craig aquino,
President Rodrigo Duterte recently criticised University of the Philippines (UP) students for walking out of their classes to participate in protests against the government.
This was after the National Day of Walkout Against Tyranny and Dictatorship held last 01 February 2018, which students from several universities, including UP, joined.
Duterte warned students that if they keep walking out of classes, he would give their slots to ‘bright’ lumads, or indigenous peoples (IPs).
‘A lot of Filipinos want an excellent education,’ he said. ‘I will let in those Filipinos who were not able to get a chance to have an excellent education. It’s free there.’ [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/965448/duterte-threatens-to-kick-out-protesting-up-students-duterte-palace-up-protesters-politics; http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/641853/duterte-to-up-students-who-walk-out-of-classes-to-join-protests-i-ll-give-your-slots-to-bright-lumads/story/; writer’s note: this quote was translated in the news articles from Duterte’s original Bisaya]
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque clarified Duterte’s statements, saying that the president meant that UP students should not waste taxpayer money by walking out of classes.
However, are UP students really wasting taxpayer money by walking out to protest?
As Iskolar ng Bayan, it is the duty of UP students to serve the country. In some cases, that can better be done out in the streets than in the confines of a classroom. This is what the UP students were doing.
They were not wasting the money spent on their education by taking to the streets and protesting against the wrongs perpetrated by the government. Rather, it was by that act that they showed how well-spent that money was — these students, with the values and knowledge instilled to them by their education, was willing to take action against societal injustices which they saw.
It is also pointless to claim that by walking out, these students are forgoing their education. UP Vice President for Public Affairs Jose ‘Butch’ Dalisay Jr. said most youth leaders and student activists are also honour students [source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/03/18/dalisay-up-students-are-allowed-to-join-protests-as-long-as].
If these people can do their duties as students and as activists, why should they be stopped from being both?
UP students have a history of protest — one can remember the Diliman Commune where UP students barricaded the UP Diliman campus in order to fight the injustices of the Marcos government. That history did not stop there. Even after the fall of the Marcos regime, UP students maintained that culture of protest and activism, fighting against whatever wrongs the following administrations committed.
Despite that, UP still continues to be a leading university in the Philippines, producing graduates who go on to serve the country and become leaders in their fields.
Section 8 of the UP Charter states, ‘The national university is committed to serve the Filipino nation and humanity.’
These student protesters are not undeserving of their status as Iskolar ng Bayan. Rather, they are the embodiment of what a UP student should be — critical and service-oriented.
Padayon, Iskolar ng Bayan.//by Craig Aquino
Opinion: More than just students
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| Photo Credit: Gail Clemente |
This was after the National Day of Walkout Against Tyranny and Dictatorship held last 01 February 2018, which students from several universities, including UP, joined.
Duterte warned students that if they keep walking out of classes, he would give their slots to ‘bright’ lumads, or indigenous peoples (IPs).
‘A lot of Filipinos want an excellent education,’ he said. ‘I will let in those Filipinos who were not able to get a chance to have an excellent education. It’s free there.’ [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/965448/duterte-threatens-to-kick-out-protesting-up-students-duterte-palace-up-protesters-politics; http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/641853/duterte-to-up-students-who-walk-out-of-classes-to-join-protests-i-ll-give-your-slots-to-bright-lumads/story/; writer’s note: this quote was translated in the news articles from Duterte’s original Bisaya]
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque clarified Duterte’s statements, saying that the president meant that UP students should not waste taxpayer money by walking out of classes.
However, are UP students really wasting taxpayer money by walking out to protest?
As Iskolar ng Bayan, it is the duty of UP students to serve the country. In some cases, that can better be done out in the streets than in the confines of a classroom. This is what the UP students were doing.
They were not wasting the money spent on their education by taking to the streets and protesting against the wrongs perpetrated by the government. Rather, it was by that act that they showed how well-spent that money was — these students, with the values and knowledge instilled to them by their education, was willing to take action against societal injustices which they saw.
It is also pointless to claim that by walking out, these students are forgoing their education. UP Vice President for Public Affairs Jose ‘Butch’ Dalisay Jr. said most youth leaders and student activists are also honour students [source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/03/18/dalisay-up-students-are-allowed-to-join-protests-as-long-as].
If these people can do their duties as students and as activists, why should they be stopped from being both?
UP students have a history of protest — one can remember the Diliman Commune where UP students barricaded the UP Diliman campus in order to fight the injustices of the Marcos government. That history did not stop there. Even after the fall of the Marcos regime, UP students maintained that culture of protest and activism, fighting against whatever wrongs the following administrations committed.
Despite that, UP still continues to be a leading university in the Philippines, producing graduates who go on to serve the country and become leaders in their fields.
Section 8 of the UP Charter states, ‘The national university is committed to serve the Filipino nation and humanity.’
These student protesters are not undeserving of their status as Iskolar ng Bayan. Rather, they are the embodiment of what a UP student should be — critical and service-oriented.
Padayon, Iskolar ng Bayan.//by Craig Aquino
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