The parade of colors has ended. The options have been laid out: principled militancy, naive idealism or compromised activism. We have been enticed with smiles, slogans and promises. For the past two weeks, we were divided by political color and affiliation.
The end of the elections, however, signals a time of concrete resolutions. When groups and individuals finally lay down their party colors, they return to the same reality. The university is slowly changing course, from a public institution serving the people to a profit-oriented university that privileges wealth over education. Outside, they cope with the same issues of a foreign-serving national budget, a corrupt bureaucracy and a rigid socio-economic order. As the competition dies down, we find ourselves caught in the same dire reality and confronting similar issues.
Elections, therefore, give way to a much more formidable challenge—to unite as a student body and firmly stand against the issues hounding UP and the country. Now, more than ever, is the time to overcome differences and build stronger alliances.
We marked 2010 with our victories, but the threats to our rights as students and as Filipinos remain. Here in UP, we are confronted by the booming number of loans every semester, as well as news of numerous partnerships signed by the administration with companies.
These problems did not grow overnight. Through the years, UP has been slowly transformed by the school administration and national government to survive yearly cuts on its budget. To cope with decreasing subsidy, the administration now charges every student more than P20,000 per semester. In addition, students pay for air-conditioning, class materials, equipment and its maintenance in the form of laboratory fees. UP property, meanwhile, has been cheaply leased to companies like Ayala which reaps millions of profit from university land.
Faced with these unwelcome changes, students mounted fierce resistance. The administration did not take dissent lightly; repression met resistance. Student publications were silenced. Organizations were reduced via administrative policies. A code of student conduct was formulated, to ensure that students were kept in their best subservient behavior.
As students continue to grapple with these issues, the people are rattled by escalating poverty and worsening living conditions. What happens within UP, indeed, is not isolated from the crises of society.
Oil prices continue to rise, prompting fare hikes in public transportation. A hundred percent increase in the LRT and MRT fare has been provisionally approved despite massive opposition. Meanwhile, the government’s patronizing view of the private sector has resulted in higher rates for services availed by the public such as water and electricity. In the past months, thousands of urban settlers have been harshly uprooted from their communities, without assurance of proper relocation. In the rural areas, peasants suffer under an archaic feudal system that has reigned in the country for decades.
The problems plaguing the students and the people were borne of the same cause. These problems are symptoms of a failed social order. These problems are glaring evidence of a need to topple the current structures of power.
As the university student council elections come to a close, we enjoin parties to do away with partisan politics. Instead, we should unite and work with other sectors, for there is no victory over university issues without involvement in issues beyond our comfort zones. Our struggle is inextricably entwined with the people’s struggle outside, from tuition increase to fare hikes, to landlessness in the countryside and the dislocation of urban settlers.
The problems we face are linked by structures of power maintained by a greedy minority. The students and the people face the same enemy, and thus cannot win alone. Always, the iskolar ng bayan is called to step out of the university and join hands with the masses in the struggle.
To persuade students to take the battle beyond UP is a task the next student council must fulfill. At this point, we have no greater weapon than a united front of students. This unity is a burden of competent student-leaders who recognize that the iskolar ng bayan is a Filipino striving to invert the lopsided social order.
We drew our lines and demarcated territories during the election campaign. We stood for different alternatives to the same problems. Yet, we cannot win with wavering principles and compromised unity. While the cacophony of campaign slogans subsides, our voices join in other voices that call for the creation of a just and humane society.
Sa sama-samang pagkilos, tiyak ang tagumpay.
ATIN ANG LAKAS. ATIN ANG BUKAS!
Iskolar ng Bayan, tuloy ang laban tungo sa tunay na pagbabago!
Feb 24 – UP Systemwide Walk-out against State Abandonment of Education & Social Services (March to EDSA)
Feb 28 – Nationwide Youth Mobilization against tuition and fare hikes
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