by JANIS JOPLIN MOISES and KAREN RENEE NOGOY
ARTLET CANDIDATES for the Central Student Council (CSC) vowed on Friday to amplify the students’ rights and voters’ education, and to dignify the voice and welfare of Thomasians amid pandemic.
Interim CSC Secretary and sole candidate for presidency, Krizia Milleny Bricio, seeks to focus on efficiency, accountability, and transparency with the CSC Constitution revision to establish an efficient system in the council.
“From my four years [of] stay [in] the Central Student Council, I saw that [the] transition period from the previous term to the new term takes [too] much time pagdating sa pag-transition ng work, description of task, and projects,” she said.
Under the revision, warnings and other modes of disciplinary actions on the misconduct of CSC officers and members inside will be included to promote accountability, Bricio said.
Transparency reports regarding financial records and board meetings shall be published on the social media platforms of the CSC, she explained.
“Kailangan natin ng konseho na tutugunan ang ating mga pangangailangan ngayon at ihahanda tayo sa ating haharapin na mga problema sa mga susunod pang taon,” Bricio said.
Artlets Student Council Vice President-Internal Gerald Matthew Dela Cruz, lone candidate for vice president, campaigns on student representation and voters’ education for the upcoming elections.
Dela Cruz emphasized that the CSC should launch a centralized and localized campaign to inform about the history, importance, and purpose of the Students’ Code, a document aiming to protect the rights of Thomasians which was first drafted in 2004.
“Muli nating pakikilusin ang students mula sa mga Local Student Council at iba’t ibang mga organisasyon para sa ating kampanya sa maayos na student representation,” said Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz also plans to work with state universities, colleges, organizations, and government agencies to encourage voter registration among students.
“Sa pamamagitan ng malawakang voter education, nilalayon nating bumaba sa mga komunidad at magkaroon ng malayang diskusyon sa kanilang kasalukuyang sitwasyon at kung paano tayo dapat pumili ng mga kandidato sa ating mga lugar,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the lone candidate for the position of secretary Anne Arnet Paguirigan plans to educate and influence students to exercise their rights by voting in the upcoming 2022 elections through an advocacy campaign, “YOUth Decides.”
The campaign will be collaborating with different media organizations, administrative offices, and senior communication arts students in the University, Paguirigan said.
Paguirigan also aims to establish a safe space policy to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination in the institution through her platform “UST Safe Space Agenda,” in line with the Bawal Bastos Act or Safe Spaces Act.
“Kahit na malayo tayo sa isa’t isa, dapat [din] nating bigyan pansin ang karapatan at proteksyon ng bawat Tomasino,” she said.
Deputy Head of the UST Central Commission on Elections Rian Llamas encouraged the Thomasians to register to vote for the upcoming 2021 national elections as she said that a single vote would contribute to the collective vote toward change.
“Higit tayo magkaisa at magtulong-tulong, hindi lamang para sa new normal, kundi sa better normal,” she said.
The CSC candidates presented their platforms and stand on social issues during the “Miting de Avance: Tagisan 2021,” a mandatory debate.
The campaign period will run until May 8, while the election period will be from May 10 to 15, excluding May 13. F
