By Lealina Evangeline A. Reyes
The campus by the sea—a bustling university congregated by a diverse pool of students from all over the Philippines and the world.
Silliman University moves with its crowd, dancing to the rhythm of late-running students, to the pace of slow-moving cars and motorcycles, and to the song of chatter and loud laughter.
It has witnessed more than a century of this back and forth, remaining steadfast in its observance of the never-ending dance. But once in a little while, the music stops. A pause takes over when footsteps disappear, cars stop roaming, and chatter becomes silent.
In those brief moments, only the wind enters the gates of Silliman and passes not on shoulders crammed together but on the roads of an empty campus.
The Holy Week, a four-day breather, pauses the seemingly endless dance and invites students to a well-deserved break, and return to their homes. With the freedom from the four corners of the classroom, Silliman finds itself in the midst of a silent haven.
Leaves from centuries-old acacia trees fall openly on the pavements without being swept, framing the campus in hues of brown and orange. Entering the Langheim Gate and witnessing this bareness evokes a sense of awe.
The emptiness does not echo. Rather, it presents a serenity that is often overlooked amidst the hustle of everyday life. Without the gathering and breaking of crowds, the university seems to travel back to its roots as the simple campus by the sea.
It is a time when Silliman basks in this sweet serenity, and for the people who stayed behind for the break, the campus embraces them with a sense of home.
In the silence of the Holy Week, Silliman shares the sacredness in the way the campus falls in deep tranquility. It breathes in and out, slowing time and transforming its grounds into a ghost town.
But not in a way that scares but in a way that is solemn, making space for the university to gather itself. Just like us, Silliman is a living, breathing entity that needs an interlude before it once more hosts the liveliness that comes when the dance of the day-to-day resumes.
