by Jon Lindley Agustin
Conflicts among College of Mass Communication (CMC) parties heated up as candidates for the next student council faced off on Friday at the college’s first issue-based debate in a modified Asian-Parliamentary format.
The debate, dubbed as “Liyab: A Pre-Hot off the Grill Debate,” was organized by the UP Mass Communicators Organization (UP MCO) as a kick-off to the annual miting de avance entitled “Hot Off The Grill” on Feb. 10.
The debate was also co-sponsored by the College Student Electoral Board (CSEB), CMC’s governing electoral body, headed by College Secretary Danilo Arao.
Similar to past election forums, persistent issues on commercialization, activism, and the implementation of projects tested the parties’ ideals and beliefs.
Candidates from STAND UP-CMC (Students Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP-CMC) and ISA (Interdependent Student-Centered Activism), as well as one independent candidate for Journalism representative gave their stance on issues such as the budget cut, tuition fee increase and the state’s selling of idle assets to private companies.
“The goal of the debate is to showcase the competencies of the candidates as well as the principles of ISA and STAND-UP,” said Jedd Brian Hernandez, president of UP MCO.
CMC’s biggest problem
The two candidates vying for CMC representative to the University Student Council (USC) each had two distinct problems of the college in mind.
While criticizing the former CMC student councils, Jake Rivera of ISA said the biggest problem is student engagement. To fulfill this, he said he will provide quality and more understandable information on issues to the students, along with basic student services.
“Five years ago, they (past councils) forgot that students need to be assisted in making names for themselves as media practitioners,” Rivera said in his first statements, “ Five years later, we have services… we have exploited every single avenue for them to participate in activities.”
“Hindi ka lang taga-akyat, taga-baba ka rin ng mga concerns sa level ng mga estudyante,” he added, “Makarelate muna kami sa ginagawa niyo.”
Gail Orduña of STAND UP-CMC belittled Rivera’s argument, saying the immediate concern is budget insufficiency and “exorbitant fees.”
“Hindi malaking issue ang student engagement sa MassComm,” she said, “Ang student engagement ang solusyon.”
As college representative, Orduña said she will push for consultation to students for every increase in fees and will advocate constant vigilance.
Facebook ‘Like’ page
The bets for Communication Research and Film representatives debated on the issue of STAND UP-CMC candidates ‘liking’ a Facebook page on budget cut, a form of ‘alternative activism’, which is an advocacy not in-line with the party.
According to Communication Research representative bet Carla Cucueco, ISA’s alternative advocacy called “I oppose the Budget Cut” on Facebook was even joined by candidates from STAND UP-CMC who were not inclined to support it.
Isabel Quesada, STAND UP-CMC’s Film representative candidate, argued, “Ano ang laban ng 200+ na estudyante na nag-‘like’ sa 3,500 na students na sumali sa protesta? Walang alternative activism, sakop pa rin ito ng militant activism.”
However, Marji Manlunas, ISA’s Treasurer candidate said 250 students have ‘liked’ the page within a week of its creation. She added that they believe in alternative activism because it is for everyone.
STAND UP-CMC’s Communication research candidate Sheryll Abrillo said her party does not condemn alternative activism but students must not settle on this form.
Over the years, STAND UP-CMC’s advocacies have been based on militant activism, a form different from alternative activism which does not necessarily incorporate rallies and protests.
Idle lands
Each party’s opinion also differed on the issue of selling the university’s idle lands to private companies as income generating projects.
STAND UP-CMC Treasurer candidate Astrid Acielo called profits from idle assets the government’s “band-aid solution.” She said it does not address the crisis on education.
ISA on the other hand believes it is a “beneficial band-aid solution.” The party said they recognize the government cannot provide for the university, and profits from selling of idle lands could compensate for this insufficiency.
Angel Britanico, Independent candidate for Journalism representative, stood midway.
While saying the income generated from private institutions is not necessary because the government must provide subsidy to the university, Britanico said these are still beneficial. She added it is also practicable because it has already been done, but it is not the best solution.
Live Twitter updates during this event were provided by Myra Cabujat.
25 comments
That’s precisely the reason why it’s called alternate activism — because it’s activism manifested in ways that we, regardless of color, are accustomed to.
Who are we to make a rigid definition of what should and should not constitute as activism? It’s very relative, and very personal, which is the most important thing about activism, because it’s about standing up for what one believes in.
For someone aspiring to sound intelligent, you sure can’t get it right.
Nadine Escalona, STAND-UP’s other candidate for Communication Research Representative also said that other forms of activism is INEXISTENT. That was her opening line.
@Really? please read this article, it sums up everything I have to say to you. Grow up.
They are not trying to denounce online acts of “alternative activism.” They’re just saying that that’s just one way of doing things, there are other ways and avenues for showing your support for a cause you believe in. One way is through militant activism.
So when we’re talking about liking a few pages on facebook, the better question would be IS THAT ENOUGH?
And I think there’s a bigger problem here, it seems that some of your candidates don’t clearly understand the issues. They don’t have a strong grasp over the main points of these issues. And that is reflected in their answers.
http://reklamotion.blogspot.com/2011/02/on-isas-250-likes-and-facebook-activism.html
MAy naisip lang ako, pero baka yung mga questions tailored lang para sa red. Puro activism at student movement ang issues, pero walang STUDENT ISSUES masyadong tinatanong.
Interesting observation, @malay mo. Not that I’m questioning the integrity of the debate’s organizers (one of which is College Secretary Danilo Arao, who is known to support a plethora of issues sympathetic to STAND-UP–nothing wrong about that, in my opinion), but some of the debate’s talking points I found weird.
Take, for example, the Iskolar ng Bayan VS. Iskolar Para sa Bayan. Come on. Is there really anyone, and I mean anyone, against any of the two labels? Is any of the two necessarily exclusive to one party or ideology? Those two labels are inherently value-free, and both suggest a strong feeling of school spirit. What is there to argue, honestly?
Well maybe the fact that “Iskolar Para sa Bayan” is an ALYANSA slogan (which no one bothered to point out, by the way) truly bothers me and by such, an entire debate argument transpired between an unofficial school slogan versus an election slogan. Gee.
Challenge to ALL candidates: talk about the issues. And clearly, Facebook isn’t one of them.
@MALAY MO natawa ako sa ‘yo grabe. insecure please.
Inexistent nga raw kase ang alternative activism sabi ng comres rep bet ng STAND UP-CMC.
I think this article is too biased by the way. POST A VIDEO. OR TRANSCRIPTION. OUT OF CONTEXT YUNG MGA SINASABI. I was there sa Miting de Avance.
Honestly, nakaka-off yung red kahit na dati red-leaning ako. Ngayon parang anyare sa inyo?
@Non-partisan:
Hi! Your interpretation of her statement caught my attention. I think you misunderstood it partly. 🙂
She attacked the concept of alternative activism for its faulty terminology, not the acts which were claimed to be under it.
Her point was that a concept as such cannot be recognized because it (the terminology) IS NON-existent. An alternative is proposing an opposite option. Activism is already the alternative – to the status quo. It already includes all forms of protests – liking advocacy pages, lobbying, manifesto-signings, up to the higher form which is rallying. It already encompasses what they claim to be “alternative”. And considering both parties agree that UNITY is what the college needs, why create this divisiveness in conceptualizing activism? All forms of protests are already encompassed under militant activism. THAT is the point of Communication Research Representative Nads Escalona.
Thank you for explaining, At your service. It’s just that she started with that line so it seemed like an “attack” to the other party. It seemed like it had a deeper meaning and not just the “label” of their form kase. And she said INEXISTENT. Your emphasis on the NON in “NON-existent” suggested that you wanted to point out something. But thanks. I get it now. 😀
I think the debate was very divisive.
@At your service: Incidentally, your reply caught my attention, too.
“She attacked the concept of alternative activism for its faulty terminology, not the acts which were claimed to be under it.”
That is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? Honestly, was that how Escalona explained her opening statement? Did she chalk it up to mere syntax? If she did, shame on her for producing an entire argument based on terminology. Leave that to the Speech Comm majors. I do not think she did. Escalona said alternative activism was inexistent. I don’t think she meant anything other than that. No more, no less.
“And considering both parties agree that UNITY is what the college needs, why create this divisiveness in conceptualizing activism? All forms of protests are already encompassed under militant activism.”
Credit to you for recognizing what the parties BOTH agree on. But your above statement clearly assumes the student body’s homogeneous line of thinking, ideologies, and what have you. That assumes all students WANT to rally. Says who? All protests=militant activism? Really now?
I’ll end this long comment with this. ISA doesn’t diss students who rally. Prove to me otherwise. But from what transpired during the debate, STAND-UP is a party that looks down on said students who may choose to rally their opinion in some other way, even belittling these efforts by chanting “Friend ninyo si Noynoy sa Facebook?” alongside statements that indeed, rallying is the highest form of activism.
Sinong divisive ngayon?