SR Referendum?

First and foremost the DEFEND the OSR alliance calls for the students to defend the OSR from admin intervention. The mere existence of a referendum in the new UP charter without the prior knowledge of the students, is already a manifestation of admin intervention in student affairs.

Given that the new UP charter is already a law, we, the students, are given no choice but to do something about it. In the new UP charter, the selection of a new student regent should undergo a process of referendum, before the admin recognize the new SR. If the referendum fails, we will lose our sole representation in the board of regents, plain and simple.

Those who do not see the logic behind it are either blind or pretending to be blind. Yes, whether the referendum fails or not, the Office of the Student Regent, itself, as a structure will continue to exist. Shahana Abdulwahid might still remain as the SR. She might still continue using the OSR, but that does not give us any assurance that the admin will continue to recognize Shahana as the representative of the students in the BOR. That does not give us the assurance that the BOR will continue to recognize the existence of an SR...that is only one of the many things that might happen when the referendum fails.

There are many things that could happen, and those things does not necessarily mean it's favorable to us students. And if we happen to not-act out our rights and defend what we should and previously had long before this whole catastrophe happened, we will fall down to their hands and be played like discarded chess pieces lying on the floor of defeat.

We cannot also discard the possibility of an SR-Malacanang appointee, if the referendum fails. Since the failure of the referendum will show of a lack of unity among the ranks of the students, the admin might feel the need to intervene and supposedly "help" us in our dilemma. now, we all know what a malacanang appointee would mean. But, that also might not happen given a section in the UP charter that says that the SR selection process is a sole student affair. But then again, given the long history of the struggles of the students in fighting for their rights, it would not be surprising that the admin will find a way of intervening in student affairs.

Would you trust a complete stranger, per se, in the middle of nowhere, to tell you where you'd find freedom? Where you'd find a cozy place to rest? If a high-school graduate is capable of becoming a barangay chairman, what more could a student be? Of course, given that he could manage his academics. But academics does not say anything about responsibility. It only says something about how well you understand what your teacher understands and says to you, not on how well-versed you are in the topic. If you are well-versed in the topic you'd still have no assurance that you'd get a good grade from your prof (as an experience with one professor that is unclear in his decisions).

Voting yes to the referendum is securing our student rights--the rights that students before us have fought hard with their lives. If we fail the referendum, the time, efforts, and lives spent by these students will be put to waste. failing the referendum is tantamount to willingly surrendering our rights.

I always thought adults are previously those children whose dreams were bright and peaceful, but looking at now it seems their own, selfish future's what they are playing, and are cutting of the future of this world. In my opinion, and I wish to extend this opinion to all so that they would share my own, to continue such act would mean that they are cutting off the supposedly upcoming future. Go on, and stop giving the children a chance to equip themselves, and later on when you are old and turning to dust will you regret that you have left nothing to save this world from what you have done.

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As a final note, if you are going to give me negative comments, keep them to yourselves. I don't need them. I respect your decisions, no matter how absurd your reasons may be, so I dearly hope you respect mine. Don't give me crap about how wrong am I in doing this, because frankly, I don't care. I've understood what it means to vote yes. I attended and understood enough to make a stand. I don't make a stand based from what my affiliations say (i.e., what my organization's stand is), I base them from my own understanding. After all, I have the freedom to do so.