EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a developing story
The Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) concert has not been scrapped but may be postponed because of the failure of the Artlets Student Council (ABSC) to meet some requirements set by the Office for Student Affairs (OSA), an administrator and a student leader said.
In a meeting with ABSC officials and members of the Board of Majors (BOM), AB Faculty Secretary Asst. Prof. Louie Ignacio said the dean’s office was ironing out some issues so that the concert, which was meant to celebrate the faculty’s anniversary, would push through.
“That is not cancelation… In the entire discussion, I believe in OSA and even in the dean’s office, we’re looking for ways to address the concern and what we are suggesting is for the activity to push through even if it won’t happen tomorrow (Feb. 24),” Ignacio told ASBC and BOM representatives.
“The word canceled means it won’t happen. We are just suggesting that you move it,” he added.
Several sources told The Flame that OSA had raised the possibility of canceling the AB concert to prevent possible protests against the takedown of TomasinoWeb’s controversial 7-Eleven photo. Two options were reportedly given to the ABSC, namely reschedule the concert and change the venue to UST Central Seminary, or cancel the event altogether. As of writing, the council has yet to make a decision on the matter.
However, Ignacio clarified that it was the UST campus security, not the OSA, that raised concerns about the possible holding of protests during the concert.
“If it is held at the Central Seminary, the space is enclosed and the concern of the security office would be addressed,” he said.
The faculty secretary also mentioned a finance-related issue, something that he said would be addressed if the concert is rescheduled.
Ignacio reminded the ABSC and BOM to improve their planning and come up with back up plans to ensure that activities are not delayed. In the same meeting, AB Dean Melanie Turingan advised the student leaders to ensure that they won’t seek last minute approvals for their activities and assured them that her office is ready to act on documents promptly
ABSC acting president Justine Claire Ello confirmed that the concert’s postponement had something to do with documentary requirements.
“Most, if not all, our events have been encoded on time but (I am sure many organization secretaries can relate), OSA would have sudden revisions or even worse, additional requirements for specific events, that were not part of their list of required documents per event type,” Ello said in an X post. F – Mariane Ysabelle Pante
