IN DEFENSE OF REASON AND MUTUAL RESPECT
We recognize, and recognize clearly, that we will not agree with each other all the time. Nonetheless, our disagreements must not stand in the way of reason and mutual respect. For as we abandon these two, we turn into beasts – allowing our basest instincts to run over our humanity. We must not yield our civility and allow this debate to degenerate into a partisan exercise of name-calling and mudslinging.
Amidst the din of partisan conflict, misinformation and mudslinging, ALYANSA remains committed to upholding reason and mutual respect in this ongoing debate for the future of the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS).
Let us make ourselves clear. For months, we have withstood much partisan attack from our fellow student leaders, the same people claiming to defend the Office of the Student Regent (OSR). Sadly, their defense is not guided by reason and mutual respect, but by unfounded attacks on character. We recognize, and recognize clearly, that we will not agree with each other all the time. Nonetheless, our disagreements must not stand in the way of reason and mutual respect. For as we abandon these two, we turn into beasts – allowing our basest instincts to run over our humanity. We must not yield our civility and allow this debate to degenerate into a partisan exercise of name-calling and mudslinging.
Nonetheless, as we condemn the lack of reason and mutual respect in this ongoing debate, we do not yield our argument. We will stand firm with a resounding "NO" to a referendum that ignores choices for our fellow Iskolars para sa Bayan and changes to the currently flawed selection process. However, beyond opposition, we steadfastly continue to push for our progressive propositions.
Contrary to what our opponents claim, we affirm the upcoming referendum as an expression of student empowerment. However, we believe that this referendum is NOT a truly empowering exercise if students are limited to ratifying a document in its entirety, without even bothering to inform students on its real contents – or worse, deliberately misinforming them with hollow calls for defense. Student councils were given high expectations since September last year that they may participate in forming the proposals that will be forwarded to the students in the referendum. A number of student councils gave counter-proposals to the status quo, none of their heeds were seriously considered - like silenced dissenters during the darkest annals of our country's history. Our representatives were stripped off their right to vote when their calls were merely shrugged off by the OSR during the GASC, and their numerous pleas of appeal. Our position was never to vote no, until the right of the students to choose for their own was capriciously and whimsically slapped away with finality. In defending the office, must we not also defend those that the office has pledged to serve?
We also approve of giving our duly-elected student representatives a greater say in the selection process, not just a group of partisans belonging to the same political stripe. The status quo of a few partisans running the SR selection while our student representatives remain in the dark is not just morally indefensible, but practically untenable.
We also endorse a set of rules and regulations governing the Student Regent, as a sign of his commitment to serving his constituents. The prospect of absolute power is not an option. Arguing nothing for this provision is tantamount to consenting to absolutism by the Student Regent, and nothing less.
We also believe that a Student Regent has the responsibility to maintain a MINIMUM academic standing, consistent with his commitment to the Filipino people who fund his education through their sweat and blood. As a student, he is expected to do nothing less.
As we reiterate our arguments, we stand for the overarching principle that the best defense of the Student Regent lies on making its Office a true representative of the students. Its defense lies not on hollow cries and hackneyed rhetoric bordering on blind endorsement. Its true defense lies in enlightened reason and mutual respect towards building a culture of reform. For in the end, if we are remiss on these basic conditions, we might as well defend the Office of the Student Regent from ourselves.
Once more, we will reiterate our stand, a stand that has defined our formation for almost a decade.
We uphold the spirit of proportional representation, as expressed by our proposal for giving each college a vote each in the Student Regent selection process. The current system clearly disenfranchises many students, while giving some a much greater say. We also approve of giving our duly-elected student representatives a greater say in the selection process, not just a group of partisans belonging to the same political stripe. The status quo of a few partisans running the SR selection while our student representatives remain in the dark is not just morally indefensible, but practically untenable.
We also endorse a set of rules and regulations governing the Student Regent, as a sign of his commitment to serving his constituents. The prospect of absolute power is not an option. Arguing nothing for this provision is tantamount to consenting to absolutism by the Student Regent, and nothing less.
We also believe that a Student Regent has the responsibility to maintain a MINIMUM academic standing, consistent with his commitment to the Filipino people who fund his education through their sweat and blood. As a student, he is expected to do nothing less.
As we reiterate our arguments, we stand for the overarching principle that the best defense of the Student Regent lies on making its Office a true representative of the students. Its defense lies not on hollow cries and hackneyed rhetoric bordering on blind endorsement. Its true defense lies in enlightened reason and mutual respect towards building a culture of reform. For in the end, if we are remiss on these basic conditions, we might as well defend the Office of the Student Regent from ourselves.
ALYANSA ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (UP ALYANSA)
For more information on our Check the OSR campaign, visit our homepage at http://upalyansa. multiply. com. ALYANSA is also one of the members of the Choose to Know movement, a coalition dedicated to reforming the SR selection process. Log on to our site at http://choose2know. multiply. com to become one of our volunteers.
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