Shifted through my former doodles and thoughts. Here goes:
The regular phone call from my parents has just ended. The stimulating topic for tonight’s phone conversation was politics and the politicians from UP.
Parent: Ganyan naman kayong mga tagaUP eh. Habang nasa college kayo, mga actibista kayo pero paglabas na ng kolehiyo, nawawala na mga prinsipyo niyo. There’s PGMA, Angara, Neri…
Last Friday, a friend and I were talking about what she has learned from her ArtStud1 class. She relayed to me her insights on what her prof said.
Prof: Ulo lang naman pinapalaki dito sa UP eh, hindi puso.
As I half-heartedly listened to a campaigning candidate during the recent USC elections, something she said caught my attention.
Candidate: We have to do something about our system because we have alumni like GMA and Neri and are we proud of them? NO!
This has got me thinking.
Are we being swallowed by the dysfunctional system after we leave the academe?
I have to agree that I am not proud of GMA and Neri. Nevertheless, I defensively told my parent, “Student activists comprise only a part of the population of the UP. Those who lead rallies and demonstrations rarely end up politicians. They end up continuing their fight in various ways – as an NPA in the mountains, as a professor enlightening the next generation, as journalists who expose the truth, etc. It is unfair to say we throw away our principles the moment we step out of college.”
As for the claim na ulo lang ang pinapalaki dito sa UP at hindi puso, I beg to disagree. There are many UP alumni who give back to the people who invested in their education. In my short stay in this university, I have met many professors who choose to stay and teach in UP despite the higher salary offers from private schools or colleges. My friend has a professor whose course requirement includes working/helping out in the library. Another professor encourages us to develop not only cool heads but warm hearts in service of the Filipino people. She even tells us that she will not only twist in her grave but rise from it to haunt us if we use our cool heads with cold, uncompassionate hearts. My dorm manager of two years constantly reminds us that our stay in the university and in the dormitory is a privilege, not a right; therefore we have to dutifully go about our responsibilities as students and dormers. My CWTS professor made us “pay it forward” by choosing charities, schools, institutions as beneficiaries for our fund-raising projects.
Clearly, pinapalaki rin ang puso dito sa UP. It is just people, particularly politicians like PGMA and Neri, who cloud the people’s perception on what an Iskolar ng Bayan has given back to the people and what more he has to offer.
Comments, anyone?
