I am not a big fan of forums and chat rooms which people can randomly access according to the topic of their choice. Most of the time, these 'discussion' sites go haywire, arousing unwarranted criticisms that just spurt out of nowhere. In short, it becomes an outlet for people who just can't contain themselves in a heated discussion.
A lot of Ateneans are not oblivious to the fact (and I hope so by now) that the university student council, more popularly known as the Sanggunian or the Sanggu is experiencing one of its most terrible battles. Mostly because of this and that - no one seems to know the real reason why. And I can attest to that lack of transparency. Because even I, one of the most popular fans and advocates of student leadership and service for all, and a member of Sanggunian for the past year, can't answer to my friends' questions when asked about those particular incidents. In the midst of speculations that are just unruly and seemingly uneducated, (as if these people don't go to a Jesuit school) most people choose to remain vigilant and steadfast - thinking out of the box and trying to understand what could have caused those unwanted events.
But the truth is, this is all just stupid. Stupid because the public no longer gives the leaders a chance to explain their actions, to account for themselves or even to show their human sides. A margin of the student body, by means of propaganda and ill-witted accusations without no basis whatsoever, has developed a habit of making a grocery list of demands that the Sanggu should do in order to address their needs. The official school publication has focused on the negative aspects of the so-called crippled leadership that the Sanggu has rendered from the beginning of the year. And then there's the Gadfly Society, the number one leftist movement who is trying to overthrow the student government bit by bit through its mail spamming containing nothing but its complaints against the said institution. I wonder if Luis Abad ever had the same problem in his regime?
And then they say the students are apathetic. Riiight. The trick to getting the students' attention, if not the dress code or another set of complaints against the system, is to hold a big party with lots of booze and djs. Or is it? Have Ateneans sunk this low in terms of living out the true Atenean values? Is this what they get from fretting about academics too hard that they are unable to participate in constructive dialogues and give intellectual opinions without having to bicker about wanting to get heard? C'mon now. Let's prove people's assumptions wrong - that we are a bunch of spoiled brats sent to school to spend Daddy's money, who don't care about our future because we're the heirs to some fortune anyway.
Because the truth is, we're not. We are civilized and good-natured people who believe the best in others. We help ourselves in order to meet our needs. We excel in not only our studies, but also in responding to social concerns. We are at a huge distance from this 'unwarranted criticism' just like how the derisions of the students are from the real events that are happening in the Sanggunian. We are supposed to understand the initiative that these students are trying to make in order to make way for change. We are supposed to look past the shortcomings and eye on the potential to make a difference in order to actually address the students' needs. It's not something that should be joked about, to be hate-mailed about, to be barbaric in a blog site about. Everything goes beyond that. At the end of all this, do all the bitch-slapping, ass-kissing and backstabbing lead us to the one thing that we want? - Change? No.
As much as I am amused in reading these forums online (or these blogs turned to avenues for public debate) especially when the humor gets really iffy, I feel that the purpose of the public sphere has once again failed us. Everyone is supposed to have a say in order to come up with a solid Atenean stance but today, the students remain to be divided.
There are the people who simply don't care. They are the ones who are unaware of the happenings and who refuse to become involved - either they have tried to and got exhausted, or didn't even attempt to because they see no benefit from it. Then there are the ones who care too much - the makers of those blogs, the insistent mother of all spammers who invite themselves to school ygroups just to let the people know of their woes. There are also the ones who are hurt and who are trying to handle all these feedbacks and reactions, because they feel that they have done their best in order to contribute to change but the student body falls short in acknowledging it. There are students, still, who believe that the situations could be remedied and could still be repaired. They are the brave souls who will face the public in the upcoming elections and give it another shot. And then there are those who just had enough that they dismissed everyone, believing that this is beyond helpless and everything should just be abolished so that this complication would cease.
One huge barricade traverses in between two groups in the end. The Sanggu on one side and the student body on the other. For the most part, both parties have failed to meet each other eye to eye. The Sanggunian could have worked on its internal glitches earlier so that this catastrophe could have been prevented. The student body on the other hand, could have probed more on the ongoings in the Sanggu (e.g. projects and events) rather than giving a generalized critique that the student council is not doing anything because at any angle that you look at it, it is doing something.
But it cannot do so much on its own. The Sanggu is not an intangible element that the students can whine about all they want. It is composed of Ateneans too, who dream to unite everyone and for the hell of it, stop this political quagmire. The effort that is needed to come up with an effective governing body is so huge that the Sanggu cannot bank solely on its elected officers to carry out its purpose. It needs everyone's help. It needs a healthy dose of criticisms once in a while to provide checks and balances with regard to its performance but the last thing that it needs is this hefty burden in the form of non-cooperation from the students.
All the bashing and lambasting - are they of any use? Who are we to judge?
We have the right to judge because we, ourselves are involved. But these words can only do so much as to disturb the already perturbed peace in the student body. If we do not throw in concrete actions in order to meet our very own concerns, then we justify the accusation that we are spoiled brats - who have nothing better to do than throw tantrums and be our helpless selves.
To keep the faith and hang on to the thought that we could do much by not asking others to do it for us but by doing it ourselves with the help of others is what this situation is trying to say.
It isn't about politicking or irrelevance or being dysfunctional. It's about recognizing that we are a part of this culture, whether we want it or not. It's about choosing to do something about our own issues rather than dismissing our fellow students who we think should be working for us.
It's about being a true Atenean, for all its worth - for willing to serve and for bearing in mind our responsibility over our fellow Ateneans, regardless of whether we hold an office or not.
To encourage discussion is yet a noble act, but we are not here to relish on an idealism that remains far from the hearts of everyone. What we are trying to push for is a realistic grasp of being able to cater to the majority's, if not everyone's, needs by extending our arms to others in hope that they will reach out theirs.
