Honor and excellence.

                    As a student at one of the premier state universities in the Philippines, these two  words have long been ingrained into our mindset. They say honor should come first before  excellence because integrity is indispensable in the pursuit of glory. As scholars of the  country, it is our responsibility to continue improving ourselves to be the cream of the crop  in our field and serve the nation with utmost patriotism and righteousness. In my first years  of college, I have demonstrated this by partaking in a few protests on my own, may it be  climate strikes, phaseout protests, or even lightning rallies. There was nothing more  rewarding than being able to get in touch with the masses to whom I owe the gift of my  education. For some time, I also served the student council as an institute representative  and learned the ropes of student politics before the pandemic struck. It was during the onset  of this global deluge when academic commitments began to take over, and I, along with  many students, were resorted to other forms of demonstrations. Students were forced to  brave outdoors to let their voice be heard in the hellscape of corruption as the system fail to  heed to their qualms of academic freedom, with the state’s red-tagging added fuel to fire.  And as it happened, I watched as the numbers slowly dwindled—with student leaders  stepping down, and more people apprehended from harmless initiatives just so they  wouldn’t be branded as terrorists. The privileged became more apathetic while the less  fortunate feared. Fast forward to the present, even as I received my university’s highest and  most prestigious student award, it never felt enough because I knew the real struggle has  always been outside the four walls of our classroom. The fighting spirit was always there,  but it never thoroughly blazed across the people who needed it the most. 

                    Although radical movements aren’t the only way to advocate policy change and  raising awareness, they are integral to urging and promoting discussions of social  change. For a university with a renowned history of student activism, there has been a drastic decline of student involvement. For nearly a decade now, there has been a dismal  turnout at campus elections in my university, barely breaching half the student body  population (Santos, 2023). And unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case worldwide as we  see lower voter turnout despite having high political engagement (Williams, 2020). While my professors and instructors actively encourage students by giving thought-provoking texts and implementing subjects like National Service Training Programs in the curriculum as mandated by Republic Act No. 9163, the fear stems from the lack of protection once we practice these values outside campus. Countless of students have worked for,  oppression is not something to be left only to the students. So how do we achieve  excellence when we struggle to remain a bastion of academic freedom? How are we  expected to uphold honor into helping ourselves, then our countrymen, while the system  leaves us for dead? 

                    See there are several factors interplaying here. First, while we acknowledge the  agency of students to contribute to creating impactful changes, it is also ideal to guide  them in organizing themselves for a common purpose e.g., forming a coalition. There are dozens of student organizations that exist within universities that serve a variety of  agendas, interests, and purposes which may result to a fragmented engagement and limit  the depth of their involvement into causes. Based on personal experience on handling  different org events, the partnership responsibilities usually fall under gaining social media  clout and less of immersing into the events’ purposes, which make the impact of their  advocacies essentially diluted. Fortunately, the multicultural environment of college encourages the exploration of different social issues. It’s a challenge to individually  reassure thousands of scholars of varying backgrounds, but it is possible to understand  each other as one student body with our shared goal to uplift each other and alleviate the  people above our own interest. On this note, effective coalitions must give way to genuine  networks that support diverse exchange of ideas and resources as they can reach a larger  audience. Hands-on participation can be achieved through action-oriented obligations like  providing manpower, instead of simply spreading the word. While it is good to demand  for systematic change within our institution, this is a time-consuming process. Taking  advantage of the system and advocating for its improvement are two ventures that can  coexist together. Hence, coalitions should opt to utilize existing university structures to  accelerate the implementation of their projects and spotlight them through non-industrial  platforms as means for increasing student engagement.

                    The principle that coalitions emphasizes is the mandatory collective representation  of students in public spheres of decision-making. However, a disappointing yet prevailing  practice in university governing bodies is tokenistic participation wherein student representation is being afforded minimal concessions in decision-making (Patrick, 2022). While one may suggest that this is the role of university student councils, because of the  perceived ineffectiveness of student leaders, there’s been less and less students  partaking in student politics (Williams, 2020). One way to go about this is for student  councils or parties to establish a university-wide flagship event which brings out the  essence of the institution’s principles. It is important this event resonate with the masses  and of their lived experiences, and that the message is reechoed across our student  communities. But what would guarantee student involvement is offering a variety of  engagement options that cater to different skills. A hypothetical example would be on Disaster Risk Reduction and investigate physical processes and predict hazards can work with social science students assess into the relationship of people to places which is a vital aspect of risk management.  In the same situation, creative-centered orgs can tap into arts as a platform as an  emerging, favored approach for science communication in formal and informal settings  (Lesen, 2016). This ties back to the multipartite nature of coalitions: by using our  differences, we can come together towards the same goal. If scholastic achievements  receive scholarships, grants, and internships (Corrigall-Brown, 2016), social movements  should be regarded to the same degree. More efforts should be underway to support  students in their programs to maximize their potential.

                    Even if students are already doing their best to actively engage in dialogue with  university administrators and other stakeholders to express their concerns for a more  socially impactful institution, the university must also act into prioritizing student welfare.  This includes addressing the inaction on the attacks against student activists. In the  Philippines, numerous cases of unjust prosecution and harassment towards National  Democratic Mass Organizations, (e.g., Chi, 2021; Burgos, 2022; Cabrera, 2023), even  purposeful initiatives by fellow university students such as the internationally recognized  “community pantries” have been branded as “communist” activity by state forces which  led to its temporary closure (Kusuma, 2022). See, politically inconvenient people are disposed of even if they are the ones fighting for the interest of the marginalized sectors. While the students have longed slammed campus militarization to make the institution as a safe space, there is a need to establish clearer policies towards any form of harassment on students’ political stands and privacy violation. External collaboration with human rights organizations and employing legal assistance can aid in reassuring the safety of affected students. This is crucial since many of these condemned students are baselessly accused. University administrators should have a mission of building trust, exhibiting  openness and transparency, and demonstrating accountability when engaging with its students.

                   A university is only as good as its constituents. Taking into consideration the political instability and socioeconomic disparities present in developing countries, other  state universities may face similar problems when it comes to student action. Re energizing the bond between universities and their student body begins by acknowledging  that there must be intersectional cooperation from both actors to build social momentum  and commitment in serving the nation. As much as universities stand with our students in  this crucial stage of reimagining our realities, society’s progress can only be achieved by fostering an environment where the students who serve the country can become partners  towards meaningful progress. It is through the marriage of political will and social  momentum combined with financial support that we can fully strengthen academic  freedom. In the end, honor and excellence aren’t just an act, but habits we must persevere  for, and amidst it all we must keep the fire burning to be the torch that light up the future.