The Ongoing Fight For Our Democratic Rights

The first semester of AY 2008-2009 marks the continuous struggle of students, student organizations and institutions against the economic crises, alongside the struggle against the continuing commercialization of UP education and fascism inside the campus.

BACKGROUND

The UP students have continued to coordinate with different organizations and institutions to reclaim the hard-won democratic rights. The UMAKSYON alliance conducted consultations among different student organizations. At the onset, it was the issues of lack of tambayans, stringent recognition process for organizations, and the unreasonable rental rates for university facilities that the campaign initially grounded itself. Thus, being a broad alliance that staunchly campaigned against the tuition increase, laboratory fee increases, and other commercialization schemes in our university, the UMAKSYON alliance saw the need to address these legitimate student concerns as they unnecessarily hamper the student formations from performing their different academic, social, and political tasks in the University and the society.

On July 30, 2008 during the Board of Regents (BOR) meeting at the UP Manila, UMAKSYON, through the Office of the Student Regent, submitted a petition paper signed by 111 student councils, publications, organizations, fraternities, and sororities in the UP Diliman, including the UPLB and UPM University Student Councils, that enumerated 18 student demands.

The overwhelming support of student formations won significant victories, as the 18 demands were discussed during the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) Meeting, the assembly of Chancellors of different UP units last August 15, 2008. The Chancellors were compelled to set dialogues with the respective USCs of their units to discuss the demands. At the same time, our student leaders were granted a dialogue with Pres. Roman last September 23, 2008 which succeeded in asserting for the scrapping of Article 444 of the UP Code which provided that “organizations which are religious, provincial, and sectional in nature shall not be allowed in the university”.

As part of our ongoing campaign for the reclaim of students’ democratic rights, a series of dialogue between the UMAKSYON and the UP Diliman Office of the Chancellor and the Office of Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs transpired last October 7 and 17, 2008. As a result of our insistent and tireless campaign, we have succeeded in asserting the following:

On the Free Use of University Facilities

Student organizations are faced with exorbitant rental rates for the use of university facilities and equipment for their different activities. Classrooms and conference halls are being rented out for general assemblies, classroom discussions, prayer meetings, leadership seminars, and other activities of organizations. Even at the supposed student center, Vinzons Hall, organizations are required to pay P100 per hour for the use of its conference rooms. As a result, student organizations encounter difficulties in holding their activities and are being precluded from fulfilling their organizational goals and objectives, all of which, we believe are in line with the university goals and principles.

Thus, for the whole semester, we asserted for the free use of university facilities and equipment, grounded on a proposed guidelines. As of the October 17 dialogue with Chancellor Sergio Cao, we have succeeded on negotiating for the following:

1. The University Student Council of UP Diliman shall have the possession and management of the Conference Rooms found in the Vinzons Hall (Alcantara Hall, Vinzons Rooftop, and Vinzons Activity Center). These rooms can be used by organizations for free subject to some rules and regulations on cleanliness, maintenance, and electricity use in the said rooms. The terms and parameters shall be agreed upon and negotiated by the Office of the Chancellor and the USC-UPD in the following weeks.
2. Rental fees, according to Chancellor Cao, shall be maintained to augment the low budget for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) of colleges, however, the UP Diliman Executive Committee agreed on giving discounts. Fees shall only be waived on special activities such as Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE), University Convocations, and the likes.

Given these significant victories, we shall continue to assert the approval of the proposed guidelines on the free use of university facilities despite the initial declaration of Chancellor Cao to maintain the rental fees. We shall also continue to assert for a more flexible policy of scheduling the use of facilities especially on activities involving urgent matters of university and national importance.

We shall continue to demand the construction of bulletin boards and publicity boards in conspicuous areas inside and outside the buildings as we see that the lack of such services and equipments hamper the publicity, campaign, and recruitment efforts of different student formations.

On Laboratory Fees

The collection of laboratory fees in some courses, generally, is being imposed to supposedly augment the meager budget that the university receives from the national government. However, throughout the years, data shows that these fees are being collected either for consumables, for maintenance of equipments, and even for the acquisition of equipment. This shows that there is no clear definition or distinction as to what laboratory fees actually augment. Maintainance of equipment is supposedly covered by the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) Budget, while acquisition of equipment is supposedly covered by Capital Outlay Budget (CO). This arbitrariness of imposition of lab fees exposes that lab fees are in fact mechanisms of the university to generate income by misleading students using supposed laboratory classes as smokescreen.

Aside from this deceiving character of laboratory fees, there are documented cases of laboratory fees being imposed to courses that do not have laboratory component. There are also lecture classes with lab fees which do not use consumables, materials, or equipment.

All of these account to misinformation of students during supposedly ‘student consultations’ for proposed lab fees. Students are being bombarded with data and costing of proposed lab fees without engaging in the discussion regarding the definition and principle of these fees. It seems that for as long as there are budget shortages, lab fees and other fees are liberally imposed in order to pass on to the students the burden of augmenting these shortages. The administration has been firm in implementing the collection of such fees, often disregarding the position of students who oppose it

We have already exposed such deceiving character of lab fees as means to further commercialize our education. We have continued to challenge the principle and implementation of lab fee collection. We have called for the scrapping of unjust lab fees especially those being collected in lecture classes, while we continue to oppose proposals until properly rationalized and that we are ensured of fair and genuine consultation. Among the agreements that were discussed during the dialogue were:

1. Reaffirming our position which Pres. Roman adopted when she mentioned that: “The students have the right to know where their fees are going”, the students shall be granted the right to examine and investigate the accounting of their laboratory fees. Any student or student formation can request access to accounting records of their laboratory fees.
2. The UMAKSYON and the USC-UPD shall submit to the OC an inventory of courses with laboratory fees which do not have laboratory components. Such laboratory fees, after due investigation, shall be scrapped.
3. UPD Chancellor Cao agreed in principle that: “You cannot collect lab fees for courses that do not have a laboratory component”. Vice-Chancellor Enriquez admitted that the term lab fee is loosely used to pertain to all fees meant to augment the low budget, without clarification whether lab fees should be for MOOE or CO. The Office of the Chancellor shall act on our demand to rationalize laboratory fees. In the process, laboratory fees shall be defined (whether these are fees for consumables, or maintenance or acquisition of facilities). All lab fees currently being collected that do not adhere to such rationalization and definition shall be scrapped.

We shall continue to expose and oppose such desperate fund generating measures of the UP administration in the expense of students’ rights and welfare. In the process, we need to gather data on such laboratory fees, encouraging students to report cases of unjustified or unused lab fee, which scrapping we would collectively campaign for. In all cases, we shall call for refund of such fees which may be in forms of direct reimbursement or reallocation of budget for student welfare projects. Ultimately, we shall also call for the greater state subsidy for our university and for the education sector to genuinely address the issue of insufficient funds in providing accessible and quality education.

On Dormitories
Dormitory concerns range from lack of subsidized student housing, to the severely poor conditions of dormitory facilities, to the undue benefits for resident assistants and other staff, and to the inefficient admissions process. All of which are attributed to the depleted subsidy for student housing and the policy declaration of the administration that staying in dormitories is a privilege and not a right.

Currently, our dormitories provide for only about 11% of the UP Diliman population (it was 14-15% when Narra Residence Hall was still operating). We have consistently called for additional dormitories to service the more than 50% of UP Diliman students who live outside the National Capital Region (NCR). This is extremely low considering also that a lot of students in UPD are from provinces and/or are from low economic status. Understanding the conditions, we have consistently called upon the UP administration for the construction of additional dormitories. At the same time, we also asserted for the immediate renovation and improvement of dormitory facilities as dormers currently describe our dorms as unfavorable to decent living and studying.

The sudden change of admissions process also became an additional burden for dormers and aspiring dormers. The centralized application process that did not solicit recommendations and comments from students before implementation, thus, resulting to inconvenience that could have been foreseen if students were consulted. Thus, we have also called for the revision of this admissions process with the participation of student leaders from the USC and the Alliance of Concerned Dormers (ACD).

The following are among the updates and prospects in our pursuit to address these dormitory issues, including our agreements with the Office of the Chancellor and the OVCSA:

1. A P20 Million budget allocation for dorm renovation was approved by the Office of the Chancellor and the Dormitory Oversight Committee (DOC). The Alliance of Concerned Dormers (ACD) and the different House Councils, together with the USC-UPD shall serve as recommendatory body for the approval of priority dorms that shall be renovated.
2. UP College of Engineering Alumni shall be donating two additional dormitories with 144 capacity near the Kamagong Residence Hall.
3. Two additional dormitories shall be built near the Kalayaan Residence Hall.
4. The dormitory admissions process shall be subjected to review and revision with the participation and representation of the UPD-USC and the ACD.

On Student Representation

Much of the policies and decisions which are against the rights and welfare of students were approved and implemented without the prior knowledge or solicited recommendations from the student body. Our elected student council leaders who are supposed to represent the students on matters of institutional policies and decisions affecting our rights and welfare are often bypassed, if not completely neglected. Most policies only undergo consultation after being implemented, thus have already caused infraction of our rights, unnecessary inconvenience, and difficulties on the part of the students. Policies such as the Mondays as free day, the 2008 Rules and Regulations Governing Residence Halls in UP Diliman, rental rates, tambayan policies, organization recognition process, and other guidelines on student affairs are only some of these.

In other UP units such as in the College of Arts and Sciences in the UP Manila and in UP Baguio, student leaders are invited as resource persons and as voting members of committees that discuss matters concerning student affairs. This model of student representation and democratic governance is what we envision for our own campus. Thus, we have continued to assert a representative in the Office of the Culture and the Arts (OICA), Dormitory Oversight Committee (DOC), Dorm Admissions Committee (DAC), College Executive Committees, Office of the Chancellor Executive Staff, and other committees and assemblies, ad hoc or not, that decide on matters of student affairs. As of the dialogue with Chancellor Cao, we have arrived to a resolution that we shall submit a formal letter of request for student representation in different committees in the University. The Office of the Chancellor upon consultation with the proper bodies shall immediately act on the matter.

On Tambayans

A unit-wide consultation shall be conducted by the USC-UPD and the OVCSA regarding tambayan and student affairs policies.

On SLIS Building
The current Institute of Biology Building is already earmarked for the School of Library and Information Studies.

Notwithstanding the victories that we have attained as manifested in the UP administration’s yielding and its willingness to yield to several of our demands, the need and the urgency for students to continue and intensify the campaign against commercialization and repression continues. For as long as deplorable conditions in the University and among UP students exist as a result of the UP administration and the national government’s ineptitude, it shall remain imperative for all of us to forge a broader unity through collective action, realizing that it is only through such that our victories will be achieved.

UP Pres. Roman: No Rollback, Hands off UPD & UPLB Student Demands

UP President Emerlinda Roman was forced to respond to the students’ demands after student leaders submitted petitions through mass lobbying and demonstration last July 31 during the Board of Regents (BOR) meeting. The meeting held at UP Manila was greeted by student protesters from UP Diliman, UP Manila, and UP Los Banos, carrying their demands for tuition rollback, immediate UPLB student elections, and the reclaim of student institutions and organizations’ democratic rights.

Determined that these demands need to be answered directly by the UP Administration, the students insisted that the BOR face the students and hold a dialogue outside the halls. After minutes of negotiations, President Roman agreed to meet the protesters and gave her responses on the different issues raised by the students. Her initial responses were: there will definitely be no rollback of tuition; the UP Administration refuses to intervene in the UPLB student-elections issue; and that the student organizations’ demands will be studied and be left to the discretion of the Chancellors of different UP units.

Student leaders believe that it was a collective victory that students were able to urge President Roman to give immediate responses to student demands. However, it was also clear to them that she was merely washing her hands off the issue, a clear refusal to take responsibility over the dismal state of students’ democratic rights in the university, according to Jaqueline Eroles, Chairperson of Students Rights and Welfare (STRAW) Committee of the UP Diliman - University Student Council (USC). Student institutions and organizations who led the action pledged that all BOR meetings will be greeted with mobilizations until the demands were properly addressed.

No Rollbacks

Early this month, the USC released a statement calling for the rollback of tuition and the junking of the UP’s newest tuition policy. In the statement, the USC declared that in light of worsening economic crises plaguing the Filipino people, the UP Administration must provide economic relief to iskolars ng bayan and their families through a rollback in tuition. It also demanded for “the junking of the UP’s most recent tuition policy… without prejudice to further investigation of the STFAP and the increase of state subsidy for education.”

President Roman, acknowledging the present economic condition, was however firm that there will be no rollback of tuition for this academic year since UP has not increased tuition for the past two years in spite of inflation. She added that the issue of tuition increase is already over, thus she encourages students to “move on” and leave calls for rollback and support the review and revision of the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP).

Some students claim, however, that the issue of tuition increase is far from being over. They said that the increasing no-show rates, the increasing number of student loans, the decreasing number of enrollees in non-marketable courses, and the continuous commercialization of education, among others, are proof that the tuition increase has not addressed the problem of quality of education. Rather, such has only apparently caused other issues that are inconsistent and contradictory to the aims of a state institution such as UP.

They also believe that UP’s recent tuition policy proves to be anti-student and anti-people, having provisions that allow automatic increase of tuition based on inflation. The danger of uncontrolled, escalating tuition in the future continues to confront iskolars ng bayan.

Hands-off the UPLB student elections

Admitting knowledge of the four-month delay of student council elections in UPLB, Pres. Roman said that the UP Administration will not act on the said issue, on the fear that it may be interpreted as a form of administration intervention on student institutions. However, the protesters were able to assert for a dialogue on August 4 between the incumbent UPLB University Student Council, UPLB Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco, and Vice-President for Legal Affairs Atty. Theodore Te which shall be mediated by the President herself.

On the August 4 dialogue, student leaders from UPLB challenged President Roman, having the highest administrative position, to take responsibility and uphold her statements that the administration should not intervene with the autonomy of student institutions such as student councils and publications. They challenged her to direct Chancellor Velasco to cease its intrusion on the UPLB SC constitution and should hold elections within the month.

The dialogue ended with the students successfully urging the UPLB Administration to concede into allowing for an immediate conduct of student council elections in Los Banos.

Calls for reclaim of democratic rights, to be acted upon by Chancellors

President Roman will not act on the demands of more than 111 student formations in UPD since she believes that these are within the jurisdiction and discretion of Chancellors. However, student leaders insisted that the dismal conditions of student organizations’ democratic rights are alarming, since they are evident in almost all UP units, thus, the need and the demand for a system-wide policy that will safeguard the rights of all organizations in all UP units. Pres. Roman later assured the protesters that she will direct Chancellors to study the said demands.

Continued support and collective action

For the contingents from UPD, UPM, and UPLB, the July 31 BOR protest action and mass lobbying proved that gains can be achieved through collective action. The signature campaign, the petition, and the mobilization were not simply disregarded by the UP administration because it showed the broad support and the commitment of students for the address of their demands. Thus, they were resolved to go back to their campuses to gather more support from students, faculty, and likewise, administrators, to gather them in a collective force to push the BOR to concur and act upon these demands.

Text of the Policy Paper on Student Organizations’ Demands

Reclaiming the Rights of Student Organizations in the University of the Philippines

Background

At the height of the Marcos dictatorship, the Iskolars ng Bayan were able to force, through collective yet militant struggle, the re-establishment of student councils, publications and organizations in the University of the Philippines. Among the rights won in the aftermath of the students’ successful campaign included the beneficial use and possession of tambayans for various student organizations and student offices for the University Student Council, the Philippine Collegian and college student councils and publication. The tambayans and the student offices were used for free and provided basic amenities such as electricity and typewriters, in the presumption that student activities play a very important role in the learning process and training of UP students as future leaders and managers of different fields and professions of the country. On the other hand, student councils, publications and organizations were afforded the free use of different university and college facilities and equipment such as auditoriums, theaters, conference halls, overhead projectors, in pursuit fostering greater student involvement in university and national affairs. The procedural restraints of student organization recognition were also relaxed, with the university and its student leaders encouraging all types of student organizations to re-establish their university presence and engaging many others to found their own organizations based on their own interests and activities.

The Situation of Student Institutions Today

Almost three decades hence, the situation of student councils, publications and organizations are in a dismal state, despite token pronouncements by successive UP Administrations of its affirmation of the importance for these student institutions. In AY 2006-2007, the already constricted funding of the Philippine Collegian was subjected to administration intervention, causing the Collegian to default in publishing important news and analysis on the status of the newly implemented tuition increase. At present, no student elections have been held in UPLB, due to the forcible insistence of UPLB Chancellor Rey Velasco to impose his own anti-student version of the UPLB USC Constitution that betrays the principle of student autonomy, as the standing UPLB USC Constitution has long been followed by the students in more than a decade of student council elections.

The Worsening Conditions of Student Organizations

The Need for Tambayans

Nonetheless, equally disadvantaged are student organizations in the university. In UP Diliman, only about sixty tambayans are currently occupied by university-based student organizations, leaving more than half without tambayans in which to hold general assemblies, consolidation activities, and prayer meetings, among many other organizational tasks. However, those fortunate enough to receive tambayan assignments after a rigorous yet unreasonable process are not afforded a fully-functional tambayan. As most of these tambayans are not provided with electricity for low-wattage lighting, affected student organizations are forced to cease their tambayan activities upon nightfall. On the other hand, those tambayans provided with electricity are found to suffer from leaking roofs, flooding corridors, poor ventilation and the threat of demolition and displacement, precisely because of the unsound structural integrity of their tambayans as a result of years of university neglect in repairs.

While there are remarkable instances of fully-functional tambayans such as in the School of Economics, the College of Law, the College of Business Administration and the National College of Public Administration and Governance, these are very few in a sea of neglected yet important student facilities, notwithstanding the fact that very supportive college administrations were key indicators in ensuring such a fortunate predicament for their college student organizations.

We submit that tambayans are integral in the operations of student organizations, in the same manner that student councils and publications need their offices for their various activities. It is in tambayans, dilapidated or not, that student organizations plan their different activities, consolidate their members, engage in study sessions, and secure important organizational documents, among many other organizational tasks.

It is therefore imperative that the University Administration provide all student organizations fully-functional tambayans in the soonest possible time, with electricity for low-wattage lighting the first order of the day. We also demand that colleges extend tambayan hours until 8pm.

The Need for the Free Access to University Facilities and Equipment

Aside from the dismal tambayan problem, student organizations are faced with the issue of exorbitant rental rates in the use of university facilities and equipment for their different activities. For example, in the College of Mass Communication, the per-hour rate of the dilapidated CMC Auditorium is pegged at PhP3000/hour, while the average UP Diliman-wide per-hour rate of the use of LCD projectors amount to about PhP300/hour. Even the supposed UP student center, Vinzons Hall, require student organizations to pay about PhP100/hour for the use of any of its severely dilapidated student conference rooms, whether for general assemblies or activities. While student councils are granted the right of requesting Administration to waive the use of facilities and equipment, the same is not given to student organizations, with Administration asserting that extra-curricular student activities must pay market rates for the use of university facilities and equipment. As a result, student organizations encounter difficulties in holding many of their activities due to the high rental rates of facilities and equipment, especially when most of these activities do not need corporate sponsorships but simple activities such as acquaintance parties, general assemblies, academic forums, prayer meetings, leadership seminars and the like. It is therefore common to witness student organizations gathering in college lobbies and forming circles for their different meetings, precisely because of high rental rates of facilities and the corresponding lack of tambayans.

We submit that the university policy on the extra-curricular student use of facilities and equipment is misplaced, as it unnecessarily precludes student organizations from fulfilling their organizational goals and objectives, all of which are presumably in line with university goals and principles as well. We assert that while student organizations essentially engage in extra-curricular activities, these activities are fully subsumed in the holistic learning process that the university seeks to impart on its students, especially its student leaders. It is in these student activities that student organizations are able to validate in practice much of the theories learned in the classroom, particularly in the fields of accounting, management and leadership, economics and politics, among many other fields that are expressly or impliedly employed when students engage in student organizations. While we concede that these definitely constitute a cost to the university, the University Administration must view these as beneficial costs in pursuit of the holistic academic development of its students.

Therefore, we demand that the University Administration remove rentals rates for the use of all its facilities and equipment not only to student councils and publications, but to student organizations as well. In the immediate, we demand that the possession and the free beneficial use of student conference rooms of the Vinzons Hall be transferred to the control of the UP Diliman University Student Council. We also demand the immediate construction of the College of Education Student Center without the conditions set by the UP Diliman Chancellor that the College of Education Student Council provide the University a Centennial Professorial Chair worth PhP1.5M.

Corollary to this the students’ demand for the immediate construction of more bulletin and publicity boards in conspicuous places in the University, whether inside academic buildings or along its sprawling grounds, notwithstanding a need to relax regulation requirements in the proliferation of publicity materials for student activities. This problem is most apparent in larger UP campuses such as Diliman, Los Banos, Mindanao and Visayas, where there is no close proximity of academic buildings, thus, hampering publicity, campaign and recruitment efforts of different student organizations.

Moreover, we demand that concerned offices in control of university facilities and equipment exhibit flexibility in scheduling the use of its facilities and equipment, especially on student activities involving urgent matters of university or national importance, as endorsed by the Office of the Student Regent or the respective University Student Councils of each UP unit.

The Problem with UP Administration Regulation on Student Activities: On the Organization Recognition Process and the Right to Assembly

The tambayan and rental rates problems notwithstanding, another problem articulated by the student organizations is the rigorous yet taxing recognition process of student organizations. Emerging student organizations such as CMC’s PRAD encounter serious difficulty in getting their organizations recognized because of the fifteen-member quota imposed by the recognition process. Long-standing organizations such as the UP Education Society are under threat of failing to be recognized this year because of mere procedural limitations, such as failing to schedule interview dates on time. These are only among the many issues raised by student organizations on the procedure of organization recognition.

However, one of the bigger issues raised by student organizations is the full and continuing control of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs on the recognition process, where no student representatives are included in the organization recognition committee, notwithstanding the propensity of the OSA to determine the classes of student organizations being recognized in the University. In CMC, political organizations are banned from recognition on the mere basis of the orgs’ political nature. On the other hand, the League of Filipino Students in CSSP was recently denied recognition by the College Student Affairs Coordinator on the mere basis of duplication of recognition between the university-wide LFS chapter and its CSSP-based chapter. Clearly, this non-duplication requirement is not among the requirements for organization recognition as per the Student Handbook, notwithstanding the arbitrary demand by the CSSP College Student Affairs Coordinator for the submission of an essay to “justify the existence” of the LFS-CSSP.

The worst case of this would be the situation of student organizations in UPLB, where there is absolute administration intervention, not only in the organization recognition process, but also in the determination of what classes of student organizations are permissible in UPLB. As a result, religious organizations including Muslim and Christian organizations are under threat of non- recognition on the puny excuse that the University is a non-sectarian public institution, as per the Separation of Church and State. Varsitarian (Provincial) organizations are under threat of non-recognition in the premise that provincial organizations breed regionalism and preclude the establishment of national unity and identity. Moreover, fraternities and sororities are under threat of non-recognition in the premise that fraternities and sororities amplify the existing gender biases and prejudices among sexes.

It is clear in all of these that the organization recognition process by the University Administration in its different UP units are being used to curtail the students’ constitutional right to self-organization by fully controlling the process itself and even determining unilaterally which organizations deserve recognition by the University.

Nonetheless, we demand that the UP Administration follow the recognition process in UP Manila, where the Office of Student Affairs convenes and coordinates the student committee for org recognition which is composed of representatives of the University Student Council, College Student Councils and different student organizations. It is this process that upholds student autonomy in student affairs and it is one of the continuing hallmarks of the struggle of the students decades prior in claiming the rights of student organizations in the University.

In line with this, we demand, as a policy, that organization recognition be liberally construed in favor of student organizations and not on the strict implementation of recognition guidelines and procedures to enable a greater number of student organizations to enjoy the rights and privileges of recognized student groups.

Most importantly, we demand that the right to self-organization of students be preserved in the University of the Philippines, where the University Administration shall not dictate the classes of student organizations that may be recognized by the University, in the presumption that student organizations all engage in lawful and noble activities in pursuit not only of specific organization objectives, but for the development of the UP community and the country as well.

Another important consideration with regard to UP administration regulations involves the constriction of the right to assembly of student organizations particularly on university issues such as the tuition increase, and national issues such as the economic crisis. Student councils and organizations are prevented by faculty and college administrations from entering classrooms to discuss pressing issues while college-wide protest assemblies are disallowed in some colleges.

On this matter, we demand that the right to assembly of student organizations and councils be respected at all times in all UP units, subject only to coordination between college or university administration and the student councils or organizations concerned. Coordination shall be construed as mere notice to university or college administration, and shall not be the basis to prevent the students from the exercise of their right to assemble.

The Need for Democratic Representation of Students in Different Levels of University Affairs to Further Protect Student Rights

The more than twenty year experience of the Office of the Student Regent in representing the students in the Board of Regents is the paramount testament of the need for democratic representation in different levels of university affairs. It is this grant of right to the Student Regent that has enabled the highest student institution to steadfastly defend the different concerns of the UP students in the Board, from the expression of militant dissent on tuition increases and the submission of independent and critical policy papers for the better management of the university bureaucracy. On the other hand, the Colleges of Arts and Sciences in UP Manila and Social Work and Development in UP Diliman also recognize the right to representation of students in crafting their respective college policies by allowing a representative of their college student council to sit as a member of their college executive committees. Through the years, both college administrations and their students had achieved mutual benefit and cordial relations as a result of this, as each party’s differences in policies and perspectives are discussed at the onset, precluding unnecessary tensions and fostering an amicable yet principled atmosphere in these colleges.

It is this same principle and policy that the students seek to implement in different levels of university administration. As such, we demand that a member of the college student council be given a seat in the executive committees of their respective colleges in the UP System, following the CAS UP Manila or the CSWCD UP Diliman model of student representation. The student representation demanded shall also extend at the UP autonomous unit level, where a member of the University Student Council shall be given a seat to the autonomous units’ executive committee.

The Necessity of Collective Action by the Student Organizations and Students

In the history of the University, the Iskolars ng Bayan have always sought to let our voices be heard by the UP Administration and the Board of Regents whenever we present reasonable demands, especially as we celebrate our Centennial year and the existence of UP Charter provisions affirming the role and rights of students in the University. In this regard, we submit this policy paper in the hope that the UP Administration and the Board of Regents favorably consider the demands presented above.

We wish to state unmistakably the general sentiment of our student organizations on the entire matter –

At the center of this entire democratic rights campaign and policy paper is our deep concern on the tacit yet insidious effects of these student org policies, particularly the pacification of critical dissent of students in the University, not only on university issues such as the tuition and lab fee increases, but also on national affairs such as the present economic crisis felt by the Filipino people today.

By precluding student organizations from meeting with fellow students in large assembly areas such as theaters and auditoriums due to high rental rates, the flow of collective unities and criticisms of policies are not as efficient as it had been in decades past. By precluding student organizations from gathering in their tambayans and offices, the requisite consolidation, planning and empowerment of org members are not substantially met. By precluding student orgs from being recognized, its existence as trailblazers of change and reform are ultimately stunted by a seemingly interventionist administration.

In the ultimate analysis, the only way for the students to decisively win this struggle is by uniting with each other in principle and action, and assert its rights to the UP Administration and the Board of Regents.

We refer back to the story of the UP students in the late 70s and early 80s, when in the darkest days of the dictatorship, they stood up and struggled united in reestablishing the student councils, publications, and organizations and affording all these institutions indispensable rights and privileges that are now being systematically reversed by the UP Administration.

Today we shall stand up again. As we celebrate UP’s Centennial year, there is no better time to act than now.

Reclaiming the Rights of Student Organizations in the University of the Philippines

At the height of the Marcos dictatorship, the Iskolars ng Bayan were able to force, through collective yet militant struggle, the re-establishment of student councils, publications, and organizations in UP. Among the rights won in the aftermath of the students’ successful campaign included the beneficial use and possession of fully-functional tambayans and offices, the free use of university facilities and equipment, and the relaxation of the procedural restraints in org recognition. The university, then, encouraged all types of student organizations to re-eastablish their presence and engaging all the others to form their organizations based on their own interests and advocacies. This is in the presumption that student activities play a vital role in the learning process and training of UP students as future leaders of our nation.

However, the centennial year of UP is marked by the dismal state of student formations, despite the token pronouncements by the UP Administration of its the importance. In UPLB, there had been no student council elections due to the forcible insistence of UPLB Chancellor Velasco to impose a UPLB USC constitution which betrays the principle of autonomy of student institutions. Publications also experienced administrative interventions in the past, from handling of funds to the appointment of its editor-in-chief. Equally disadvantaged are student organizations in the university. In UP Diliman, only about sixty tambayans are currently occupied by university-based organizations, leaving a larger number of organization without tambayans. Those fortunate enough to acquire tambayans do not have lighting, have leaking roofs, poor ventilation, and continues to face threats of eviction. Aside from these, they also face the issue of exorbitant rental fees in the use of university facilities and equipment that hampers their different activities. Another is the issue of rigorous and taxing recognition process of student organizations due to requirement of member quota per department of college, stringent application process, and the unreasonable banning on the basis of their political nature.

We assert that tambayans are integral in the operations of student organizations, in the same manner that student councils and publications need their offices for their various activities. It is therefore imperative for the UP administration provide all student organizations fully-functional tambayans.

We believe that university policy on the extra-curricular student use of facilities and equipment is misplaced, as it unnecessarily precludes student organizations from fulfilling their organizational goals and objectives. We assert that while student organizations essentially engage in extra-curricular activities, these activities are fully subsumed in the holistic learning process that the university seeks to impart on its students, especially its student leaders. While we concede that these definitely constitute a cost to the university, this must be viewed as beneficial costs in pursuit of the holistic academic development of its students. We therefore demand that the University administration remove rental rates for the use of all its facilities and equipment not only to student councils and publications, but to student organizations as well.

Recent happenings show that the organization recognition process by the University administration in its different UP units are being used to curtail the students constitutional right to self-organization by fully controlling the process itself and even determining unilaterally which organizations deserve recognition by the university. We assert for the right to self-organization, where anyone cannot dictate the classes of student organizations that may be recognized by the University, in the presumption that organizations all engage in lawful and noble activities with lofty goals and objectives for the university and the country as well.

As with the systemwide campaign for the rollback of tuition, the fight to reclaim the rights of student organization shall also have a systemwide character, as the problems confronted by the organizations are practically the same in all UP units. It is clear that amongst the most tacit yet insidious effects of these student orgs policies would be the pacification of critical and collective dissent of students in the University, not only on UP issues such as the tuition and laboratory fee increases, but also in national affairs such as the present economic crisis felt by Filipinos today. By precluding student organizations from using facilities that shall strengthen their existence and from being recognized, their existence as trailblazers of change and reforms are ultimately stunted by an interventionist administration.

In the ultimate analysis, the only way for students to decisively win this struggle is by uniting with each other in principle and in action. We refer back to the story of UP students in the late 70s and early 80s, when the darkest days of the dictatorship, they stood up and struggled united in re-establishing the student councils, publications, and organizations and afforded all these institutions indispensible rights and privileges that are now being systematically reversed by the UP administration.

It is time to stand up today. In the UP’s centennial year, there is no better time to act that today.

Students Rights & Welfare Committee
University Student Council

UMAKSYON
Ugnayan ng Mag-aaral Laban sa Komersyalisasyon

The demands herein declared were supported through a manifesto signed by the heads and representatives of 111 student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and was given to the Board of Regents (BOR) on their July 31, 2008 meeting in UP Manila. UP President Emerlinda Roman, in immediate response to the demands, remanded the petition’s fate to the Chancellors’ jurisdiction and discretion.

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.