Normalistar

𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘, 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘🌈✨

Meet our Queens who are ready to set the stage on water, wind, earth, and fire in their performance.

Get the chance to not only witness their performances but also have a little engagement with our queens because they will be everywhere in the venue ready to make you feel accepted, loved, and belonged.

Only at Gugmahan 2026 on June 6, 2026, 4PM Onwards at SM Seaside Cebu!🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

In celebration of World Bicycle Day and Pride Month 2026, NormaliSTAR together with SM Seaside Cebu, SM Cares, and Loveyourself Cebu invites you all to Gugmahan 2026!

Join us this June 6, 2026 at SM Seaside Cebu Tower Garden for an event where people meet, for love and for the Earth.

Schedule of Activities
Ride For Pride: 4:00PM-6:00PM | Tower Garden
Pride March: 5:30PM-6:00PM | Cube Wing Atrium
Pride Party: 6:00PM onwards | Tower Garden

Register through this link to join: https://tinyurl.com/SMSSRideForPride

Bring your loved ones, friends, family, and even your pets, and let’s come together for Pride!💚✨

Tara, pedal tayo! SM Seaside City Cebu celebrates World Bicycle Day with Pedal Power on June 6, 2026, championing healthier lifestyles, sustainable mobility, and empowering communities through cycling.

Every ride brings us closer to a greener future, making everyday commutes more accessible, active, and even more cost-efficient for our communities.

Experience biking made better at your most-loved SM Malls, with bike-friendly spaces designed to support every rider.

Join us and be part of the SM Green Movement today!

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/SMSSRideForPride

Tara, pedal tayo! SM Seaside City Cebu celebrates World Bicycle Day with Pedal Power on June 6, 2026, championing healthier lifestyles, sustainable mobility, and empowering communities through cycling.

Every ride brings us closer to a greener future, making everyday commutes more accessible, active, and even more cost-efficient for our communities.

Experience biking made better at your most-loved SM Malls, with bike-friendly spaces designed to support every rider.

Join us and be part of the SM Green Movement today!

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/SMSSRideForPride

Feel the love, celebrate with pride🌈✨

Thank you to our Gold Sponsor, Daily by Bo’s Coffee. Grab your free product taste test and get a chance to win a gift card when you complete our challenge at the event venue!

Gugmahan 2026 | June 6 | SM Seaside Cebu

LOOK | NORMALISTAR JOINS CNU’S 124TH FOUNDATION DAYS CELEBRATION

NormaliSTAR will join the activities celebrating the 124th Foundation Day of Cebu Normal University. Mixing Education with Pride, NormaliSTAR is set to hold an extension to our Pride Event, GUGMAHAN 2026.

Witness the talents of Normalites through Drag Performances and Film because we celebrate Pride with Excellence.

LOOK | CNU to mark 124th founding anniversary with focus on recovery, resilience

Cebu Normal University (CNU) will commemorate its 124th Founding Anniversary on June 27 through a series of activities highlighting recovery, resilience, and institutional renewal.

Dubbed Foundation Days 2026, the celebration honors the University's long-standing legacy of excellence while underscoring its collective journey toward rebuilding, transformation, and sustainable growth.

Carrying the theme, “Celebrating Community, Culture, and Well-Being: Pioneering University Renewal and Recovery,” this year's observance seeks to strengthen solidarity among stakeholders, promote holistic well-being, and encourage active participation in the University's continuing recovery initiatives.

The two-week celebration, scheduled from June 16 to 27, will feature academic, cultural, wellness, community engagement, and capacity-building activities designed to foster unity and institutional pride.

The festivities will open on June 16 with Arts Day and Exhibits, showcasing local creativity and artistic expression through various visual arts displays.

On June 17, the University will host the Community Tabo, a market fair featuring local products, delicacies, handicrafts, pre-loved items, and livelihood initiatives from partner communities and university stakeholders. The day will also include a Financial Literacy Talk, the Showcasing of Extension Projects, and a University Procurement Workshop aimed at reinforcing accountability and good governance.

Activities on June 18 will continue with the Community Tabo, interactive talks on Food as Medicine and Growing a Business, and the extension projects exhibit. The day will culminate with Sports Day, highlighted by “Lihok Alang sa Kaayohan: Strengthening Wellness, Unity, and Recovery Through Sports,” a celebration of wellness, camaraderie, and the CNU spirit through sports, fitness activities, and traditional Filipino games.

On June 19, employees and students may participate in Wellness Day, which includes learning sessions, wellness booths, free medical consultations, and basic laboratory services. A Free Legal Clinic will also provide legal counseling, guidance, and notarization services. The Community Tabo and extension projects exhibit will likewise continue.

From June 23 to 24, members of the university community will take part in the Balik Eskwela Clean-Up Drive and Bring-a-Plant Project, a collaborative effort to prepare campus facilities for the opening of classes while promoting environmental stewardship. A Fire Drill will also be conducted to strengthen disaster preparedness and safety awareness.

The celebration will continue on June 25 with Gugmahan sa CNU 2026, followed by a Musical by Sector on June 26, featuring performances from the RCAF and NCAF.

Foundation Days 2026 will conclude with a Closing Ceremony, highlighting alumni performances, scholarship and community outreach fundraising initiatives, recognition of competition winners, and the honoring of partners and stakeholders who have contributed to the University's growth and recovery.

Through the celebration, CNU aims to reaffirm its commitment to community, culture, well-being, and excellence as it continues to move forward stronger and more resilient than ever.

It’s just 3 Days To Go before Gugmahan 2026. We can’t wait to see you Pedal, March, and Party with love, for love!🌈💗

Gugmahan 2026 | June 6 | SM Seaside Cebu

Feel the love, celebrate with pride🌈✨

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor, Teleperformance. Grab your free snacks from TP at the event venue!

Gugmahan 2026 | June 6 | SM Seaside Cebu

𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗬🌈✨

In celebration of Pride March 2026, NormaliSTAR together with SM Seaside, SM Cares, and Loveyourself Cebu invites you to the Pride March at the Mall. Where we will walk, slay, and celebrate our community whose love knows no bounds. This June 6, 2026, from 5PM onwards at SM Seaside Cebu Cube Wing.

Register yourself or your group to be a marcher through this link: https://bit.ly/marchatthemall

Don’t forget to dress up, bring your loved ones, and express your love in a colorful, fun way!💗

LOOK | Gov. Pamela Baricuatro of the Province of Cebu signed an Executive Orders that allows LGBTQIA++ couples to decide and create medical steps for each other in the hospitals in the Province of Cebu.

𝗧𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰?

Rainbows are easy to paint on walls—except when the walls are only meant to stay yellow.

In March 2025, Cebu Normal University (CNU) alumnus Rob Francis Corpus publicly floated the idea of establishing an LGBTQIA+ organization within the university. Soon after, q***r Normalites organized a campus club through Normalistar, reviving hopes for representation that had long been absent at the institution.

A year later, on April 6, representatives from Normalistar and CNU Safe Spaces met with University President Dr. Laurence Garcia to discuss ways to strengthen inclusivity on campus in the coming years.

This Pride Month's reads CNU's stance through a deliberately ironic lens: what they claim to see, hear, and speak; and what they actually ignore, filter, or leave unspoken.

𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹

When discussing inclusivity in CNU, Pride Freedom Day immediately comes to mind. Every Wednesday, students are allowed to wear civilian clothing instead of uniforms—a policy many LGBTQIA+ students see as an opportunity for self-expression.

Josh, a q***r Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) major in English sophomore shared in an interview with Ang Suga that he was initially shocked by the number of peers he observed freely expressing themselves through the Wednesday attire policy.

"[At that time], it showed how accepting and welcoming CNU is of q***r students," he expressed.

Yet, while the university apparently accommodated the concern on s*xual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE), it was far from becoming a genuinely inclusive school.

Limitations in the "progressive" policy became more pronounced when it intersected with daily gender expression, particularly in rules governing uniform use, where students are expected to strictly adhere to gendered dress codes on days other than Wednesdays. This raises a critical question: what is the function of a uniform in an academic institution?

If uniforms exist primarily to establish institutional identity—signaling that the wearer belongs to CNU—then their purpose must be collective rather than s*x- or gender-based. The distinction between "male" and "female" uniforms should be peripheral to the core purpose and not an authorization to police students' bodies. Regardless of the uniform version worn, a student's liberty to choose either will still communicate the same Normalite identity.

The continued enforcement of gendered divisions in uniforms only heightens tension between institutional unity and progress in identity expression. But beyond these, students continue to face subtle forms of exclusion.

"There are [still] professors who are not really accepting of LGBTQIA+ students, and I just wish we won't encounter them in the near future," Josh hoped.

Meanwhile, Normalistar chairperson John Paul Ocaba acknowledged that representation at the university was insufficient, despite attempts made before Normalistar's development.

"Personally, I pushed for [Normalistar's] establishment because I saw that there's a need for representation. Although many Normalites are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, an organization focused on them ended years before I entered the university," he said, referring to Hugpong Organization, which ceased operations in 2019.

For an institution that wishes to present itself as inclusive to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), its welcoming arms seem to open only when it is convenient and non-disruptive. Perhaps the new administration recognizes these gaps, which explains the recent dialogues seen in photos of courtesy meetings and consultations.

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹

Ocaba recounted the courtesy meeting with Dr. Garcia, during which Normalistar presented plans to make the university more inclusive.

"We presented our Pride Month plans, and the president welcomed them with openness and informed us to send a proposal to his office's email address. Then his office would forward it to the concerned offices for action," he shared.

A day after the April 6 meeting, Normalistar submitted proposals that included Labarn Beshie, a gender sensitivity online training and advocacy program. They also proposed a partnership with CNU for Gugmahan 2026: Pride Month Celebration, an event featuring Bike for Pride, a cycling activity, alongside free HIV testing and counseling.

On April 20, the Office of the University President informed the organization through email that the proposals had already been forwarded to the Student Affairs and Development Office (SADO) and the Gender and Development (GAD) Office for review and approval.

A positive run in bureaucratic processes halted when silence followed as the days went by. No acknowledgment. No update. No direct response from any of the concerned offices.

Normalistar sent follow-up emails on April 23 and again on May 4. Still, none arrived.

"I believe it's already too late for any partnership…since we're nearing the end of [May]," Ocaba expressed.

Yet despite the lack of institutional response, Normalistar remained open to collaboration, even offering free drag performances—not merely for celebration, but to affirm that q***r students continue to exist, organize, and occupy space within CNU.

The university did offer its ears to listen, but its arms delayed the responses, echoing something beyond the administrative backlog—maybe immobility was the answer all along.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹

Following inquiries regarding Normalistar's Pride Month proposals, GAD Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Director Dr. Grace Malaga finally found time to explain that SADO Director Dr. Jollibee Aharul had already responded internally to the Office of the University President, citing several reasons why the proposals could not be accommodated.

The reasons were as follows: (1) Normalistar is not an accredited organization within the university; (2) No CNU faculty member would officially supervise or assume responsibility for the proposed activities; (3) June is currently designated as vacation in the university calendar.

At the center of the issue lies accreditation. However, achieving that is impossible when the student manual already bars formal recognition, as stated in Title VII, Article I, Section 2.6: "A student organization which is provincial, sectoral, or regional in nature shall not be recognized in the university."

While the provision may aim to regulate organizations within the university, it also limits spaces for marginalized sectors—like the LGBTQIA+ community—to organize and represent themselves.

The problem, then, extends beyond Normalistar itself. It exposes how institutional structures leave little room for identity-based organizations, a jarring sight where the university's contradictions become most visible.

In an interview in 2025, Dr. Aharul informed Ang Suga that the student manual is currently undergoing revisions, including provisions intended to be more inclusive of all genders within the university community.

But the question now is: when? Since 2018, CNU has been operating in an outdated system of championing student welfare. One can only hope that reforms will be fast-tracked as both national and global sociopolitical climates show a spike in restrictive policies regarding SOGIE.

It is easy for institutions to speak of diversity when doing so demands little sacrifice. The greater challenge begins when inclusivity requires policy reform, administrative urgency, and structural change.

Despite the setbacks mentioned, q***r Normalites still find the hands to paint rainbows in a yellow-walled institution. For instance, some of Normalistar's proposed initiatives, including Gugmahan 2026, will proceed on June 6 at SM Seaside Cebu Tower Garden.

Q***r students have always been visible in CNU. The more pressing question is whether the institution is prepared to move beyond. §

Words by Angel Formentera
Illustration by Maika Marie Oftana