Bullying in the Ateneo

Reading the Ateneo president’s press statement resolving the recent bullying case that rocked the internet and the nation, I was surprised that the bully was merely dismissed rather than expelled. Dismissal and expulsion mean the same thing to a layman, but in a school setting, dismissal means a student is not allowed to return to school for academic or disciplinary reasons, but allows him or her to continue schooling elsewhere. Honorable dismissal means the student withdrew from the school without academic or disciplinary issues.

Expulsion, on the other hand, remains on the student’s transcript of records, closing all school doors elsewhere. In the spirit of Christmas and belief in punishment for reform, Ateneo gave the bully a Christmas present to learn from the rest of his life.

The resolution of the Ateneo case shows us the elephant in the room, so all schools should find a solution, because bullying has been with us for millennia. The issue brought back the story of former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada who, contrary to popular belief, graduated from Ateneo Grade School, and was dismissed during his second year in Ateneo High School not for his grades, but for standing up to a bully in a fistfight.

Erap set the record straight during the 1998 Ateneo alumni reunion. After his expulsion, he was never invited back to Ateneo even after his long service as mayor of San Juan, and not even when he was elected senator. But, when he became president, Ateneo gave in, because he was the first to bring home the bacon, so to speak; the second was Benigno Aquino III.

At the reunion, Erap said:

“During the campaign, one of the issues against me was that I was not a college graduate. Normally, it would have been a valid issue. If you come from some other schools, you would probably need at least a college degree to be considered qualified to be President. But if you come from the Ateneo, all you need is to have finished second year high school!

“… During the campaign, my critics called me a dropout. That was a mistake. I did not drop out from the Ateneo. I was expelled! And not for academic reasons—my grades then were quite respectable, thank you—but for a disciplinary issue.

“My offense was fighting a burly American classmate who was bullying another classmate much smaller than he. I told him to pick on someone his size, and he took up my challenge.”

Erap intervened when Patrick Hilton, the American student, was bullying a small classmate named Mario Tiaoqui, who later served as energy secretary in the Erap presidency. Erap did not say who won the fight, but both of them were dismissed from Ateneo. He said of this turning point in his life: “I must say that I was proud to be expelled for a reason that would be a driving force not just in the movies I appeared in, but throughout my political career. I was defending the underdog. And I will continue to do so, regardless of the consequences to me.”

Bullying is not new to Ateneo, and is actually referenced in Jose Rizal’s autobiography where he mentions entering Ateneo Municipal in June 1875 as a boarder:

“In spite of the fact that I was thirteen years old and going on fourteen, I was still very small, and it is well known that new schoolboys, especially the small ones, are received with jokes or teasing by the bigger or elder ones. So it was on the first day when I attracted attention due to my mischief. Some teased me, but when they fell silent momentarily, I said in a quiet voice: ‘Señores, gracias’ [Thank you, gentlemen]. From then on they had more regard for me, and they did not again tease me maliciously. Except for a few, all my companions were good… There were no bullies among us who sought to dominate by force, for preeminence was won through skill or ability. I had the good fortune of winning, if not the love, at least the esteem of all of them….”

Bullying in schools is not just an Ateneo problem; it is in all schools worldwide, so a solution should come from

everyone. What bothered people who viewed the viral video of the Ateneo bully was that there were others in the toilet who did not stop the bully, but enabled him with their silent encouragement. What has Ateneo done to punish or counsel them? Bullying will continue where good classmates do nothing.

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