Yes, it's time again. Actually I was debating if I should resurrect this blog. Given recent circumstances, I think a post here is timely. Thank God that finally I found some room to post this.
Part 1: The Microcosm
Freshman elections. I only realized that campaign season was on when one of my COE frosh friends sent a text message to everyone asking them to vote ________.
Not surprisingly, I did not really recognize anyone on either the TAPAT or SANTUGON slates. Still, the events of FE campaign week 09 are still the same things that I saw being played out when I was a freshman. Same cadence in RTRs. Same answers to national issues. Same lengthy resumes...we LaSallian really do begin leadership training at a young age. Still, I don't think freshmen are too young to begin learning to make cohesive platforms, and to pitch them to their batchmates. It's not that high school credentials don't matter when picking freshmen representatives. Though track records are a good thing, the point still is platforms and representation. Inasmuch as we need to train leaders, we also need to train participants. Can it be a challenge to the youngest leaders to find ways to get their batchmates involved beyond just the nominal levels of being listed under their batches?
For the first time this year, I saw what I consider an en masse disruption of RTR activity. Unfortunately for this freshman batch, the last day of campaigning happened to fall on the first day of the University's PAASCU accreditation. Now I am really not sure if this is disadvantageous, as seen by the RTR groups that had to postpone their classroom visits because of the presence of the accreditors. Or is it advantageous in the sense that the accreditors could have some first hand insight into how involved DLSU students can be in campus politics? I do hope they will not be disappointed.
Some of my freshman friends asked me, "Ate, do I have to vote derecho or straight?" I feel that this is one sign that we are teaching some of our freshmen to value "party loyalty" as a voting criterion more than actual ideology or platforms. Sometimes these kids feel they have no choice in the matter of voting: it's either yellow and blue, or red and orange. It need not be always the case. While it may be nice to see sweeps in the various college assemblies, it need not be at the expense of truly informed choice.
One sign of hope though: while discussing these things with my friends, one guy said, "Ate, di ko alam kung sino pa ang iboboto ko...pero basta, boboto ako!". Now there's something for you: no pressure with parties as of yet. But a need to exercise his right of suffrage? Yes!
Part 2: The Macrocosm
Botong Lasalyano! Sulong Pilipino!. This campaign was launched just a week ago. I really wish I could have blogged about this during the actual campaign, but I had no way of doing so till tonight.
I wasn't really planning to attend the launch, actually. I just happened to find my way blocked to the central plaza, where I usually hang out with my friends from one of my orgs. However, Mr. Lysander Rivera and Ms. Amelia Galang saw me trying to circumvent the cordon, and suggested that I attend the gathering. Thank God I sat in. Though the program consisted mostly of addresses from various officials in the DLSU community and the national scene (even Mike Enriquez of GMA-7!), it was good in the sense that we young people may have gotten some insight into the importance of our role as voters.
So the aim is to get almost all DLSU students of voting age to register. I think this is probably one of the best initiatives I have seen from the SC this year. With the multipronged approach (RTR, pin selling, TV coverage)I think a good part of the DLSU community was reached. Personally, my favorite part was the pin selling, proceeds of which went to the One La Salle scholarship fund. These button pins begin with "Gusto kong bumoto para sa..." and list causes such as kalikasan, kabataan, kababaihan, sining, katotohanan, karapatan, edukasyon, LGBT, kalusugan, and others. Pick your advocacy anyone? My buddies and I got 3 to 4 pins each, and lined them all up on our bags.
I hope that after the registration phase of the campaign that the SC will engage is some voter's ed. We had a Kamalayan forum some months back (featuring Juana Change), and perhaps we can have another one. Invite the presidentiables? Senatoriables? Or anyone worth listening to?
And since the school is covered in yellow...
It's pretty amazing how many of us young people can really feel something about the passing of Corazon Aquino. Most of the students in residence in DLSU were not born in 1986 (probably all of batch 106 was not even conceived yet). Yet many of us students were either raised by parents who knew how it was to be on EDSA. Otherwise we heard of it from school. Maybe we will never fully understand how it was to be facing up to the Marcos regime. We probably never will. That doesn't mean though that we cannot honor one of our nation's prime movers. Not just by wearing yellow. Not just by attending her funeral procession. Carrying on the legacy she left would be the greater honor.
Panahon natin ito.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
what will they say Monday at school?
So I wasn't around for results night. I did try my best to hang around campus at about 5:30 pm, just to watch the proceedings and catch up with various friends. However, I still had to leave before dinnertime just to get some work done. I can only imagine the drama that must have been that evening in DLSU. After hearing the news from my friends about the various wins and losses, I could only wonder, "What's next?"
Sunday night had me talking with two of my cousins (one is a DLSU alumnus, and the other is also still in the university). We were talking about certain adverse developments in various organizations. One of my cousins said, "Well, if the SC can't do anything to help us, then why should I vote?"
Point taken to some degree. This is one of the first challenges the incoming SC will face.
Enter in Monday morning...the first day of the so-called "hell week", when understandably politics takes a backseat.
Of course congratulations were in order. I got to at least congratulate Chantal, Camille V, and Philip personally for their victories in their respective colleges. I also got to to discuss with a younger friend about the considerably narrow margin of votes that some candidates had over the others. Now I'm not sure what this means in terms of student body participation.
A hilarious case of misinformation: I heard from various text messages that either Carl Abaya or that Rocky de Castro had won in the CLA. When I congratulated Rocky on her win, she just laughed and kindly corrected me that it was Carl who won. Oops.
With the USG question still alive and kicking, with everything that is happening in preparation for the 2010 elections, for the centennial, and for another school year...the SC really has its work cut out for them.
Maybe I'll be able to post a "beginning of the school year" update...even if just to follow ID 109 during its first venture into DLSU campus politics. Or maybe my next entry will come earlier than that. But for now, this blog will take a breather as I refocus on student life.
Sunday night had me talking with two of my cousins (one is a DLSU alumnus, and the other is also still in the university). We were talking about certain adverse developments in various organizations. One of my cousins said, "Well, if the SC can't do anything to help us, then why should I vote?"
Point taken to some degree. This is one of the first challenges the incoming SC will face.
Enter in Monday morning...the first day of the so-called "hell week", when understandably politics takes a backseat.
Of course congratulations were in order. I got to at least congratulate Chantal, Camille V, and Philip personally for their victories in their respective colleges. I also got to to discuss with a younger friend about the considerably narrow margin of votes that some candidates had over the others. Now I'm not sure what this means in terms of student body participation.
A hilarious case of misinformation: I heard from various text messages that either Carl Abaya or that Rocky de Castro had won in the CLA. When I congratulated Rocky on her win, she just laughed and kindly corrected me that it was Carl who won. Oops.
With the USG question still alive and kicking, with everything that is happening in preparation for the 2010 elections, for the centennial, and for another school year...the SC really has its work cut out for them.
Maybe I'll be able to post a "beginning of the school year" update...even if just to follow ID 109 during its first venture into DLSU campus politics. Or maybe my next entry will come earlier than that. But for now, this blog will take a breather as I refocus on student life.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tales from the All Purpose Walkway
This was one week when many DLSU students could not travel from building to building without being asked "Have you voted already?" Whether that question was asked by a member of the COMELEC or by a member of the political parties, one thing is clear: there really is a move to push for the highest number of student votes possible. Thankfully, at least from my perspective, this hope is somewhat materializing, judging from some of the feedback from my friends who have either been watching the elections...or who have been asked one too many times about exercising their duty of suffrage.
Election specials courtesy of TLS and Plaridel have been making the rounds of the campus. TLS' glossy publication was the first to hit the walkways, while Plaridel's election special was distributed only today. As usual, write-ups about the outgoing SC's work, excerpts of campaign spiels and interviews, and the candidate profiles were featured in both publications. This year, both publications seem to have better chances of escaping any post-election controversies, owing perhaps to the more cautious journalistic and campaign strategies being employed by the student journalists and SC hopefuls, respectively.
One of the busiest places this week on campus had to be that strip of space that is roughly divided into the Miguel Walk and the Eng Walk. Apart from the voting booth set up right in the middle of everything, there were the lines of candidates and their campaigners simply observing the voting process and asking every student who passed by the "inevitable question of the week." As crucial as this relatively safe form of pollwatching is, it did have its logistical drawback of crowding out the different booths and tambayans of various groups and organizations that frequent the benches along the walkways. Some of the candidates and campaigners who frequented this particular walkway also discovered the hard way that their pollwatching duties came with the added task of answering different scales and questionnaires being circulated by frantic psychology students seeking to complete their research requirements for a major subject. Student life still goes on after all.
While passing around some questionnaires, I got the chance to chat up Bugs (of Santugon) and commend her on her show of support for a high school friend, (one of the EB candidates of Tapat) during the miting de avance last week. It is particularly good to know that not even fierce campus politics can make a significant dent in some friendships. Now if only campus politics could cement instead of break certain partnerships...
...then maybe more than just student life could go on.
Election specials courtesy of TLS and Plaridel have been making the rounds of the campus. TLS' glossy publication was the first to hit the walkways, while Plaridel's election special was distributed only today. As usual, write-ups about the outgoing SC's work, excerpts of campaign spiels and interviews, and the candidate profiles were featured in both publications. This year, both publications seem to have better chances of escaping any post-election controversies, owing perhaps to the more cautious journalistic and campaign strategies being employed by the student journalists and SC hopefuls, respectively.
One of the busiest places this week on campus had to be that strip of space that is roughly divided into the Miguel Walk and the Eng Walk. Apart from the voting booth set up right in the middle of everything, there were the lines of candidates and their campaigners simply observing the voting process and asking every student who passed by the "inevitable question of the week." As crucial as this relatively safe form of pollwatching is, it did have its logistical drawback of crowding out the different booths and tambayans of various groups and organizations that frequent the benches along the walkways. Some of the candidates and campaigners who frequented this particular walkway also discovered the hard way that their pollwatching duties came with the added task of answering different scales and questionnaires being circulated by frantic psychology students seeking to complete their research requirements for a major subject. Student life still goes on after all.
While passing around some questionnaires, I got the chance to chat up Bugs (of Santugon) and commend her on her show of support for a high school friend, (one of the EB candidates of Tapat) during the miting de avance last week. It is particularly good to know that not even fierce campus politics can make a significant dent in some friendships. Now if only campus politics could cement instead of break certain partnerships...
...then maybe more than just student life could go on.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
alea jacta est
It was definitely not a quiet day on campus, but it was one of the more decisive,purposeful days. At least this much I could tell as early as 9am, watching the COMELEC preparing the paraphernalia for the elections.
Before that, I spent about fifteen minutes wondering with a friend about elections and lesser evils, and later yet another half an hour debating/agonizing with another friend about the different pros, cons, upcoming plans, and track records throughout this election. Even if I eventually cast my vote rather early in the day, I ended up thinking this process over more than in the past--maybe because of the nature of this year's campaign.
Clearly, because of the many things that have been promised, said and done in the last few days, it really is not going to be easy for some of the student body to decide who to vote for. While asking my classmates and other friends about whether they had voted yet, I realized that some people are in no hurry to cast their votes simply because they have to think their choices over. Now that's what I want to see: more deliberate voting. It's better than voting haphazardly, or abstaining.
Throughout the day, I encountered the different candidates, making the rounds, watching the proceedings, and encouraging students to vote. It was good of the candidates to just encourage suffrage, never mind what advantages or disadvantages this may entail. I think that they could have done it a little better though if they'd been wearing white, or green, or some non-partisan colors.
So far, the student body seems to be more responsive than I expected this general election. Now if only this pace will continue...
Before that, I spent about fifteen minutes wondering with a friend about elections and lesser evils, and later yet another half an hour debating/agonizing with another friend about the different pros, cons, upcoming plans, and track records throughout this election. Even if I eventually cast my vote rather early in the day, I ended up thinking this process over more than in the past--maybe because of the nature of this year's campaign.
Clearly, because of the many things that have been promised, said and done in the last few days, it really is not going to be easy for some of the student body to decide who to vote for. While asking my classmates and other friends about whether they had voted yet, I realized that some people are in no hurry to cast their votes simply because they have to think their choices over. Now that's what I want to see: more deliberate voting. It's better than voting haphazardly, or abstaining.
Throughout the day, I encountered the different candidates, making the rounds, watching the proceedings, and encouraging students to vote. It was good of the candidates to just encourage suffrage, never mind what advantages or disadvantages this may entail. I think that they could have done it a little better though if they'd been wearing white, or green, or some non-partisan colors.
So far, the student body seems to be more responsive than I expected this general election. Now if only this pace will continue...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Anticipation
Last ditch efforts? Quiet anticipation? Question and answer?
I suppose it depended where one happened to be on this day. For my classmates and I, today was surprisingly free of election-related discussion, apart from copies of a comprehensive explanation of the Santugon SPOA arriving in our physics lab class, as well as the ensuing discussion about who to vote for.
Sure I saw the two parties rallying their candidates and campaigners as early as 7:45 a.m. Sure, I heard discussion about last week's miting de avance, as well as the different answers the candidates have been giving over the RTRs. Sure I saw people running about the hallways just to campaign. Sure I heard the video of Ron Semira's miting de avance speech being replayed at the Tapat tambayan. But on the whole, today felt much like a "lull".
This could be a sign of either a weary student body because of the campaign trail, or a weary student body because of the usual "third term" pile up. As it is, I hope we students take the time and effort to actually vote.
What I hope to see: the political parties uniting to promote student suffrage, for the sake of encouraging active participation in the student body...never mind who gets to serve in the SC this year. It is time we changed the focus to an aware and proactive student body for the next few days.
Personally, I'm keeping to myself my decisions about my choice of candidates. I have explained and mulled over certain points and merits with my friends from both sides and no sides of the campaign, and still I can say the same thing I have been saying all campaign:
Chopseuy vote na ito.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a better coverage of the first day of the elections.
I suppose it depended where one happened to be on this day. For my classmates and I, today was surprisingly free of election-related discussion, apart from copies of a comprehensive explanation of the Santugon SPOA arriving in our physics lab class, as well as the ensuing discussion about who to vote for.
Sure I saw the two parties rallying their candidates and campaigners as early as 7:45 a.m. Sure, I heard discussion about last week's miting de avance, as well as the different answers the candidates have been giving over the RTRs. Sure I saw people running about the hallways just to campaign. Sure I heard the video of Ron Semira's miting de avance speech being replayed at the Tapat tambayan. But on the whole, today felt much like a "lull".
This could be a sign of either a weary student body because of the campaign trail, or a weary student body because of the usual "third term" pile up. As it is, I hope we students take the time and effort to actually vote.
What I hope to see: the political parties uniting to promote student suffrage, for the sake of encouraging active participation in the student body...never mind who gets to serve in the SC this year. It is time we changed the focus to an aware and proactive student body for the next few days.
Personally, I'm keeping to myself my decisions about my choice of candidates. I have explained and mulled over certain points and merits with my friends from both sides and no sides of the campaign, and still I can say the same thing I have been saying all campaign:
Chopseuy vote na ito.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a better coverage of the first day of the elections.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Windows of Opportunity
Today just happened to be one of those days that had me spending an inordinate amount of time outside the classroom. Apart from having a chance to finish up some field work for my major subjects, I also had more than enough time to talk to the different candidates, as well as collect some SPOAs (finally!) as well as a few more GPOAs. Unfortunately, due to certain logistical concerns, I could not collect all the materials I wanted. Therefore, I will not attempt a point-by-point comparison of all of the SPOAs and GPOAs per college, but rather, I will focus on the highlights of some of the materials that I gathered.
Thrust of the General Program of Action: "Lakas ng nagkakaisang Lasalyanong nangunguna sa pagbuo ng bansang progresibo." This can be translated into putting Lasallians at the forefront of nation building. Apparently, (if I am to interpret the Tapat's EB candidates correctly), the Student Council, both the Executive Board and the College Assembles, is to become a means for training and empowering LaSallians to become empowered citizens. This is evident in the way that Tapat has been tying in the GPOAs and thrusts with the need to prepare students for the 2010 national elections.
Thrust of the Specific Programs of Action: "Student Centered Student Council". Basically, Santugon platforms seem to focus on creating and implementing pro-student policies, as well as encouraging proactive student participation in the Student Council and its projects for the upcoming year. Internally focused yet relevant policies all the same. Santugon programs do require increased cooperation with the faculty and the administration of the university. This is an admirable goal that does pose a whole new set of challenges in addition to the already existing ones.
GPOA for the College of Liberal Arts: "Kalinga CLA". Finally, I got to talk to Veron, Betti, and Tats just to clarify what this program is meant to be. In line with Ron Semira's goal of using student competencies for nation building, basically the CLA students will be using their learnings and skills to assist an "adopted" community. Personally, I did feel a little ambivalent about this plan. I am thrilled to see how Liberal Arts (an area sometimes deemed as socially irrelevant) can become useful in nation-building. In fact, there is a lot of good skills-training, leadership training and interpersonal growth that can come out of directly involving Liberal Arts majors in competency-related projects. However, I really hope that we will not resort to the usual fallback of scheduling endless tutoring sessions in depressed communities. This is a much needed change--I challenge ANYONE to help the College of Liberal Arts out here!
SPOA for the College of Engineering: This SPOA is unique for its especial dedication to making the College of Engineering a center of excellence. Many of the programs here seek to assist engineering students with their academic concerns, to provide better course projection and even financial aid, as well as to promote unity within the college. This is good news for the COE, which is known for its difficult coursework and steep tuition fees. This particular SPOA however does not put as much emphasis on sociocivic work unlike the other SPOAs being distributed this year. As of now, the sociocivic aspect of the COE SPOA is limited to a short description of fundraisings for future projects. Hopefully this will be given more detail in the future...or tomorrow's Miting de Avance.
GPOA for the College of Education: This is one GPOA that aims very high (and to be honest, I understand why this has to be the case). Service oriented curriculum, teacher-leaders, and promoting a culture of excellence: these are the kinds of things that require more than just a single school year to accomplish. The service-oriented curriculum part alone will only be fulfilled when EDGE 2008 is about to graduate. Still, it's never too early to start, right?
SPOA for the College of Science: This is the SPOA that has an "ate/kuya" program: a kapatiran system for incoming freshmen to be paired with upperclassmen who will guide them around DLSU and help them adjust to college life. This is one scenario though that will probably have some COS upperclassmen mentoring two or more freshmen at any given point in time, owing to the admittedly high "mortality" in this college. To address the actual "mortality", the assistance offered in this SPOA extends beyond freshman year: mandatory consultations, NMAT reviews, and OJT exposure are also being offered for upperclassmen. That's a lot of promises to come through with though.
GPOA for the College of Business and Economics: Excellent and socially responsible business leaders is the vision of this GPOA. Perhaps this could be the GPOA that will defy the CBE-related stereotype of "walang iniiisip maliban sa pera." Corporate social responsibility is given the same weight as academic excellence, as well as alliances and cooperation with other organizations and sectors. Transparency, accountability and participation in college decisions are also highlighted here, in a context slightly different from the more academically related points of the previous principles. I find this GPOA to be one of the more feasible plans of action. Still, I'd like to see if the up and coming leaders can ensure that the transparency and accountability aspects of the GPOA do not remain solely within the student council level, but become part of the learning atmosphere they wish to promote in this college.
SPOA for the College of Computer Studies: Keeping CCS students connected--to their courses (helping reduce the failure rate in major subjects), to the university (through implementation of policies, etc), and to external linkages is a key feature of this SPOA. This SPOA is actually very concrete in its way of tackling everything from matters as simple as the sockets and bulletin boards in the Gokongwei building, all the way up to ambitious projects such as curriculum review and an e-waste recycling program. The thing that bugged me though about this SPOA was a series of formatting errors that made at least two paragraphs/bullet points a bit difficult to differentiate.
But of course, this is only half of the equation
The other half of course is the student body. However, I seriously fear that a good portion of the students are becoming indifferent to this entire electoral process, and may even abstain from voting. While some of their reasons are understandable, there is still the fact that abstinence from suffrage represents a lost window of opportunity.
Window of opportunity? I believe so. After a trying year for the SC, I think that this election is one of those "make or break" opportunities. The kind of leadership that emerges in the next few days as well as the electorate that supports them will determine whether the SC will truly become a relevant force in student life and nation building, or if the SC will fail to fully involve another generation of LaSallians in its many goals and efforts.
This is the time when many preparations will be in order. It is almost time for the PAASCU reaccreditation. Plans are underway for the Centennial celebration of this university. Now if the students want to see an SC that meets the standards of a world-class university like DLSU, the students need to vote and participate in student government. An SC that does not have the mandate of the student body is at best crippled.
This, in my opinion is the crucial election for Batch 2007. For many of the students in this batch, next school year is their last full academic year in the university. This is the academic year that will probably have Batch 2007 at the helms of student organizations and projects. This is the academic year that has leaders from Batch 2007 in the executive board and as college assembly presidents. At the very least, the leaders elected next week will be the ones featured in Batch 2007's copies of Green and White. Now who would you want to remember as the student leaders of your graduating year? :)
Friday: the debate and the miting de avance. I don't know if I'll be able to cover the miting de avance...but I do pray that this year's proceedings will unfold with more passion and less drama than last year's.
For the net-savvy radio addicts: Tune in to Green Giant, the official radio station of DLSU. On Saturday, at about 5pm, the EB candidates will be debating on air. You can access Green Giant through the official website: http://greengiantfm.dlsu.edu.ph.
Thrust of the General Program of Action: "Lakas ng nagkakaisang Lasalyanong nangunguna sa pagbuo ng bansang progresibo." This can be translated into putting Lasallians at the forefront of nation building. Apparently, (if I am to interpret the Tapat's EB candidates correctly), the Student Council, both the Executive Board and the College Assembles, is to become a means for training and empowering LaSallians to become empowered citizens. This is evident in the way that Tapat has been tying in the GPOAs and thrusts with the need to prepare students for the 2010 national elections.
Thrust of the Specific Programs of Action: "Student Centered Student Council". Basically, Santugon platforms seem to focus on creating and implementing pro-student policies, as well as encouraging proactive student participation in the Student Council and its projects for the upcoming year. Internally focused yet relevant policies all the same. Santugon programs do require increased cooperation with the faculty and the administration of the university. This is an admirable goal that does pose a whole new set of challenges in addition to the already existing ones.
GPOA for the College of Liberal Arts: "Kalinga CLA". Finally, I got to talk to Veron, Betti, and Tats just to clarify what this program is meant to be. In line with Ron Semira's goal of using student competencies for nation building, basically the CLA students will be using their learnings and skills to assist an "adopted" community. Personally, I did feel a little ambivalent about this plan. I am thrilled to see how Liberal Arts (an area sometimes deemed as socially irrelevant) can become useful in nation-building. In fact, there is a lot of good skills-training, leadership training and interpersonal growth that can come out of directly involving Liberal Arts majors in competency-related projects. However, I really hope that we will not resort to the usual fallback of scheduling endless tutoring sessions in depressed communities. This is a much needed change--I challenge ANYONE to help the College of Liberal Arts out here!
SPOA for the College of Engineering: This SPOA is unique for its especial dedication to making the College of Engineering a center of excellence. Many of the programs here seek to assist engineering students with their academic concerns, to provide better course projection and even financial aid, as well as to promote unity within the college. This is good news for the COE, which is known for its difficult coursework and steep tuition fees. This particular SPOA however does not put as much emphasis on sociocivic work unlike the other SPOAs being distributed this year. As of now, the sociocivic aspect of the COE SPOA is limited to a short description of fundraisings for future projects. Hopefully this will be given more detail in the future...or tomorrow's Miting de Avance.
GPOA for the College of Education: This is one GPOA that aims very high (and to be honest, I understand why this has to be the case). Service oriented curriculum, teacher-leaders, and promoting a culture of excellence: these are the kinds of things that require more than just a single school year to accomplish. The service-oriented curriculum part alone will only be fulfilled when EDGE 2008 is about to graduate. Still, it's never too early to start, right?
SPOA for the College of Science: This is the SPOA that has an "ate/kuya" program: a kapatiran system for incoming freshmen to be paired with upperclassmen who will guide them around DLSU and help them adjust to college life. This is one scenario though that will probably have some COS upperclassmen mentoring two or more freshmen at any given point in time, owing to the admittedly high "mortality" in this college. To address the actual "mortality", the assistance offered in this SPOA extends beyond freshman year: mandatory consultations, NMAT reviews, and OJT exposure are also being offered for upperclassmen. That's a lot of promises to come through with though.
GPOA for the College of Business and Economics: Excellent and socially responsible business leaders is the vision of this GPOA. Perhaps this could be the GPOA that will defy the CBE-related stereotype of "walang iniiisip maliban sa pera." Corporate social responsibility is given the same weight as academic excellence, as well as alliances and cooperation with other organizations and sectors. Transparency, accountability and participation in college decisions are also highlighted here, in a context slightly different from the more academically related points of the previous principles. I find this GPOA to be one of the more feasible plans of action. Still, I'd like to see if the up and coming leaders can ensure that the transparency and accountability aspects of the GPOA do not remain solely within the student council level, but become part of the learning atmosphere they wish to promote in this college.
SPOA for the College of Computer Studies: Keeping CCS students connected--to their courses (helping reduce the failure rate in major subjects), to the university (through implementation of policies, etc), and to external linkages is a key feature of this SPOA. This SPOA is actually very concrete in its way of tackling everything from matters as simple as the sockets and bulletin boards in the Gokongwei building, all the way up to ambitious projects such as curriculum review and an e-waste recycling program. The thing that bugged me though about this SPOA was a series of formatting errors that made at least two paragraphs/bullet points a bit difficult to differentiate.
But of course, this is only half of the equation
The other half of course is the student body. However, I seriously fear that a good portion of the students are becoming indifferent to this entire electoral process, and may even abstain from voting. While some of their reasons are understandable, there is still the fact that abstinence from suffrage represents a lost window of opportunity.
Window of opportunity? I believe so. After a trying year for the SC, I think that this election is one of those "make or break" opportunities. The kind of leadership that emerges in the next few days as well as the electorate that supports them will determine whether the SC will truly become a relevant force in student life and nation building, or if the SC will fail to fully involve another generation of LaSallians in its many goals and efforts.
This is the time when many preparations will be in order. It is almost time for the PAASCU reaccreditation. Plans are underway for the Centennial celebration of this university. Now if the students want to see an SC that meets the standards of a world-class university like DLSU, the students need to vote and participate in student government. An SC that does not have the mandate of the student body is at best crippled.
This, in my opinion is the crucial election for Batch 2007. For many of the students in this batch, next school year is their last full academic year in the university. This is the academic year that will probably have Batch 2007 at the helms of student organizations and projects. This is the academic year that has leaders from Batch 2007 in the executive board and as college assembly presidents. At the very least, the leaders elected next week will be the ones featured in Batch 2007's copies of Green and White. Now who would you want to remember as the student leaders of your graduating year? :)
Friday: the debate and the miting de avance. I don't know if I'll be able to cover the miting de avance...but I do pray that this year's proceedings will unfold with more passion and less drama than last year's.
For the net-savvy radio addicts: Tune in to Green Giant, the official radio station of DLSU. On Saturday, at about 5pm, the EB candidates will be debating on air. You can access Green Giant through the official website: http://greengiantfm.dlsu.edu.ph.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Of History and Student Realities
A classmate of mine was reviewing previous election specials of "The LaSallian" as part of working on this year's election issue. We had a good chat about the things we remembered from previous election, everything from the room to room campaigns, the very intense miting de avance, and of course the election proper. My classmate also mentioned the issues of libel and mudslinging that became points of contention last school year, while I mentioned some of the questions regarding the current lineups of candidates (everything from the number of relatively unknown faces being fielded up to Aimee Chua's sudden return in time for the campaign). Our conclusion: it seems as if controversy has never left the DLSU political scene. Also, I realized that I can't blame some of our student journalists for feeling that they are walking on eggshells during campaign periods, or for being outraged and annoyed at some of the proceedings and reactions of different individuals when they get featured in TLS or Plaridel.
In the middle of a mind-boggling lecture (in organic chem, of all subjects), the Santugon candidates for CLA came in for their RTR. The catchwords for the day: a student centered SC. Now as idealistic and inspiring as this may sound to the uninitiated, this is a concept that requires a lot of guidance and coordination to keep things working smoothly. A student centered SC would (at least in my understanding) require not only a good feedback system, but also properly trained leaders who can mediate and integrate the students' ideas into feasible policies.
Not even fifteen minutes after these candidates left, the Santugon EB lineup knocked on the classroom door, asking also to campaign. Our professor had enough of her lecture being interrupted and thus she refused their request. As useful as the RTR approach is for many students, it is admittedly quite disruptive. Especially now, as teachers and students are trying to cram as many lessons and projects within the last few weeks of the academic year, it can be quite inconvenient and even counterproductive to accomodate all the candidates' requests for campaign time.
Over the day, I got to watch candidates literally running around in single file (reminds me a little of the Final Fantasy games when characters do that very thing), people waving around IDs, campaign t-shirts, and GPOAs. No word yet (as of this afternoon) of the SPOA for the CLA.
After my last class for the day, I got into an extended discussion with Carl, Justin, Monica, and Rocky (Santugon's CLA candidates). I pretty much asked them some of the same things that I asked the Tapat slate yesterday, but I also tried to ask for clarification about their spiel earlier in the day. A lot of our conversation revolved around how Santugon can address some student realities: the difficulty of long-term involvement in community development projects, the lack of an adequate feedback system for the students to make their concerns known to the SC, what the SC can do to address student concerns such as the dress code, the difficulties in processing forms and requests for student activites, and also the concept of "batch unity". Now they had pretty good, occasionally novel ideas, though I know that they could use a certain sense of long-term vision to persuade some of the students. All the more I am convinced that the "chopseuy" vote works. The GPOA approach of Tapat can use the fleshing out of the Santugon SPOA, while the Santugon approach can also be guided by the ideology-oriented training in Tapat.
A friend of mine also happened to be joining in the discussion as well, throwing in her own questions from time to time. When we finally said goodbye to the candidates and went on our way, my friend said, "I was asking questions because I wanted them to think about and voice out their programs." I couldn't resist smiling at this. I think one good thing about these Q&A sessions, whether they are structured as in the Harapan debate this Friday, or if they are as impromptu as the one I just described, is that they force the candidates to carefully consider what they are saying, and also to think on their feet. It is a way for students to learn what the platforms really mean to the candidates.
I also became aware that some people I knew were out on the campaign trail during times when they were supposed to be in class. Though I understand the urgency of the campaign situation, the principle of cutting classes to attend to student politics does not sit so well with me. After all, we are students before we are leaders or campaigners. I feel that this practice of cutting classes just to do the RTR for the day is actually doing one's self a serious disservice. Sure, it is possible to catch up on missed lessons and to cram assignments, but there are always things that can only be learned in the class proper. I don't know if the campaign organizers have ways of addressing these concerns, but I do believe that academic responsibility is something that should be modeled by aspiring student leaders and their campaign managers. How can our student leaders promote an atmosphere of learning, academic excellence and responsibility if they themselves are the first to set their academic responsibilities aside just to increase their chances of getting elected?
It's happened before. Let's not let this happen again!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Miguel Building Chronicles
On some days of the week, my schedule leaves me no choice but to stay in the Miguel Building from mid-morning to about four in the afternoon. Normally I am less than happy with this set up, but today I decided to stick around to talk to the different candidates who were doing the room-to-room campaign.
I had the opportunity to talk to Rocky de Castro (of Santugon) about her plans for encouraging sociocivic involvement in the College of Liberal Arts. The idea of involving DLSU students in long-term projects such as livelihood classes in different communities sounds feasible to some quarters, but it will take some serious thinking and organization to ensure that the programs will really address the needs of the communities, and not just be a repeat of one-off seminars. Rocky also mentioned her plans for better information dissemination in the college, as well as batch unity (especially for FAST 07). I do wonder just what will be the galvanizing forces needed for these aims to become a reality.
A few minutes later, I entered my classroom to find Tats, Erwin, Chantal, and Betti (all from Tapat) discussing platforms and projects with my classmates. Tats was enthusiastically talking about plans for a student leadership program, again targeted for FAST 07. Good thinking but again will need good planning and marketing to become truly useful to my batchmates. One of my classmates asked about the University Student Government. Apparently the Tapat candidates are pushing for the USG to promote a transparent, efficient government...though I do wish that our aspiring batch representatives had the opportunity to explain in detail what this would mean for the student body.
I got to also ask Betti about her slate's plans for sociocivic involvement in the CLA. Apparently Tapat's approach here is to increase student awareness by institutionalizing the Kamalayan forums. This would involve asking professors to give incentives for attending the forums, or promoting the activities more aggressively, in line with the upcoming 2010 elections. I said to Betti, "we're back to the voter's education issue we discussed in high school?" A worthy effort, but not something I can totally agree with either. Later, I found something about Kalinga CLA in the Tapat GPOA given to me. I didn't have the chance to ask what this project was all about.
Later in the day, the executive board candidates of Santugon did their spiel in our class. Lots of mentions of credentials, past projects and achivements, and as well as some upcoming plans: evaluations of policies (such as the impending enforcement of the dress code), justified food and drink prices, and preparations for the university centennial. It was good (and a little typical) of the candidates to mention all of this in a matter of a few minutes, but I do wish they had been ready with copies of their SPOA. Apparently it isn't time yet for the Q&A portion of the campaign, since the candidates made their exit in a hurry. The same goes also for the Tapat candidates who also did their campaign spiel some time later.
Comic moment of the day: Two members of the DLSU chorale also did a room to room spiel for their concert this weekend. When they appeared, one of my classmates said "Oh no!". However, when everyone caught on, we were all clapping and cheering them on as they "spoofed" the campaign RTR formula of the candidates. This means two things for me: firstly that the DLSU chorale is getting more creative with their marketing, and secondly, that both Tapat and Santugon have to revamp their campaign strategies if they even want to get the attention of the students.
Conversation for the day:
Classmate1: So who are you voting for?
Me: Ask me in two days. Basta, "chopseuy" na ang vote ko.
Classmate1: Chopseuy?
Me: Neither straight or deretso
Classmate2: No! Hey Kat, you should vote for (insert name of candidate here)
Me: And why?
Classmate 3: Ummm, he's nice?
Me: There are plenty of nice people. But why him?
Classmate2: Well...check the platform, Kat, it's all there.
Me: I get it, but the thing is that, why him for this position, and not someone else like his opponent? I want to hear what he's got to say about that platform.
Later, when I got back to my org's tambayan, some of the conversation turned to elections. It's disheartening to see that (partially out of disenchantment with politics) that some of my friends are not too eager to vote in the elections. An alumni friend mentioned the suggestion of another friend that involved encouraging our entire org supporting one particular party. To this my friend said, "no". Thanks, ate.
A freshman friend suggested that neither party should dominate the election "so that they can share ideas". Hey, this young man is on to something. I'd like to see more of this happening in the incoming SC.
One thing I wonder: do DLSU students really know the actual responsibilities and duties of each position in the SC? I'm not sure if it's an en masse case of amnesia, or a lack of information given by the SC over the years as to the actual organization and work in the student government. Maybe some voter's ed 101 for the DLSU student is in order.
I had the opportunity to talk to Rocky de Castro (of Santugon) about her plans for encouraging sociocivic involvement in the College of Liberal Arts. The idea of involving DLSU students in long-term projects such as livelihood classes in different communities sounds feasible to some quarters, but it will take some serious thinking and organization to ensure that the programs will really address the needs of the communities, and not just be a repeat of one-off seminars. Rocky also mentioned her plans for better information dissemination in the college, as well as batch unity (especially for FAST 07). I do wonder just what will be the galvanizing forces needed for these aims to become a reality.
A few minutes later, I entered my classroom to find Tats, Erwin, Chantal, and Betti (all from Tapat) discussing platforms and projects with my classmates. Tats was enthusiastically talking about plans for a student leadership program, again targeted for FAST 07. Good thinking but again will need good planning and marketing to become truly useful to my batchmates. One of my classmates asked about the University Student Government. Apparently the Tapat candidates are pushing for the USG to promote a transparent, efficient government...though I do wish that our aspiring batch representatives had the opportunity to explain in detail what this would mean for the student body.
I got to also ask Betti about her slate's plans for sociocivic involvement in the CLA. Apparently Tapat's approach here is to increase student awareness by institutionalizing the Kamalayan forums. This would involve asking professors to give incentives for attending the forums, or promoting the activities more aggressively, in line with the upcoming 2010 elections. I said to Betti, "we're back to the voter's education issue we discussed in high school?" A worthy effort, but not something I can totally agree with either. Later, I found something about Kalinga CLA in the Tapat GPOA given to me. I didn't have the chance to ask what this project was all about.
Later in the day, the executive board candidates of Santugon did their spiel in our class. Lots of mentions of credentials, past projects and achivements, and as well as some upcoming plans: evaluations of policies (such as the impending enforcement of the dress code), justified food and drink prices, and preparations for the university centennial. It was good (and a little typical) of the candidates to mention all of this in a matter of a few minutes, but I do wish they had been ready with copies of their SPOA. Apparently it isn't time yet for the Q&A portion of the campaign, since the candidates made their exit in a hurry. The same goes also for the Tapat candidates who also did their campaign spiel some time later.
Comic moment of the day: Two members of the DLSU chorale also did a room to room spiel for their concert this weekend. When they appeared, one of my classmates said "Oh no!". However, when everyone caught on, we were all clapping and cheering them on as they "spoofed" the campaign RTR formula of the candidates. This means two things for me: firstly that the DLSU chorale is getting more creative with their marketing, and secondly, that both Tapat and Santugon have to revamp their campaign strategies if they even want to get the attention of the students.
Conversation for the day:
Classmate1: So who are you voting for?
Me: Ask me in two days. Basta, "chopseuy" na ang vote ko.
Classmate1: Chopseuy?
Me: Neither straight or deretso
Classmate2: No! Hey Kat, you should vote for (insert name of candidate here)
Me: And why?
Classmate 3: Ummm, he's nice?
Me: There are plenty of nice people. But why him?
Classmate2: Well...check the platform, Kat, it's all there.
Me: I get it, but the thing is that, why him for this position, and not someone else like his opponent? I want to hear what he's got to say about that platform.
Later, when I got back to my org's tambayan, some of the conversation turned to elections. It's disheartening to see that (partially out of disenchantment with politics) that some of my friends are not too eager to vote in the elections. An alumni friend mentioned the suggestion of another friend that involved encouraging our entire org supporting one particular party. To this my friend said, "no". Thanks, ate.
A freshman friend suggested that neither party should dominate the election "so that they can share ideas". Hey, this young man is on to something. I'd like to see more of this happening in the incoming SC.
One thing I wonder: do DLSU students really know the actual responsibilities and duties of each position in the SC? I'm not sure if it's an en masse case of amnesia, or a lack of information given by the SC over the years as to the actual organization and work in the student government. Maybe some voter's ed 101 for the DLSU student is in order.
Day 1: Introducing the Non-Partisan
Once and again, it's time for the general elections for the incoming Student Council of De La Salle University. The scene has been played out time and again: the room to room campaigns, the banners, the tarps, the candidates making an effort to speak to different students within their respective colleges, the debates and open forums, and the questions of "who's who?" and "what are they up to?" For me, this will be my third time to participate in an election within the university (twice as a freshman, and then now). This year, I have a good number of friends, former classmates and acquaintances aiming to serve in student government (Claudette Ocampo and Justin Quirino from Santugon, as well as Cabe Aquino, Erwin Sy, Bettina Bernabe, and Philip Rentillo from Tapat). So I have all the more reason to be interested in what the outcome of this year's elections will be.
As crazy and borderline ditzy as this may sound, my first preparations for this year's campaign period was to plan my wardrobe. For the next few days, I have sworn not to wear any red, orange, blue, or yellow shirts, all for the sake of non-partisanship.
Don't get me wrong. I am far from declaring non-participation, or making a show of apathy. In fact, I am definitely going to vote in this year's general elections. I am going to cast my vote as well in the University Student Government plebiscite, if it is still being held in tandem with the elections. However, I have no plans of openly campaigning for or of supporting either of the two major parties within the Student Council of De La Salle University.
Why so? Apart from my personal history of nonpartisanship (for one thing, I was one of the few freshmen in my block who did not sign up for any political party), I am a firm believer in student leadership and community development. These are two ideals that I believe can exist even without political parties to rally behind individuals seeking to serve in student government.
As I told DJ Camz of greengiantfm over a YM post some days ago, I do not believe that any political party is better than the other. The question though is more of what platforms they can sustain throughout the academic year, and the kind of leadership they will model to their fellow students.
This is not a question of General Plans of Action versus Specific Plans of Action. It is a question of what projects, policies, and programs will these candidates spearhead in the best interests of the student body as a whole.
This is not a question of who has historically captured the most seats in the Student Councils of the past, or of who authored what policy and pushed for what bit of legislation. That is all history, that is all merely a recollection of things that were done in circa 2008, 2007, 2006, and all the way back to the beginning of LaSallian student government. The question is who will address the needs of 2009-2010? Can our upcoming leaders explain the need for a University Student Government? Will they fight to make this new system work? Will they find ways to prevent a repeat of the manual adjustment issue in the COE? Will they encourage sociocivic involvement in the CED and the CLA? Will they ensure that student services are more accessible to the majority? What are their plans to address the different issues of LaSallians today?
This is not even a question of who has more "credentials" as a student leader. While credentials are surely worthy of some consideration, the kind of leadership that the DLSU student body needs is not just one of merit-and-achievement based alone. Who of the candidates will conduct themselves with not just poise, but with respect for their fellow students, their teachers, and even their political opponents? Who of these candidates, even after being elected, will continue to serve the student body with transparency, and promote a culture of integrity, excellence, socio-civic involvement, and professionalism within the university?
The nonpartisan stand: to support the candidates who will represent the LaSallians and not just the parties.There are students within both parties who will hopefully rise to the occasion to become the leaders that this student body will support and be proud of. My fervent prayer for this election is that all the elected students will unite as LaSallians in service of their school. Once elected, a student is no longer just "from Tapat" or "from Santugon". He or she is representative of and in service to the students in his or her college, or in the case of the executive board, of the university as a whole. And last time I checked, the university colors were green and white, not yellow and blue, or orange and red.
To the candidates who may chance upon this: I do not mean to insult anyone, or shake anyone's confidence. I hope though that you are not just ready to answer the questions for this week's campaign, but for the responsibilities and even more questions that will come after. I look forward to meeting you in my classes or in the school hallways just to talk to you and find out how you want to serve my fellow students.
To my classmates and fellow LaSallians: Make your own stand. And use your one chance to participate in student government: vote! You may agree with some candidates, and disagree with others. Determine which leaders you believe will represent what you stand for and hope to see in our student government. Nothing is stopping you from asking questions. No one can tell you not to enter a "mixed" slate on your ballot next week.
God bless us all this election. :)
As crazy and borderline ditzy as this may sound, my first preparations for this year's campaign period was to plan my wardrobe. For the next few days, I have sworn not to wear any red, orange, blue, or yellow shirts, all for the sake of non-partisanship.
Don't get me wrong. I am far from declaring non-participation, or making a show of apathy. In fact, I am definitely going to vote in this year's general elections. I am going to cast my vote as well in the University Student Government plebiscite, if it is still being held in tandem with the elections. However, I have no plans of openly campaigning for or of supporting either of the two major parties within the Student Council of De La Salle University.
Why so? Apart from my personal history of nonpartisanship (for one thing, I was one of the few freshmen in my block who did not sign up for any political party), I am a firm believer in student leadership and community development. These are two ideals that I believe can exist even without political parties to rally behind individuals seeking to serve in student government.
As I told DJ Camz of greengiantfm over a YM post some days ago, I do not believe that any political party is better than the other. The question though is more of what platforms they can sustain throughout the academic year, and the kind of leadership they will model to their fellow students.
This is not a question of General Plans of Action versus Specific Plans of Action. It is a question of what projects, policies, and programs will these candidates spearhead in the best interests of the student body as a whole.
This is not a question of who has historically captured the most seats in the Student Councils of the past, or of who authored what policy and pushed for what bit of legislation. That is all history, that is all merely a recollection of things that were done in circa 2008, 2007, 2006, and all the way back to the beginning of LaSallian student government. The question is who will address the needs of 2009-2010? Can our upcoming leaders explain the need for a University Student Government? Will they fight to make this new system work? Will they find ways to prevent a repeat of the manual adjustment issue in the COE? Will they encourage sociocivic involvement in the CED and the CLA? Will they ensure that student services are more accessible to the majority? What are their plans to address the different issues of LaSallians today?
This is not even a question of who has more "credentials" as a student leader. While credentials are surely worthy of some consideration, the kind of leadership that the DLSU student body needs is not just one of merit-and-achievement based alone. Who of the candidates will conduct themselves with not just poise, but with respect for their fellow students, their teachers, and even their political opponents? Who of these candidates, even after being elected, will continue to serve the student body with transparency, and promote a culture of integrity, excellence, socio-civic involvement, and professionalism within the university?
The nonpartisan stand: to support the candidates who will represent the LaSallians and not just the parties.There are students within both parties who will hopefully rise to the occasion to become the leaders that this student body will support and be proud of. My fervent prayer for this election is that all the elected students will unite as LaSallians in service of their school. Once elected, a student is no longer just "from Tapat" or "from Santugon". He or she is representative of and in service to the students in his or her college, or in the case of the executive board, of the university as a whole. And last time I checked, the university colors were green and white, not yellow and blue, or orange and red.
To the candidates who may chance upon this: I do not mean to insult anyone, or shake anyone's confidence. I hope though that you are not just ready to answer the questions for this week's campaign, but for the responsibilities and even more questions that will come after. I look forward to meeting you in my classes or in the school hallways just to talk to you and find out how you want to serve my fellow students.
To my classmates and fellow LaSallians: Make your own stand. And use your one chance to participate in student government: vote! You may agree with some candidates, and disagree with others. Determine which leaders you believe will represent what you stand for and hope to see in our student government. Nothing is stopping you from asking questions. No one can tell you not to enter a "mixed" slate on your ballot next week.
God bless us all this election. :)
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