The UP dream: A letter to the new Isko and Iska

TOMO 91 BLG. 1 HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

PhILIPPINeCOLLeGIaN

Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan

ng mga mag-aaral ng

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, DilimanInstallmentsWe are beleaguered by installments. Debts are settled in installments. Shampoos are purchased in sachet installments. In busy cities, even sleep comes in installments.

As I park my car outside Vinzons Hall, I effortlessly notice the lengthy line for student loans that spans from OSA to the third floor. Education is also in installments.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and find one of your Murakami books still tucked safely in the front seat. The seatbelt still reeks of the intoxicating smell of your Versace perfume. On nights we sped through the metro with the Submarine soundtrack on repeat, the city lies ahead of us in cinematic blur. “Maybe I could get you back again,” I ponder, “by installments.”

Vinzons Hall is cramped with people bearing the same enrolment woes. It is crowded with an assortment of people incessantly fanning themselves, wiping off beads of sweat down their napes, and holding on to their loan forms which would give them an installment UP education. The line uncannily resembles lines for food programs in evacuation centers.

I pass a group of friends discussing the newly opened STS class. They are eating in installments of stolen time. One of them—an acquaintance from the College of Engineering—stops me and asks if we both enlisted a class under a specific Engineering professor. The air smells of the mixture of people’s sweat.

“Nah, I’m fully paid for my 18-unit subjects—as non-major,” I reply without regret. I can imagine my lawyer father’s peculiar frown and my law student brothers’ scoffs once they hear about the news of my dismissal.

I ascend the last flight of stairs leading to the uppermost level of Vinzons Hall, and feel gravity pulling me down the way it has done the first time I visited the Kule office. It requires an extra ounce of courage to climb this last flight of stairs.

Having taken the Kule exam just before summer began, I have been surprised as I received a text message from RC Guerrero a few weeks after. “’Tol, ikaw na ang magsusulat sa kolum ko. Rakenrol. ”

I open the door to the Kule office, an aroma of afternoon circulating in the air. The noises of people from the loan queue downstairs are still audible.

Eyes covered by cigarette smoke and the reflection of the sunlight on his glasses, Delfin Mercado eyes me from head to foot.

He offers me a cigarette.I wait for night to come before I climb the

ladder to the roof top. Smoking my Marlboros and casting off mosquitoes, I write this first column in solitude under the star-beaded sky. I have that papery feeling of lack of sleep. Somewhere below, Kule writers are still awake, debating on the latest Game of Thrones episode.

I light another cigarette and lose myself to its psychedelic fumes. This is to be the first of the many installment nights like this. ∞

NOWHERE MAN

Alan P. Tuazon

Illustration : Ysa Calinawan Lathalain 6-7

2 OPINYON PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

PHILIPPINECOLLEGIAN

2013 - 2014

Punong Patnugot Julian Inah Anunciacion

Kapatnugot Victor Gregor Limon

Patnugot sa GrapiksYsa Calinawan

Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya

Gloiza Rufina Plamenco

Panauhing Patnugot Piya ConstantinoSamantha KingMargaret Yarcia

Mga Kawani Keith Richard Mariano

Kimberly Ann PauigEmmanuel Jerome Tagaro

Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon Paul John Alix

Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales

Amelito Jaena

Mga Katuwang na Kawani Amelyn Daga

Trinidad GabalesGina Villas

Kasapi UP Systemwide Alliance

of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad)College Editors Guild of the

Philippines (CEGP)

Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons,

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon

Telefax981-8500 lokal 4522

Onlinepkule1314@gmail.com

www.philippinecollegian.orgfb.com/philippinecollegian

twitter.com/kule1314

91 The Philippine Collegian republishes distinguished photographs from its past issues that captured its tradition of critical and fearless journalism.

Photo by Chris Martin ImperialNovember 10, 2010

Starting Ground

THIS YEAR IS FRAUGHT WITH both danger and the promise of change. And as the premier state university, the University of the Philippines continues to play a decisive role in setting which direction the nation will take.

The Philippine Collegian, the university’s official student publication, complements this noble task. As the institution enters its 91st year, the mandate of this term will not merely be a continuation of a long tradition of fearless and critical campus journalism. It needs to expand its horizons and address the need to seek better ways to dedicate its talents and resources in service to the students and the people.

This term will never tire of carrying on in the Collegian tradition: reserving its pages for militant ideas marginalized by mainstream discourses and privileged spaces, choosing a stand on issues without fear or apologies, persuading its readers to adopt the sharpest analysis and most effective plan of action.

With the recently concluded midterm elections in May, there is all the more a need for an alternative publication that will not be complacent and will be vigilant and critical of the next steps the newly elect shall take.

For while the elections gave the country a semblance of democracy, our new set of “public servants” came from the same

set of familiar names that evoke wealth and power. This Collegian will thus boldly champion the just causes of students and other sectors who have always been at the receiving end of political and economic injustices.

In UP, as classes opened this year, students once again bear the brunt of UP’s perennial problems: the high cost of tuition and the problematic Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) which perpetuates rather than supposedly mitigate the effects of larger social inequality.

The Collegian this year will then remain firm in its stance against the STFAP and other schemes which condone the government’s abandonment of its moral duty to support the national university. The unfortunate death of Kristel Tejada which triggered public outcry and mass action is a cruel manifestation of how education has become inaccessible to the poor and needy.

While holding on to its claim as the University of the People, UP is rapidly surrendering its public character in favor of private partnerships and income-generating projects. As a former UP president once ominously said of UP, “We are in the business of education.”

In past terms, the Collegian has been fearless and unapologetic in its stance. Even amidst government threats during

Martial Law, the institution fought against the dictatorship in the form of the mosquito press.

Neither intervention from outside forces nor financial problems succeeded to stifle the Collegian in the past. The institution has persisted because it draws strength from its allegiance to the students and other oppressed sectors of the society.

The Collegian however must go beyond mere reportage. Besides being fearless and critical, its greatest challenge is to persuade a wider audience towards the most effective plan of action on issues which beset our nation and our university.

This term thus aims for a wider readership by maximizing all possible venues of discourse and all possible means to translate theory into practice. Modern technology has gifted us with a wealth of new venues for engaging readers and convincing them of the urgent necessity of praxis.

Cyberspace—through social media—offers a potential extension of the Collegian’s borders. Aside from a wider

readership and more timely dissemination of information, social media allows for greater involvement from the audience.

The Collegian is confident that it will be able to achieve these goals. With a team of dedicated artists, writers, and alumni, the Collegian does not lack a pool of talents at its disposal.

Yet more importantly, the Collegian draws strength from students whose side the publication has always taken and whose continued support ensures that the institution shall do so in many years to come. In the recent Collegian budget campaign, more than 13,000 UP Diliman students, student councils, and organizations reaffirmed their support through a signature drive.

The Collegian will bank on these strengths. For though the beginning of the academic year is fraught with both the usual dangers and the promise of redemption, the choice has never been to succumb to, or make amends with, the adversaries of genuine change, but rather to seek alternatives to the status quo. The Collegian will not shirk this duty. ∞

Rosette Abogado

EDITOR’S PICK

YEARS

BURDENED. Students brave the long queue as they line up for loan application for the second semester at Vinzons Hall on November 8

OPINYON PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, DISYEMBRE 3, 2013

110 Law students dismissed over revived ‘delinquency’ rule

BALITA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

A GROUP OF UP DILIMAN security guards has questioned the selection of Bolinao Security and Investigation Services Inc. as this year’s new security agency for the south sector of the campus.

The south sector covers the area from Camp Karingal in the southwest up to Barangay Pansol in the southeast, which include the academic buildings of the Colleges of Science, Social Sciences and Philosophy, and Arts and Letters.

Previously the security agency for the south sector from May 2009 to January 2012, Bolinao is facing a labor case at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) filed by UPD security guards in September 2012.

According to the petitioners, Bolinao failed to release P5.2 million worth of cash bond fees and insurance fees to around 200

UP guards call for disqualification of new security agency

guard employees. For two years and eight months

during its contract with UP, Bolinao collected a monthly P300 cash bond from each guard, while an additional P300 monthly insurance fee was deducted from their salaries, said Marcos Pantaleon, a former Bolinao security guard who now works for a factory in Antipolo.

The agency also failed to provide the guards their mandated holiday pay, he added.

In an interview with the Collegian, former Bolinao reliever guard Teodorico Jacinto said he did not receive any insurance benefits when he met an accident in 2010, even after he personally asked help from Bolinao Executive President Geoffrey Mendoza.

“Ang sabi sa ’kin, hindi [ako] makakukuha [ng insurance] kasi hindi naman ako namatay,” Jacinto said. When he settled his hospitalization expenses at the

ALMOST TWO OUT OF 10 UP Diliman (UPD) Law students have been dropped from the rolls this semester, after the revival of a scholastic delinquency rule shelved five years ago.

The College of Law administration has dismissed 110 of its 667 students who failed to meet a general weighted average (GWA) of at least 2.85 for freshmen and 2.75 for upperclassmen.

This benchmark was set by the old Qualitative Performance Index (QPI)

rule, which specifies that students who fail to meet the requirements shall be dropped from the official roster.

The said rule is applied to GWAs to both semesters of the previous academic year. Seventeen of the 110 dropped from the rolls had failing GWAs from the first semester of AY 2012-2013.

Of the 110 who were dropped from the rolls, 73 appealed for reconsideration by the college’s appeals committee, which is composed of five faculty members.

On May 29, the committee

approved only 28 of the appeals, including five students who actually met the QPI, and denied the appeals of five students.

The appeals committee, however, did not deliberate on the cases of the remaining 40, since the GWA of the said students do not fall between 2.869 to 2.88 for freshmen and 2.76 to 2.78 for upperclassmen. Under the QPI rule, the committee may only hear appeals of students with GWAs that are within the said range.

Of the 40 students, 33 then further appealed to the dean, who approved 17 of the cases during a full

faculty meeting on June 7. Students who were successful in

their appeals shall be permanently dismissed should they fail to meet the college’s scholastic requirements in the future. Reconsideration may be “availed of only once during the student’s stay in the College,” according to the college’s Scholastic Delinquency Rules.

The Board of Regents had earlier approved the QPI but was suspended in 2008. Instead, the college administration implemented a “three-strike-rule,” where a student with a failing grade of 5 in three subjects is automatically dropped from the rolls.

When the college administration planned to revive the QPI rule in June last year, the Law Student

Government (LSG) appealed to defer the implementation of the rule, said LSG President Louie Camino.

Subsequent campaigns to remove the rule failed however, and the college administration pushed for implementation this semester, added Camino.

Meanwhile, the UPD University Student Council (USC) is still studying the situation and consulting with the LSG before taking any action, said UPD USC Student Rights and Welfare Committee head Charlotte France.

“The main effort of the LSG right now is to help minimize the number of students to be dismissed by the QPI rule and help those affected get their appeals heard,” Camino added. ∞

Watchdogs: Poll results favored political clans

PLOWED AND FLAWEDPhoto by Jiru Rada

3

THE SUPPOSED 60-30-10 pattern of vote-sharing in the May 13 senatorial race may have been debunked, but watchdogs say the election results nevertheless favored only a few, including political dynasties.

“The country’s ruling political clans once more proved their resiliency and ability to perpetuate themselves in power, [and] where oligarchies rule, real development cannot take off,” according to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), a non-government policy research and analysis center, in its May 28 analysis report.

Suspicions of systematic cheating surfaced after a pre-determined pattern supposedly favored Team PNoy over United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and independent candidates in the senatorial elections.

“If there must be a telling pattern in the election results, [however], it’s not the 60-30-10. At the end of the day, it’s the same names and same families that [won in] the elections,” said Kontra Daya co-convenor Giovanni Tapang.

Ateneo de Manila University Mathematics professor Felix Muga III first revealed the 60-30-10 pattern in a public post on social networking site Facebook on May 19.

In the first 16 national canvass reports from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the administration candidates have consistently clinched almost 60

percent of the total votes. Meanwhile, more than 30 percent of the votes went to UNA and the remaining 10 percent to independent candidates.

The distribution of votes should vary because certificates of canvass are transmitted randomly from the provinces to the National Board of Canvassers, said Muga, who is also a member of Automated Election System Watch, a coalition of about 40 election watchdogs.

Responding to comments on Facebook, the math professor raised the possibility that the 60-30-10 pattern could have been pre-programmed in the compact flash (CF) cards used in the automated elections.

The CF cards contain programs, which control how precinct count optical scanner (PCOS) machines should scan ballots and count votes.

While Kontra Daya also questioned the integrity of the elections, the watchdog said the pattern does not prove that results were electronically “manipulated.” By simply fielding more candidates, it was not a surprise that Team PNoy would get 60 percent of the total votes, Tapang explained.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, the citizens’ arm of Comelec, also debunked the pattern, explaining that vote-sharing among Team PNoy, UNA, and independent candidates varied at the precinct level.

What makes the election results questionable, however, was the use of the PCOS technology which “lacks the basic requirements of transparency and verifiability,” Kontra Daya said.

“Political dynasties, by and large, perpetuate themselves in power through elections made farcical by being undemocratic. [The] illegitimate automation process [has failed] to modernize [and] democratize the public exercise that is administered by a hostile and incompetent election body,” CenPEG said. ∞

Labor and farmer groups started to camp out in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform office in Quezon City on June 5 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the implementation of Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on June 10. Their call to action is the immediate repeal of the Republic Act 9700 or CARP Extension with “Reforms” (CARPer) that landlords use to eject farmers and keep control of their lands.

Klidel Rellin

Keith Richard D. Mariano

Jul Mar Esteban

time, he found out that Bolinao had only remitted an annual payment of P380 to the insurance company.

“[Isa itong] lantarang pangugurakot sa mga gwardiya,” Pantaleon said.

According to Articles 116 and 117 of the Labor Code, salary deductions by employers are prohibited, especially if the employees are insufficiently compensated. The employees are also entitled to benefits and holiday pay, said Elmer Labog, chair of national labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.

As of press time, however, the NLRC is yet to reach a final decision on the guards’ case, after Bolinao appealed an earlier decision by the NLRC, directing the security agency to release P220,000 worth of collected fees to each of the affected guards.

The group nonetheless questioned Bolinao’s selection as the winning bidder, saying security

agencies with pending labor cases must not be allowed to participate, much less win, in the bidding process. “[Ang] nakakabahala, baka ipagpatuloy nila ang pangongolekta ng cash bond at insurance,” said Pantaleon. ∞

BALITA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 20134

While waiting for delayed STFAP results,

Students may use previous bracket to enroll

UP DILIMAN STUDENTS who still have no final tuition brackets may settle their tuition this semester using their previous brackets under the university’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance (STFAP).

The STFAP is the UP administration’s system of determining the tuition amount paid by UP students based on socioeconomic indicators such as family income and expenses.

In a June 6 memorandum, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Maria Corazon Tan asked the Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS) to allow students to temporarily use their previous STFAP bracket to enroll this semester, while waiting for their final bracket assignments.

Tan released the said memo due to reports that the OSSS has been automatically assigning to the STFAP’s Bracket B those students who were affected by the delay in the release of the third batch of bracket assignments during the initial registration period last week.

“This is a major decision which was made and enforced by the OSSS and the OUR without my knowledge.

Unfortunately, this current practice is causing unnecessary anxiety and burden for students already saddled with financial difficulties,” said Tan.

Furthermore, the “automatic Bracket B” practice will make

students in Brackets C, D, and E, to pay higher tuition and thus force them to apply for student loans which have a six percent interest rate.

Bracket B students pay P1,000

Jul Mar Esteban &Victor Gregor Limon

per unit excluding fees, while students in Brackets C and D pay P600 and P300 per unit, respectively. Students in Brackets E1 and E2 are granted free tuition, while Bracket A students pay P1,500 per unit.

Meanwhile, first-time STFAP applicants this semester should be allowed to use their parents’ income tax return as basis for a temporary bracket, pending the release of the third batch of results.

Once the third batch of results have been released, students who paid less than the total tuition for their final bracket assignment may just be required to settle the difference, Tan suggested.

While school administrators must consider administrative efficiency in delivering service to the students, the needs of students must also be prioritized, especially those who are affected by the delay of the STFAP results must be prioritized, said UP Diliman University Student Council Vice Chair Jules Guiang. ∞

System-wide memo allows 100% student loanJul Mar Esteban &

Victor Gregor Limon

ALL STUDENTS ACROSS THE UP system may now apply for a student loan covering up to a 100 percent of assessed tuition and other fees.

In a memorandum issued on May 31, UP President Alfredo Pascual authorized chancellors of UP’s seven constituent universities and the dean of UP Cebu (UPC) to approve appeals for loans of up to 100 percent of total assessed tuition and other fees.

Currently, UPD implements a loan cap of 85 percent of total assessed fees for graduate and Juris Doctor students, 80 percent for junior and senior students and, 70 percent for freshmen and sophomore students.

In an interview with the Collegian, Pascual underscored that this prerogative

How many got assigned to which

brackets?**based on STFAP batch 1 and 2 results

BORROWED FUTUREPhoto by Angerica Hainto

UP students lined up to apply for loans and for Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), occupying three floors of Vinzons Hall during the last day of enrol ment on June 6. Students resort to loans and STFAP to continue their studies despite financial deficiencies.

may only be exercised on a case-to-case basis and may not be delegated by the chancellors and the UPC dean to other school administrators.

However, the loan is still subject to a six-percent interest rate per annum. This is equal to around an additional P1,000 for a total estimated P17,000 worth of tuition and other fees for a 15-unit load under Bracket B of the STFAP.

“We would have wanted to do away with the interest, but we currently do not have the resources to do that,” explained

Pascual.Based on the Board of Regents’

policy statement saying “no qualified UP student shall be denied access to education due to financial incapacity,” the memo was released to facilitate the enrolment of students who do not have final STFAP brackets and who cannot afford their current temporary bracket assignments.

Pascual however clarified that “non-

Continued on page 11

Sidebar 1

BALITA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013 BALITA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013 5

Justice for Kristel Alliance:

‘Junk anti-poor UP Code provisions’ GASC selects 1st ever SR from UP Min

Eng’g freshies barred from joining orgs

FOR ABOUT 1,000 ENGINEERING freshman students, joining an organization is not an option, at least for the first semester.

First year students at the UP College of Engineering (CoE) are now barred from applying for organizations in their first semester, after the college administration adopted a provision of the 2012 draft Code of Student Conduct governing organizations.

CoE Associate Dean for Student Affairs Joseph Reyes first announced the new rule on the group account of the Engineering Association of Student Leaders on the social networking site Facebook on May 22.

“If you do not wish to face sanctions from the university, tell your members/alumni to honor the student code and desist from this demeaning practice,” Reyes said in his post.

In the Early Enrollment Orientation

Angerica Hainto

Continued on page 11Continued on page 11

Keith Richard D. Mariano

THE FIRST STUDENT REGENT (SR) to hail from UP Mindanao will be sitting on the Board of Regents (BOR), the highest policy-making body in the university, this academic year.

Krista Iris Melgarejo, a former chair of the UP Mindanao Student Council (USC), will be the sole representative of UP students to the BOR as she takes her oath as the 31st SR on June 20.

The General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) selected Melgarejo among five other nominees in its second meeting at the UP Visayas Miag-ao campus in Iloilo from May 18 to 19.

Other nominees include UP Diliman (UPD) students Leila Nur Aryanna Canacan and Victor Gregor Limon, who were selected as second and third nominees respectively. Canacan is a former

Continued on page 11

SC junks petition vs tuition hikes in 354 tertiary schools

Klidel Rellin

UNANG BUGSOPhoto by Jiru Rada

Sinalubong ng iba’t-ibang grupo ng kabataan ang unang araw ng pasukan sa pagsasagawa ng protesta sa harapan ng opisina ng Departamento ng Edukasyon-NCR sa Quezon City noong ika-3 ng Hunyo. Ikinondena nila ang implementasyon ng RA 10533 o ang Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (K-12 Law) at ang pagtataas ng bayad sa matrikula ng mahigit 1,000 pribadong paaralang pang-elementarya at hayskul

HIGHER TUITION RATES GREETED students in the first week of classes this year, as the Supreme Court (SC) junked a petition against the implementation of tuition hikes in 354 private tertiary schools.

Barely two weeks before classes opened, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) approved an average tuition increase of 8.5 percent, or P38 per unit, in 354 higher education institutions (HEIs). Other school fees, such as miscellaneous fees, increased by an average of 7.58 percent or P194.62.

In a May 29 petition, Kabataan

Party-List (KPL) and other youth groups called on the high tribunal to ban the implementation of the said tuition hikes.

The petitioners questioned the constitutionality of Section 42 of Batas Pambansa No. 32, or the Education Act of 1982, and the CHEd’s Memorandum Order No. 3 series of 2012. “Both law and regulation [do] not constitute reasonable regulation and supervision of all [HEIs] as required by the 1987 Constitution,” the petition read.

On June 4, however, the SC dismissed the petition due to “technical defects”

A MULTI-SECTORAL ALLIANCE of different organizations in the university has called on the administration to amend certain “anti-poor” provisions of the Revised Code of UP System.

In a letter addressed to UP President Alfredo Pascual on April 8, outgoing Student Regent Cleve Arguelles originally submitted a proposal to repeal Articles 330, 430, and 431 of the UP System Code. (see sidebar)

The proposal was based on the results of a March 25 dialogue between Pascual and members of the Justice for Kristel Alliance, a multi-sectoral formation of individuals and organizations across the UP system.

Members of the alliance include the All-UP Workers Union, All-UP Academic Employees Union, Staff Regent Jossel Ebesate, Arguelles, Kalipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral (KASAMA sa UP).

The alliance was convened a few days after UP Manila (UPM) student Kristel Tejada committed suicide after she was forced to file for a leave of absence (LOA).

Assigned into Bracket D of the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance

Victor Gregor Limon

Program (STFAP), the student and her family could not afford to pay her tuition while her request for a tuition loan has been denied by the UPM loan board.

The Justice for Kristel Alliance has since submitted a more detailed position paper calling for the repeal of Articles 327, 330, 430, and 431 of the UP Code (see sidebar 1).

According to the alliance, these articles must be replaced with new provisions consistent with the policy statement approved by the Board of Regents on April 12, which states that “no qualified UP student shall be denied access to education to financial incapacity.”

The proposed amendments will be discussed by the Board of Regents, the university’s highest policy-making body, during its first regular meeting this year on June 20.

Meanwhile, in an administrative order dated May 14, Pascual asked a group of former UP administrators to convene as a committee that would review Articles 330, 430, and 431 of the UP Code.

Headed by Former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and UPD Professor

Elizabeth Enriquez, the committee shall make “recommendations that will make our university rules, procedures, and practices responsive to the needs of our students, particularly the poor,” Pascual said.

Other members are former UPD University Registrars Pamela Constantino and Ludendorffo Decenteceo, Former UPM Office of Student Affairs Director Nymia Simbulan, and Former Assistant to the UPLB Chancellor Atty. Damcelle Torres-Cortes.

The review committee however does not include student representatives. “I am confident in the knowledge and long experience of these seasoned administrators who will take into consideration the proposals submitted by the students,” Pascual explained. ∞

No student shall be denied admission to the University System by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliations.

No student shall be denied admission to the University System by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, political affiliations or financial incapacity.

Sidebar 1

FROM TO

No person who has not duly matriculated may be admitted to the classes. In exceptional cas-es, the Dean of Admissions may, on the recommendation of the Dean or Director concerned, authorize the admission of a visitor to a class for not more than five sessions.

No qualified UP student shall be denied admission to his/her classes on the sole basis of non-payment of matriculation fees.

Students who are indebted to the Student Loan Board, their sureties and parents or guardians shall be notified that such indebtedness must be paid in full one month before the final semestral examinations begin.

Students who have outstanding loans with the University shall be notified, together with their parents or guardians, that such indebtedness must be paid in full before their diplomas, tran-script of records, clearance and other academic credentials are released. Pending the full pay-ment of their outstanding loans, students will be given a certification that they have finished all academic requirements and that their academic credentials will only be released upon settling such loans.

If a student fails to settle his account at the time herein provided, the faculty members should either bar the delinquent student from taking the examinations or, if they allow him to take the examinations, to withhold his grades – that is, instead of indicating the grades, the faculty members should write a note in the “re-marks” column “Has account with the Student Loan Board.” If the account is not settled by the opening of the following semester, the student may not be allowed to register.

A student who fails to settle his or her account within a semester because of financial incapaci-ty as attested to by his/her parent, guardian or professor, shall not be barred from attending his or her classes, nor his or her grades withheld due to non-payment of tuition and other fees. A student with outstanding loans shall be allowed to register in the next semester.

ART. 327

ART. 330

ART. 430

ART. 431

6 LATHALAIN PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013 7

Illustration: Ysa Calinawan

Page design: Ashley Garcia

DEAR FRESHIES,I can imagine the smile you had

on your face when you first heard you passed the UPCAT. I know, because I had one exactly like it when I learned the same news last year.

Everyone was so happy for me. My mother cried with joy, my

teachers gave me a pat on the back, and soon I found my

face on a banner outside of my high school. My

curiosity about my future alma mater

would lead me to many, many stories about UP, and I

came to my first day the way you

probably did: armed with

this grand

fantasy of what the University is like.

The fantasy eventually crumbled as the days and months passed.

University of the PoorWe were told that in UP, we will

meet people from all walks of life. There was the proverbial promdi who would be bringing a bayong to class. But in my entire year as a freshman, I have never met a son or a daughter of a farmer, or a vendor, or a construction worker. And I probably never will.

In my home college, the College of Mass Communication, classes would usually be attended by students in nice clothes and with many gadgets; some drive their own cars, too. Definitely, these are not from the families of some faraway farm.

Since 2006, the full tuition fee rate has skyrocketed to P1,500/unit from P300/unit in 1989 –surpassing both the NCR and the national average of P1,186 and P590, respectively. This makes UP, a state university, more expensive than most schools in the country and places it among the ranks of privately-run colleges.

These days, a 15-unit load already costs P22,500, way beyond the monthly minimum wage for

Filipinos (pegged at P13,680 per month for Metro Manila, and P8,742 for the rest of the country). So you see, passing the UPCAT would only get your face on a tarpaulin. The real admission exam is a test of your financial capacity.

Quality education for allWhen I passed the UPCAT, the

congratulatory letter from the UP administration said, “Lack of financial resources should not be a hindrance to obtaining a UP education.” It calmed my mother somehow.

Attached to the letter was a pamphlet about the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), one that is touted to democratize access to UP by providing calculated tuition discounts to students. The STFAP uses economic indicators such as your family income and properties to determine your subsidy ranging from 40 to 100 percent.

I was categorized under Bracket A, and had to pay at least P25,000 for my first semester, a part of which my parents had to borrow. My classmate, on the other hand,

was placed in Bracket B despite her mother’s ailing condition, when all she owned was a cellphone and a defective microwave. Last year, 375 STFAP beneficiaries appealed for lower bracketing while 1,700 applicants resorted to student loans.

A UP Manila freshman even committed suicide last March, after being forced to take a leave of absence for failing to pay her tuition loan. She was classified under Bracket D, which charges P300/unit, even though the family had four other children and only relied on the father’s part-time work as a taxi driver.

State universitySuch cases show that

the STFAP bracketing system fails to accurately assess the students’ financial situation, and has not truly democratized access into UP as promised. In fact, only 397 out of 3,823 STFAP applicants received free tuition in 2012.

Student council alliance Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP) notes that the university collected

about P500 millon f r o m t u i t i o n payments in 2011 while allotting

only P25 million for the so-called

b e n e f i c i a r i e s . T h e S T F A P t h u s

generate d a lmo st P475 million in profit, says KASAMA sa UP chair Eduardo Gabral.

“We are gradually reducing the subsidy to

SUCs [state universities and colleges] to push them

toward becoming self-sufficient and financially independent,” says Pres. Benigno Aquino III in his 2011 Budget Message. By the looks of things, UP is following the trend.

If your family had to pawn your inherited necklace, or your father had to take another job just so you can enroll this semester, you probably now understand that obtaining UP education actually comes with a price –a hefty one. And as the government continues to deprive UP of sufficient funds, the university is forced to submit to agreements that compromise its public character.

Iskolar ng bayanEntering the Diliman campus,

you will be greeted by The Oblation, his arms outstretched and head tilted to the sky, symbolizing service to the country. Over the next years, UP is supposed to instill in you this noble mission, the meaning of being an iskolar ng bayan. But many things send the wrong message.

For one, UP has been partnering with private entities to support itself. Properties that should have been allocated for academic use had been handed to the highest bidder for them to run however they like. Case in point: the expansive Technohub area along Commonwealth Avenue, which was supposed to be a Science and Technology Park, but is now a call center/business hub of Ayala.

Walk to the Virata School of Business, College of Engineering, or Institute of Chemistry, and you’ll see many classrooms named after corporate giants who provided funding. They now find a chance to forever etch their names into our memory of college life, plus a ready pool of future employees. Scholarships with lengthy strings of conditions from companies are dangled above our heads, such that we may identify less with the Iskolar ng Bayan tag, and more with their corporate motto.

As Gabral explains, “[N]akukondisyon yung mga estudyante na iprioritize ang mga ito [private sector] kaysa sa improvement and development ng local industries natin.”

UP fantasyAs you are welcomed into UP

today, you will be congratulated for the nth time by speakers who will praise you for being among the cream of the crop. But most of them will avoid treading on the realities of UP life, of UP education. Points will be sugarcoated as to not antagonize you this early.

Although it may have taken me a year before shattering my personal assumptions about the university, sifting through what is fact and myth now would lead you to the real university scene. And see for yourself what action needs to be done. ∞

The UP dream: A letter to the new Isko and Iska

Ronn Joshua C. Bautista

LATHALAIN PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

Ang PinakaGloiza Plamenco

FIRST DAY HIGH: NASA PRIORITY list ka ayon sa iyong Form 5A. Dahil dito’y agad-agad mong na-enlist ang iyong mga subjects. Sa iyong pamamasyal suot ang bagong biling UP shirt at lanyard, maririnig mo ang iba’t ibang kwento tungkol sa pamantasan na iisa lamang ang

Pinoy Henyo

Hawak ni John Gabriel Pelias ng BS Math, ang record bilang UP graduate na may pinakamataas (at pinaka-halimaw) na GWA na 1.016 noong 2011.

Paalis ka pa lang ng high school, patapos na ng kolehiyo si Mikaela Irene Fudolig—pinakabatang graduate ng Pilipinas sa edad na 16 at valedictorian ng UP batch 2007.

Si Fe del Mundo, graduate ng medisina sa UP, ang kauna-unahang babaeng natanggap bilang estudyante sa Harvard School of Medicine.

Ang aktres na si Eugene Domingo ay graduate ng Theater Arts sa UP. Maging ang mamamahayag na si Atom Araullo na dating STAND-UP chairperson ay nagtapos ng BS Applied Physics sa UP.

Minsan sa may Kalayaan Residence Hall nagkatagpuan sina Ely, Buddy, Marcus at Raimund at binuo ang Eraserheads.

34 sa 35 National Scientists, 36 sa 57 National Artists, at pito sa 15 na pangulo ng bansa ay mga graduate ng UP.

Kalayaan Residence

Maliban sa mga prof ng College of Law na mahigpit sa patakaran ng pananamit, walang kinikilalang dress code ang UP.

Isa ang Cine Adarna sa dalawang sinehan sa buong bansa na malayang nakapagpapalabas nang walang panghihimasok ng Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Si Jose Maria Sison, BA English Studies, ang co-founder ng militanteng grupong Kabataang Makabayan noong 1967. Isa rin siya sa mga nagtatag ng Communist Party of the Philippines.

Ginawang launch pad ng mga kwitis at Molotov bombs na gawa ng mga estudyante at guro ang Engineering at AS rooftop noong Diliman Commune ng 1971, bilang pagtutol sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at militarisasyon sa unibersidad.

Nasa Main Library ang orihinal na Oblation, ang hubad na simbolo ng UP na tanda ng pag-aalay ng sarili sa bayan. Ito ay hango sa “Mi Ultimo Adios” ni Jose Rizal.

Pinakaunang ginanap ang Oblation Run noong 1977, bilang protesta sa pag-censor ng dulang “Hubad na Bayani”. Simula noon, dumadayo na ang mga Ateng (at Koyang) galing sa iba’t ibang panig ng lungsod upang titigan… ang mga placard na dala ng mga tumatakbo.

Sa buong Metro Manila, UP Diliman lamang ang may jeep sa loob ng kampus at may sariling sistema ng transportasyon. Color-coded ang bubong ng mga jeep: berde para sa UP-Philcoa, Pantranco at SM North, maroon sa Katipunan, at dilaw sa IKOT at TOKI (at baka mali pa ang masakyan mo, ha).

Dahil ipinagbabawal ang militar o ibang pulis sa loob ng kampus, may sariling police din ang unibersidad: ang UP Diliman Police (UPDP) sa tapat ng Arki. Sa kawalan ng pondo, 40 lang ang miyembro ng UPDP.

Kung short sa budget pero naghahanap ng tambayan o tsibugan, nariyan ang Sarah’s para sa mahaba-habang inuman/usapan, o ang mga kiosks na nagtitinda ng mga combos ng pancit canton. Sulit rin ang mahabang pila sa Isawan ni Mang Larry na dinarayo pa ng mga artista.

For sure, sa araw-araw mong pagbagtas sa UP makikilala mo si Zorro, ang tagapagtanggol ng Academic Oval. Minsa’y palakad-lakad, nagpapa-interview, o nakaupo lang sa bench, nagrereflect ‘ata sa kanyang isusuot na costume kinabukasan.

Para sa masa (pasintabi sa Eraserheads)

Itinuturing na Hall of Famer ang Fine Arts tuwing Lantern Parade kaya’t hindi na sila kasali sa taunang kumpetisyon.

Ang General Luna Parade Grounds, o mas kilala bilang Sunken Garden, ay lumulubog ng isang sentimentro taun-taon. ∞

ipinapahiwatig — UP ang pinaka sa lahat.

Bilang bagong kasapi ng UP community, mabuting makilala mo nang mas maigi ang bago mong tahanan bago magpatung-patong ang mga readings.

6 LATHALAIN PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013 7

Illustration: Ysa Calinawan

Page design: Ashley Garcia

DEAR FRESHIES,I can imagine the smile you had

on your face when you first heard you passed the UPCAT. I know, because I had one exactly like it when I learned the same news last year.

Everyone was so happy for me. My mother cried with joy, my

teachers gave me a pat on the back, and soon I found my

face on a banner outside of my high school. My

curiosity about my future alma mater

would lead me to many, many stories about UP, and I

came to my first day the way you

probably did: armed with

this grand

fantasy of what the University is like.

The fantasy eventually crumbled as the days and months passed.

University of the PoorWe were told that in UP, we will

meet people from all walks of life. There was the proverbial promdi who would be bringing a bayong to class. But in my entire year as a freshman, I have never met a son or a daughter of a farmer, or a vendor, or a construction worker. And I probably never will.

In my home college, the College of Mass Communication, classes would usually be attended by students in nice clothes and with many gadgets; some drive their own cars, too. Definitely, these are not from the families of some faraway farm.

Since 2006, the full tuition fee rate has skyrocketed to P1,500/unit from P300/unit in 1989 –surpassing both the NCR and the national average of P1,186 and P590, respectively. This makes UP, a state university, more expensive than most schools in the country and places it among the ranks of privately-run colleges.

These days, a 15-unit load already costs P22,500, way beyond the monthly minimum wage for

Filipinos (pegged at P13,680 per month for Metro Manila, and P8,742 for the rest of the country). So you see, passing the UPCAT would only get your face on a tarpaulin. The real admission exam is a test of your financial capacity.

Quality education for allWhen I passed the UPCAT, the

congratulatory letter from the UP administration said, “Lack of financial resources should not be a hindrance to obtaining a UP education.” It calmed my mother somehow.

Attached to the letter was a pamphlet about the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), one that is touted to democratize access to UP by providing calculated tuition discounts to students. The STFAP uses economic indicators such as your family income and properties to determine your subsidy ranging from 40 to 100 percent.

I was categorized under Bracket A, and had to pay at least P25,000 for my first semester, a part of which my parents had to borrow. My classmate, on the other hand,

was placed in Bracket B despite her mother’s ailing condition, when all she owned was a cellphone and a defective microwave. Last year, 375 STFAP beneficiaries appealed for lower bracketing while 1,700 applicants resorted to student loans.

A UP Manila freshman even committed suicide last March, after being forced to take a leave of absence for failing to pay her tuition loan. She was classified under Bracket D, which charges P300/unit, even though the family had four other children and only relied on the father’s part-time work as a taxi driver.

State universitySuch cases show that

the STFAP bracketing system fails to accurately assess the students’ financial situation, and has not truly democratized access into UP as promised. In fact, only 397 out of 3,823 STFAP applicants received free tuition in 2012.

Student council alliance Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP) notes that the university collected

about P500 millon f r o m t u i t i o n payments in 2011 while allotting

only P25 million for the so-called

b e n e f i c i a r i e s . T h e S T F A P t h u s

generate d a lmo st P475 million in profit, says KASAMA sa UP chair Eduardo Gabral.

“We are gradually reducing the subsidy to

SUCs [state universities and colleges] to push them

toward becoming self-sufficient and financially independent,” says Pres. Benigno Aquino III in his 2011 Budget Message. By the looks of things, UP is following the trend.

If your family had to pawn your inherited necklace, or your father had to take another job just so you can enroll this semester, you probably now understand that obtaining UP education actually comes with a price –a hefty one. And as the government continues to deprive UP of sufficient funds, the university is forced to submit to agreements that compromise its public character.

Iskolar ng bayanEntering the Diliman campus,

you will be greeted by The Oblation, his arms outstretched and head tilted to the sky, symbolizing service to the country. Over the next years, UP is supposed to instill in you this noble mission, the meaning of being an iskolar ng bayan. But many things send the wrong message.

For one, UP has been partnering with private entities to support itself. Properties that should have been allocated for academic use had been handed to the highest bidder for them to run however they like. Case in point: the expansive Technohub area along Commonwealth Avenue, which was supposed to be a Science and Technology Park, but is now a call center/business hub of Ayala.

Walk to the Virata School of Business, College of Engineering, or Institute of Chemistry, and you’ll see many classrooms named after corporate giants who provided funding. They now find a chance to forever etch their names into our memory of college life, plus a ready pool of future employees. Scholarships with lengthy strings of conditions from companies are dangled above our heads, such that we may identify less with the Iskolar ng Bayan tag, and more with their corporate motto.

As Gabral explains, “[N]akukondisyon yung mga estudyante na iprioritize ang mga ito [private sector] kaysa sa improvement and development ng local industries natin.”

UP fantasyAs you are welcomed into UP

today, you will be congratulated for the nth time by speakers who will praise you for being among the cream of the crop. But most of them will avoid treading on the realities of UP life, of UP education. Points will be sugarcoated as to not antagonize you this early.

Although it may have taken me a year before shattering my personal assumptions about the university, sifting through what is fact and myth now would lead you to the real university scene. And see for yourself what action needs to be done. ∞

The UP dream: A letter to the new Isko and Iska

Ronn Joshua C. Bautista

LATHALAIN PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

Ang PinakaGloiza Plamenco

FIRST DAY HIGH: NASA PRIORITY list ka ayon sa iyong Form 5A. Dahil dito’y agad-agad mong na-enlist ang iyong mga subjects. Sa iyong pamamasyal suot ang bagong biling UP shirt at lanyard, maririnig mo ang iba’t ibang kwento tungkol sa pamantasan na iisa lamang ang

Pinoy Henyo

Hawak ni John Gabriel Pelias ng BS Math, ang record bilang UP graduate na may pinakamataas (at pinaka-halimaw) na GWA na 1.016 noong 2011.

Paalis ka pa lang ng high school, patapos na ng kolehiyo si Mikaela Irene Fudolig—pinakabatang graduate ng Pilipinas sa edad na 16 at valedictorian ng UP batch 2007.

Si Fe del Mundo, graduate ng medisina sa UP, ang kauna-unahang babaeng natanggap bilang estudyante sa Harvard School of Medicine.

Ang aktres na si Eugene Domingo ay graduate ng Theater Arts sa UP. Maging ang mamamahayag na si Atom Araullo na dating STAND-UP chairperson ay nagtapos ng BS Applied Physics sa UP.

Minsan sa may Kalayaan Residence Hall nagkatagpuan sina Ely, Buddy, Marcus at Raimund at binuo ang Eraserheads.

34 sa 35 National Scientists, 36 sa 57 National Artists, at pito sa 15 na pangulo ng bansa ay mga graduate ng UP.

Kalayaan Residence

Maliban sa mga prof ng College of Law na mahigpit sa patakaran ng pananamit, walang kinikilalang dress code ang UP.

Isa ang Cine Adarna sa dalawang sinehan sa buong bansa na malayang nakapagpapalabas nang walang panghihimasok ng Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Si Jose Maria Sison, BA English Studies, ang co-founder ng militanteng grupong Kabataang Makabayan noong 1967. Isa rin siya sa mga nagtatag ng Communist Party of the Philippines.

Ginawang launch pad ng mga kwitis at Molotov bombs na gawa ng mga estudyante at guro ang Engineering at AS rooftop noong Diliman Commune ng 1971, bilang pagtutol sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at militarisasyon sa unibersidad.

Nasa Main Library ang orihinal na Oblation, ang hubad na simbolo ng UP na tanda ng pag-aalay ng sarili sa bayan. Ito ay hango sa “Mi Ultimo Adios” ni Jose Rizal.

Pinakaunang ginanap ang Oblation Run noong 1977, bilang protesta sa pag-censor ng dulang “Hubad na Bayani”. Simula noon, dumadayo na ang mga Ateng (at Koyang) galing sa iba’t ibang panig ng lungsod upang titigan… ang mga placard na dala ng mga tumatakbo.

Sa buong Metro Manila, UP Diliman lamang ang may jeep sa loob ng kampus at may sariling sistema ng transportasyon. Color-coded ang bubong ng mga jeep: berde para sa UP-Philcoa, Pantranco at SM North, maroon sa Katipunan, at dilaw sa IKOT at TOKI (at baka mali pa ang masakyan mo, ha).

Dahil ipinagbabawal ang militar o ibang pulis sa loob ng kampus, may sariling police din ang unibersidad: ang UP Diliman Police (UPDP) sa tapat ng Arki. Sa kawalan ng pondo, 40 lang ang miyembro ng UPDP.

Kung short sa budget pero naghahanap ng tambayan o tsibugan, nariyan ang Sarah’s para sa mahaba-habang inuman/usapan, o ang mga kiosks na nagtitinda ng mga combos ng pancit canton. Sulit rin ang mahabang pila sa Isawan ni Mang Larry na dinarayo pa ng mga artista.

For sure, sa araw-araw mong pagbagtas sa UP makikilala mo si Zorro, ang tagapagtanggol ng Academic Oval. Minsa’y palakad-lakad, nagpapa-interview, o nakaupo lang sa bench, nagrereflect ‘ata sa kanyang isusuot na costume kinabukasan.

Para sa masa (pasintabi sa Eraserheads)

Itinuturing na Hall of Famer ang Fine Arts tuwing Lantern Parade kaya’t hindi na sila kasali sa taunang kumpetisyon.

Ang General Luna Parade Grounds, o mas kilala bilang Sunken Garden, ay lumulubog ng isang sentimentro taun-taon. ∞

ipinapahiwatig — UP ang pinaka sa lahat.

Bilang bagong kasapi ng UP community, mabuting makilala mo nang mas maigi ang bago mong tahanan bago magpatung-patong ang mga readings.

8

Spaces of DissentI don’t consider myself as the daring kind who ventures into unknown territories. Yet one afternoon after class, I found myself taking the flight of stairs leading to the top floor of Vinzons Hall. Drawn perhaps by the promise of being part of an institution known for its historical prestige and legacy, I decided to try my luck at writing for the Philippine Collegian.

I have heard a lot about the campus paper, fondly called by UP students as Kulê. But as I become part of the institution that marks its 91st year, I begin to understand how the Collegian has evolved into what it is now known for—critical and fearless campus journalism that never fears to chart spaces where most fear to tread.

KULTURA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

Colleen Abesamis

Point of origin

The first thing I noticed the first time

I entered the Collegian office was a print

hanging on a wall, bearing these bold

words: “Education is a Right. Fight for

it.” To me, such a call for action seems

so distant from former Collegian terms

which hosted beauty contests, published

photos of campus heartthrobs, and even

accommodated advertisements in its

own pages.

Today, the Collegian boldly claims

the task of being an alternative space for

relevant information and critical ideas

which are often ignored by mainstream

media institutions. This tradition traces

its roots to its early years when it was still

the College Folio (1910) and the Varsity

News (1917). It was in 1922 when the

publication became known by its current

name: the Philippine Collegian.

Since then, the Collegian has not just

been a mere witness but also stood at the

forefront of social movements during

the defining moments of history. Its

pages became a space for alternative and

often radical ideas which seek not only to

forward the interests of the students but

more importantly those of the workers,

peasants, the urban poor, and other

sectors of the larger society.

The paper’s usual masthead drives

home the Collegian tradition: the

Oblation looking skyward, arms

outstretched as a symbol of offering

one’s self in service to the nation and

its people.

GroundworkDuring my first Kulê general meeting,

I remember that I kept to my corner in the conference room, intimidated by the passionate voices that criticized the paper’s most recent issue and planned the line-up of articles for the next release. Blunt and unfazed, the Kulê staff

scrutinized every topic, every point of analysis, and refused to leave the weekly line-up unfinished, though our meeting had already stretched to almost four hours. I felt embarrassed about not being able to contribute anything at the moment, but I admired and was inspired by my colleagues’ passion in keeping the Collegian tradition.

As a weekly paper, one of the Collegian’s greatest constraints is time, as can be seen from the assignments on the board and the looming deadlines that

exempt no one. Despite this, the paper is published and read by members of the UP community on a weekly basis. Yet along with its duty to advocate the welfare

of students is also its dedication to issues beyond the borders of the university. The Collegian is an alternative press, which challenges the dominant ideas of the day and dedicating its pages to perspectives rejected by the status quo. Because of this, the publication is no

stranger to threats.During Martial Law, even when many publications were closed down, the Collegian persisted as a mosquito press publication. It published articles against the Marcos regime, which got the paper suspended for three weeks and even put some of its writers under ‘house arrest’ and ‘protective custody.’ Even after overthrow of the Marcos

dictatorsip, the Collegian stood by its critical

tradition. It ran the Rebel Collegian twice, first

in 1996 when the Board of Regents appointed

Voltaire Veneracion as the new editor-in-chief

instead of Richard Gappi who placed first in the

editorial examinations, and again in 2006 when

the publication’s funds were put on hold by the

administration.

In a bid to stop the BIR-approved 300

percent tuition and other fees increase (TOFI),

the Collegian released an issue documenting the

protests held by the student body to stop the

implementation of TOFI in 2007.

I feel privileged to have been given

a chance to occupy a small place in this

institution , though I am overwhelmed

by the challenge of carrying the Collegian

tradition with my own hands.

Perspectives and ProspectsToday, in the middle of the weekly presswork, as I got to know the faces behind the by-lines, I am moved by the thought that we are members of an institution sustained by a collective desire for change. As a paper that has never desisted from its

duty to aware of the needs of its audience, the Collegian has featured artwork that provides commentary on life in UP. Perhaps one of the most famous among these is “Bertong Badtrip,” a comic strip created in 2002 by then Graphics Editor Manix Abrera, which featured a UP student annoyed by the usual campus scenarios.

The pages of the Collegian are also brought to life by artworks that capture the imagination of its readers about campus,

national, and even global issues. Among these are a

2007 cover artwork entitled ‘Sa Bingit ng Pagguho,’ an

Oblation-shaped collage of images that symbolize the gradual

commercialization of UP, and Ken Bautista’s cover of 2006’s seventh issue which illustrates the hidden motives of the US in supporting Israel in its war against Lebanon.

No wonder the Collegian had become home to people who later excelled in their respective professions. Among the its notable alumni are the Supreme Court’s 22nd Chief Justice Reynato Puno, writer and activist Ninotchka Rosca, investigative journalist Ma. Lourdes Mangahas, senator Miriam

Defensor Santiago, and activist poet Ericson Acosta. The publication’s very first editor-in-chief was Wenceslao Vinzons, after whom UP Diliman’s student center building was named.

Yet even with the grandeur of this 91-year old legacy, I begin to feel a little less overwhelmed, because I realize that the strength of this institution is drawn not solely on the talents of its members. Rather, the Collegian has persisted throughout the years because of its potential as an institution who has never feared to take sides, to resist, to dissent, and to always forward the interests and welfare of its publishers, the students. ∞Illustration : Rosette AbogadoPage design : Jerome Tagaro

KULTURA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013 9

“Anong orAs nA?”Ito ang laging tanong sa akin ng mga naaalimpungatan kong roommate tuwing umaga.

Maaga akong gumigising, kaya sanay na akong mapagtanungan ng oras. Unang araw ng klase ngayon ngunit tinanghali ako ng gising, dala marahil ng pagod noong enrolment. Nakadagdag pa ang makulimlim na kalangitan sa labas kaya inakala kong maaga pa. Mabuti na lang at Ikot dyip lang ang kailangan kong sakyan upang makarating sa klase.

Gabay natin ang oras sa ating araw-araw na gawain. Ngunit sa dami ng ating dapat gawin, nagmimistula tayong alipin nito. Wala tayong kawala sa kapangyarihan ng oras na takdaan ang simula at wakas ng ating mga araw—mula sa paggising, pagpasok sa eskwela, pag-uulat sa klase, pagsusulat at pagpapasa ng papel, hanggang sa pagtulog.

Kahit na sa mga gawaing tinuturing nating pangakaraniwan —paggamit ng mga unli promo sa cellphone, pagbabadyet ng allowance, panonood ng basketball game sa TV—mapagpasya ang oras.

Hindi partikular ang mga Pilipino sa oras. Tanging posisyon ng araw at tilaok ng manok lamang ang gamit ng ating mga ninuno upang mabatid ang oras. Nabubuhay tayo noon sa sarili nating orasan at ginagawa ang mga bagay batay sa ating nararamdaman, panahon at pagkakataon. Isa itong patunay na nais nating igpawan ang kapangyarihan ng oras.

Likas sa mga Pilipino ang pagiging masayahin, magiliw sa mga panauhin, at masipag. Ngunit kilala rin tayo sa “Filipino Time” o pagiging huli sa mga pagtitipon. Kalimitan itong iniuugnay sa katamaran umano ng mga Pilipino at itinuturing na balakid sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa.

Kamakailan ay nilagdaan ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III ang Republic Act 1035 o ang “Philippine Standard Time” (PST), isang batas na nagtatakda ng pamantayan ng oras na gagamitin sa buong Pilipinas—sa mga tanggapan ng pamahalaan, paaralan, simbahan, pribadong sektor, at maging sa mga pampublikong lugar.

Itatakda ng Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), ang ahensyang magpapatupad sa nasabing batas, ang opisyal na oras ng Pilipinas. Kalakip nito ang pagpapataw ng multa na nagkakahalaga ng Php 30,000 sa mga pribadong may-ari ng istasyon ng telebisyon at radyo sakaling hindi magawang sumunod sa pamantayang oras.

Magkakaroon din ng “National Time Consciousness Week” na gaganapin tuwing unang linggo ng taon. Kasabay nito ang pagpapalaganap ng impormasyon upang higit na maunawaan ng mga Pilipino ang kahalagahan ng oras para sa sarili at sa kapwa.

Sa pagkakaroon umano ng pamantayang oras, unti-unting maiiwasan hanggang sa tuluyang mawala ang “Filipino Time.” Sabay-sabay na magsisimula at matatapos ang oras ng paggawa ng mga empleyado at manggagawa. Maaasahan din ang maagang pagbubukas ng mga tanggapan ng pamahalaan.

Sa kabilang banda, walang sapat na batayan ang pagkakaroon ng “Filipino Time.” Noong panahon ng mga Kastila, itinatak sa isipan ng mga Pilipino ang magpahuli sa mga piging upang bigyang-daan ang mga mahahalagang panauhin. Samantala, itinuturing namang pa-importante ang mga karaniwang Pilipino na nahuhuli sa salu-salo.

Ayon sa “Indolence of the Filipinos” ni Jose Rizal, hindi niya pinasubalian ang katamaran ng mga Pilipino. Sa halip, nagbigay siya ng mga dahilan kung bakit hindi angkop ang konsepto ng oras ng mga dayuhan sa mga Pilipino.

Halimbawa, madaling araw pa lang ay nasa bukirin at nag-aararo na ang mga magsasaka habang mahimbing pang natutulog ang mga prayle. Samakatwid, hindi nakikita ng mga prayle ang pagtatrabaho ng mga Pilipino sapagkat ang paggising nila ay siya namang oras ng pamamahinga ng mga Pilipino.

“Ang tao ay produkto ng oras. Kapag binigyang pakahulugan niya ang oras, magbabalik siya sa orihinal na siklo ng panahon. Sa pagpasok ng industriyalisasyon nabigyang-halaga ang oras sa pagiging produktibo ng tao,” ani Romulo Baquiran, isang propesor at kritiko ng kulturang Pilipino.

Kaya masasabing makapangyarihan ang oras sapagkat kaya nitong kontrolin at itakda ang kinabukasan ng isang lipunan. Isang patunay ang mga industriyalisadong bansa katulad ng Japan kung saan pinapahalagahan ang bawat segundo ng kanilang oras bilang kontribusyon sa lakas-paggawa ng bansa.

Pangunahing tunguhin ng PST ang maging instrumento sa pagpapaigting ng lakas-paggawa sa Pilipinas. Sa ilalim ng PST, ang estado ang magtatakda ng oras na gugugulin ng mga manggagawa at empleyado sa paggawa.

“Ang pagtawag ng estado na sundin ng mga mamamayan ang eksaktong oras ay pagtugon sa demand ng negosyo na maging eksakto at precise sa pagtalima sa produksiyon,” dagdag pa ni Baquiran.

Tinuran na ni Karl Marx sa kanyang teorya ng produksyon kung paanong sinasagad ng mga negosyante ang lakas-paggawa at oras ng mga manggagawa upang kumita ng malaki.

Maaaring sa pamamagitan ng PST ay maiwasan ang lagpas sa walong oras na pagtatrabaho ng mga manggagawa, lalo na sa mga hindi nabibigyan ng

tamang sahod. Magiging maagap din ang pagbubukas ng mga opisina ng iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno.

Sa kabila nito, walang katiyakan kung tunguhin ng PST na pangalagaan ang kapakanan ng mga mamamayan partikular na ang mga manggagawa. Anuman ang mangyari, hawak pa rin ng mga negosyante ang mga manggagawa dahil sila ang nagtatakda ng sistema sa pasahod.

Mainam na sahod at trabaho ang pangunahing motibasyon ng mga manggagawa at empleyado sa pananatili nila sa trabaho. Kapag binigyan sila ng magandang oportunidad, mas gaganahan silang magtrabaho.

Sa katunayan, hindi nasusukat ang pagiging produktibo ng isang manggagawa sa oras sapagkat kahit gaano man kaikli o kahaba ang oras ng pagtatrabaho, mas binibigyang halaga ng mga Pilipino ang dekalidad na produkto at serbisyo.

Sa unang tingin, tila magandang programa ang PST na naglalayong himukin ang mga Pilipino na huwag maging tamad at pahalagahan ang oras. Subalit, hindi nito naugat ang tunay na suliraning kinakaharap ng bansa—mababang sahod ng mga manggagawa, at hindi sapat na badyet para sa mga batayang serbisyong pangmasa.

Sa halip, tila musmos kung tayo’y ituring ng estado sa pagdidikta sa atin kung paano gamitin ang oras sa tingin nilang mas kapaki-pakinabang na paraan.

Maaaring maiwasto ng PST ang negatibong konotasyon sa “Filipino Time” sa pagiging maagap at produktibo. Subalit sa huli, uusad lamang pasulong ang bansa kung magagapi ang mga atrasadong kalagayan ng mga mamamayang Pilipino. ∞

Mary Joy Capistrano

Alipin ng Oras

Illustration : Kendrick Bautista Page design : Jerome Tagaro

Wala tayong

kawala sa

kapangyarihan

ng oras

KULTURA PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

I CANNOT HELP BUT FEEL disappointed over the latest episode of Boy Abunda’s The Bottomline last Saturday, wherein the issue of UPM freshman Kristel Tejada was “revisited” three months after the incident caught the attention of Philippine media. It was a classic story of a girl who looked up to (UP) education as passport to alleviat-ing her family’s poor condition, yet was confronted by the harsh realities of the country’s education sector as reflected in the national university’s policies.

At first, the episode had a promising premise, lending a space to revive the several discourses that surrounded the incident when all the brouhaha has faded.

What triggered a complete turn-about was the manner, by which the show went on and ended without the slightest semblance of sharp criticism to deconstruct the issue at the very least. It is very disheartening how the show, with such potential of raising the level of debate and discussions on UP’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), state priority, and the education sector in general, opted to water down the issue and highlight the faults of Kristel’s family instead.

Worse, the overwhelming opinions shared by invited student-leader panelists were not only full of motherhood statements, but lacked critical content. The over-all discussion left the impression that merely revising the STFAP (and stronger communications within the family) was the ultimate resolution to the issue.

As far as these student leaders are concerned, rejecting the STFAP is too radical and is merely used to advance certain political agenda.

In the end, I realized this particular episode was never about a tragedy that stirred the nation’s conscience, and linked the dots to the government’s long-standing policy of state abandonment on education and other social services. While there are several factors that could have influenced Kristel’s disposition to end her life, the government is also accountable not only to Kristel, but to the thousands who are denied access to quality education.

The debate on the STFAP and state subsidy on education has been going on since 1989. As such, to label as too idealistic the calls to junk the STFAP and make education affordable reveals a deeply dangerous and concealed logic: work within the system’s premises, for

any efforts beyond what is acceptable for the system is futile.

Procedural problems, bureaucratic inefficiency, and administrative constraints form part of the criticisms hauled against STFAP. Yet, these issues do not strike through fundamental reasons of the policy’s failure. Any revisions, no matter how well-meant, is inutile in confronting the flawed principles inherent in the STFAP—of reinforcing the class division in the country without questioning its structural roots, and of appraising one’s capacity to pay before being afforded the right to education.

Again, Kristel Tejada’s suicide spans issues far beyond her family’s ordeal. In rural areas thousands of other Kristels who experience the same situation may not have thought of killing themselves, but have long killed any hopes of achieving their dreams. If the Filipino youth’s dreams had lives, this country has long become a slaying field.

Given the current conditions of the education sector, asserting education as a right is radical. As such, our actions necessitate no less.

Junk the STFAP. Rollback the tuition. Fight for greater state subsidy! ∞

No, that’s not the bottomline

SA MULING PAGSISIMULA NG KLASE, nandiyan na naman ang mga ka-tropa natin tuwing enrolment: mahahabang pila, maalinsangan na panahon, at walang humpay na lakaran. Kasama rin dito ang paghahanap sa klasrum ng mga nakuhang subjects, pakikipagkilala sa mga bagong kaklase, pagkilala at pagtatantiya sa mga bagong propesor.

Pero sa lahat ng mga kaibigan ko, isa lamang ang maituturing kong pinakamatalik. Nakilala ko siya noong pagtuntong ko sa kolehiyo, at hindi na niya ako nilubayan simula noon. Mas mapapadalas pa nga ang bonding namin sa isa’t isa ngayon, lalo na’t may dalawang taon pa akong gugugulin sa UP.

Siya ang klase ng kaibigang mapanghimasok. Kapag kasama ko siya, nalilimutan ko na ang mga dapat ko pang gawin. Siya ang nagdidikta sa magiging takbo ng semestre ko.

Hangga’t maaari nga, inuubos ko ang lahat ng mga allowable absences ko sa bawat isang subject, itong kaibigan kong

ito ang ang nagtatakda kung kailan at kung saan ako liliban.

Marahil ay kaibigan din siya ng karamihan ng mga mag-aaral sa UP. May iba na itinuturing lamang siyang kakilala o ‘di kaya’y kaklase lamang, at mayroon ding halos kapatid na yata ang turing.

Bakit nga kaya sobrang lakas ng impluwensya ng kaibigan kong ito sa ating mga mag-aaral? Hindi mo rin naman masasabi kung talagang humihirap lang ang mga subject habang tumatagal, o dumarami lamang ang ginagawa, lalo na sa mga may sinasalihang orgs, o talagang nagiging tamad na ang mga taga-UP habang tumatagal sa pamantasan.

Sa ganitong lagay, mahalaga sa ating balikan kung ano nga ba talaga ang dahilan kung bakit tayo nasa pamantasan. Maging personal man ito o idinikta sa atin ng pagkakataon, mahalaga sa atin na isaisip nang muli ito upang hindi tayo maligaw sa landas na tatahakin.

Maaaring nandito ka upang pagdating ng panahon ay makapaglingkod sa bayan, makatulong sa iyong mga

magulang, o di kaya’y para lang may magawa ka sa iyong buhay. Ngunit kahit anong dahilan pa man ito, hindi dapat ito tumigil sa pag-tulak sa atin na matuto.

Kaibigan ka man ng katamaran sa napakahabang panahon, hindi ibig sabihin nito na patuloy ka nang mahuhulog sa mga patibong sa buhay-kolehiyo. Gunitain mong muli ang mga inspirasyon mo. Ngunit sa paglingon mong muli sa mga batayan ng iyong mga kilos, unti-unti mo na ring ilatag ang semento sa landas na iyong tatahakin.

Mahalagang isaisip ang ating mga magulang na nagbabanat ng buto, mabayaran lang ang nagmamahal nating matrikula, ang iyong mga kamag-anak at mga anak na papag-aralin, at ang buwis ng sambayanan na siyang nagpapaaral sa ating lahat.

Lumalayo siya sa akin sa tuwing naiisip ko ang lahat ng ito. Mula ngayon, mas madalas ko na silang aalalahanin, sana lang tuluyan na siyang lumayo sa akin. ∞

Dear K, layuan mo na ako, pls.

Siya ang

nagdidikta

sa

magiging

takbo ng

semestre

ko.

Any

revisions,

no matter

how well-

meant, is

inutile in

confronting

the flawed

principles

inherent in

the STFAP

Kevin Mark Gomez

Jerome Tagaro

10 OPINYON PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

EKSENANG PEYUPS

The live show editionHello there, fresh people! Buti naman

at kahit ang tagal matapos ng sumerloo ay fresh pa rin tayo, hindi gaya ng mga iba diyan na nilaspag ng init ng panahon.

Kasama na sa mga “iba diyan” ang apat kong friendzy na nag-ala Dora the lakwatserang naka-full bangs sa Kabisayaan.

Paano ba naman hindi malalaspag ang kanilang Gandiss Everdeen sa isang live show ng mga konehong either wala talagang ganda o nagmamaganda lang nang minsang magsama-sama sila sa iisang kwarto sa Bilogbilog?

Livestreaming…Sa simula pa lang ng live show,

nagpakitang-gilas itong si ateng may DD sa name. She’s got a request before going all the way. But she was too nervous and needed to boost her confidence. Paano? Paniwalain ang sarili na ang ganda ganda niya lang. Sabay-sabay tayo, guys, “Ang ganda ko pa rin!”

Pero hindi ata combins ang super reactor watching over the live show so she told her to avoid making such remarks. It’s a live show daw kasi ‘te, hindi pwedeng ma-edit out ang mga kasinungalingan.

Buffering…From then on, naging mainit ang mga

eksena. Pero bago pa man ang climax, may pabitin epek muna o kumbaga sa sex foreplay. Siyempre may pasabi sa viewers .

In fact, one of the perve-lications na sumubaybay ng live show posted on Fakbook na naka-sanitary break sila. Uhm, wait, “sanitary” break as in their cleaning themselves na?

Nakakaloka lang ah. I need a sanity break! And I’m thinking of a day or two sa Guimaras kasama ng mga malalaking mangga.

An error occurred…Speaking of Guimaras, my friendzy

also made kwento their encounter with the outliars (n. people who lie just to get out of a situation). Yes, they are the outliars of the live show who prematurely lumabas.

Well, maybe they were just so sensitive kaya hindi sila nakatagal unlike the others. But of course, hindi nila aaminin na asar talo sila so they gave their excuses to get out of the room na, like they have another live show to attend pa daw kasi.

On their way to Guimaras, however gotesco, itong mga friendzy ko saw with their own eyes how outliars they are! There they are in warm bodies—warm hindi dahil nagalit sila (wow lang talaga kung sila pa may ganang magalit), kundi dahil sa nerbyos.

Para naman kumalma sila at mahimasmasan sa kahihiyan, try kaya nilang jomoiners sa isla ng Guimaras and meet the cold-blooded sharks. In short, magpakain sila sa mga pating!

So that’s it for now. Manonood na lang ulit ako ng mga live shows sa susunod na linggo. Chao-va (n. bye na mga beks)! ∞

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CONTACT US! Write to us via snail

mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401, Vinzons Hall, UP

Diliman, Quezon City. Email us pkule1314@gmail.com. Save Word attachments in Rich Text Format, with INBOX, NEWSCAN or CONTRIB in the subject. Always

include your full name, address and contact

details.

Next week’s questions1. Sa tingin mo, ano ang Top 3 issues na kailangang i-address ng bagong SR?2. Ano ang masasabi mo sa bagong Kule?

Key in KULE <space> MESSAGE <space> STUDENT NUMBER <required> NAME and COURSE (optional) and send to

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Non-UP students must indicate any school, organization or sectoral affliation.

System-wide memo allows 100% student loanpayment” or “inability to pay” tuition does not necessarily imply “financial incapacity.”

“There are many reasons why a student has not paid tuition. The task of our chancellors is to determine the student’s situation and grant financial assistance accordingly,” Pascual said.

While welcoming the new tuition loan policy, the UPD USC maintained that there are limitations to how student loans can genuinely address student needs. “Nananatili pa rin ang mas mahalagang panawagan para sa full state subsidy at pagbasura sa STFAP,” said UPD USC Vice Chair Jules Guiang. ∞

Continued from page 4

and “[failure] to exhaust administrative and legal remedies.”

KPL National President and Representative Terry Ridon, however, maintained that the petitioners had brought their grievance to the high court after they exhausted all venues to oppose the approved tuition hikes.

“Even without the SC TRO, the youth will intensify the fight against tuition hikes, both in Congress and in the parliament of the streets,” Ridon added.

Due to the yearly increase in tuition rates, education is becoming more inaccessible to the Filipino youth, said Catherine Managan, research head of the National Union of Students of the Philippines.

For instance, Laarni Laforga, an accountancy sophomore at the University of the East-Manila, said she had to pay around P31,000 for a 24-unit load this semester. “Suntok sa buwan kung kaya [namin] itong bayaran,” explained Laforga, who eventually had to transfer to another school with less expensive fees.

Last year, at least 222 of 2,181 private HEIs implemented an average tuition hike of 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) released on April 21 a one-year tuition hike moratorium for all 111 SUCs.

In UP, the administration has proposed a revision of the university’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance program (STFAP), a scheme which was last revised in 2007 when the base tuition was also hiked by almost 300 percent. (see related story on page 3).

“Though it would have been a great boost for the student movement if the SC [had] ruled in our favor, the high court’s decision will not dampen the youth’s spirit. Rather, it only fuels our passion to wage a greater battle against tuition increases in both Congress and the streets,” Ridon said. ∞

SC junks petition vs tuition hikes in 354 tertiary schools

Continued from page 5

OPINYON PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 201311

UPD USC councillor, while Limon is the current associate editor of the Collegian.

The second or third nominee will assume the position if the SR cuts her term short, according to Section 7, Article 9 of the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS).

The three other nominees were UPD’s Marikris De Guzman and Hanna Keila Garcia and UP Los Baños’ (UPLB) Allen Lemence.

“For decades, the OSR, together with other student leaders and sectors inside and outside the university, has been at the forefront of the students' and the Filipino people's struggle to assert our democratic rights. We envision the OSR to continue [this] primary and historic role,” said Melgarejo in her general plan of action.

Selecting the regentThe final ranking of Melgarejo,

Canacan, and Limon was determined after two rounds of questioning.

All six nominees first answered questions from the GASC, after presenting their vision paper and plans. Autonomous and regional units then voted for the final three nominees for further questioning.

Of the 12 UP units, 10 voted for Melgarejo, while nine voted for Limon. For the third spot, the GASC had to break the tie between Canacan and De Guzman, who both received six votes.

UPLB and UP Baler abstained from voting after they failed to reach a consensus. After tallying the votes, delegates from UP Manila moved to allow UPLB and UP Baler to cast their votes in order to reach the two-thirds majority supposedly needed to break the tie. The assembly, however, proceeded to declare

GASC selects 1st ever SR from UP MinContinued from page 5

Canacan in the final three using a simple majority rule.

After the final round of questioning, the UPLB College of Economics and Management Student Council then moved to declare Melgarejo as SR-select, Canacan as second nominee and Limon as third nominee.

Dividing the houseThe GASC was adjourned in the

morning of May 20 already, after deliberations on a proposed amendment to a house rule and on the supposed “instamendments” to the CRSRS delayed the SR selection.

On the first day of the GASC, the UPD Law Student Government (LSG) proposed that the rule on confirming attendance be “applied liberally” to ensure maximum student representation.

Section 4, Article I of the House Rules requires all delegates to confirm their attendance before they could participate and vote in the GASC.

After hours of deliberation, the student councils eventually allowed unconfirmed delegates and even incoming council members to participate in the assembly.

The second day, meanwhile, opened with the UPM USC questioning the amendments to the CRSRS that were allegedly inserted without the GASC’s knowledge. The council particularly noted the two votes allocated to UP Cebu.

Prior to being declared as an autonomous unit, UP Cebu only had one vote in the assemby. The CRSRS was merely updated because autonomous units are entitled to two votes, said Arguelles. ∞

at the CoE, Reyes also asked the freshmen to report organizations that would recruit them. At least 25 organizations are currently recognized and based in the college.

Joining organizations however is a constitutional right, said outgoing Student Regent Cleve Arguelles as he questioned the merits of implementing such a rule.

Student code provisionThe new policy is based on a provision

of proposed student code, which student groups have been contesting. Section 1.3.1, Article IV of the draft CSC prohibits organizations from “accepting a student who has not completed a one-semester residency in UP Diliman (UPD) for membership.”

The student code, however, has yet to be approved for implementation. The Board of Regents (BOR), the highest policy-making body in the university, still has to approve the CSC, according to Section 1, Article VI of the code itself.

The draft already gained the approval of the University Council (UC), consisting of the chancellor and faculty members of UPD, and is currently awaiting the UP president’s recommendation to the BOR.

“The UC approved [the CSC for recommendation] to the board, [not] for implementation,” explained Arguelles. Colleges however have their autonomy

to adopt and implement internal policies, he added.

No student consultationThe new rule on freshman

membership to organizations was discussed within the college already, explained Reyes.

However, the college administration did not consult engineering students on the implementation of the new policy, according to the Engineering Student Council.

“Nakakagulat lalo [sa aming] mga officers [ng mga student organizations]. ‘Yung ibang regular members siguro ng ibang [organizations] nagulat din na may ganitong rule,” Rhomuelle Bernardo, vice president for public relations of the Chemical Engineering Society.

“Student consultation should exist because the new rule concerns them,” said Charlotte France, head of the University Student Council’s Student Rights and Welfare Committee.

The new rule was meant to protect the freshman, Reyes told the Collegian. “Historically, ang daming freshmen who got into orgs [at natanggal sa kolehiyo dahil] ginagawang alipin ng lahat,” he explained.

When asked for figures of drop-out rates in the college, however, the administrative staff said it was unavailable. ∞

Eng’g freshies barred from joining orgs

Continued from page 5

WWW.PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN.ORG

Congratulations to the new members of the Philippine Collegian!

Kira ChanColleen Abesamis

Angerica Hainto

TEXTBACK

NEWSCAN

The UP dream: A letter to the new Isko and Iska

TOMO 91 BLG. 1 HUWEBES, HUNYO 13, 2013

PhILIPPINeCOLLeGIaN

Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan

ng mga mag-aaral ng

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, DilimanInstallmentsWe are beleaguered by installments. Debts are settled in installments. Shampoos are purchased in sachet installments. In busy cities, even sleep comes in installments.

As I park my car outside Vinzons Hall, I effortlessly notice the lengthy line for student loans that spans from OSA to the third floor. Education is also in installments.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and find one of your Murakami books still tucked safely in the front seat. The seatbelt still reeks of the intoxicating smell of your Versace perfume. On nights we sped through the metro with the Submarine soundtrack on repeat, the city lies ahead of us in cinematic blur. “Maybe I could get you back again,” I ponder, “by installments.”

Vinzons Hall is cramped with people bearing the same enrolment woes. It is crowded with an assortment of people incessantly fanning themselves, wiping off beads of sweat down their napes, and holding on to their loan forms which would give them an installment UP education. The line uncannily resembles lines for food programs in evacuation centers.

I pass a group of friends discussing the newly opened STS class. They are eating in installments of stolen time. One of them—an acquaintance from the College of Engineering—stops me and asks if we both enlisted a class under a specific Engineering professor. The air smells of the mixture of people’s sweat.

“Nah, I’m fully paid for my 18-unit subjects—as non-major,” I reply without regret. I can imagine my lawyer father’s peculiar frown and my law student brothers’ scoffs once they hear about the news of my dismissal.

I ascend the last flight of stairs leading to the uppermost level of Vinzons Hall, and feel gravity pulling me down the way it has done the first time I visited the Kule office. It requires an extra ounce of courage to climb this last flight of stairs.

Having taken the Kule exam just before summer began, I have been surprised as I received a text message from RC Guerrero a few weeks after. “’Tol, ikaw na ang magsusulat sa kolum ko. Rakenrol. ”

I open the door to the Kule office, an aroma of afternoon circulating in the air. The noises of people from the loan queue downstairs are still audible.

Eyes covered by cigarette smoke and the reflection of the sunlight on his glasses, Delfin Mercado eyes me from head to foot.

He offers me a cigarette.I wait for night to come before I climb the

ladder to the roof top. Smoking my Marlboros and casting off mosquitoes, I write this first column in solitude under the star-beaded sky. I have that papery feeling of lack of sleep. Somewhere below, Kule writers are still awake, debating on the latest Game of Thrones episode.

I light another cigarette and lose myself to its psychedelic fumes. This is to be the first of the many installment nights like this. ∞

NOWHERE MAN

Alan P. Tuazon

Illustration : Ysa Calinawan Lathalain 6-7