The College of Arts and Letters Student Council (CALSC) conducted the first CAL General Assembly this morning. This was held in Claro M. Recto Hall to provide a venue for dialogues between CAL students and professors.
As a councilor of CALSC, it was my duty to attend the said event and be one of the representatives of CAL students.
We were having a problem about the attendance of the students at first, for not all professors will be requiring their students to partake. Thank God! About three hours before the program, Dr. Virgilio Almario (National Artist for literature), the dean of the College of Arts and Letters, disseminated a memorandum, making it compulsory for the CAL students to attend.
Just five minutes before the GA begin, I entered the hall. I was feeling nervous at first when I sat on my seat. Though it was not my first time to be a speaker in C.M. Recto Hall, I felt really cold. Probably, I was just aware that clashes between the students and professors are possible to come about.
And so it started. We had an educational discussion about CAL situation and UP situation. Then, each department representative was given the chance to present their reports. Days prior to the event, they surveyed on the problems their respective departments are facing. So after thorough researches, the department representatives were able to relay their concerns to their department chairpersons in the GA. Among the five departments of CAL, the Department of Art Studies consumed a lot of time. This is because DAS has plans of imposing laboratory fees in Art Studies 1 and Arts Studies 2.
I understand the fact that the students and the administration have a common goal of obtaining a quality education for the iskos and iskas. True enough, this education will not be attained without enough resources…without enough budget. Since the government is not giving what is due to us, UP is lacking funds to maintain our facilities. So to be able to carry on effectively still, the administration is seeking means to fill the inadequacies of the government. And so the Department of Art Studies thought of resolving this matter by enforcing laboratory fees in their two subjects. They have their reasons which were clearly explained in the dialogue though. Being a CAL student who would also aspire for better facilities to coincide with the fast track of modernization, I recognize the points presented by DAS. I do concede that UP needs funds. But I do not agree that it must be the burden of the students to pay such fees. Fundamentally, EDUCATION is a RIGHT and NOT a PRIVILEGE. It is the responsibility of the government to fund our educational needs. So if everybody now is affected by the lack of funds because of factors such as budget cut and inaccurate prioritization of the government’s money, then as part of the premier state university, we must further our campaign for a greater state subsidy. No goal is impossible to attain through an evident unity of the parties concern. So if the government will witness how the whole UP community works towards a shared aim, GMA and her colleagues would brace themselves for that. They would absolutely be left with no other choice but to give what we are demanding. I am pretty much aware that this option is long-term. Hence, a plan with short-term objective is also at hand. As student leaders, CALSC can help DAS to market, or carry out an income-generating project. Our service will be limitless just for the welfare of the students. With these, I was not able to halt myself from reacting on what the DAS chairperson was discussing. It looked as if I wanted to flaunt, “Hey! I am right! You are wrong”. But those who know me can attest that it was just my normal projection and way of speaking, and I did not mean to appear sarcastic. Even if I obliviously offended the concerned people with the way I presented my thoughts, I don’t care. No matter what the consequences will be, I will always stand by the interests of the students.
As a councilor of CALSC, it was my duty to attend the said event and be one of the representatives of CAL students.
We were having a problem about the attendance of the students at first, for not all professors will be requiring their students to partake. Thank God! About three hours before the program, Dr. Virgilio Almario (National Artist for literature), the dean of the College of Arts and Letters, disseminated a memorandum, making it compulsory for the CAL students to attend.
Just five minutes before the GA begin, I entered the hall. I was feeling nervous at first when I sat on my seat. Though it was not my first time to be a speaker in C.M. Recto Hall, I felt really cold. Probably, I was just aware that clashes between the students and professors are possible to come about.
And so it started. We had an educational discussion about CAL situation and UP situation. Then, each department representative was given the chance to present their reports. Days prior to the event, they surveyed on the problems their respective departments are facing. So after thorough researches, the department representatives were able to relay their concerns to their department chairpersons in the GA. Among the five departments of CAL, the Department of Art Studies consumed a lot of time. This is because DAS has plans of imposing laboratory fees in Art Studies 1 and Arts Studies 2.
I understand the fact that the students and the administration have a common goal of obtaining a quality education for the iskos and iskas. True enough, this education will not be attained without enough resources…without enough budget. Since the government is not giving what is due to us, UP is lacking funds to maintain our facilities. So to be able to carry on effectively still, the administration is seeking means to fill the inadequacies of the government. And so the Department of Art Studies thought of resolving this matter by enforcing laboratory fees in their two subjects. They have their reasons which were clearly explained in the dialogue though. Being a CAL student who would also aspire for better facilities to coincide with the fast track of modernization, I recognize the points presented by DAS. I do concede that UP needs funds. But I do not agree that it must be the burden of the students to pay such fees. Fundamentally, EDUCATION is a RIGHT and NOT a PRIVILEGE. It is the responsibility of the government to fund our educational needs. So if everybody now is affected by the lack of funds because of factors such as budget cut and inaccurate prioritization of the government’s money, then as part of the premier state university, we must further our campaign for a greater state subsidy. No goal is impossible to attain through an evident unity of the parties concern. So if the government will witness how the whole UP community works towards a shared aim, GMA and her colleagues would brace themselves for that. They would absolutely be left with no other choice but to give what we are demanding. I am pretty much aware that this option is long-term. Hence, a plan with short-term objective is also at hand. As student leaders, CALSC can help DAS to market, or carry out an income-generating project. Our service will be limitless just for the welfare of the students. With these, I was not able to halt myself from reacting on what the DAS chairperson was discussing. It looked as if I wanted to flaunt, “Hey! I am right! You are wrong”. But those who know me can attest that it was just my normal projection and way of speaking, and I did not mean to appear sarcastic. Even if I obliviously offended the concerned people with the way I presented my thoughts, I don’t care. No matter what the consequences will be, I will always stand by the interests of the students.
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