USC Statement: The Iskolar ng Bayan in the Thick of Crises

Last June 20, 2008, the story of a freshman Chemistry major who dropped out on the third day of his classes found its way in the pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Letter to the Editor was written by a professor in the UP Math Department who was dismayed to find out that his student dropped out because he was assigned to bracket C of the restructured Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), which in consequence would require him to pay P600 per unit.

Sadly, our fellow Iskolar ng Bayan’s situation has become more common in UP since the Board of Regents approved the 300% tuition and other fee increases (TOFI) last 2006, despite the lack of comprehensive consultation from the students and the absence of the Student and Faculty Regents in the meeting.

More alarming, however, is how common our fellow Iskolar ng Bayan’s plight is in this country. According to the CHED, 11 million Filipinos aged 6-24 years old or just over one-third of those in that age bracket have stopped going to school. The Commission adds that for this school year alone, approximately a million school-going Filipinos have had to drop out.

Should we be surprised? After all, as the prices of basic goods like rice, bread, canned goods, vegetables, meat, fish, petroleum products, transportation, and electricity skyrocket to record-highs, the Filipino family’s budget for sustaining their children’s education has virtually disappeared.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO), families in developing countries, such as the Philippines, spend 60% of their budget on food alone. Moreover, the IBON Foundation cites that the poorest 30% of the Philippine population spends even more than that. When the cost of staple foods rises, therefore, the poor are the first to suffer. So when both the cost of staple foods and education simultaneously increase, it is nothing but a recipe for disaster for the 65 million Filipinos living below the P112/day poverty line.

Dole-outs in the form of rice and other subsidies do nothing to address the real causes of spiraling poverty and diminishing access to education in the Philippines. Many groups have insisted that a P125 across-the-board wage hike and the scrapping of VAT are realistic measures the government can take to provide instant relief to those hardest hit by the prevailing economic crisis.

Last year, the government allotted a miserable 2.66% of the GNP for education – once again, nowhere near the minimum of six percent set by UNESCO Delors Commission for developing countries. Since 1998, when the education budget peaked at 3.8%, the government has continuously and deliberately decreased public spending on education in line with its commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). The IMF’s SAP encourages governments with massive foreign debt to reduce spending on social services so as to increase allocation for debt servicing. Certainly, a look at the Philippine budget in the last eight years clearly illustrates how compliant the government has been to the SAP: giving more than half of the pie to pay off debts and leaving so little to care for the physical and mental well-being of the Filipino people.

Since 2001, President Arroyo with her administration has done nothing substantial to re-appropriate government spending and genuinely prioritize education. On the contrary, she has aggressively pushed for the full realization of the SAP through the Long Term Higher Education Development Plan (LTHEDP), which aims to make 70% of all State Universities fiscally autonomous by raising their tuition fees to private-school-level by 2010. She has also refused to do anything to alleviate the impact of oil price hikes and instead continues to implement E-VAT to the further detriment of Filipinos.

In light of all these, we demand for: the immediate rollback of the tuition increase amidst a worsening economic crisis; the junking of the UP’s most recent tuition policy (automatic tuition increase based on inflation, tuition increase to augment government subsidy, restructured STFAP), without prejudice to further investigation of the STFAP; and the increase of state subsidy for education. These are but some of the many genuine steps towards providing economic relief to all iskolars ng bayan. These are crucial steps so that families today and in the future no longer have to choose between spending for food or spending for education.

As Iskolars ng Bayan, we must analyze these social and economic issues besieging our country beyond the comfortable confines of the academe. We cannot afford to ignore the widespread hardship, which the majority of the Filipino people are barely enduring, because sooner rather than later it will affect us all – and the UP Chemistry freshman’s story will be too commonplace to be on the news.

Roll back 300% tuition increase!
Junk UP’s newest tuition policy!
Push for a comprehensive review of the STFAP!
Increase government spending on education!
Reform the Philippine educational system!

UP Diliman Summit

[This is an invitation from the Office of the Student Regent, with regards to the Diliman Summit on July 3, 2008, Thursday at the Bulwagang Tandang Sora at the College of Social Work & Community Development (CSWCD).]

Sa kasalukuyan, ang bansa ay lugmok sa sami’t saring krisis sa pinakamataas na antas. Ang bawat sektor sa lipunan kahit hindi na banggitin pa, ay tahasang nadarama ang paniniil ng mga ito: magmula sa bigas para sa kaning ihahain sa hapag magpahanggang sa kuryenteng babayarin kada buwan. Walang mabanaag na anumang ginhawa at ang pamahalaang dapat na siyang nangangalaga sa kapakanan ng mamamayan ay nakatuon lamang sa sarili nitong mga interes.

Sa panahong ito, matindi ang pangangailangan na magsama-sama sa paninindigan ang kalakhan ng mamamayang pinagsasamantalahan upang matuldukan na ang pang-aabuso.

At saan pa nga ba magsusumula ito kundi sa pagsasabi, pagtatalaban at paghuhugpungan ng mga isip ng masang inaapi?

Sa kabatirang ito, nais kayong anyayahan ng Opisina ng Rehenteng Mag-aaral sa UP Diliman Summit, isang pagtitipong magsisilbing tagpuan ng iba’t ibang sektor ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, kasama ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan, sa pagsasawika at pagtalakay ng kani-kaniyang mga usapin at suliranin.

Ang nabanggit ay dudulo sa pagsasa-akda ng mga resolusyong kolektibong tatanganin sa patuloy na pagbaka sa sistema. Ito po ay gaganapin sa ika-3 ng Hulyo, 2008 magsimula ala-1 hanggang alas-4 ng hapon sa Bulwagang Tandang Sora sa College of Social Work & Community Development (CSWCD) sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman.

Inaasahan po ang inyong pagpapaunlak sa napapanahong pagtitipong ito. Inaasahan din po ang inyong pakikilahok sa July 10 National Youth Boycott. Mangyaring may iba pang alalahanin o katanungan, maari ninyo po akong maabot sa 981-8500 loc. 4511 to 12 o sa sabdulwahid@gmail.com.

Maraming salamat po!

SHAHANA E. ABDULWAHID
Rehenteng Mag-aaral, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas

Project CHK: Renovate the Varsity Locker Rooms

In the spirit of the UP Centennial, the College of Human Kinetics is also aiming to undergo it’s first student-initiated major renovation project since the College’s construction exactly 70 years ago.

Now, why should you even care?

UAAP Season 70 is fast approaching, and we want the UP to WIN. We’re not just talking about 1 or 2 varsity teams winning the Gold, we’re talking about getting as much wins as possible. These teams simply cannot train well if only 1 of their two faucets are working with running water. These teams cannot train well knowing that they won’t be able to enjoy a decent shower after their pamatay training. These teams cannot train well knowing that they’re going to retire to a smelly and cramped locker room.

Our athletes need more than just vague ideas of service and self-sacrifice. Our athletes need a concrete reason to give back to U.P.!

This is a major and groundbreaking project on a scale that the college has never seen before. The passions and efforts of the council have already garnered the assistance of 2 BA Interior Design graduates who were part of the Kalayaan Dormitory renovation (who have agreed to lend their talents in designing the 3D Models for the new Locker Rooms).

A new and upcoming organization, Run For Change has also pledged it’s support for the project by making it the beneficiary of it’s first cause-oriented race run on June 29, 2008.

We have also gained the attention of the UP Alumni members who are in the Quezon City Hall, most notably Councilor Dorothy “Doray” Delarmente who came into the college to visit the dilapidated Varsity Locker Rooms of the college (she was so moved by what she saw that she already agreed to donate to the project).

We are gaining much ground, but we still have a long road to travel. On behalf of the UP Varsity Athletes, I am asking for any support that anyone is willing to lend us. We are looking for anyone who is willing to solicit, market, donate, give contacts, or just pledge their support on this website! Spread the word to everyone you know! Any effort, no matter how big or small, is GREATLY APPRECIATED.

If anyone is interested about the project, we are inviting them to text ME (Rep. Yupingkun) at 09063001500.

What to do with chronically absent & late instructors

As the academic year begins, it is important that students are aware of their rights inside and outside the classroom. As such, it is imperative that students know the remedies available at their disposal whenever they encounter some difficulties with their instructors or professors. Hereunder are the guidelines released by the Office of the Chancellor that will allow students to report absenteeism and tardiness among the faculty:

1. Students are encouraged to call the attention of the dean concerned about faulty members who are frequently absent or tardy.
2. The dean is enjoined to act on the report of the student(s) within five (5) days and, whenever possible, to give the student(s) feedback on the action he/she has taken.
3. If after five (5) days the dean fails to act on the report, the student is advised to call the Chancellor’s hotline for this purpose.
4. Students are requested to limit their reports or complaints to the following issues:
   • faculty members who do not meet their classes regularly;
   • faculty members whor eschedule their classes permanently wihtout authorization from the Dean’s office;
   • faculty members who come to class late for more than three times, and with ‘late’ being defined as coming in later than ten minutes after the start of the official class time;
   • faculty members who are not available during the scheduled consultation hours for more than two times; and
   • faculty members who dismiss their classes too early, i.e. earlier than 15 minutes before the scheduled end, or too late, i.e., later than 15 minutes after the scheduled end.

   In making these reports, students must cite specific facts, such as the name of the faculty member, dates when he/she was absent or late, number of times that he/she was absent or late, class schedule and classroom number. This will facilitate the verification of the complaint.

5. to ensure the success of this project, the students are strongly advised not to misuse this privilege and to follow the guidelines above.

The USC’s Students’ Rights & Welfare Committee and the Students’ Legal Aid & Action Committee are also willing to extend their help to students who wish to air their complaints and grievances.

The local numbers below are accessed through UP Diliman’s trunkline at (63)-(02)-9818500.

POST-SCRIPT: Some of the contact details, taken from http://www.upd.edu.ph/tardy.htm are apparently outdated

UNIT	HOTLINE	EMAIL	CONTACT PERSON
Architecture	5161, 5135	uparchi@arki.upd.edu.ph	Minda Maraan, Grace Razon
Arts & Letters	6736	jwcapili@cal.upd.edu.ph mitaka@mailexcite.com	Jose Wendell Capili Aurora Carandang
Asian Center	9261821/5243 9203535/5143	armando_jr.malay@up.edu.ph normita.recto@up.edu.ph	Armando Malay Normita Recto
AIT	9269477	upait@compass.com.ph	Asuncion Laraya
Business Ad	9297991	elvira.zamora@up.edu.ph	Elvira Zamora Ida Patimo
Education	6432	rcsoria@ced.upd.edu.ph	Robinson Soria
Engineering	4343641 9283144 5620	ega@engg.upd.edu.ph jonat@engg.upd.edu.ph	Edgardo Atanacio Jonathan Salvacion
Economics	9205461	rdanao@econ.upd.edu.ph	Rolando Danao
Fine Arts	4348218, 7024	esilarde@cfa.upd.edu.ph	Elvie Silarde
Home Economics	9202091, 6063 6942, 6972, 9261552, 9202089, 6925, 6973	chedean@che.upd.edu.ph ocs@che.upd.edu.ph heed@che.upd.edu.ph hrim@che.upd.edu.ph flcd@che.upd.edu.ph fsn@che.upd.edu.h ctra@che.upd.edu.ph	Cristina Flor Galvez Carolyn ronquillo Elsa Orlina Lourdes Catral Liza Redoble Mialgros Querubin
Human Kinetics	4381, 4276, 4554, 4837, 4555, 4937	gluy@chk.upd.edu.ph mdraguilar@netscape.net binkyqd@chk.upd.edu.ph	Gilda L. Uy Mynett Aguilar Marie Eloisa Ulanday Artemio Isidro
Islamic Studies	5556	jwadi@islamic.upd.edu.ph neng@islamic.upd.edu.ph	Julkipli Wadi Cristina Carden
Law	5545		Patricia Daway
Library Science	6751	jcc@ils.upd.edu.ph	Josefina Cervas
SOLAIR	4213, 9286396	didi.agustin@upd.edu.ph nicolas.barriatos@solair.upd.edu.ph	Lourdes Agustin Nicolas Barriatos
Mass Comm	4150, 4459	ejp@upd.edu.ph violeta.umali@up.edu.ph	Ellen J. Paglinauan Violeta Umali
Music	4053, 9296963	mauricia.borromeo@up.edu.ph gemma.malicden@up.edu.ph	Mauricia Borromeo Gemma Malicden
Science	7174, 7400	csdean@csrc.cs.upd.edu.ph cssec@csrc.cs.upd.edu.ph	Rhodora Azanza Maritina Castillo
NCPAG	9261432, 9279085	ncpag@broline.com ednaco@cpa.upd.edu.ph	Edna Co
CSSP	6810	dekano@kssp.upd.edu.ph	Elizabeth R. Ventura
CSWCD	9298438, 5278	natividad.caparros@up.edu.ph	Natividad T. Caparros
Statistics	9280881	emma@stat.upd.edu.ph	Emma Dublin
SURP	9206854	luzviminda.rivera@up.edu.ph mary_ann.esporas@up.edu.ph	Luzviminda C. Rivera Mary Ann. P. Esporas
UPEPSF	9292009 (Diliman) 045-5992794 (San Fernando)		Rolando Garcia
ASP	9241836, 5270308	eusebio@skyinet.net	Eusebio Dizon
TMC	4262765	hsv@cba.upd.edu.ph hsv@upd.edu.ph tmcjep@info.com.ph	Helen S. Valderrama Ellen C. Cruz
Office of the Chancellor	9266942, 4003, 4902	daki@upd.edu.ph lulay@upd.edu.ph	Dakila A. Fernando Stella A. Francisco

Stray World War II Bombs in the National Science Complex

Dean Ceasar Saloma released a Memorandum last June 10, 2008 regarding the stray bombs found in the national science complex. Quoting from the memorandum,

“Everyone is advised to use only existing roads and established pathways inside the National Science Complex. Please do not venture into various construction sites without securing prior authorization and guidance from proper authorities.”

The NSC contractors were able to dig up more than thirty (30) stray WWII bombs already during the course of their work. This area is where future buildings of the Institute of Chemistry-Teaching Wing and the National Institute of Physics will be located. The bombs found were actually buried for just about a meter deep or less below the ground.

“Vice-Chancelor Grace Gregorio has already sought the technical assistance of the PNP on the matter. The retrieved bombs were turned over to the UP Diliman Police Force and then brought to the PNP Explosives Ordinance Division in Camp Karingal,” says Dean Saloma.

On the eviction of Yakal-based tambayans

On June 4, 2008, Wednesday, the University Student Council (USC) held a meeting with the representatives of the student organizations with Yakal-based tambayans. According to the representatives, they were informed by the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs Elizabeth Enriquez through Office of Student Housing Director Ruby Alcantara that the organizations have no right to have their tambayans at the Yakal complex. According to them, Enriquez also said that the complex is no place for College of Engineering student organizations.

In a meeting with Dr. Alcantara last summer, some of the representatives who attended were told that they should leave the complex on or before May 31. The reps contended, however, that there had been verbal agreements between their org alumni and the Yakal administration that they can stay at the complex (though at the present meeting, the time frame was not specified). Still, as Dr. Alcantara added, no document can support their claim because the MOA (Memoradum of Agreement) is missing. Understanding their situation, the representatives now fear that their organizations might be forced to vacate the area anytime.

The USC and the Yakal-based organization now plan to conduct further investigations regarding the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Furthermore, a statement of unity will be drafted, asserting to the OVCSA (Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs) and the OSH (Office of Student Housing) that these organizations be retained and that a new MOA be drafted to ensure the security of their tambayans. A dialogue with Dr. Alcantara and Dr. Enriquez has been planned in the coming weeks. The Students Rights and Welfare Committee (STRAW) and the Committee on Dorms, Organizations, Fraternities and Sororities (DOFS) will also conduct a comprehensive study on the status of more than 200 student organizations and their tambayans.

Affected organizations are as follows: UP KAISA, PSME-UPSU, UP MSS, UP ALCHEMES, UP CVSF, UP SME, UP Subol, UP Navigators, UP Kapianan.

A Call for Vigilance: Mondays or Wednesdays?

Let us remain vigilant.

The new Academic Calendar has been approved. The peculiar thing is, the usual Wednesdays-off has been changed. Now, Monday is our official day off, aside from the weekends.

On February 4, 2008, the Board of Regents, approved the resolution submitted by UPD Chancellor Sergio Cao recommended by the UPD Executive Committee, observing Mondays-off. This is in line with RA 9492, an Act rationalizing of national holidays amending for the purpose Section 26, Chapter 7, Book 1 of Executive Order No. 292, as amended, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987” or the holiday economics. The resolution states that, “due to the enactment of RA 9492, most holidays, except those of religious significance will be shifted to the nearest Monday, the academic calendar will now observe Mondays off to avoid interruption of classes that fall on Monday. (UPD Executive Committee, January 24, 2008)”.

After the enactment, Chancellor Cao called upon the colleges to conduct consultations for the said shift. However, resolutions of such consultations have failed devastatingly to represent the sentiments of most students.

Constant vigilance is not for its own sake. Same efforts have been seen in the case of the UP Visayas for instance. So that after implementing the same policy, students and the faculty members have successfully brought back the Wednesday-off Academic Calendar. This same call of constant vigilance goes to all UP students.

It is in this regard that the University Student Council emphasizes that such policies, albeit left entirely on the discretion of the Chancellors, directly affect students and faculty members alike. Having said that, we call that such changes be studied further where students and faculty members are involved and consulted accordingly. It is our resolve that any measure or policy be truly reflective of the student’s, as well as the UPD community’s, interest.

This statement was prepared by the USC Academic Concerns Committee.

11 New Eng’g Lab Fees Pending Approval

Last May 6, 2008 the Students Rights & Welfare Committee (STRAW Committee), headed by Councilor Jaque Eroles, attended the student dialogue regarding the proposed Lab Fee increase for 11 Mechanical Engineering (ME) courses. Representatives from the College of Engineering Student Council (ESC) and Student Regent Shahanah Abdulwahid also attended the dialogue initiated by the ME department head, Prof. Gerald Denoga.

According to Prof. Denoga, the department aims that the increases be implemented starting First Semester AY 2008-2009. The proposal has already been approved by the college faculty and administration, and was already submitted to Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Elizabeth Enriquez. However, the OVCSA refused to approve the proposal since it did not undergo consultation with the University Student Council (USC). Thus, the reason for the said dialogue.

The courses affected by the proposed lab fee increase are as follows:

SUBJECT	Original Fee	Proposed New Fees	Remarks
ME 122 Turbomachinery	0	600	presently no equipment for the experiments
ME 131 Manufacturing Processes	300	1,500	price increase in materials
ME 136 Machine Tools Operations	300	1,500	price increase in materials
ME 143 Mechanical Vibrations	0	800	will need PC’s
ME 176 Control Systems 1	0	800	will need PC’s
ME 183 Refrigeration & Airconditioning	200	800	consumables & PC use
ME 73 Mechanical Measurements & Instrumentation	300	500	consumables & maintenance
ME 41 Mechanisms	0	500	will need shop & PC
ME 142 Dynamics 0f Machinery	0	500	will need shop & PC
ME 91 Numerical Methods	0	800	will need PC’s
SHOP 7 Shop Practices	200	1,500	price increase in materials

The original proposal included ME 165 Internal Combustion Engines (none-P1500) but was opposed by the ESC since according to them, it was a lecture class. The department agreed and decided that it shall not be included in the proposed lab fee increase.

Prof. Denoga discussed the rationale for such increases. According to him, ME should be a hands-on program and students should have access to adequate laboratory facilities. Most of these equipment and facilities are either non-functioning, insufficient or inexistent. Experiments may also require fuel, materials and other consumables. Also the 5 courses that currently has a lab fee was based on pre-1989 prices. The proponent also presented the cost breakdown of the expenses per subject.

The USC having the benefit of discussion during the dialogue recommended for the deferral of approval since certain question and concerns were not addressed. Some of these questions are:

1. In light of the second year of implementation of the Tuition and Other Fee Increase (TOFI), will there be any budget increase for the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department? The TOFI promised for better facilities but why is there a need for even more exorbitant laboratory fees?

2. How else can lessons be modified to minimize cost while not sacrificing the quality of instruction?

3. What are the other possible sources of funds?

4. What are the mechanisms of the ME Department or of the College of Engineering Administration to address students welfare concerns? For example, in the ME program, students need to take 2 to 3 of such laboratory courses in one semester. Such may result to a possible P4,500 in total of lab fees to be paid by a 3rd year or 4th year ME major. What shall be the action to be taken if there will be any student who will be forced to drop-out and not graduate because of the increase?

5. Are laboratory fees, in general, supposed to cover acquisition expenses, aside from maintenance expenses, and consumables as what the proposal indicates?

The USC and the ESC shall also study if it will be possible to request the Industrial Engineering (IE) Department to subsidize their students who take SHOP 7. According to Prof. Denoga, they were able to offer SHOP 7 to their majors until the IE department required this subject to IE majors. Since there are approximately 140 IE majors, as opposed to around 40 ME majors, the ME Department could not shoulder the SHOP 7 expenses alone. The USC STRAW committee and ESC plans to draft a letter requesting for the deferral of approval to be submitted to the OVCSA, Office of the Chancellor and the Board of Regents.

Open Letter to VC Gregorio & CMC Admin

An Open Letter to Vice-Chancellor Cynthia Gregorio & The College of Mass Communication Administration

As early as the first week of April, it has come to the USC’s attention that 11 residents from Village B, UP Diliman will be affected by the planned demolition in the said area to give way to the rehabilitation of the DZUP tower. As student body representatives that recognizes the importance of the different sectors of the UP community, the USC decided that it would be best to study the whole situation in order to protect the rights and welfare of Village B residents, while not having to sacrifice the improvement of broadcast services to be rendered by the rehabilitation of the DZUP tower.

In cooperation with Anakbayan, the USC Community Rights and Welfare committee (USC CRAW) held regular meetings with Village B residents to consult them and to offer any help that the USC can provide. Meanwhile, the USC also submitted a letter last April 16, 2008, addressed to Prof. Rose Feliciano of the Broadcast Communication Department of the College of Mass Communication requesting for pertinent documents regarding the DZUP project. In the letter, the USC stated the reasons for such request:

We are humbly requesting your kind office for copies of pertinent documents relating to the project, so that we may study carefully the context, the facts, and the justifications for its various implementations, and that we may fairly dispense to our constituents and to the university community our stand and position with regards to the issue, and the action that we shall be taking.

A few days after, when the USC and the CMC Student Council (CMC SC) followed up on the status of the request, the involvement of these student institutions in community affairs was questioned. Nevertheless, we asserted that these community issues are also students’ concerns, and therefore, demand action from the USC and CMC SC.

Last April 28, 2008, a dialogue between the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs with the CMC administration and Village B residents, with the USC, College of Arts & Letters Student Council (CAL SC), CMC SC, and All-UP Workers Union transpired with regards to the demolition of Village B to give way for the installment of a new DZUP transmitter.

In the course of the dialogue, the student councils, in order to effectively study the situation and dispense a fair and justified action thereafter, requested a moratorium on the demolition and further asserted for copies of pertinent documents relating to the project. Beforehand, there were already licensed engineers, who volunteered to take part in the study and were already waiting for the copies of these documents.

The request for this documents, however, was turned down. According to the administration, the refusal was due to the reason that such documents are too detailed and technical for the student representatives to acquire and understand.

We would like to express our utter disappointment at this rejection. The matters on hand are matters of interest to the UP community: from the students of CMC, to the residents of Village B, and other similar sectors in our campus facing similar situations and challenges. As the official student representative body, the USC would like to assert its right to information with regards to matters that concern our constituents and the university community. Such documents, as such related to transactions and issues within the premiere State University, must be considered public documents, which should be available to the public for critical scrutiny. Thus, we reiterate our demand for the documents pertaining to the demolition of Village B and the installment of the new DZUP transmitter.

Furthermore, we would also like to reiterate that the USC firmly stands in its principle of giving service and representation to the marginalized sectors of the UP community. We recognize that our university is not an institution exclusively academic. The different sectors are components of our everyday activities in our campus, and therefore, it is important to conscienticize ourselves in their real situations and be integrated with their present concerns. In the present condition where these sectors lack adequate representation to policy and decision-making bodies of our university, the USC pledges to be a student institution that will uphold their democratic rights, alongside of the students’.

We hope that the different offices in our campus find these assertions a move to help in the establishment of a more democratic governance in our university. Let us all work hand together in the pursuit of the interests of our constituents, not as contending sectors, but as one whole UP community.

Respectfully Yours,
University Student Council - UP Diliman

USC & Dorm Councils to Push for Collective Campaigns

The Students Rights and Welfare Committee (STRAW), under Councilor Jaqueline Eroles, held a preliminary consultation with the Dormitory and House councils last April 23, 2008 at the USC office. The activity aims to discuss with the councils and unite in a plan of action regarding the New Dormitory Admissions Policy implemented in UP Diliman last year. It also became a venue for dorm councils to voice out other concerns such as deteriorating facilities, poor services, proposed dormitory fees, and the new proposed rules binding to all residence halls in UP Diliman.

Common concerns raised regarding the new admission policy was the inefficiency of the whole process. Since applications are already made centralized through the Office of Student Housing (OSH), it resulted to certain inconveniences on the part of the students and staff. There were cases where some applicants were accepted in 3 dorms in which they did not apply for. Some male applicants were also approved for all-female dormitories. Another obvious inconvenience, according to the residents, was the excessively delayed release of application results resulting from the small number of staff in the OSH who had to review thousands of applications every semester. These problems were not encountered during the time when applications were decentralized.

Several recommendations and resolutions were agreed upon during the meeting. The USC and the house councils shall collectively campaign for:

1. The reinstatement of the powers of the dorm managers in admissions. A regulatory body can be established to fight corruption, irregularities and abuse, instead of centralized power vested in the OSH.

2. The review of pointing system in admissions and the transparency of results.

3. Dorm managers to have the power in approving activities. It would be more efficient and it offers a more sound decision than when the OSH does the approval.

4. The recognition that the House Councils are legitimate representatives of residents which are eligible in forwarding the concerns and campaigns of dorm residents.

5. The revival and strengthening of the Alliance of Concerned Dormitories

6. The transparency in processes–consultations should be done when new policies, fee increases and impositions are to be implemented.

7. OSH should be concerned in improving facilities and alleviating the resources of dormitories. It does not necessarily have to burden itself with applications every semester

These recommendations will be presented and lobbied at the Office of Student Housing this summer. Meanwhile, the USC STRAW Committee will further its study and investigation on the New Dorm Admissions Policy, including the Proposed Rules Governing Residence Halls in UP. There will be constant coordination with House Councils and Dorm residents, through dorm tours and consultations, to further ground these recommendations on concrete bases.

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