by Aaron Ong

With another academic year comes a wave of new members to the Computer Society of the Ateneo. To help fill the neophytes in, here are seven things about the organization that any respectable member should know.

1.       Your Top Two Favorites: The President and Executive Vice President

At the top of CompSAt’s Executive Board (EB) sit our two most important figureheads in running the organization. These esteemed gentlemen are Patrick Chua, our President, and Jansen Ignacio, our Executive Vice President (EVP). All important decisions and operations are overseen by these two BS CS seniors, which explains this air of respectability about them—just look at their pictures, for instance. Be sure to say hi when you see them unwinding in the org room; they usually play DoTA to blow off some steam.

Fun Facts:

• CompSAt’s strongman president comes equipped with one weakness: coconut. Anything with a hint of coconut will trigger an allergic reaction in him.
• Despite Jansen’s bad boy appeal, he also has a softer side—Stitch is his favorite Disney character.

2.       The Six Departments

Under the top two officers are six Vice Presidents (VP’s) who each handle one department, along with the assistance of their Associate Vice Presidents (AVP’s). CompSAt’s departments are described below:

• Documentation and Publication: Pretty much the reason you’re reading this article. DnP juggles managing the Wildcard blog, disseminating promotions, and documenting events and meetings.
• External Affairs: The liaisons that EA forms are not of the amorous type—the people here are all about handling tie-ups with outside parties for CompSAt projects.
• Finance and Marketing: Contrary to the claims of famous philosopher Jessie J, it is about the money, money, money. And corporate sponsors. These ingredients of FnM keep the organization running.
• Internal Affairs: IA is all about the love, with its projects and package system aimed to foster the members’ formation.
• Logistics and Promotions: Your champion against bureaucracy and visually unexciting promos, LnP coordinates with offices, creates visual art, and generally ensures that projects run smoothly.
• Research and Development: RnD is your nerdy but ridiculously attractive friend who helps you out with academic matters and techie stuff. Plus, to help make money on the side, it also offers web development services.

3.       Our Mascot, Richard Bunyi Gear

A pun on the name of actor Richard Gere, Richard Gear is CompSAt’s faceless and enigmatic mascot. Every now and then, he’ll be inviting members to events or giving random notes. Known only by CompSAt’s gear logo, no one has actually seen him in the flesh. A mystery man, you might even say.

4.       Interest Groups: More Than Just IT

A common stereotype for people involved in IT is that they’re unattractive computer whisperers who are too socially inept for actual human interaction. But enough about me, since I’m more of an exception than the norm. In general, you’ll see that the people in CompSAt are actually engaged in a wide spectrum of interests and hobbies. There are groups that cater to some of these interests, with some having quite punny names.

We have two categories for these groups, and these are:

A. Hobbies and Interests Teams (HITS), groups that pertain to leisurely pursuits. These include:

• CompShots – Basketball team
• Algorhythm – Music band

B. CompSAt Teams, groups for dedicated people who would like to use their talents to contribute to CompSAt. We have the following:

• ComPress – Photography for documenting events
• Development Team – Web development
• ProCreate – Art for creating promotional materials
• Wildcard – Writing for our online blog
• Marketing – Handling relations with sponsors

All members are welcome to apply for any of these groups.

5.       Package System: The Four Houses of CompSAt

If Hogwarts has its four houses, so does CompSAt with its four packages. Based on the DOPE personality test, members are sorted into a package based on their test results. Package Managers (PackMans) hold bonding sessions now and then, and they coordinate their members when accomplishing package tasks, which give points to winning packages. The package with the most points at the end of the year gets a special prize, so make sure you participate in your respective package!

Fun facts:

Previously, a lot of members were placed in the Dove category, so doves were split into two packages, bringing the total number of packages to five.

Each of the previous five packages was named after an iconic pop culture icon.

Before 2011, members were distributed across 13 packages. Packages were also reshuffled each semester.

6.       CompSAt’s 22^nd

CompSAt came into being 22 years ago as the brainchild of a bunch of Management Engineering students. Legend states that the gender of CompSAt changes every year. For 2013, CompSAt is a girl. Last year, on its 21^st, CompSAt was male because he was celebrating his man debut. It’s usually an arbitrary matter that the officers come up with for fun.

7.       Our Beloved Moderator: Ma’am Jessica Sugay

CS students affectionately refer to her as Ma’am Jess. More than just a moderator, Ma’am Jess is a mother to her students, and is one of the first friendly faces you meet as a CS freshman. She is currently a lecturer in DISCS and the CS program director.

More about her in an article from last year: http://wildcard.compsat.org/?p=2127