In Defense of Student Representation
An Open Letter from the Office of the Student Regent
Warm greetings!
As the university heads to the final days of its year-long centennial celebration, I have observed that one historical landmark of the students’ democratic struggle inside the academe remains largely ignored- the creation of the Office of the Student Regent (OSR).
Now that the university looks back on its 100 years of existence, the significance of the OSR must not be ignored or forgotten. For the office is a concrete product of the UP Students’ sustained efforts for the representation in the Board of Regents (BOR), the highest policy-making body in the University. The BOR was once dominated by personalities appointed by Marcos. And although the students formed the largest sector in the university, there was no student representative in the body.
The students, however, fearlessly pushed for their democratic rights. Even during Martial Law, they held massive student demonstrations inside and outside the academe, determined in the face of repression from both Malacanang and the UP Administration. As the students’ campaign reached its peak, the administration relented. Pres. Corazon Aquino approved Executive Order No. 204, which led to the inauguration of the OSR. Since then, the office has become a symbol of victory for the UP studentry in asserting their democratic demands to the BOR.
Historically, the office has spearheaded the fight for greater state subsidy by initiating lobbying efforts in Congress and student actions. It has also stood up against discrimination on the basis of class, gender, race and religion. For this is the mandate of the OSR- to safeguard the interests of the students at all times.
Despite several attempts to render the OSR impotent in its duty to serve the students and the people, it has struggled to remain loyal to its function by pushing for measures to ensure the quality and accessibility of UP education and to realign the thrust of the university along the democratic interests of the people. At the locus of the campaign for student rights and welfare across UP units is the sole student representative to the BOR.
Ironically, the OSR is hounded by uncertainties, even as the whole university looks confidently to another 100 years. Traditionally, the General Assembly of Student Councils approves the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection. The new UP Charter, however, obliges a referendum of students in order to approve the selection process for the Student Regent. The mandatory referendum is a move by the state and administration to invalidate the student-crafted selection process which exhibits student autonomy and self-governance.
A referendum is a logistical difficulty. The process requires more than half of the entire population of UP students nationwide to cast their votes in favor of the OSR. There are two possible scenarios, should the students fail to clinch the majority vote: the office may be left vacant, leaving the students without representation in the BOR, or the office may still be occupied, but by a Malacanang-appointe d student regent. Either way, the institutional autonomy of the OSR is undermined. This presents dangerous implications for the office, whose commitment to democratic rights is ensured, in part, by its independence from Malacanang and administration intervention.
Sadly, these bleak scenarios come at a time when student representation in the BOR is much needed. Today, the rightful role of students in the development of the university and country is being challenged at all fronts, from the reduction of state subsidy to the militarization of campuses. It is worth noting that year after year, the state has slashed added income. Meanwhile, legitimate student institutions and formations at the forefront of campaigns against commercialization are met with suppression.
At this landmark moment in history, there is no other way to succeed over threats against our rights to representation than to collectively rise up to the challenge of a referendum. At a time of crisis, we are tasked to protect, defend, and uphold our sole voice in the BOR, in the same way that we are tasked to advance our democratic struggle against commercialization of education and campus repression, not just for ourselves but for the future generations. Now that the office is in peril, let us continue the spirit of vigilance and persistence that led to the founding of the OSR.
With the firm resolve demonstrated by those who fought for the OSR, I call on the broadest number of UP students across the entire university system to support the campaign to defend the OSR and prove, once and for all, that measures meant to impede our democratic rights shall fail against the collective militancy of the students. By defending our basic rights to be represented, we concretely reaffirm our democratic struggle for greater state subsidy, for tambayans, and for our right to organize.
Once more, history demands that students register the potency of collective action in the fight for freedom and democracy inside and outside the university. We will respond to this challenge, valiant and united.
SHAHANA ABDULWAHID
University of the Philippines Student Regent
