1st GM of 08/09!

Hi all,

So this past Friday, September 26, Barkada finally had our first general meeting of the 08/09 school year. After weeks of planning, filming for the video and countless hours editing it, everything culminated to the two hours that made up one of the best first general meetings Barkada has ever hosted.

At 6:30pm, people had already begun to fill the seats. By 6:50, the room was packed with excited members, both old and new, and they were all busy mingling and checking out the dance practice/biggie smalls mentoring program/volunteering sign up booth. This fall’s Sari-Sari, put together by the awesome PR’s, were all over the room being read and enjoyed. By 6:55, the meeting commenced.

It started off with an introduction of the e-board. Then the promotional video was shown. It video features short interviews of prominent figures around NU community that work or have worked with Barkada, as well as some of the founding members of the group. The PAAC co-chairs also made an appearance. After the promo video, the Barkada Superheroes video was shown. IT WAS AWESOME! The entire e-board played different superheroes (or faux superheroes) and went on a journey around campus learning about the different things the “academy” (aka Barkada) does. They also had a tough time trying to save Mr. Garsha and fending off the Jabbawockeez. The video touched on events such as the ISSI Cruise, Kamayan, Ski Trip, Political Info Session, Dance-a-thon, and more! Check out the video’s on youtube, they should be up fairly soon.

After the videos, we played an ice breaker. The point of the game was to get everyone linked to each other by commonalities. It proved that everyone is connected in some way, shape, or form. So deep.

After the ice breaker, Gawad Kalinga, a not-for-profit organization that gives back to the Philippines- made a short presentation on GKU- Gawad Kalinga Universities. GKU’s mission is to get colleges involved with the movement, and so the GK reps were there to try and spark interest in Barkada members. To support GK, Barkada will be hosting a dance marathon in January. More details as the semester progresses

After a quick power point presentation of upcoming events and some announcements, we were finally able to eat. There was an assortment of Filipino/Asian foods available, and everything was suuuper delicious! It was a good way to conclude the meeting. Two Barkada t-shirts were raffled off at the end as well!

People stuck around until about 9:15pm, when the room finally cleared out. All in all, the general meeting was a success. Barkada definitely has a strong presence in the NU community this year, and with all the events lined up, this year will prove to be exciting and crazy busy. It’s all worth it in the end with Barkada though. Trust me.

Can’t wait for the 2nd GM this Thursday! Barkada does: KICKBALL!


- Jaime (/Harry Potter)