| In what student activists denounced as a mockery to the university’s nationalist orientation, militant student organizations were blocked from staging a protest action highlighting UP’s “culture of activism” during the centennial celebration on January 8.
Vanessa Faye Bolibol, University Student Council (USC) councilor and Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP) chair, disclosed that around 10 Special Security Brigade and UP Diliman Police members blocked about 100 students from going near the centennial cauldron at Quezon Hall and stopped them from unfurling a banner bearing the message, “Serve the People.”
Spearheaded by STAND-UP and the League of Filipino Students, students from UP Manila, Baguio, Los Baños and Pampanga were calling on the students to “reaffirm” not only the university’s academic excellence but also its role in fighting for people’s rights and in leading student movements towards democratic reforms.
USC Chair Shahana Abdulwahid quoted some officials of the centennial steering committee as saying that the protesting students might “ruin the festive atmosphere” when she asked for an explanation.
Abdulwahid added that this is a clear repression of students’ rights and a departure from UP’s historical relevance as a bastion of activism.
“Hindi namin ginugulo ang centennial. Ang pagdiriwang namin ay may dalawang mukha. Masaya ang selebrasyon, ngunit malungkot din dahil may kailangang iprotesta tulad ng TFI (tuition and other fee increases),” Bolibol said, adding that the protest was part of the students’ “alternative” celebration.
Abdulwahid, meanwhile, said that as the university ushers in its centenary, the UP administration has only intensified the commercialization of education by increasing tuition and leasing idle assets intended for educational purposes to corporations. She also slammed the administration’s failure to demand the government for greater subsidy.
Clodualdo Cabrera, national president of the All-UP Workers Union, likewise said the administration failed to protect the welfare of its administrative employees by engaging in privatization and contractualization of services and employment.
The plight of the rank-and-file staff, Cabrera added, remains ignored given the lack of representation in the Board of Regents, the lack of budget for their development, and their low salary. Benefits like the recently approved 10-day sick leave for the faculty should also be given to the 7000-strong staff, according to Cabrera.
The All-UP Academic Employees Union and Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy-UP, meanwhile, criticized the administration of UP President Emerlinda Roman for further introducing market-based demands into the university’s curricula and academic projects.
“Ang panunuot ng lohika ng pamilihan sa pangkabuuang pamamalakad ng unibersidad ang isa mga pinakamalaking banta sa kalayaang pang-akademiko sa pamantasan,” they said in a statement, referring to the emphasis given to “in-demand” courses.
# Philippine Collegian
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