#FEATURE: S.Y. 2021–2022 Elections: The Elected Officials of Batch 2022
by Paris Ponferrada and Caitlin Gesmundo
Continue, catalyze, conclude — these are batch council election winner i22loy;’s three main objectives for this school year.
Composed of Jose Suba as President, Neil Paguia as Vice President, Clar Gelogo as Secretary, Anne Maralit as Treasurer, and Ron Gelacio as Auditor, this isn’t i22loy;’s first time running for and serving as the batch council. Earlier this year, they ran and served as 11SA.
Amidst the challenges of living in a pandemic and adjusting to an online learning setup, they not only survived but thrived through their long-term projects such as helping Batch 2022 navigate college applications, SIP, and SCALE. Unfortunately, since they started in January, they weren’t able to finish these. So, they decided to run again, hoping to see these projects’ success.
“We really wanted to continue all the good things, or at least sa tingin namin (what we think) are good things, that we did last year and continue it throughout this final school year. Kasi nanotice rin namin na wala nang initiative to run for batch council, so since willing naman kami, sabi namin let’s just finish this na,” shared Suba.
(We noticed that there wasn’t much initiative to run for the batch council, and since we were willing to do so, we decided to finish our projects ourselves.)
But before being reelected, they had to campaign. Suba is the only one in i22loy; who has experienced both face-to-face and online campaigns. When asked to compare the two, he shared that their online campaign involved more background preparations of promotional materials and needed more of a social media presence. Meanwhile, a face-to-face campaign was more active and accessible.
According to Suba, one of the biggest challenges of campaigning in an online setting is trying to make themselves known and finding ways to reach out and bring their campaign to the students without them actively looking for it.
Now that i22loy; has been elected, reaching out to students will continue to be a challenge — especially since Batch 2022 is in its senior year, and the students are busy and tired. The online setting also prevents i22loy; from individually reaching out to the students.
But i22loy; will continue to find ways, like thinking of projects that will help the students. This year, they will be introducing Block Wars, which they hope can encourage unity among the blocks and bring back the sense of competition that class projects used to give. In the case of mental health, they will continue their Safe Space form project from last year, which gave students a space to safely express their thoughts and frustrations.
“If we can see a problem na we know na kaya naming isolve (that we can solve) as a council, then we will try to address it. And if we see something na need ng more intervention, then we’ll try to approach the right offices and the right people,” said Gelogo.
Another challenge for i22loy; will be balancing academics and their duties as the 2022 Batch Council. Gelacio remarked that this is unexpectedly harder this year, but i22loy; can’t pinpoint exactly why. They’re not sure if it’s college applications, requirements, or other issues they haven’t addressed. But they still try to devote some time daily into addressing concerns of the batch, guidance and/or teachers; checking on the forms they’ve put out, and monitoring communication channels such as the batch and college applications Discord servers.
Suba added that since they are also members of the batch, when they are helping the batch, they are also helping themselves. Their projects such as the Academics Committee also benefit them, making balancing their responsibilities easier. They also mentioned that since there are five of them in the council, they are not alone; in fact, helping the batch becomes easier when they work together. But sometimes, there are some issues that they just cannot fix on a batch or even on a campus level.
“I think the hardest thing is when you see your batchmates struggling and ‘di mo siya kaya i-solve (you can’t really solve) as a council on your own, kasi there are some problems na hindi naman talaga kayang i-solve (that really can’t be solved) on a batch level, even on a campus level […] Kahit na (even though) it’s obvious na there’s a problem, kahit kami wala kaming magawa (we can’t do anything),” said Gelogo.
With that, they try their best to contribute and make things easier. They also keep on trying to improve themselves for the good of the batch.
One key thing that they would like to improve on is making documents and other records more accessible. A solution to this problem would be the batch directory. This directory helps in making things easier to navigate and seeing all the links in one place. It would also help organizationally, as these links were gathered in different groups. The batch council noticed that their projects do not reach all their batchmates. Knowing this is something they could improve upon, they took it upon themselves to create a directory.
They also said that they would like to be less extravagant. As a council, they admitted that they have a tendency to go overboard and provide many solutions to a single problem. This may be overwhelming for some, so they would like to focus on providing one solution and making it the best it could be.
“Maraming problems na ina-address, ang nagiging result is maraming solutions na binibigay. Minsan, baka nagiging overwhelming … I think we can improve on that in a way na, we can offer solutions that are comprehensive, cohesive, para how masyadong kalat-kalat,” Suba said.
(There are many problems that are being addressed, and as a result many solutions are being given. Sometimes, it may be overwhelming … I think we can improve on that in a way that we can offer solutions that are comprehensive, cohesive, so it isn’t as messy.)
For i22loy;, the best way for them to end their Pisay journey would be to reminisce and see the whole batch graduate. Ensuring that everyone passes their clearance requirements is no easy task, but it will be worth it to see everyone graduate at the same time. One of their most important jobs as the batch council will be to create a memorable graduation ceremony and experience, especially since the pandemic interrupted many of the activities to participate in as a batch. They hope that even years after the ceremony is over, Batch 2022 will be able to maintain the relationships they’ve made during their Pisay journey.
i22loy;’s logo consists of a rocket ship taking off into space. As Batch 2022 prepares for their final blast off, i22loy; will be there to help them all the way.
