1 CHAMPIONING THE MINORITY : A proposal for the Student Regent Selection
CHAMPIONING THE MINORITY
A proposal for the Student Regent Selection Prepared by: Allynna Haneefa A. Macapado
No student shall be denied admission to the national university by reason solely of age, gender, nationality, religious belief, economic status, ethnicity, physical disability or political opinion or affiliation. Sec. 9 Democratic Access, the UP Charter (R.A. 9500)
In recent years, we have seen the long touted neoliberal turn of education unfold right before our very eyes. What was then a highfalutin economic term is now a material condition of the university. Data on state spending on UP from the 1980s to present tells us but a single thing: the state has abandoned UP. The national university has become a profit- oriented institution for the capable few. This situation goes contrary to the basic egalitarian ideal set forth by the UP Charter and guaranteed by the law.
The history of the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) is the history of our collective struggle to defend UPs public character. Since its inception, it has embodied the call of students for accessible and quality tertiary education. While the Student Regent is the mandated body politic of the students in the Board of Regents, the SRs voice the voice of the largest stakeholder, has always been treated as the minority.
The real challenge for the OSR now is to bring back its bargaining power on the negotiating table. But, it should remain cognizant that dialogues or negotiations on their own cannot stand alone for achieving concrete gains and concessions. Our history will tell us that victories won inside BOR meetings are but a by-product of a strong student and community movement. While employing effective diplomacy and table battle skills on decision-making processes, the OSR should also be keen in empowering the students and nurturing a strong student movement. It must recognize the potency of its constituents and rely on their collective strength.
The OSR should be resourceful in consolidating the ranks of the students. While remaining true to its core principles, the office must seek creative ways to reach out to students, engage them with our campaigns, and build solidarity with them so that they too, can own the struggle.
Along with the students, it must ensure that the university upholds its thrust of democratic governance. The office must encourage participation in decision-making process in the university and seek representation at all levels. It shall seek ways to promote transparency and hold each official accountable.
Lastly, the OSR must fortify itself as an institution. It must be an effective venue in raising the consciousness of students and in forwarding their rights and interests. The OSR should uphold and pursue the democratic aspirations of the broad masses of students it represents. This means effectively leading the students in their struggle against continued repression and commercialization of education. It should also serve as a venue for students to forge ties with teachers, faculty, REPS and the rest of the UP community. The clarion call for the OSR, now more than over, is to champion the voice of the minority.
Recognizing such important role of the OSR, in the subsequent paragraphs are the programs I propose for this year.
2 CHAMPIONING THE MINORITY : A proposal for the Student Regent Selection
The internal structure of the office shall be organized to accommodate direct representatives from all constituent units (CU) for effective implementation and strengthening of system wide campaigns and provide more efficient information dissemination. Local OSR Cores in each constituent unit composed of student leaders and individual volunteers shall be established. Local OSR Core officers shall be assigned specific tasks to ensure education and research, campaigns and orgs and publication formations consolidation in each constituent unit. Furthermore, a direct connection in each local council shall be institutionalized through delegating permanent local council liasons. For instances wherein quick response actions shall be made systemwide (e.g. relief drive and operations), the local OSR cores shall form their own adhoc teams or quick response teams.
The OSR shall be at the forefront of the student movement in forwarding campaigns concerning student rights and welfare. Together with the students, it shall assert our right to accessible and quality education and strengthen the call for a higher full state subsidy not just for UP but also for other state universities and colleges (SUCs). It shall be very critical in analysing policies that manifest the rapid commercialization of education and lead the students in opposing such policies. It shall further protect the students rights and welfare by examining documents like the Student Code, propose to the BOR the scrapping of anti- student provisions in them and provide alternative revisions to such provisions. It shall also support local formations, organizations and councils in their fight for basic student services like dormitory, health, scholarships, and security services. It shall also be able to forward campaigns against the high militarization in some CUs. The call to free all political prisoners and stop all forms of human rights violations, in which many UP students are victims of, shall be carried by office. In these endeavours, the office shall maintain tight ties with people knowledgeable on how to analyse the legalities of the BORs policies.
Being the only representative of the studentry in the highest policy-making body of the university, it is vital that the Student Regent be able to comprehensively relay the comments, opinions, concerns and demands of the largest stakeholder in the Board of Regents. For this to be possible, a dialectical relationship between being approachable to the students and approaching the students shall be maintained. It shall at all times be accommodating and unbiased and at the end of the day, must always exercise its mandate to protect and forward the students rights and welfare. Decentralized leadership trainings for local council members, as well as organizations and publication formations members may be conducted for the constituents to be informed of the existence and the important role of the office and of course to empower them through various activities to be offered in the said training. The student regent shall uphold a consultative leadership by conducting regular consultation in each constituent unit to serve as a venue for the students to voice out their concerns and at the same time give them an update on the system wide image of the university. As much as possible, a student summit in each constituent unit shall also be done for the primary purpose of consolidating the huge campaigns of the office to the students, among others. The online media shall also be utilized by putting up online grievance desks to address the geographical boundaries between the office and the students.
The office shall be transparent and provide constant updates to the students on what is happening in the Board of Regents. The agenda of each BOR meeting shall be announced to the students as soon as it is set to allow insights, feedbacks and concerns of the students regarding the agenda items be forwarded to the OSR immediately before the BOR meeting. Also, every after BOR meeting, the student regent report shall be released as soon as possible for the students to be enlightened on what were discussed and decided during the meetings. Aside from an available hard copy of such document, the online media shall be maximized for this. Also, for better transparency measures, the office shall push for a 3 CHAMPIONING THE MINORITY : A proposal for the Student Regent Selection
possible option to allow observers inside BOR meetings, which could be co student leaders or campus journalists. Financial transparency of the office shall also be exercised by releasing semestral financial reports.
And lastly, the OSR, recognizing that the crisis of the Philippine society is systemic and that the issues of the students are connected with the issues of the majority of the Filipino people, shall ensure the studentrys tight connection with the basic masses. It shall be able to maximize the institution to forward campaigns of other sectors system wide and relate them to the education sector through forums and/or educational discussions. These venues shall also be maximized to involve the students in national issues and encourage them to be critiques of the government. The OSR shall support and join movements fighting for genuine land reform, human rights, better wages and working conditions and oppose economic policies which do not reflect a nationalist and pro people character. The office shall be open for dialogues with the members of the other sectors of the society. Most importantly, the office shall encourage students to integrate with the basic masses by organizing basic masses integration opportunities for them to experience first hand the realities of Philippine societal plights. The office, together with the other sectors of the society, shall fight for genuine peace based on social justice.