Education is about values – truth, honesty, responsibility, leadership, excellence, integrity. Adhering to them every step of the way, even if nobody is looking, builds character. Character makes a man complete. A man for others.
My four daughters all went to Ateneo. They all finished Interdisciplinary studies (IS), the essence of liberal education and humanities. My eldest daughter and child, Myra, also finished MBA at Ateneo. My second child and daughter, Ivy, also finished law, at Ateneo.
At Ateneo, they drill into your grey matter one thing – you are a man for others.
I myself took up MBA courses at Ateneo, for one and a half years, at the old Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Padre Faura, Manila. The journalism profession offers endless opportunities for one to be a man for others. Journalism’s major tenet, after all, is seek the truth and report it. Truth frees people, especially those who have less in life.
Rizal himself imbibed the man for others mantra. Rizal studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, 1872 to 1877, and graduated with a BA, sobresaliente, highest honors, becoming pride of the Jesuits. Rizal knew how to be a man for others. He died for his people and country.
My daughters know what it means to be a man for others. My eldest was always very helpful to others, in every way she could, a sucker I should say. Sadly, she died, of aneurysm, in 2008.
My second child, the lawyer Ivy, interpreted being a man for others rather generously. After graduation from Law, she practiced pro bono, as a human rights lawyer (with the legendary Rene Saguisag), defending victims denied their rights. She and husband Bene, a CPA and Ateneo Law, went to the US for further studies. They haven’t been back but they produced three great kids – their first born, a son, a GIT highest honors engineering graduate, is with Tesla; the second son is studying film and the arts; their only daughter is an athlete and an artist.
AI says the Jesuit principle of being “a man for others” means defining true success through selfless service, compassion and a commitment to social justice. It challenges individuals to shift their focus from personal glory to actively dismantling unjust social structures and uplifting the marginalized.
The phrase was famously coined in 1973 by Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, the Superior General of the Jesuits, 1965 to 1983. He saw the Americans bombed Hiroshima in 1945 and survived it. He knew oppression first hand.
Arrupe argued that the primary educational objective of Jesuit institutions must be to form “men and women for others.” Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of this, a man who gave His life for the salvation of the world.
On Monday, June 8, Ateneo de Manila University announced the deaths of its varsity basketball players Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia in a “team building” activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. The players went missing at 3:04 p.m. that day. Baterbonia was found first, around 3:40 p.m., with rescuers recovering Adili several minutes later. Both were around 50 meters from shore when a deathly rip tide occurred into the vast Pacific Ocean, drowning them.
From Monday to Thursday, the Ateneo management imposed a news blackout. The Ateneo coach, Ted Baldwin, was told to shut up, as were the team manager and the players themselves. Baldwin was told to go on leave.
Aghast, on Thursday, more than 400 teachers and professors at Ateneo signed an open letter addressed to Ateneo de Manila University president (since 2019) Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ, urging “greater clarity and transparency” following the drowning of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili. “The nameless, faceless and sterile official social media posts have downplayed the gravity of the situation and the accountability of the university,” they told Yap.
“As the institution responsible for the safety of our students, we are accountable. The families, the Ateneo community and the larger public have the right to know and hear Ateneo de Manila’s institutional voice,” the educators said.
The professors sought “sincere and humane expressions of apology, empathy and compassion from the University leaders and coaching staff.”
A Cebuano, Ateneo president Yap has lovely credentials: PhD in Economics from University College London (2002); a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (1995); MA in Theology and Bachelor in Sacred Theology (STB), summa cum laude, from the Loyola School of Theology (1992); MA in Economics from New School for Social Research (1988) and an AB in Economics (Honors), cum laude, from Ateneo de Manila University (1980). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Manila University and Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Yap entered the Society of Jesus in 1982, and was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1992.
“The Ateneo university administration has been roundly (and I believe fairly) scored for not saying and doing enough in the immediate aftermath of the apparent accident to establish what happened, determine accountabilities and provide sympathy and support to the bereaved. What drowned in Aurora were more than two boys and their hopes; into depths went their school’s hard-won reputation for a culture of caring,” writes my fellow STAR columnist, Jose Dalisay, who taught at Ateneo. “At the very least, a statement providing more details of what happened, committing to a thorough and impartial investigation and offering support to the affected families would have eased many initial concerns.”
Ted Baldwin has resigned as Ateneo coach. He was probably fired. For training his players like a SWAT contingent about to invade Mamasapano.
As for Father Yap? Well, he is amply educated, in the best schools the world could offer. He is not stupid. He knows what to do. Quit.
* * *
Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com