Because Ateneans Want Numbers

Photo courtesy of Matanglawin's latest issue.

Bakit ba ayaw pang kumilos?

NBN-ZTE Deal?

On Silence

There are moments when everything that needs to be said has already been said, and thus the only thing left to say is nothing at all. But there are moments when silence springs not from exhaustiveness but from exhaustion. Frankly, it is easy to get tired of the promises that were being shouted during the election season.

All of the candidates (party-affiliated or not) speak of change. But what is change? Will there be genuine change when these candidates come to power in Sanggunian or will it only perpetuate the vicious cycle of incompetence? Can an independent president who claims to have a “fresh perspective” (if such really exists) really make a difference? Can a Sanggunian led by three of the four top officials from the political party that claims to have monopoly over a “strong Sanggu” really deliver its promises? Can a Sanggunian filled with vacancies due to abstentions really function to its fullest capabilities?

Our silence does not mean we are in favor of the candidates or the winners of elections. On the contrary, we believe that the elections did not answer any question but only posed more. Our silence is not one of support but of utmost skepticism on how the rhetoric of change has been easily thrown around by candidates who want to gain popular support.

On a final note, we would like to get the attention of this Ateneo IGEA. If you are looking for stupid all you need to do is look at the mirror.

The Assassination of Karl Satinitigan

Disclaimer: The title is an allusion to the Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial (February 6, 2008) entitled "The Assassination of De Venecia"

We are terribly disappointed at how the Sanggunian has handled the current chain of events. We are referring to the recent string of resignations in the student council, with great emphasis on the issue of Karl Satinitigan's non-enrollment.

We have read the article in The Guidon entitled "Top Sanggu officers resign." We agree to the students' reactions when they say that the Sanggunian should have told the students about these resignations and vacancies. We agree when students talk about how Sanggunian should have been more transparent with the internal workings of the council.

We have also read the statement of the newly sworn Sanggunian President, Cabrei Cabreira, on the status of Karl Satinitigan. We are terribly disappointed at how the statement deflected the various issues raised by our group and other students by saying that "laudable efforts from our lower units were significantly negated by the absence of clear-cut leadership."

Why are they (the President speaking in behalf of the Sanggunian) putting blame on Karl Satinitigan? Is the President of the Sanggunian the only one liable for this "absence of clear-cut leadership?" Aren't the Vice President and the other officers also culpable? Why does it sound like the Karl Satinitigan issue is being used as a fire escape from the burning building known as the Sanggunian? Can't the Sanggunian take care of its own? If it can't, how does it expect to "take care" of the student body? Karl Satinitigan is first and foremost a student and part of the Sanggunian constituency.

If there was one thing that the new president said that was right, then it would be the importance of the coming Sanggunian elections. It would be the true measure of how students perceive this recent chain of events. We wouldn't be surprised if, like the on-going plebiscite regarding the number of course representatives, the quota would not be reached.

In His Words

We can only serve our country by telling her the truth, however bitter it be.

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Can't you see the perfection in the present?
Claiming that the status quo is perfect is a twisted and ignorant comment. It leads us to question the reader's power of observation. It is also saddening to find those who have developed thick skins, myopic eyes, and deaf ears. Although we do not seek perfection (there is and will be no such thing), we strive for a society that values freedom.

The 30th of December is Not Just a Holiday

Remember, remember the 30^th of December
A blue-blooded mason was shot
We know of no reason
Why this blue-blooded mason
Should ever be forgot

Good day!

Allow us first to apologize for this intrusion of ours. We do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. We enjoy them as much as anyone would. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or the beginning of some bloody revolution, are celebrated with a nice holiday. We thought we could mark this December the 30th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking sometime out of our daily lives to sit down and think for a while.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. In fact even now, as they read through this, they are already closing their minds to the truth that we speak and brand us as cowards and mere ranters. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words are the means to meaning; for those who will listen – the enunciation of truth. And the truth is there is something terribly wrong with this country and our own Ateneo community. We have cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression, poverty and suffering – all these feasting upon our apathy, ignorance, and inaction. But while some have the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you are called destabilizers and anarchists – coercing your conformity, and soliciting your submission and consent. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others. They will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only to look at a mirror. We know why you did it. You were afraid, who wouldn’t be? With everyone trying to live a happy, care-free, and comfortable life, only someone deranged would go out of his/her way and act. Everyone is pre-occupied with the worries and demands of mere living – getting high grades, being appreciated by parents, connecting with friends, finding a life-partner, celebrating victories and achievements, mourning over failures and disappointments. There were a myriad of problems that conspire to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear, apathy, and inaction got the best of you. You are resigned to conform and remain silent.

This year, we sought to end that silence. This year, the Society disturbed you from your dwellings of comfort, to remind you what you have forgotten. More than 100 years ago, a group of young men dreamt of a nation that is theirs and the greatest of them died a martyr’s death by gunfire. Our only hope is that his death will not be in vain. We may be free from the colonizers of past, but are we truly a nation worthy of the blood of our heroes? Do our actions give honor to the people who came before us and to the future that lies beyond us? Fairness, justice, freedom, democracy, and nationhood are more than just words. They are perspectives. So if you see nothing, if the crime of inaction remains unknown to you, we would suggest that you allow the 30th of December to pass unmarked. But if you see what we see, if you feel as we feel, and if you would seek as we seek. Then prove yourselves worthy to be called the hope of the motherland. Take a stand and stop thinking of yourself alone! Futures are destroyed for every second of your inaction.

If only we can be true men and women of a nation forged in the blood of heroes - only then can we give that blue-blooded mason, a 30^th of December that shall never, ever be forgot!