University Student Council « Victor Villanueva

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March 19, 2010

On student council elections

The past month saw various student council election campaigns in campuses across the country. For some students and for those of us who have graduated, there is a tendency to dismiss student council elections in major universities as irrelevant child play. For me, though, and I’m not saying this just because I have always been involved in campus politics, I believe that student council elections are legitimate exercises of students democratic rights. It serves as a rehearsal for students of their part in the larger context of Philippine society. I also believe that the leadership of the student council is decisive and crucial in the formation of student mass movements against commercialization of education and campus repression.

In the University of the Philippines Diliman, the militant Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights – UP (STAND-UP) regained the leadership of the University Student Council, after two years of losing the Chairman position. The Alternative Students’ Alliance for Progress – Katipunan ng mga Progresibong Mag-aaral ng Bayan (ASAP-KATIPUNAN) in UP Manila similarly regained the leadership of their University Student Council after three years of losing. STAND-UP and ASAP-KATIPUNAN’s nationalist counterparts in the other UP campuses in UP Baguio, UP Tacloban, UP Miag-ao, UP Cebu and UP Mindanao also scored resounding victories. This is indeed a reaffirmation of the genuine leadership that nationalist and militant activists offer and the potency of militant and collective activism in challenging attacks to students’ rights and welfare and in engaging the different issues that plague the country.

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June 28, 2009

The Democratization Movement in Retrospect

The following article appears in the latest issue of Oblation, the newsletter of the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC). The last issue was the last of our term, 2008, and serves as a joint/transition issue with USC 2009.

The University of the Philippines bore witness to our militant history of collective struggle. It has been a testament to the tide and ebb of our national affairs which have propelled thousands of students to forge an inextricable link with various sectors in our society in our clamor for a common aspiration””genuine social change.

At the dawn of the decade 60′s, the country was swept by the massive waves of rage and discontent among the youth, laborers and peasants and other sectors of the society weary of the existing social order favoring foreign interests and the ruling class. It was further aggravated by the government’s incapacity to ease the worsening crisis, tolerance for corruption and the use of fascism to quell the progressive mass movement.

At the height of political repression, the students of the University took both issues of national and local significance to the streets: from tuition fee increases, campus repression and the fight for academic freedom to US imperialism and its war of aggression in Vietnam, oil price hikes, land reform and decent wages for the workers.

Youth organizations that were founded in the University along with University professors propelled the progressive movement in the campus as they packaged militant ideas in fora, convocations, cultural performances, educational and classroom discussions and teach-ins.

As a reaction to the government’s inaction involving the release of its 9-millon budget, the Council of Leaders which includes traditional organizations, fraternities and sororities and progressive organizations such as the Kabataang Makabayan, Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines and the University Student Council led the picket protest.

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May 8, 2009

University Student Council Turnover ’09

Last April 20, we had a turnover ceremony for the University Student Council (USC). That pseudo-officially ended our terms as members of the University Student Council. Good luck to incoming USC for 2009!

The turnover ceremony was a joint ceremony. The outgoing and the incoming editorial leadership of the Philippine Collegian also had their part of the program.

It felt a little anticlimactic for me. After all, involvement in campus issues has never really been confined to the USC, for me. And I didn’t feel that anything ended that day. Even engaging colleagues from the other parties in debates, surely, didn’t end that day–even if it was goodbye to the long and harrowing GA’s we regularly had, when we just couldn’t agree on some issues at all. Though, I’d have to say despite all that, we managed to get along somehow in the end, some more than others, politics aside of course.

Simultaneously, UP Administation officials, USC 2008 and Senator Richard Gordon unveiled a bust of Wenceslao Vinzons, which the Senator commissioned to do, in honor of the hero to whom the historic and quintessential hub of university activism and politics was named after. There were also dozens of brods present too–since Vinzons, the Senator, and a handful of members of the incoming and outgoing University Student Council are members of the Upsilon Sigma Phi.

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March 4, 2009

UP Diliman USC Elections ’09 Results

Here’s a short and partial rundown of the results of the University Student Council elections in Diliman.

	Chairperson	Party	Votes
1.	Titus C.K. Tan	KAISA	4,900
2.	Airah T. Cadiogan	STAND-UP	3,389
3.	Nina Marie D. Acasio	ALYANSA	1,276

Titus Tan of KAISA won the Chairpersonship of the University Student Council, with a commanding 4,900 votes, while Jaque Eroles of STAND-UP clinched the Vice-Chairpersonship with 4,525. We only won four out of twelve seats among the USC Councilors.

	Vice-Chairperson	Party	Votes
1.	Jacqueline J. Eroles	STAND-UP	4,525
2.	Joseph M. Gutierrez	ALYANSA	3,911

I was honestly upset when news broke of the results, and I was actually in disbelief, as it was really something we, or I personally did not expect. Assessments of the election campaign have been ongoing and resolutions will be forged.

To our candidates who weren’t fortunate enough to win seats in the student council, I have no doubt on your continued commitment to serve the people and the students in various fields and arena. And I’m looking forward to the work that we shall continue to do. It’s been a tiring campaign season for all of us, but it’s genuinely been a pleasure to have been among your campaign managers.

The incoming USC will prove to be one of the most evenly-divided (among political parties) USC in recent history. Good luck to the incoming University Student Council!

	Councilors	Party	Votes
1.	Christopher T. Yu	Independent	3,918
2.	Mario C. Cerilles	ALYANSA	3,888
3.	Katrina Nessa M. Abad	STAND-UP	3,486
4.	Luis Jose F. Geronimo	ALYANSA	3,446
5.	Andrea Monica V. Gonzales	ALYANSA	3,235
6.	Fermina A. Agudo	STAND-UP	2,884
7.	Katrina Ross P. Manzano	ALYANSA	2,738
8.	Muhamad Jumer C. Sali	STAND-UP	2,717
9.	Raymond Charles V. Pestana	STAND-UP	2,654
10.	Brian K. Ong	KAISA	2,621
11.	Jose Leandro R. Alinea	KAISA	2,578
12.	Lee Tomas O. Tan	KAISA	2,512

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February 15, 2009

Now the campaign manager

Topping the previous elections is sure to make a lot of people expect you to run for the student council the next year. Indeed, for the past weeks, it’s been a nagging question among friends, random strangers I bump along the campaign trail and even on blogs and message boards. This is my first election season in four where I’m not a candidate. To be perfectly honest about it, it was simply because of a grade I got in one of my major subjects in Law last semester, which effectively disqualified me. It was quite unfortunate, and it has caused me, and my circle of friends, brods and colleagues some disappointment. For a few days some weeks ago, I felt quite bad how disappointed I made some people feel. But that’s over, there are many other ways of serving the people and the students. Once again it’s student council election season in UP Diliman.

I never would have realized how similarly and even more tiring managing the campaign is than being a candidate. I shall be posting pictures from the past days in the next few entries. Here’s some from STAND-UP (Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights – UP) presentation of candidates for the student council elections.

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February 9, 2009

Strengthen our unity! Advance our struggle for greater victories!

Last week, we secured the historic success of the CRSRS (Codified Rules on Student Regent Selection) Referendum, a process that drew over 26,000 students from all over the nation, a resounding 73% if which voted yes. This is the epic triumph of all iskolar ng bayan who responded to the clarion call of the times, heeding the need to defend that most basic of civil liberties ““ fair representation.

Our success in the referendum attests to three things: that efforts to discredit the mandate of the Office of the Student Regent ““ an institution that is borne and continues to assume the democratic struggle of the students ““ will end in futility; that attempts to place student representation at the crux of uncertainty will fail at the gates of our collective dissent; and finally, that we are ready to overcome divisions so that higher battles may be fought and won over.

Indeed, both the UP administration and the state have evolved mechanisms to thwart our democratic rights, covertly attacking student formations and institutions. Yet no assault can withstand the strength of our united stance; our collective resolve shall always persist and prevail.

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December 10, 2008

A heavy Christmas workload

This has got to be my most hectic Christmas season yet. From big campus and national campaigns to extra-curricular functions, and almost none of them related to Christmas.

This week, for example, as part of the Defend the Office of the Student Regent campaign of KASAMA sa UP (Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP), we’re going to have a twelve-hour concert this Friday, right after the broad multi-sectoral mobilization in Makati against the Arroyo administration’s attempt at Charter Change.

This week is also the 12th anniversary week of STAND-UP (Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights – UP), where starting last Saturday, we’ve been having daily activities, from an all-day road painting, to an alliance congress to a cultural night tonight to an alumni night this Saturday.

In the University Student Council, we’ve also been having our last activities and assemblies for the year. We’ve just co-launched the Cine Veritas Human Rights Festival and wrapped up Karolfest yesterday, then there’s a big University Convocation tomorrow–and that’s not all, I still have to produce our last newsletter for the year.

For the past weeks up until this coming Friday, we’ve also been having weekly events and functions in Upsilon Sigma Phi for our 90th anniversary. We had our annual car stuffing and food stuffing event last Friday.

I haven’t even mentioned the increasing pile of academic workload for this semester. And speaking of law school, my block organized a forum this Friday, about judicial integrity, then we’re also having the annual Malcolm Madness this Saturday.

Next week, there would still be preparations for the Lantern Parade, then there’d be the KASAMA sa UP NC Meet, and to cap it all off, an All UP Student Councils Assembly which promises to be a stressful and heated assembly of student councils with conflicting ideologies and interests.

So, where’s the Christmas spirit? Where are the Christmas parties? I haven’t had time for any! Masyadong maraming kailangang isipin, gawin at napakaraming problema lang talaga sa UP at sa Pilipinas. I need to cheer up, and well, gear up for another year soon.

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November 3, 2008

USC Midterm Planning

We held our USC (University Student Council) mid-term assessment and planning last ~~Tuesday~~ Thursday at the Consunji conference room in UP Bahay ng Alumni.

So we assessed our performance the past first semester and calendared our projects and campaigns for the next semester. We also finally sat down and agreed to be frank and honest with each other. We all knew that we really don’t get along some times, ideologically-speaking, of course, evident in hour-long sessions that last till midnight where we debate and argue almost endlessly on our principles and stands on issues and there’s sometimes no use pretending we can create consensus.

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On student council elections

University Student Council Turnover ’09

UP Diliman USC Elections ’09 Results

Now the campaign manager

Strengthen our unity! Advance our struggle for greater victories!

A heavy Christmas workload

USC Midterm Planning

Victor Villanueva

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