Because we are UP

Semester after semester, universities—not just the University of the Philippines—will have to refuse some students who wish to reenroll. Delinquencies, outstanding balances, and incomplete requirements are some of the reasons why. People have been blaming the UP administration for Kristel Tejada’s suicide, but in all universities, there is a protocol to which admissions have to adhere. I agree that UP needs a bigger budget, a better enrollment system, and more support from the government. But even if we make everything in UP perfect, it still can’t say yes to all the students who wish to study or continue studying there.

If we look at the statistics and analyze the number of UP students who had to leave the university, we will find that the number of people who coped and moved on will reduce Kristel’s suicide to an isolated one. The reasons behind her suicide deserve to be addressed, but to go out in full rage, burn chairs, and vandalize public property are actions that are as unjustifiable as the suicide they are based on.

I’m all for the betterment of our university system. But in order to successfully do this, we need to first fix the schism we have with the administration. We are the University of the Philippines, and it’s about time we treated ourselves as a whole. Someone from our institution has died, and we are all mourning. The way to solve the presented problems is not through blaming and mudslinging. We have to focus on the tasks at hand. How do we improve the system? How do we subsidize more tuition? How can we provide better support systems? How can we, as students and alumni, help out?

There are students who have been struggling all throughout their lives, yet find ways to get by and go farther. Students from the farthest of provinces. Students who can’t even afford to buy books and the most basic school supplies. Students who need to work while studying to pay their tuition and help in the family expenses. They are still here—barely surviving, yet fueled with hope and determination. It’s these students that make the changes we wish to see in UP and the rest of our educational system worth fighting and living for.

Mirra Reyes, 22, graduated from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 2011 with a degree in communication arts, major in writing. She is a cofounder of Mulat Kalikasan, an NGO in Coron, Palawan, that believes formal and environmental education are the seeds to solving poverty.