Studying in UP was a blast. And with all the fireworks for the centennial of the University of the Philippines over, many students, incumbent and former ones, reflect on their UP life. Well, I suppose I should, too. I may have to add to this as I dig up more memories and add more points.
I cherish the university as having nourished the few years when I, along with many others, felt most alive. This is done now with the thought of the things that were accomplished there and the small part I took. After all, how can I call myself a UPian, much less an Isko, if I can claim only to have studied at the UP.
And so, here is a list of things. I have excluded many memorable narratives. The list is mostly concerned with student orgs/institutions and my political involvement with them:
1) The establishment of STAND-UP
2) SPACE, CS-SC/Scientia
3) Continuation of UP Anido
4) Recovery of OSR, KASAMA years
5) Establishment of Solidaridad, UP Alliance of Student Publications and Writers' Organizations -
1) The establishment of STAND-UP - When I first set foot on UP as a student, the radical activists were on the defensive; when I left, there was a slight perception that it was cool to be one.
All of that had to do with the rise of the largest alliance of student organisations in UP Diliman, STAND-UP. As a trivia, I was there at the STAND-UP founding, and I was the last student to have graduated in UP who remained STAND-UP. So I'm the longest serving STAND-UP member who was at the founding, haha.
My first org was the LFS, which everyone knew to be the most radical and idealist student organisation in the university and the country. So much so that I didn't realise later on that that was something some people were scared of.
The first few years in UP's activist circles were some of the most mind-crackling experiences of my life. We had these ED's (educational discussions) and DG's (discussion groups) that fired up and strengthened our idealism. In those ED's, I looked up to Sally Singcol, Noel Colina and others as mentors, even occasionally asking Nato Reyes on some issue of worldview. It was so mind-stirring that I found out that even in physics classes where I had to tangle with aesoteric equations and scientific concepts, issues of imperialism were the foremost in my mind.
I remember our first tambayan at the CSSP Pavillions between Palma Hall and the Faculty Center. There we had the EDs I was most fond of, and general tambay. I recall having to tease and lecture smokers in the tambayan resulting in the implementation of the non-smoking policy later on, lol.
My first PLB (Pangkat Lingkod Bayan=Serve the People Group), which was the basic LFS unit, was with my college-mates from Science, D, LZ, O, and another one, with the team leader (TL) Marlon Lacsamana, who I hear is now an active gender rights advocate. Including the ED's, our activities involved going together to post electoral bills along the college grounds and doing RTR's (room-to-room discussions) and OTO's (org-to-org hoppings). I think my first real position was ED Officer then TL of the PLB. Through the LFS and STAND-UP, I met a few generations of the activists in my time. If I were a bookshelf, these great people are dynamic books in my memory. Suffice to say, they were the best and most awesome people that I met.
By the time STAND-UP became the undisputed largest alliance in UP Diliman, despite the perception that activist thoughts had become the status quo, it was quite the opposite. The constant need to 'arouse, organize and mobilize', the continuous campaigns to highlight pertinent issues, show the necessity to always be on the watch and on the move. Activism is akin to the classic battle of good vs evil, of constant vigilance vs apathy, much like the Philippines' own political historical imperative, even after two EDSA's: thousands of rivers continually flow into the sea, but it is never full. But it only needs little from contaminants to pollute the sea; it is only the continuous flow of the rivers that replenish and cleanse it.
My first memories of UP were these people who glared at us for no apparent reason. I learned later they were SAMASA people, mga inggitero na naglaho na lang sa balat ng unibersidad (Years of battling against their kin and frustrating my years of studying, by their backward-headed political activities, I think I have earned the right to call them that and much worse). Being a fresh student then, it was an early eye-opener to me; even the people from ISA, the other student alliance, were much friendlier than they were. I had been open to accommodating them even as acquaintances, but even over their claims later on of being 'open-minded' and 'pluralistic', we were never fooled: All they had was irrational hatred of the tibaks. I'm not for false modesty, but I hate unfounded arrogance and oppression, even with my own colleagues, and the underdog beginnings of STAND-UP nurtured my clinging to humility despite STAND-UP's dominant status later on. And so I remained a staunch activist - if permitted the term - in the STAND-UP mold.
Now STAND-UP was an offshoot of SAMASA-TMMA, with all the long meanings of those acronyms. It was a result of the split between it and SAMASA. The TMMA was for Tunay, Militante at Makabayang Alyansa (Genuine, militant and patriotic alliance). STAND-UP stood for Students' Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP, with a slight change later to 'Student'. The name change from SAMASA-TMMA was necessary as it had become a bit confused with SAMASA. The first core group were the names you'd usually associate with radical activism: LFS, Gabriela-Youth, Center for Nationalist Studies (CNS, an acronym I'd associate then with Central Nervous System or chemical elements), Alay Sining, PSC, EKIT, EDIT, etc.
So I was there at the moment when SAMASA-TMMA was renamed STAND-UP. The first task was to win the University Student Council (USC) elections, as this was the single biggest institution in the campus that could address student and national issues. In our first electoral fight, we had Trisa Kintanar of the College of Law as the first standard-bearer for Vice-Chairperson. We got the 9th and 12th councilor positions, Jing Corpuz and Dennis Longid, both of them Cordilleran students, also my orgmates from UP Anido.
Our relatively unfruitful USC efforts would go on like this for years. A noteful achievement that I think STAND-UP was rarely applauded for, though - Our first winners were indigenous students from the Cordilleras; The first one also to be No.1 councilor was Satria Candao, a woman Muslim student who had a bright personality. Then there was Rommel Romato in 2002, also from Mindanao, who won as USC Chair. I hear the Student Regent today, a woman of Islamic faith, is also from STAND-UP. So STAND-UP should, I think, be held up for, well, standing up for its advocacy of marginalised sectors, as shown by its quality alumni leaders from these sectors.
We might have had weaknesses in organising in the colleges, but in my opinion, the single biggest block was the fact that the Philippine Collegian was being held in a choke-hold by SAMASA. Despite the successes of rallies, for example, it would always try to find something to criticise about them. And worse, because of SAMASA's philosophy of these forms of protests as being "passe'", it would always portray them in negative light, exposing their pseudo-progressive character, at least to us. While the editorial direction of the Collegian would later on have little effect on STAND-UP's winnability in the USC elections, because it had already established and strengthened itself, the lesson there is that its inital efforts were thwarted by the foul methods of SAMASA people. (They should've been called SAMA-SA-People, bad for the people. haha).
For years, STAND-UP continued with its campaigns despite not being in the USC for more resources. It also helped establish coalitions like the UMAKSYON (Ugnayan ng Mag-aaral Laban sa komersyalisasyon) and other coalitions, including with the academic and non-academic employees and the communities around the campus and beyond. We were of course the foremost centre for national campaigns in the campus. The first breakthroughs, though, were more intensive and extensive college organising, something I've always advocated from the very beginning.
Fraternities were joining the alliance. I remember the time when our drinking buddies were members from various frats. One of the reasons I didn't join one despite the solicitations was alliance work, being a member of one when there were brawls would be a detriment to alliance-building and open discussions with the other frats.
We were winning college student council (CSC) elections as well. What were called balwartes (strongholds?) of STAND-UP then were CAL, CMC, Educ, then FA later on. Against STAND-UP colleges traditionally were CBA (Business Ad), Econ, CSSP, PubAd, and a bit from the College of Law, taking into account that this is to be taken generally, as we had many students for STAND-UP in these colleges. The CSSP, being in the main hall, was where most of the struggle was, and so far as I know, has never been won in the local elections by STAND-UP allies. In terms of population, I had the following approximates: CMC=Econ, CAL=CBA, CFA=NCPAG?. So college solid mass base was almost equal, our winning edge were campaigns and the fractious opposition.
Engineering was also with allies. I noted, however, that as we had started winning university-wide, Eng'g was lost to local parties associated with the other sides. So by the time we were winning the USC, the College of Science was the biggest college with an incumbent party allied with STAND-UP, a critical dam and watershed (That will be the subject of another number).
And so with the confluence of the situation, events and efforts, STAND-UP won a landslide victory in the USC elections in 2000, with Raymond Palatino as our first USC Chair. It was literally the dawn of a new era, as the millennium closed and opened, a STAND-UP parade. From then on, activism declared a comeback in the country's foremost university.
A few things to be noted, though. I don't discount the personalities of Raymond Palatino and his slate, but I think the faceless men and women of STAND-UP should be given more credit, as it was that period when they really started focusing on the colleges, who worked so hard day and night to achieve a semblance of progressiveness and militancy in the campus. The commitment and the selflessness, the energy, the enjoyment they had for what they were doing, make them the pride of the Oblation, which signifies selflessness. Here, then, is a salute to all those people who made STAND-UP what it was and is today.
The other two icons that I opine weren't given much credit for as tipping point factors: The first one was the release of the SAMASA chokehold over the Philippine Collegian, after Seymour 'Mayor' Sanchez became its editor. I think it was little realised that Seymour was a member of STAND-UP. From then on, the Kule, as it was called, was freed from the propaganda crap of the SAMASA and the poison pens of their editors. Setting affiliations aside, the Kule became more objective and could be considered more a journalistic newspaper. While the editorship of Kule would later on have little effect on the electoral fortunes of STAND-UP as it strengthened and became more organised, initially it needed the malicious mudslinging of anti-activists to derail its eventual rise. Activism, without the opposition mudslinging, would have more of a chance to fly.
The other icon that emerged was the re-work of Bob Marley's song 'Get Up, Stand Up' by Babes Alejo along an educational theme. It also musically drummed up the beat for the powerful counter-offensive. When people started singing "You can fool some people some time, but you can't fool all the people all the time", obviously referring to SAMASA, for its years of deceptiveness and divisiveness, you just knew the tide had been turned. Then they sang it up further into a stirring crescendo: "Now we see the light, just STAND-UP for your right!", with much conviction. Now I wasn't much into musical, much less cultural, stuff - I even refused to sing "UP Naming Mahal" for years because it seemed too sectarian and UP-centric when I was meeting with other kids from other schools - but even I was singing what would turn out to be our victory song.
Prior to the USC victory in 2000, it was preceded by big victories in certain colleges. CMC was continuously won by the college STAND-UP CMC. JPaul won as chair of CAL along with his slate. Mong Palatino also won the College of Education council, while I was holding the fort in CS. At one time, during a general assembly of student councils in UP Iloilo, Jpaul, Mong and I would form an informal triumvirate, the result of a joke started by Mong.
While we were ecstatic about the victories, however, something was still amiss. CSSP remained in the other camp, with their networks in other colleges, notably NCPAG (the nest of the nation's policymakers), Econ, CBA, Law, Eng'g, AIT, a bit of CHK and others. I haven't seen this in assessments, but I was alarmed by the loss of the College of Engineering, the biggest college in UP Diliman. So while on the surface, we won landslide USC elections in 2000-2004, there was something else occurring. By 2003, I was already doing fieldwork, so I have scant organising activities by this time in the campus, although I had to attend to another alliance. Our situation was thus precarious in the biggest colleges Engg and CSSP. The third biggest college was CS where our local party was holding sway. In 2004, who would appear to be our strong candidate, Atom Araullo, and his slate, lost the elections due to the 'FPJ' effect, where UP students equated Atom's celebrity status as the same as the stars entering national politics, which was really stupid, since the guy is brilliant and committed. I'm not sure how they campaigned, though, and I have a scant idea how the alliance assessed it. The loss should also offer a lesson on the power of the Internet to stir up viral but dumb analogies, where I heard most of the negative mudslinging against Atom's star status. The next year, however, I heard STAND-UP won again, then the year I think after that. Then last year, the USC was half-won. This was also after the party I helped establish in CS was broken up on purpose. Which flows to the next number...
So there's the story of my being STAND-UP. I was viewed as a sort of maverick, I think, due maybe because I wasn't going to Vinzon's much during some periods, especially some meetings . But truth be told, I was spending half my free time doing things for the alliance (the other for studies and tambay). Even when I wasn't on official alliance or org business, I was still on the go doing organising activities, especially in my college.
All in all, however, the closest people I met were in the alliance and I remained steadfast and true to it. STAND-UP had a variety of colour and characters, and I especially cherish my times being a member. I honour the dedication of these people, more often than not you'd find them constantly putting their time, intellect, artistry, creativity, muscles, lack of sleep, to the cause of advancing students' rights and welfare, as well as commitment to an improved education and a progressive country. Even in times of reaction both inside the campus and outside, STAND-UP remained a beacon of militant assertiveness and shines as an example to many youth and students not just in UP but the entire country.
Next:
2) SPACE, CS-SC/Scientia
3) Continuation of UP Anido
4) Recovery of OSR, KASAMA years
5) Establishment of Solidaridad, UP Alliance of Student Publications and Writers' Organizations -
Posted at 09:50 pm by starsi
