Student councils across the UP system adopted a resolution earlier today extending the term of incumbent 38th student regent (SR) Renee Louise Co until the first semester of A.Y. 2022-2023.
The resolution filed by seven University Student Councils (USC) seeks to synchronize the SR’s term with student council elections and the start of the academic year to “maintain continuity of campaigns and activities.” This will allow Co to serve a holdover term at the start of the next academic year.
By that time, the 39th student regent will have been selected through the 53rd General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC).
Under the UP Charter, the SR is entitled to one year of office. Traditionally, the selection process is done before the first semester begins to keep the SR’s term in sync with each academic year.
However, a July 2020 GASC resolution allowed former SR Isaac Punzalan to serve in a holdover capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Punzalan served an additional six months before his term officially ended in January 2021.
Because of this, the start of Co’s term was offset by January 2022 — the middle of the academic year. GASC delegates said that this would be counterproductive as the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) leads crucial campaigns such as the institutionalization of the UP-DND Accord and Ligtas Na Balik Eskwela.
“Kapag nag-elect tayo ng bagong SR in the middle of the academic year while we’re spearheading these campaigns, magkakaroon tayo ng setbacks sa mga progress natin,” said UP Baguio USC Councilor Erika Macapagal.
Co emphasized the need to resynchronize timelines to avoid a semester gap between the terms of the SR and student councils which would require “a lot of adjustments.”
Student council elections across UP campuses take place near the end of the academic year, from March to June.
Co also assured councils that there is a legal basis for the SR to serve holdover terms until their successors are appointed. The GASC’s Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection says that the process is “exclusively a student affair” and that “other sectors in the University are prohibited from interfering.”
“Isa ‘yung decisive [factor] whether or not a sitting student regent extends [their term] which is the GASC. Whatever they decide ay ang masusunod moving forward [on] how to handle the next part of the term,” Co added. “Wala namang masasabi ‘yung BOR for this dahil ‘yung students ang decisive.”
More than 50,000 students across the UP system look to the student regent for representation in the Board of Regents (BOR), the university’s highest decision-making body.
On-ground GASC
Meanwhile, another resolution that seeks to hold an in-person GASC before the second semester begins was passed.
The resolution, authored by the UP Diliman USC, aims for a blended assembly that primarily supports “an on-ground setting while also providing a platform for those who choose to attend it online.”
This comes following a decision from the Commission on Higher Education that allows the conduct of limited face-to-face school activities in areas under Alert Level 2.
As of writing, all UP constituent units are in the said alert level.
30 out of 54 councils said in the OSR’s sensing form that they are “amenable to holding the 52nd GASC physically.” Eighteen councils did not answer the survey.
The poll also found UP Diliman to be the preferred venue of delegates, with 29 votes. This is followed by UP Los Baños (UPLB) and UP Manila with 27 and 23 votes, respectively.
However, Co reminded councils that there will be other considerations in deciding the location for the GASC such as the level of COVID-19 transmission in the area and logistics concerning campus administration.
According to COVID-19 analyst OCTA Research, Metro Manila is now at “very low-risk status for COVID-19” with a 0.35 reproduction rate averaged from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5. This is lower than the 0.72 recorded in the same period last year.
Co also said that attendees will not be required to be vaccinated but “they are inclined” to conduct mandatory COVID-19 testing before and after the event. She added that they are planning to explore an arrangement with UP to have delegates use its COVID-19 testing kits for free.
Various council members expressed their support for the on-ground GASC, saying that connection issues and technological fatigue prevented remote assemblies from doing “exhaustive discussions.”
“Nakikita natin yung pangangailangan ng on-ground na event lalo na sa [remote] setup ay hindi natin nae-ensure yung participation ng delegates sa ating talakayan,” said UP College of Mass Communication Student Council Chairperson Kjoy Adriano.
UPLB USC Chairperson Siegfred Severino said having a physical GASC would serve as a good precedent for the conduct of in-person learning.
“Yung pagkakaroon natin ng isang on-ground GASC is a militant move in the part of student councils to prove to the administration [na] magagawa naman talaga natin na magkaroon ng safe na pagco-conduct ng student activities,” Severino added.
