not just called to attract the world to the wonderful things and reach out to people. Period. He or she is, specifically, called to attract the world in a creative manner. Attraction, in Scholastic Ontology, cannot be effected, without beauty; and beauty is best exemplified through creativity. In course of reaching out to the world, one cannot remain stiff in his own shell, in his own comfort zone, and sticking onto his rigid and right way of doing things, cannot effectively reach out to the world in a creative manner. We are called to be creative in spreading the Word. We are called to be creative in letting the world know the Word. As believers in God and His servants, we are called to be creative and utilize our imagination in making known the Kingdom of God. Gone are the times when people regard rigidity, stiffness and absolute orthodoxy per se were the signs of holiness. Today, holiness, that is, being witness to the Word, cannot be achieved without reaching out to others, living with them, and understanding them. Understanding them, moreover, cannot be effectively done without knowing how to live like you are one with the people, without engaging in the daily activities of men, without dealing with people and with the things of the world, but with a twist: this time, not only does one deal with the things of the world and then stay worldly; he brings into the picture the idea of God, the Good News of the Word, and creates a sort of Transfiguration of the worldly things into the things which lead to the realization of a new society, where the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of Grace, into the things which lead us to the eternal presence of our Creator. It is in this light that I wish to highlight the effective ways which the fashion issue utilizes in embodying the Vision Statement of the University of San Carlos. True, the publication is the first fashion issue ever published in the school. True also, it incorporates in its presentation classy photographs of the people behind it, sections about gadgets, about movies, bags etc. It other words, it features worldly things. But, as one would notice upon closer examination, the element of emphasis on how to live and survive law school in some other ways, creative ways, at that, is present. Moreover, noticeable is the fact that in the heart of the magazine is an article about the new Dean of the College of Law, whom, we all know, is a personification of the Vision Statement of the University of San Carlos a woman of competence, noble character and concern for the community. And not just that, it seems, in my humble perspective, that she is not just a professor, but more properly speaking a mentor and a companion, one who has concern about her students, one who has the passion to help others in their journey toward the greater excellence and glorification of the Creator. More noteworthy, further, is the fact that she radiates the desire to learn more, to do the best, to be excellent in all our endeavours, and to be lifetime learners, never to settle for less, never to make friends with mediocrity. Obviously, she inspires students to endeavour for excellence in all aspects of their lives, especially in the pursuit of the legal profession. I do not think that the fashion issue just serendipitously placed that article at the heart of the magazine. It was placed there intentionally, deliberately, wilfully and purposefully. And why is that? It is because, after all the fancy and glamorous things that the magazine is using to get the attention of young people, the true essence and ideal of being a Carolinian is exposed. The beauty in this way of presenting the ideals of a true Carolinian is that it brings in a sense of freshness and a sense of reaching out to the world, especially to the young. This method, to me, is a laudable one and effective, at that. Here, the embodiment of a true Carolinian in the sense of being in the world without being attached to the world and bringing the Word to world in a creative manner is evident in the publication. Indeed, the publication does reflect the Vision of the University of San Carlos of a true Carolinian. Scientia, Virtus, Devotio, Fashio Now comes the question, Does the fashion issue embody Scientia, Virtus and Devotio? Without hesitating, I dare say that in some way the fashion does embody these three glistening gems.

Scientia, the Latin word for knowledge, is the gem many people endeavour to possess, but which is possessed only by few. To me, it is rather elusive, but not impossible to acquire. It is elusive, because it cannot be acquired by just sitting around and procrastinating. It is acquired through a concoction of talent, hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Hence, the true embodiment of scientia is a person who not only has talent, but also is hardworking, dedicated and persevering. All of us have some form of talent, but unfortunately not all of us has perseverance, dedication and the passion to work hard. This brings us to the second gem. Virtus, it is the gem which many covet, but not yet. Many people want this, but are discouraged oftentimes by the consequences it entails like rejection by the world, by people etc. However, it is that which makes man stronger against the odds and absurdities of life. It is that which gives hope and strength to people to pursue the path of righteousness, beat the temptations of the world, and stay focused on the things that do not perish, but last for eternity. And of course, Devotio. To me, it is the determining factor of success and it is the fusion of knowledge and virtue in attaining a certain end. Without it, knowledge would be wasted and virtue would be no more, for ones devotion is indicative of his virtue and his knowledge about what he should do for the community. Where does fashion come into the scene? I believe that the introduction of the idea of fashion per se, cannot readily connect the dots. But by introducing the bigger perspective, the idea of creativity, the dots can now be connected, as one cannot be creative in introducing the Word, without knowing first how to express it, and what to express. Moreover, witnessing to the Word entails virtue and devotion. It means that one must be persevering and strong against the odds of the endeavour, for will always be adversities in the way. Without virtue and devotion, that is, hard work and dedication to his cause of witnessing the word through creativity, he will surely fail in the long run. Admittedly, creativity inspires knowledge, which gives birth to virtue and, accordingly, results to devotion. Witnessing: A Creative Endeavor Witnessing to the Word is the Ultimate End of being a Carolinian. To me, being the ultimate end, it means that the Word, which God Himself made known to us through Christ, becomes embodied in the very person of each man. It is the transformation of any man, from being sinner to being the living epitome of an ideal believer. Ultimately, as what has been said above, witnessing to Word must never be a dull endeavour. It must be something which any person can enjoy and be happy about. Hence, it must be an endeavour which does not forfeit the creative nature which God instilled in our configuration as human beings. It is in us. Creativity is in us. It is there, and we must tap it in further glorifying God in our daily work. It goes without saying that, when we are called to witness to the Word, we are also called to tap and utilize what we are given. After all, like in one of the parables, the servant who uses the talents which the Master gave him is lauded for doing so. If one knows that he has the talent of creativity, and that he is called to witness to the Word, then it should be almost instinctive to use such talent in the process of witnessing to the Word. This is not without basis. This can be traced back to the very person who revealed to humankind that God really does exist and that He loves us unconditionally: Jesus Christ. He was a very good preacher, teacher, healer and friend we all know that. But what we overlook is the creativity which He used in reaching out to the people. He used the things which the people ordinarily use and deal with, like the fishing net, mustard seed, sycamore tree, the judge, etc. to reveal the Kingdom of God. It was very unlikely for the men of those times to liken the Kingdom of God to such, say, mundane things. But Jesus made use of them in proclaiming the Word of God. Perhaps, I dare say, the fashion issue attempts to embody such kind of creativity.