CRS: No real time enlistment

By Ma. Angelica Perez and Janina Marie Lagunda


There will be no real time enlistment for the coming semester, a member of the Computerized Registration System team said.
Although most of the stages of the new enlistment procedure is to be done online, it is not the same process as last summer’s real time enlistment.

Real time enlistment is done on a first-come, first-served basis. On the other hand, the new enlistment procedure will have daily batch runs which will rely on random selections by computers.

The university’s only attempt in real time enlistment took place last summer when several problems were encountered.

A hardware problem arose as there was only one machine handling all the student requests for subjects. “Hindi tayo nakakuha ng budget for additional resources kaagad last summer,” said the CRS team member who requested anonymity.

Information dissemination was also a problem as the shift to real-time enlistment was only announced online the night prior to its implementation. As a result, students came in large numbers, desperate to obtain slots in their desired classes.

In response to the problems encountered during the summer trial period, the CRS team came up with a couple of solutions.

Considering that there are more than 18,000 students who access the CRS during enlistment period, new hardware or server computers were purchased to facilitate speedy and efficient accommodation of the students’ requests.

Enlistment schedules were also modified to include daily batch runs. “This will collapse the number of students who are enlisting,” said the CRS team member. “The student population will be divided into subcategories so that the system can accommodate all their requests.”

According to data gathered by the CRS team, 20% of the student population gets the entire schedule that they requested. 60% gets half or more of the classes in which they pre-enlisted. The remaining 20% goes through manual enlistment.

The modified enlistment procedure, which will take effect next semester, will allow students to do almost everything online, from the pre-enlistment stage to the advising stage. However, the

CRS member clarified that “there is still a need to go to school to accomplish the needed paper work for verification.”

The CRS team believes this new process will benefit everyone in the university – the administration, students and professors.

For the administration, the new process is expected to benefit the Electronic Data Processing Section (EDP) of the Office of the University Registrar (OUR). Generating reports for the administration from the CRS database will become easier.

Students will no longer have to wait in line, especially during the phases of the daily batch runs, periods for teachers’ prerogatives (prerogs) and advising.

Professors are also seen to benefit from the new process as they too will be performing tasks such as prerogs and advising online.

In handling the prerog requests, professors will approve and reject enlistments of students online. Professors are given the power to override the system and accept as many students as they can allow.

Furthermore, professors will be provided with a class list of those enlisted as well as those who have or have not paid tuition yet -- a useful aid when handling prerog requests.

But with the new semester fast approaching, there are still problems in the dissemination of information regarding the new enlistment process. Many students are of the understanding that there will be a real time enlistment. “Wala na? What do you mean wala na?” was the most usual reaction of students upon learning that no real time enlistment will take place.

Meanwhile, professors have no knowledge of the intended online prerogs and advising.

After hearing about the new procedure, however, Prof. Regulus Tantoco of the History Department at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy said, “Ganun rin pala. Walang kaibahan. High-tech lang. How do we know kung sino ang kailangan tanggapin?”

Hopefully, it won’t be as messy as manual,” said Prof. Rachael Khan of the Journalism Department at the College of Mass Communication.

Some students expressed their opinions on the new enlistment process of the CRS as well.
A first year Business Administration and Accountancy student who requested not to be named said, “Mabagal nung una. Tapos bumibilis minsan. Minsan it won’t even load. Malamang down yung system.”

“Well, they make it sound so systematic and organized,” said Kris, a third year Economics student. “However, knowing CRS, things wont be that systematic and organized. But I think that the process is well thought of and is quite logical. I just hope that they have lots of backup plans, and that for once, they'd be able to handle any technical flaws or challenges that might come up.”

On the subject of online prerogs, she said, “But iba pa rin eh. Kasi you can do some stuff in person that you can't do online. I think "begging" is more effective when done in person.”
Second year Journalism major Denise said, “If CRS aims to make the enlistment process easier for UP students, then they've got a lot of kinks to smooth out. From the CRS system & process, to the technical glitches, to the fact that we're not assured of slots... There's definitely room for improvement.”

Registration Assistants, or RAs, will still be provided work during the registration period.

Graduate students need not worry as the numbers of slots for subjects are adjusted for them.
The modification in the enlistment process is also seen as a step towards a new system that will be implemented in other UP campuses.

SR, Rep Casino to push for changes in Charter working draft

By Katherine Lopez


Student Regent Terry Ridon and Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino said last Sept. 26 they will continue to push for amendments in the approved working draft of the UP Charter Bill, particularly in the provisions on commercialization and land grants.

“The bill has some very good provisions, but it also has very bad [ones], specifically the provisions on land grants and assets of the university,” Casino said after the hearing of the Committee on Technical and Higher Education at the House of Representatives last Sept. 26.

Casino also said in a forum the day before that whatever the university would earn from land grants and agreements with private entities should just be a bonus.

“When it comes to commercialization and privatization, we draw the line that this is a state university, and it is the obligation of the state to provide its premier university with all the support that it needs,” he said.

Meanwhile, UP President Emerlinda Roman said the administration is glad that the House version was adopted to be the working draft.

“They (congressmen) really facilitated it so it can now go to the plenary,” Roman said. “They saved time in deliberating… which to me is a good move.”

But Ridon said even if the House version, with all the amendments they were to push for, would be passed in the Lower House, the bicameral committee can still reject it. "There is no assurance today except painstaking efforts sa students and other sectors to really be vigilant," he said.

The House version, or the Zialcita Bill, was introduced by Rep. Edgardo Angara, Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Rep. Eduardo Zialcita and Rep. Guillermo Cua during the 13th Congress.

Entitled An Act to Strengthen the University of the Philippines as the Premier State University the House version obliges the state to “provide financial support to the [UP System] as the premier state university through the General Appropriations Act and in kind, through land grants and donations and use of other real properties.”
Under the House version, the Board of Regents, the highest policy-making body in the UP System, can also “fix and adjust salaries and benefits of the faculty members and other employees” following the revised compensation and position classification system and other compensation laws.

The House version also authorizes the BOR “to fix the tuition and other necessary school charges after due consultations and consent of the various student councils of constituent universities.”

Before the approval of the House version as the working draft, there were two other versions of the bill amending the UP Charter: the Bicam version and the Casino version.

The Bicam version, also known as the Pangilinan Bill, was introduced by Sen. Francis Pangilinan to the Senate and was approved in the Upper House during the 13th Congress. However, the bill has not been ratified in the House of Representatives because of time constraints.

Entitled “An Act to Strengthen the University of the Philippines as the National University,” the Bicam version authorizes the BOR to “plan, design, approve and/or cause the implementation of contracts, mechanisms, and financial instruments… to give the University the flexibility to generate revenues and other resources from land grants and other properties,” as long as those “mechanisms” are “exclusive of the academic core zone of the campuses” of UP.

The Bicam version also allows the BOR “to fix the tuition fees and other necessary school charges, as the Board may deem proper to impose, after due consultation with the students concerned.” The BOR can also “fix and adjust salaries and benefits of the faculty members and other employees” so that they can be “comparable to those being received by their counterparts in the private sector.”

On the other hand, the Casino version, introduced by Casino during the 13th Congress, proposes to abolish the BOR and replace it with the UP System Assembly (UPSA), to be composed of members elected from the seven constituent universities to represent the students, academic personnel (faculty and research, extension and professional staff), administrative personnel and alumni; and the chair of the Commission on Higher Education, the president of UP, the chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, the chair of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, and the president of the University System Alumni Association.

Entitled “An Act Reorienting the Charter of the University of the Philippines as the Premier State University,” the Casino version “prevent[s] the commercialization of the university” by stating that “programs, projects or mechanisms to generate revenues and other resources from the land grants… should be consistent with the university’s academic mission and orientation as the premier state university and shall not be meant to replace, in part or in whole, the annual appropriation provided by the national government to the university.” The approval of the UPSA is also required to carry out those programs.

The Casino version also allows the UPSA to “fix the tuition, matriculation, graduation, laboratory and all other special fees upon consultation with and consent of the student body.”

Need to Amend the Charter

Efforts to amend the UP Charter started during the time of former UP President Jose Abueva from 1987 to 1993, when the Senate Bill 2587, which sought to recognize UP as the National University and exempt its employees from the Salary Standardization Law, was first crafted. The bill, however, failed to be voted upon in the Senate during the 13th Congress.

The Salary Standardization Law mandates that government employees be "provide[d] equal pay for substantially equal work" that corresponds to their rank according to the position classification system.

Roman said the changes that have occurred in the university have rendered the UP Charter, crafted in 1908, quite “obsolete.”

“We have really grown so big and there really is a need to amend the charter to incorporate [the] changes that have occurred over time,” she said.

Roman also said UP, according to the old charter, is not exempt from taxes when importing equipment. “We are classified as a corporation. We are not exactly an educational institution,” she pointed out.

Casino, too, believes it is time changes are made to the UP Charter and that it needs to be reoriented “from being colonial and elitist” to becoming “nationalist and democratic.”

Rock concert for Mendez's brother

By Anna Kristine Pasco


Do not only demand justice for Cris Anthony Mendez but also denounce fraternity inflicted violence, shouted members of the Pursuit of Unity through Leadership, Service and Excellence (NCPAG-PULSE), a student political party based in the National College of Public Administration and Governance, during “Shout for Justice, Rock for Cris,” a benefit concert held September 27 at the Bahay ng Alumni.

“Of course we are condemning frat-violence,” Lou Angela Lising of NCPAG-PULSE said, “Ayaw din naman naming mawala ang buhay ng isang tao na marami pang pwedeng gawin.”

“We [NCPAG-PULSE] are not trying to detach ourselves, but we are doing whatever we can to help stop or minimize this kind of violence,” Lising added. “We have so many friends who are members of fraternities, but this is just too obscene.”

NCPAG-PULSE also told Iskolarium they have been helping to resolve the case by collecting pledges and statements that would help in solving the Mendez case, and push for the expulsion of the perpetrators.

“Hopefully cases can be filed on [tomorrow],” Lising said. “This is not just a university issue but also a personal one [for NCPAG-PULSE]. We were murderous when we found this out. For others, it may just be another kind of vigil and rally to do, but for us, this is something.”

Efforts to help the benefit concert were expressed by the University Student Council (USC) and various organizations in the university.

According to USC President Shahana Abdulwahid, the USC helped in the distributing, selling and informing the students about the concert and the case. Also, they have been collecting statements from witnesses and also hoping that the Sigma Rho Fraternity will give a statement about the issue.

“Sa ngayon, humihingi pa lang kami ng tulong sa mga witnesses na pwedeng lumitaw at sa mga possible na witnesses,” Abdulwahid said,” Hangang ngayon kasi, kahit mga SigmaRhoans ayaw talagang magsalita, kahit pigain mo pa sila.”

Abdulwahid also stated that they are concentrating on finding possible witnesses for the case.

Funds raised from the concert will go primarily to the college education of Mendez’s little brother who is currently a third year high-school student because Cris wanted to provide for his college education.

Bands that performed in the concert were Radio Active Sago Project, Giniling Festival, Join the Club, The Dawn, Ciudad, Up Dharma Down, Silent Sanctuary, Concrete Sam, Matilda, Wanwurd, Garden of Eden, SandLady, Out of Body Special, Butterfinger, Deflower, and other local university bands.

The concert was organized by the UP NCPAG-PULSE in cooperation with the UP Alumni Association.

Concerned dormers to revive alliance

Majalya Fernando


A group, which may have prevented the confusion and dissatisfaction of many dormers brought about by the Office of Student Housing's (OSH) hasty drafting and implementation of the new dormitory admission policies, is trying to get new members a semester too late.

The Alliance of Concerned Dormers (ACD), a group composed of house council members of each UP dormitory, was created to represent dormers to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA). It is in charge of airing grievances of students regarding dorm-related issues.

The ACD was dissolved due to lack of participation last summer, the same time the Dormitory Oversight Committee (DOC), OVCSA and the OSH were drafting the 2007 Rules and Regulatons Governing Residence Halls in UP Diliman.

Ideally, a process of consultation between the ACD and other concerned parties must take place before a new policy concerning dorms is implemented. However, because the ACD was not around when the new rules and regulations were proposed, there were no dormers to review the proposal.

Under the general guidelines on accommodation to residence halls stated in section 2 of the new rules and regulations, only students with good scholastic standing and an academic load of at least 15 units are qualified to apply for residency. A point system is used to rank applicants according to their place of origin and STFAP or income bracket.

Unlike in the old accommodation procedure where the dorm managers decide whom to accommodate, the OSH and the Dormitory Admissions Committee (DAC) process applications based on the criteria stated in this year's rules and regulations.

Response to new rules

“I find the new admission policy better,” said Teresita Ngayan, Dorm Manager of Sanggumay. “It really gives a chance for the OSH to carefully screen the students. Since there are more heads screening those who apply, they can really study the income brackets and ITRs.”
The new accommodation policy lessens the work of the dorm managers. However, many find the process ineffective.

“Yes, it's more convenient for me when it comes to admission but there's a problem for residents,” said Luz Castro, Dorm Manager of Ipil. “They (OSH) don't see the actual student, they just base it on the papers. There are some behaviors they don't see.”

According to Castro, who was the former Dorm Manager of Sanggumay, some requirements for dorm admission under the new policy are unnecessary.

“For graduate students applying to the dorm, you cannot put basis on the ITR,” she said. “Before, 98% of residents in Sanggumay were scholars. But in the '90's, the number of scholars decreased dahil wala nang pera ang gobyerno. Most of those who apply to Sanggumay are fresh graduates who apply immediately for graduate studies. Nahihiya na silang humingi ng pera sa magulang nila kaya marami sa kanila ang self-supporting. Their parents don't pay for their education so the family income record is useless.”

Numerous students expressed their dissatisfaction mostly over the delayed information dissemination and initial implementation of the new accommodation policy.

“Kung aaralin mo, okay naman yung policies,” said a dormer from Yakal who chooses to remain anonymous. “Yun nga lang, walang nakaalam tungkol dito. Nilabas siya summer na. Siyempre maraming umuwi sa probinsya.”

Of the ten dorms that were operational during the 2nd semester of last school year, only residents of the International Center received information on the proposed rules and regulations. The remaining dorms received a written memo only in May.

ACD's response

There have been recent efforts to revive the ACD. Last month, some dormers from Molave sent out a memo to other house councils, encouraging them to select students who will represent their respective dorms in the ACD and proposing a new organizational structure.

Under the proposed structure, the ACD will be made up of a board of directors composed of house council chairpersons, a secretary general, and a representative each for the socials committee, marketing committee and sports committee.

There still seems, however, to be a lack of support from the house councils. In a meeting with the ACD called by USC Chairperson Shahana Abdulwahid on September 29, only representatives from Ilang-Ilang, Kalayaan, Kamia and Molave were present, not enough to form a quorum and make official decisions.

According to Ychel Rasco, Chairperson of the Ilang-Ilang House Council, it is difficult to get the participation of house council officers because they are already preoccupied with their own dorm activities.

Rasco also added that it is better for each dorm to just send representatives who do not hold any position in the house council but are willing to take on the responsibility of representing their resident hall in the ACD.

The ACD had a constitution during the previous semester however none of the former members or the OVCSA have a copy at present. If the revival of the ACD pushes through, its priorities will be to draft a constitution and begin planning for the coming semester.

BOR to Roman: Discuss TFI policy with students

By Jose Carlos Maningat


President Emerlinda Roman is set to discuss with the student regent and some student leaders the recommendations of the policy review on the tuition increase.

This was the motion carried out by the Board of Regents in the Sept. 28 meeting held in UP Los Banos regarding the policy review presented by Student Regent Terry Ridon.

“Well, the response of the Board was the same as the way they responded in Baguio [there was] positive feedback on the policy review,” said Ridon.

Among the proposals of the policy review are the immediate suspension of the new tuition increase and STFAP policy this month and the institutionalization of a comprehensive donations system.

The policy review also recommended the “formation of a multi-sectoral University Committee to further review the internal efficiency of the university.”

Ten regents were present in the meeting, including BOR Chair Romulo Neri, who testified in the ZTE broadband deal hearing in the Senate.

Ridon said the positive response to the policy review signals a progress in the fight to junk the tuition fee increase.

“With the policy review, we are challenging the UP Administration head-on, notwithstanding of course the utter necessity of renewing a broader student movement to finally junk the TOFI,” he said.

“Insofar as our policy review is concerned, it is only a piece of paper if no warm bodies of students would stand to support it and decisively stand for the junking of the TOFI,” he added.

Regent Cynthia Villar, also House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chair, raised to the board the house resolution filed by 25 representatives seeking to review the tuition increase.

Villar insisted that the UP administration should publish a full-page notice explaining itself for implementing the tuition increase, according to Ridon.

Outside the APEC hall where the BOR met, at least 800 students wearing black and red shirts walked out from their classes and protested in support of the policy review of the student regent.

In Diliman, at least 120 students from different organizations staged a rally that snaked through the floors of Palma Hall and College of Arts and Letters new building while the BoR meet was ongoing in Los Banos. #

Students initiate kalai renovation

By Majalya Fernando


It took a group of students with some creative design ideas to initiate the renovation of the Kalayaan Residence Hall, twenty-five years after the dormitory housed its first residents.

The UP Space Innovations and Lifestyles by Interior Design Students (SILID), a group of 33 graduating BS Interior Design students enrolled in ID 179 (Special Projects in Interior Design), through their Kontemporaryo Dormitoryo Project, chose Kalayaan as their beneficiary for free interior design renovation service.

“Kalai is the perfect dorm for this project,” said Leovy Mendoza, member of SILID. “It is the most popular kasi halos lahat ng dormers dumadaan doon. Maganda rin yung location, madaling makita kaya mas magiging interested yung sponsors.”

Kalayaan was also endorsed by Chancellor Sergio Cao as a beneficiary for the SILID project because of the nature of its clientele.

“Mas marami ring nakakagamit nito dahil hindi tulad ng ibang dorm, iba-iba lagi ang residents each year,” added Mendoza. “For me, Kalayaan is the symbol of UP. Dito unang nararamdaman ng freshmen ang freedom sa UP.”

Members of SILID began planning for the project last summer. Construction is set to begin within this month, with November as its targeted completion.

Cao granted SILID a budget to pay for labor costs. The students also rely on contributions from suppliers, private and corporate sponsors, and batch-sponsored fundraisers to pay for materials of construction.

Industry sponsors for materials so far include Mariwasa for tiles, ACE for paint, APO for vinyl tiles and ABC for tile grout and adhesive.

As soon as construction begins, the students will take turns in overseeing construction by a chosen contractor, which will take place from Monday to Saturday at 7:00am to 10:00pm.

“As of the moment, we are waiting for our request to begin construction from the administration to be approved,” said Mikaela Mora, head of the SILID construction committee. “Since it is our first time to handle a project within the bounds of the university, we have hit a few bumps here and there, but we remain optimistic that the process to be undergone will be fair and considerate to our status as graduating students.”

Renovation of the dormitory is confined to areas accessible to non-residents such as the lobby, TV/ activity area, dorm manager's office, computer room (to be converted into a mini conference room), paging room, key room and conference room.

It includes repainting of the existing ceiling, masonry walls and wall panels, removal and replacement of severely dilapidated ceiling boards, replacement of some light fixtures and painting of two murals, one in the activity area and another in the lobby.

“The theme of the project is contemporary organic,” said Mora. “It is dynamic, fresh and fun. We want to emphasize Kalayaan's uniqueness as a freshman dormitory, a repository of young minds and hearts. It is a place for students to commune and exchange ideas. We want to provide them with a place that stimulates their minds.”

Each year, the graduating batch of ID students selects a deserving institution to receive free design service. Past projects include the redesigning of an orphanage and a wing of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

Kalayaan Residence Hall is the only co-educational dormitory exclusive to freshmen students. It was constructed in June 1975, with an annex added in 1978.

Baby found dead in front of UP Parish

By Rima Granali


A baby was found lifeless at the entrance gate of the UP Parish of the Holy Sacrifice on September 24.

Jessie Santos, 37, a street sweeper found the baby inside a box at about 7a.m. that day while cleaning the area. “Akala ko basura pero mabigat parang may laman.”

When Santos looked into the box, he saw a baby boy. “Hindi na fetus, baby. Malaki at may buhok na,” he said.

Santos said he was nervous and scared and immediately reported it to the security guard of the UP Parish.

The security guard said the baby was probably left at midnight or early morning because the box was wet. It was raining the night before.

“Parang kamamatay lang, di pa nilalangaw,” Santos said.

Roberto Alveno, a sacristan, said the parents might not have the money to sustain the child or give him a decent burial so they left him in the church to be blessed by the priest.

Fr. Jessel Gerard Gonzales, SJ, blessed the baby before the Quezon City Police District took it for investigation.

Sanctuary

Gonzales said the baby was probably left inside the church premises to lessen the guilt of abandonment. People believe “makakaintindi naman ang Diyos,” he said.

Even centuries ago, abandoned babies were usually left in the church, Gonzales said, and cited the Hunchback of Notre Dame as an example.

“The church has always been a sanctuary. When we feel very abandoned, God is always there,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said he feels sad because this is not an “isolated event.” A number of babies have been left in the church. One of the most recent was the baby that a church caretaker found near the coconut tree.

In August, two residents of Village A found a 6-month old fetus while walking along the UP lagoon.

Gonzales said that many of the babies aborted come from students within the community.

Pervading culture

Sex is a pervading culture especially among the youth, Gonzales said. Intercourse seems to be the “ultimate goal of every relationship,” he added.

“I am not against sex but sana responsible,” Gonzales said.

Mothers and fathers are not willing to take the responsibility of their actions which shows immaturity, he said.

“In 2000, an estimated 78,900 women were hospitalized for post-abortion care, 473,400 women had abortions and the abortion rate was 27 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 per year,” according to the Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Levels and Trends by Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh and Rubina Hussein from the September 2005 issue of the International Family Planning Perspectives.

Gonzales said, “Abortion is murder, a very serious crime committed to another person, a child who doesn’t have the power to defend himself.”

The baby was brought to Prudential Funeral Homes. The police still have no lead about the whereabouts of those who left the baby.

Campus paper editors kill neutrality

By Rima Granali


Objectivity is one of the basic principles in journalism but advocacy student journalists from different universities suggest taking a stand.

“Objectivity is a practical impossibility,” Frank Lloyd Tiongson of the Philippine Collegian said. “It can only be achieved by a superhuman or a god who can account all opinions in the world and society.”

No matter how mainstream journalists claim to be objective, they have subconscious and acquired dispositions that affect their reportage, Tiongson said in Killing Neutrality, a forum sponsored by the Union of Journalists in the Philippines and the College of Mass Communication Student Council.

Benedict Mark Lim, editor-in-chief of Ateneo de Manila’s Matanglawin said, “Sa bawat pagpili ng paksa may bias. Ang hirap na sabihin na kailangan mong maging objective.”
Matanglawin, which gives analysis and persuades students to take part on national and university issues, upholds advocacy journalism.
“It’s hard to support issues when you put yourself in the center,” Lim said.

Advocacy Journalism

Sue Careless, a professional member of the Canadian Association of Journalists and The Periodical Writers Association of Canada and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press defined advocacy journalism as writing a “declared bias and a publicly acknowledged point of view.”

Pro-student Stance

Jose Cosido, president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) said most student publications are one-sided and biased because they uphold the interests of the students. UP's Philippine Collegian and Polytechnic University of the Philippines' Catalyst are examples of this.
Tiongson said Philippine Collegian is unapologetic for being “biased for the students and the masses.”

Alaysa Tagumpay Escandor, features editor of the Philippine Collegian said student publications can afford to tackle issues that are repressive and subversive because the funds come from the students and not from advertisers.

Corporate media, on the other hand, will never try to shape the status quo because they are dependent on advertisers, Escandor said.

Fair and Accurate

Tiongson said being pro-student is not contradicting to having fair and accurate reportage. The basic ethics in journalism still apply to advocacy journalism, he said.
“You don’t fabricate or falsify,” Tiongson cited Careless’s address.

Tiongson said fabricating would only ruin the credibility of journalists and their advocacies.
“Be fair, be true on (sic) what you’re saying,” said Jesse Kristoffer Aspril, editor-in-chief of Catalyst. “Advocacy journalism is not lying.”

Escandor said the Philippine Collegian may be biased but they always adhere to fairness. “We always try to interview the side of the administration,” she said. “Even if it is hard to get information from them because they are busy.”

Irreconcilable Interests

“Irreconcilable yung interests ng students at admin,”Cosido of CEGP said. He also said students want to exercise their academic freedom but the administration usually opposes it and makes actions to silence student journalism..

Philippine Collegian, Matanglawin and Catalyst have led several protests against perceived anti-student rules and regulations imposed by their respective administrations, the abolition of the tuition and other fee increase being one of these.

Mobilization

The role of advocacy student journalists has expanded to mobilizing the students and the masses.

“If you’re writing for a change, you should also move for the change,” Aspril said. “
Journalists make a difference when they persuade the people to act for that change.”

The Philippine Collegian moved against former President Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorship while Catalyst initiated “All Shorts Day,” a protest against the dress code that prohibits PUP students from wearing shorts.

In an Interim article, Careless clarified that an advocacy journalist is not an activist. “No matter how dear a cause is to a journalist's heart, there are lines which should never be crossed,” she said.