CANDIDATES FOR the Central Student Council (CSC) have decried what they called an “extremely repressive” system in UST that supposedly deter students from engaging in campus-wide politics and the supposed failure of the administration to enumerate the items funded by recent tuition increases.
In the 2024 Tagisan or the mandatory debate for CSC candidates last Saturday, Nov. 9, both aspirants for public relations officer (PRO) and secretary attributed students’ indifference to political discourses to the UST administration’s alleged intimidation and denounced its supposed lack of transparency as to where tuition hikes are allocated.
“Bumababa talaga ‘yung political participation natin dito sa loob… Mayroon kasi tayong malalang repressive system dito sa loob na nawawalan talaga ng gana ‘yung mga estudyante,” independent candidate for PRO Annie Nicholle Agon said.
(Our political participation here is really declining… We have a severely repressive system inside [the campus], which is causing students to lose interest.)
Agon claimed that the mass withdrawal of candidates for CSC officials last academic year was due to the “rampant” cases of repression within the University.
In March, all seven aspirants for the executive board elections filed their withdrawal as a “principled stand” against UST’s prevailing system, which they described as “resistant to reform.” This year’s CSC elections saw only two candidates, with the positions of president, vice president, treasurer and auditor left vacant.
Medical Biology junior Meckia Villanueva, who is vying for the position of secretary, said while students are well aware of the problematic system within the campus, many of them lack the initiative to stand up to it for fear of suppression.
“I agree that student participation in these kinds of activities is declining… Students do care, but this is not enough for them to fully and wholeheartedly take part in these activities, especially with student politics,” Villanueva said.
“There seems to be a fear that even if I run, we may not be able to carry out our principles and advocacy given the repressive system that we have,” she added.
Financial woes
In the “For or Against” segment, the two candidates also condemned the University’s consecutive tuition increases and called on the administration to provide details as to where the amounts would be spent.
“Year after year, we don’t really feel where the [tuition] increase our administration wants to implement is going. If there is an increase in tuition, it should be justified or broken down as to where the amount we pay to the institution is allocated,” Villanueva said.
Last September, the University was pronounced autonomous and deregulated by the Commission on Higher Education. The status, which is valid until Sept. 15, 2027, allows UST to increase its tuition and other school fees without an approval from the commission.
According to Villanueva, dialogues with the administration must be held to reach a compromise on the financial woes of students.
“If it is only increased without enough information for every student, it will be questionable and not favorable to the rights of our students because we are spending our own money, [also] considering the burden of living on a daily basis with the high price of goods,” the medical biology junior added.
The election period will run from Nov. 11 to 16, while the canvassing of votes and the proclamation of the newly-elected officers will be held on Nov. 16. F
