Noong  nakaraang Agosto 23, 2007, matapos  ang mahaba-habang bakasyon dahil sa mga bagyong nagdaan, ay idinaos na ang aming Tea Party sa CEF Conference Room sa Segovia Building. Kaming mga mag-aaral ng Siyensyang Pampulitika ang namahala nito sa tulong ng aming propesor na si Gng. Meema Lozada.

Dumating kami nang maaga upang maghanda at sa eksaktong ika-siyam at kalahati ng umaga ay nagsimula na ang  pagtitipon. May sampung karakter na may iba’t-ibang katauhan ang gumanap sa pagtitipon. Ang mga ito ay sina Karl Marx, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Queen Elizabeth I, Simone de Beauvoir, Vladimir Lenin, Andres Bonifacio  at Imelda Marcos. Bawat isa sa amin na miyembro ng klase ang gumanap sa mga karakter na ito at sa loob ng halos dalawang oras ay isinabuhay muli namin ang kanilang mga paniniwala at idelohiya. Nakipag-usap at nakipag-palitan kami ng mga kuro-kuro sa iba’t ibang mga bisita.

Ang pagdiriwang ay dinaluhan nina Dra. Emma Melgarejo, ang pangulo ng kolehiyo, sina Bb. Mila At Chuchi Pacia, Bb. Teresa Java, Gng. Mariles Borja, Ginoong Sonny Santiago, Gary Garcia at Anthony Aperin, mga miyembro ng ITEC office at mga kapwa estudyante ng kolehiyo.

Sa araw na ito ay napatunayan ko na ang tao ay sadyang kabuhol ng kaniyang kultura at karanasan. Likas ang tao mag-react base sa kanilang katauhan. Ang bugso ng kanilang damdamin ay dahilan rin marahil sa kanilang pinagdaanan. At ito sa palagay ko ang ugat sa kinahinatnan ng kanilang paniniwala at mga adhikain sa buhay.  Maaaring mapaniwala ng kalaban ang isang katauhan ngunit hindi ito mangangahulugang siya ay magpapalit ng kanyang buong paniniwala.

Naging masaya ang palitan ng mga kuru-kuro sa pagdiriwang na ito sapagkat napakakulay ng mga personalidad sa pagtitipon na ito. Saan ka pa naman makakakita na pagsama-samahin sina Hitler, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. at iba pa sa isang silid? Dito lamang sa Poveda Tea Party nabuhay muli ang mga personalidad- nagtagpo nang hindi nagkakagulo. Kailan pa kaya muling mangyayari ito? Ito ang mga naging reaksyon at natutunan ng aking mga kaklase sa pagtitipon na ito:

“The main objective of the activity is to gain insights and integrate all the political beliefs into one room filled with entertainment, sharing and food as a medium of sharing the knowledge and nature of politics first hand. From power shifts to civil rights, from sovereignty to freedom and from convincing people and gaining votes/ballots, all occurred in one room. The tea party gave each student the chance to internalize and digest the essence of the principles involved in politics.”
            Niño Hiceta (ang gumanap bilang Karl Marx)

“Since this is just a role play and we did not choose the character we portrayed, I learned and realized that even if you don’t believe on your role’s beliefs and philosophy, you should still learn, study and strategize so you could stand up and fight for your role to be able to convince people that what you believe in actually makes sense. It also taught me to stand up for what you are no matter how much people put you down… “
            Margaret Deles (ang gumanap bilang Imelda Marcos)

“For me, it was kind of hard in portraying someone because you have to know every detail and background of the character assigned to you. It was a challenge for me to convince people because some will not even agree with you because of your philosophy. That’s why you have to use your convincing power to be able to make them believe that your philosophy is just and right…”
            Ina Quizon ( ang gumanap bilang Vladimir Lenin)

“The purpose of the party was to exchange and relinquish the different political ideologies of different political leaders in history by sharing their ideas to the guests. It was a very overwhelming event- you have to absorb all the detailed ideologies. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable event to share food, drinks and ideas with each other.”
            Jay Arr Villaflores (ang gumanap bilang Abe Lincoln)

“The activity made me realize how hard it is to portray a character if you don’t know how to express ideas and opinions for that character. Portraying the character of Andres Bonifacio was very challenging…”
                Cherry Jumawan

“…I had a dream, that one day, everybody would gather in a place regardless of their color and would be brothers and sisters joining hands and ideologies and that dream happened last August 23, 2007- the Poveda Tea Party”
         Alanna Antonio (gumanap bilang Martin Luther King, Jr.)

“All in all, this event was a really very unique approach in getting to know the famous characters in history and I think it was a big success as we all realized the good and bad traits and ideas of these characters. As the Fuhrer of Germany, it was great to have had the chance to explain myself despite the anomaly and issues of my leadership..”
            Mike Cabral (gumanap bilang Adolf  Hitler)

“ I realized that it is not easy to be a ruler of one country because there are a lot of responsibilities involved. As Queen Elizabeth I in this small event, I realized how strict she was in England- how she imposed absolute rule which resulted in Britain becoming an empire…”
                                Eia Yulo

Pagkatapos ng maliit na pagtitipon na ito, nagkaroon ng botohan sa mga bisita kung sino sa mga personalidad ang pinaka-magaling mangumbinsi ng mga bisita at kung sino ang pinaka magaling gumanap sa kanilang role. Ang mga nagwagi ay ang sumusunod:

Most Convincing Personality- Martin Luther King Jr. 
             gumanap: Alanna Antonio

Best Portrayal of a Character- Margaret Deles bilang Imelda Marcos

Mr./Ms. Congeniality-  Margaret Deles at Jennel Ojinal (bilang Gandhi)