A FAMOUS sports quotation from Greg Hickman says "Whenever you get knocked down in the game of life, immediately get up, get better and get going again." This can be best applied to our brothers and sisters who were victims of typhoon Pepeng that hit Baguio City and Benguet province.

The calamity that left many casualties, damages in properties and landslides, however, did not leave the victims helpless and hopeless in 'picking up the pieces' and start moving on again with their lives. No matter what happens, as the old adage says "life must go on."

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

For us who are more fortunate for not being badly affected by the catastrophe, as well as more importantly bearing in mind the lessons that the calamity teaches us, we must strive hard to help our brothers and sisters in 'renewing' their lives.

The series of bad weather in the past weeks has derailed many of our activities both in and out of the school campus. For one, the administration of Saint Louis University has disallowed our sports delegation to participate in this year's University Games in Iloilo.

Of course it is human nature that the feeling of disappointment or frustration sets in among our athletes because participation in the annual prestigious Unigames is something that all of them always eagerly look forward to. Aside from their exposure to the different strategies of their respective sports events, the Unigames had always been an effective and efficient instrument in bridging the gaps between and among schools from the different regions in the country.

We came to realize, though, that the disapproval was handed down for a paramount and all-important reason - our safety and well-being. Thus, its primary and utmost concern is not only for us to compete and win as much medals but rather, added to that goal is that we must at all times stay safe from all harm and danger. SLU is accountable to the parents and guardians of these student-athletes.

Finally, we realize too that allowing us to participate in the University Games is not a right but rather an additional benefit for us. Thus, we are actually sincerely grateful when our invitation and proposal to compete gets approved by the SLU administration since this, in itself, is already a reward. For this, we are truly grateful to the SLU administration for the Christian value of care and concern for us.

Much like our brothers and sisters who lost their loved ones and properties during the recent typhoons and are now painstakingly rebuilding their lives, the failure to participate in a major sports event should never be the end of the line for us. Rather, it should be a new chapter in our relentless trainings in order to get better and be more prepared for even greater opportunities to participate in other sports competitions in the future. (Henry R. Fuentes)