End the Sem: A Monetary Perspective
By Fil Andrew E. Bagano
The price of free education is a loss of economic power among the student body.
Last November, when the #EndTheSemester advocacy was on its peak, many students from all political colors called for the prompt end of this semester, citing the spate of typhoons that recently ravaged homes and internet access. The Board of Regents, being the political mishmash of bureaucratic delay that it was, followed procedure: in one ear, out the other. And while student fervor in UP was slowly dying down, students from the blue side of Katipunan championed a more daring demand: Step down, Duterte, or we won’t study at all.
The result was obvious: trolls and UP (un)critics conflated the two advocacies as the same. Here came the typical red-tagging, with yet another threat of defunding from the chief executive himself. But all this is moot by now: the semester will end in a week, and the unified front last month has already returned to their regular business. A noble attempt to provide relief for severely affected students has culminated into a bittersweet compromise: a week for “recovery”, or in essence an extension of the reading break.
But why did things occur this way? Why did #EndTheSem become #ExtendTheSubmissionOfGrades? Of course, the matters are complex. Some professors indeed chose to support the prior route, while others were oblivious or numb to the handicap imposed by the disaster. A portion of the student body also chose to remain silent for whatever reasons. And then there was the aloof attitude of the BOR. But one cannot help to ponder: does the fact that the majority of UP students do not pay tuition anymore affect the volume of their advocacies?
Looking back at recent history, the most glorious moment for student activism came when it successfully pushed for free education in public higher learning institutions. It was a struggle that lasted for more than a decade, and was rife with many compromises, setbacks, and delays. But it may have been the beginning of the end for student-activist influence. If an outsider looks at student-activists, one is to admire them: people who struggle in and out of their classrooms, bearing a double burden of maintaining their grades and fighting for causes beyond individual gain. Today, when free education has already been implemented, neutral and hostile citizens tend to perceive further demands as self-indulgent, like a child given candy but still wanting a whole cake.
Coupled with the abovementioned factors, it is no wonder that #EndTheSem did not materialize. Perhaps it is time for those of us privileged enough to forgo free education, in order to lend a legitimizing hand to the student movement? It is a spicy thought, for sure, and a band-aid solution. However, until student-activists revive the sense of solidarity they have had in pushing for free higher education, university students and their demands will remain downplayed. In UP’s case, it is all the more important, as it serves as a symbol for activists the nation over. If we want our voices to be heard more seriously again, we can start with our pockets.
The studentry’s calls do not end with free education alone, as the crisis demands that the same should also be safe, accessible, and quality for all. In the end however, rights are only achieved with sufficient cards on the negotiating table.
