When excellence discriminates and when a good thing disappoints
Excellence is in the air ... and out of airiness, people applaud excellence.
The President of the Philippines was being considered to be conferred with honorary degree in law by the top university of the country, the University of the Philippines. But students and alumni are against it because of his alleged involvement in the Extrajudicial Killing or EJK. Some alumni of law expressed that granting him that honorary degree is lowering the standard of excellence upheld by UP. But that honorary degree was also offered to past presidents like Estrada and Arroyo, who were not known for exemplary reputation. Arroyo is really a good economist except her later years as President was dominated by rumors of corruption. But the two past presidents rejected the offer. Having graduated from the said university, I think it is just proper to offer it to our current President even I am not a fan of him. But for the simple reason it was offered to presidents before him. Offering him that should not lower what kind of graduates UP produces because the students they choose are already creme de creme. I just find it pure snobbism and really discriminating not to offer it to the current President. Only those people who do not have that excellence ingrained in them will feel insecure.
The other area of my life where this excellence is being raised is about our pastry in the coffee shop. I think my other partners in the shop are right that we should aspire for excellence. But when that excellence is too much discussed, it is sometimes discriminating to those who are not yet there but aspiring to be there. Sometimes it hurts. The coffee shop is one of the good things that happened to me this year. But it is also a source of disappointment to relatives and friends who want job or a chance to have their pastries displayed in the coffee shop. I couldn't make it happen because I am not the only one in the business and sometimes I felt, the decision was always done by two people whose share was 1/8th each and both their shares are equivalent to my share. Our other partners want to be in the neutral ground. They want our coffee shop to be a place of excellence and not mediocrity. I want our coffee shop to be a cozy, homey place where our friends, officemates, church mates and relatives can feel at home..and not to discriminate them because of pastry we offer .. because their desire might be as simple as just to drink a good coffee with common and mundane pandesal or small ensaymada. It is not those pastries with complicated ingredients in it where you still need to figure out if those ingredients are really there.
At the end of the day, I still look UP to be skool ni Iska at Isko ...and maybe the reason that I dislike that we offer those complicated pastries with pepper or ginger or sampinit in an amount that even my self cannot sustain regularly in our coffee shop is because I still hope the students of UP to be simple. .. and not overacting with what to eat with a good coffee. It is because at the end of the day, anything goes with a very good coffee..who then cares what pastry are you eating!
And that is what I hope UP students will remain...simple in how they look but very good inside specially in the way they think. They are not bothered on what they wear or what they carry because they are already good enough to stand out. And they would not be bothered too to confer an honorary degree to a president whether he deserves it or not, because that should not influence who they are ..at the end, they should remain the Philippines creme de creme ... just like a good coffee which cannot be affected by the pastry that goes with it.
The President of the Philippines was being considered to be conferred with honorary degree in law by the top university of the country, the University of the Philippines. But students and alumni are against it because of his alleged involvement in the Extrajudicial Killing or EJK. Some alumni of law expressed that granting him that honorary degree is lowering the standard of excellence upheld by UP. But that honorary degree was also offered to past presidents like Estrada and Arroyo, who were not known for exemplary reputation. Arroyo is really a good economist except her later years as President was dominated by rumors of corruption. But the two past presidents rejected the offer. Having graduated from the said university, I think it is just proper to offer it to our current President even I am not a fan of him. But for the simple reason it was offered to presidents before him. Offering him that should not lower what kind of graduates UP produces because the students they choose are already creme de creme. I just find it pure snobbism and really discriminating not to offer it to the current President. Only those people who do not have that excellence ingrained in them will feel insecure.
The other area of my life where this excellence is being raised is about our pastry in the coffee shop. I think my other partners in the shop are right that we should aspire for excellence. But when that excellence is too much discussed, it is sometimes discriminating to those who are not yet there but aspiring to be there. Sometimes it hurts. The coffee shop is one of the good things that happened to me this year. But it is also a source of disappointment to relatives and friends who want job or a chance to have their pastries displayed in the coffee shop. I couldn't make it happen because I am not the only one in the business and sometimes I felt, the decision was always done by two people whose share was 1/8th each and both their shares are equivalent to my share. Our other partners want to be in the neutral ground. They want our coffee shop to be a place of excellence and not mediocrity. I want our coffee shop to be a cozy, homey place where our friends, officemates, church mates and relatives can feel at home..and not to discriminate them because of pastry we offer .. because their desire might be as simple as just to drink a good coffee with common and mundane pandesal or small ensaymada. It is not those pastries with complicated ingredients in it where you still need to figure out if those ingredients are really there.
At the end of the day, I still look UP to be skool ni Iska at Isko ...and maybe the reason that I dislike that we offer those complicated pastries with pepper or ginger or sampinit in an amount that even my self cannot sustain regularly in our coffee shop is because I still hope the students of UP to be simple. .. and not overacting with what to eat with a good coffee. It is because at the end of the day, anything goes with a very good coffee..who then cares what pastry are you eating!
And that is what I hope UP students will remain...simple in how they look but very good inside specially in the way they think. They are not bothered on what they wear or what they carry because they are already good enough to stand out. And they would not be bothered too to confer an honorary degree to a president whether he deserves it or not, because that should not influence who they are ..at the end, they should remain the Philippines creme de creme ... just like a good coffee which cannot be affected by the pastry that goes with it.
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