Parallelisms in UP’s history

By: Adriel Paglinawan

History merely repeats itself.

During martial law, a congressional body was created to check communists activities within the university. The Committee on Anti-Filipino Activities (CAFA), arrested several UP students and faculties for their “alleged” communist leanings.

More than three decades later, truckloads of military personnel were deployed in the campus when President Arroyo declared a state of emergency.

In 1923, the Philippine Collegian, the pioneer student publication in the country, was muzzled by UP officials. Years later, a more intense media censorship, under the Marcos dictatorship, completely silenced the Collegian.

During this tumultuous period, several Collegian editors were arrested, among them, Abraham Sarmiento and Malou Mangahas.

Student councils, fraternities and sororities were also banned by Marcos. This prohibition successfully weakened anti-government protests led by students.

Kule is silenced yet again under President Emerlinda Roman’s term. The administration’s grip on Kule’s funds effectively paralyzed the student publication for more than a year.

Student activism is one of the hallmarks of the university. UP students were known to stood at the frontlines of street demonstrations. Student activism in the university reached its pinnacle in 1971 when students barricaded the campus and established the “Diliman Commune.”

Salvador Lopez, the university’s 11th president, adopted the policy of “tolerance” toward student demonstrations. To prevent chaos and bloodshed in the campus, he exerted all efforts to keep the military from entering UP.

Perennial budget cuts also hound the university. In the past, UP officials have implemented measures to shore up the meager state subsidy. The Socialized Tuition Fee and Assistance Program (STFAP), which was implemented in 1989, is one of these measures.

STFAP raised UP”S tution to P300 per unit, almost the comparable to Ateneo’s P327.5/unit and La Salle’s P329/unit.

In 2004, 18 new lab fees, deemed by many as “exorbitant”, were implemented in various UP units. Two years later, the Board of Regents, again, approved three new lab fees without proper consultation with students. During its December 15, 2006 meeting, the BOR approved a 300% tuition increase. This raised the cost of one academic unit from P300 to P1000 in the Diliman, Manila and Los Banos campuses. One academic unit in UP Baguio, Visayas and Mindanao was also raised from P200 to P600.

UP officials utilized the university’s idle assets to stem mounting budgetary constraints. The South Science and Technology Park along C.P. Garcia Ave. and the North Science and Tecnology Park are among the manifestations of the university’s thrust to commercialization.

The university also suffers from deteriorating physical facilities. The exodus of talented professors to private universities or abroad also contribute to UP’s decline.