UP Beloved: It takes all kinds

It’s true that some of those killed in various government anti-CPP/NPA operations turned out to have been students of the University of the Philippines, leading to the conclusion that some UP students are members of the CPP/NPA. But it is also true that some – many – UP students are members of various government offices and agencies, part of the “establishment.”

But that is exactly what the UP is; it is not one or the other, but all of the above. It is left and right, up and down, rich and poor, old and young, fat and thin, smart and dumb…and all the varying shades in between. And all those different, differing people co-exist under the protection of the university as a bastion of freedom – freedom to study and learn, freedom of thought and of expression, freedom to agree and to disagree.

A university like the UP is where ideas germinate and percolate, where information is disseminated and opinions formed (and sometimes un-formed and re-formed). And for that to happen, you need inputs from all spectrums, perspectives from all angles. You need people from all walks of life throwing in their experiences, their views, their wisdom (or stupidity), their five centavos worth… and out of all that will come bright ideas, great leaders and good citizens.

The way I understand it, that 1989 UP-DND accord did not bar police or military from entering any UP campus; it simply asked for prior coordination with university administration. That agreement has worked for three decades, through rallies and boycotts, parades and marches, bombings and kidnappings…

The specter of communism has hung over UP for even more decades than that agreement has been in force. I remember when I got accepted into and was raring to study at Diliman many, many years ago, my mother grudgingly agreed (she wanted me to go to an all girls’ school) with two caveats: do not join a sorority and do not become a communist. I joined rallies on and off campus, I cut class to go to the movies, I spent hours in that wonderful library and learned from some brilliant professors, I discussed and argued with teachers and fellow students…and when I finally moved that tassel on my cap from right to left on a sunny afternoon in the Lagoon behind Quezon Hall, I was a different person than when I first took that bus on Quezon Avenue towards Diliman – wiser I hope, more open-minded for sure, better equipped to fill my role as a citizen of the Philippines.

To declare that UP actively recruits members for the CPP/NPA or that there could possibly be a shabu lab on campus is beyond unfair. And to unilaterally scrap the decades-old agreement without coordination or dialogue is the exact opposite of what UP stands for – rationale discourse, open communication, respect for ideas and opinions, a fair exchange of ideas. I have great respect for our uniformed personnel (a majority of them anyway), but this unilateral action of their leadership smacks of arrogance unbecoming of their uniform, of their pledge of “protecting the people.” I earnestly hope this issue is resolved with fairness and respect befitting both parties. – Dina Sta. Maria, Quezon City