It’s Election season within the Ateneo once again. Time to file for all those candidacies and time to submit that 3-page platform.
The Sanggunian is the Student Government Body representing the student body of the loyola schools of Ateneo De Manila University and let me just get straight to the point: It’s about time to ERASE that notion that “NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE SANGGUNIAN.”
OTHER THINGS THESE PEOPLE MIGHT SAY:
“They’re not even doing anything.” “I don’t see results” “No one can feel the presence of the Sanggunian working in the Ateneo” “They were better five years ago.” “Mas nararamdaman pa yung COA kaysa sa Sanggu” “May kwenta lang sila kapag bumabagyo tapos kailangan ko malaman kung may pasok”
If you have caught yourself or a friend saying this, then they probably pose one or two of the following mentalities:
1. You don’t care about any political issues in Ateneo. You are inconvenienced by the APECO farmers rallying against the governement. Traffic ba? You are way too lazy to read the Varsitarian. Why should you join the rally against SM Blue when it’s raining? It might make basa your Iphone 5! All the talented Guidon and Matanglawin writers cannot move you with any school issue or Philippine issue of today because you have failed to pick up just one free copy along Secwalk or the Gonzaga Atrium.
2. You haven’t thought of a single way to make your school better. Or to make a contribution for that matter. Give one change that you actually really thought of for the Ateneo. Something you actually gave effort into thinking about, all the way down to its execution and effectiveness. Why should you even offer any ideas? It’s not your job to improve our school, right? What’s the point of arguing with OSA or expressing the need for another vendo machine? Besides, you’re tinatamad.
3. You don’t care about uniting with the rest of your schoolmates because you already have your own life. And you guys are way too busy for that Philo orals or your thesis paper to even care about the student government. and why would you rally when you can go watch Les Miserables or Pitch Perfect instead? Or there’s always Papu’s at Xavierville and Intersection at One Burgundy. In short, I have my own life to think about to even be bothered with Sanggu matters. Besides, I’m leaving for JTA. Why should i even bother. You have a their-business-is-their-business kind of mindframe.
4. Your orgs are more important to you. Anong APECO pinagsasabi mo diyan? Mamaya ka na, i have rehearsals pa! Oh no, you haven’t sent the long form and the project proposal required for your project and you have 2 weeks left! Hmmm…I need more sponsors for the incoming party for our org. Darn it, kulang ako sa training sabi ni coach. This is why you feel as if COA is more important. You’re absolutely minoring in AB ORG and you’re too busy to be bothered by politics.
The mentalities above also explain why you haven’t been “feeling” the Sanggunian at work among the student body.
If your attention and your priorities are in other things and the betterment of our school is just in your periphery, then so will Sanggu be. You won’t feel the organization at work because you don’t pay enough attention. They’re not just there when relief operations have to be done at the covered courts, you know.
They are your friends, trying to make a difference. Besides, what do you expect them to do, anyway? Allow us to break the rules? Find a way for us to kick out hell-sent professors? Create a party in cooperation with other schools? High expectations are not the key to anything.
I’m not trying to put them up a pedestal, (They’re human, too) but at the very least, it’s nice to focus on their work (dedicated to us) and thank them. They really ARE there for us. And they’re probably doing whatever they can to get closer to us. People who valiantly declare that no one cares about Sanggu commits an influential but hasty generalization. Please guys, ideas are powerful. So don’t go saying that around freshmen who are willing to run for block representatives. These are kids with a vision for our community. Don’t dampen their hopes with some fallacious argument. It’s about time you care more for this school.
You might be too busy saying these things from the beginning, that you might actually be missing out on the changes that you want to see. IGNORANCE IS AN EPIDEMIC, OUR ETHOS FOR CENTURIES NOW, AND IT’S HUMANITY’S CANCER. How will you bring yourself to vote on our future national leaders when you can’t even walk for 6 minutes towards secwalk to cast your vote within the Ateneo? Voting is a start. Let’s do away with the negativism and make them a partner of ours. Let’s get involved. If we really cared, we would maximize the utility of our freedom of speech in the fullest positive sense of the term.
Levels of Worth are never inherent. What you give importance to gains more worth.
EDIT IN:
I’m not representing Sanggu and I’m not saying this is the only way to appreciate our school. and I’m not trying to offend anyone. So it doesn’t mean that if you can’t attend a rally, you’re automatically ignorant =)) And i’m not saying that none of us care, nor am i saying that sanggu has had no shortcomings whatsoever, i’m saying that some of us should do away with the negativism towards sanggu.
Please, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that we all have tendencies to overlook Sanggu’s efforts, MYSELF INCLUDED. It doesn’t mean that because someone goes to JTA or does a lot of orgwork they don’t care about sanggu anymore. That would be missing the point. But it means we must not spread the idea that they are “useless” to us.
EDIT IN (PART 2)
I know i said I’ll be approving all comments, positive or negative, but I refuse to approve comments which dropped names and attacked specific people.
guilt trip much?
tl;dr
So consistent! Brilliant.
Wow, for someone who talks about ignorance, this was a rather ignorant–and extremely arrogant–post. If anything, the Sanggunian’s incapacity to communicate themselves and their value is the most imminent in a list of numerous problems. Hindi ibig sabihin na walang pakialam sa pulitika kapag walang pakialam sa Sanggu, mas nararapat sigurong sabihin na walang pakialam sa Sanggu ang ayaw sa uri ng pamumulitika ng Sanggu.
Talented Guidon and Matanglawin writers? Hahaha
tama ka, pero malas mo lang na tama ka. bakit nila iniisip na irrelevant yung sanggu? kasi hindi rin ginagawang relevant sa kanila. a governing body such as this should make it relevant. kung hindi kaya, edi hindi siya ganun ka-relevant talaga sa kanila. effort rin siguro sa sanggu yun na gawing mas relatable yung trabaho niyo sa tao. so ano, gusto mo pagpeke mga tao na bumoto para si di nila nakikitang “relevant”? gusto mo ganun rin sa bansa? give and take. oo, maraming ignorante, edi gawin mo silang may alam. kaya yung mga na-eelect yung mga familiar sa tao. kasi sila umeffort na magpakita sa tao na may ginagawa sila. don’t go comparing a school government to a country’s government. they are two different things. they may have similar “type” of problems, but they’re not that comparable.
All comments will be approved.
Ad hominem. Hasty generalization
I don’t think that was the writers’ intention. Perhaps the writer wanted to eliminate that kind of mindset among Ateneans, not attack people who thoroughly enjoy their respective orgwork or who are too involved in academics. The writer isn’t talking about if issues are valuable to Ateneans, either.
I think it’s trying to say that there’s no need to spread the mentality that “Nobody cares” and that people should just figure out their priorities for themselves.
Not against the Sanggu, but if you’re going to argue for the relevance of Sanggu, this is not the best way to go around that.
My response to each of the four points:
1) The political issues described aren’t ATENEO politics. Those are NATIONAL POLITICAL ISSUES. And there are many avenues to participate and express outside of Sanggu.
2) Complete burden pushing. Besides, there are many other ways you can improve the school and the world around you outside of the Sanggunian.
3) and 4) Choosing to care more about your course and your org are perfectly valid choices. What if these are the struggles the ones that are more real to me? What if the people in my course and school are the ones I care about?
Sanggu is useless
Instead of criticizing those who “don’t care about the Sanggunian,” why don’t you list down the recent accomplishment of Sanggunian instead?
What you’ve written isn’t really the best way to bring about what you’re trying to accomplish. In fact, I’d say you did the opposite. Try to frame it in a more positive and less…arrogant, writing next time.
Sanggu prolly does a lot of amazing shit but if you fail to communicate these things or inspire your fellow students then that’s on you. It’s part of your job to rise above the clutter. Honestly, if what you do is that important then it will be felt. If it is that important and still people ignore you then you’re doing something wrong.
it’s funny how you want to point out that the sanggu is actually worth something and that you really are relevant when all you can say in the article is what’s wrong with everyone else (although, yes, even this is flawed as it commits the error of hasty generalization), but you cant really provide us with anything concrete that the sanggunian does. You say that there’s more to the sanggunian than just relief goods and monitoring whether there’ll be classes or not when a typhoon hits, and yet, you are not able to name ANY other examples.
Furthermore, aren’t you supposed to cater to your market’s need rather than sit locked up in your ivory tower and then blame everyone else for not understanding you and seeing your relevance? You’re blaming us for not caring about “more important things”, which supposedly led to us to not seeing the sanggu’s relevance, but then aren’t you doing the same thing with us (you don’t really care about what we really want, you assumed we are all ignorant, and then you blame us for being against sanggu)? The difference is that, between the two (Sanggunian and the Ateneo community), Sanggu is the one who came to us and said they can help and that they want to. Who’s fault is it when that message is not understood? The people (not just one or two people mind you) who do not understand it, or the people who miscommunicated the message because they didn’t even try to reflect on the reasons people don’t understand them?
Maybe it’s not that people are completely indifferent towards Sanggu. Maybe people just find it hard to identify themselves with it. I believe one shouldn’t blame people for not feeling that way, after all, I think that Sanggu should be the ones to reach out more to the students.
Seeing things like this only frustrates the student body and pushes them away more. You can’t expect everyone to just blindly join in the efforts. Your example on the rally, there are times that it is scheduled inconveniently hence people can’t go. Also, if students don’t believe that those rallies can even do anything, why would they join? They are better off studying for their orals or to get some relaxation after a hell week than just hold some placard and join in when they don’t even believe in those efforts.
“It’s about time you care more for this school.” I find this faulty. Students who spend time training for a competition or planning for an org event and such, in a way, show that they care about the school and sometimes even show that they go beyond it. I think you meant “It’s about time you care more for this Sanggu”.
“How will you bring yourself to vote on our future national leaders when you can’t even walk for 6 minutes towards secwalk to cast your vote within the Ateneo? ” This is also faulty.
Not against Sanggu but this entry just disproves what you said that Sanggu is our friend. This entry makes me feel that Sanggu doesn’t care about its constituents because it doesn’t reach out and understand them, and instead just makes unfounded generalizations.
Go back to the grassroots. I have high expectations for Sanggu because I believe it has a lot of potential to be more relevant to the student body. Hoping for the best for all candidates!
You are absolutely right on some parts
When there rallies are scheduled inconveniently, then it’s perfectly permissible not to go. And for one saying that it’s about time we care more for this school, i mean to say that caring more for sanggu is just one of the many ways.
The gist of what I mean to say is that we should pitch in our part as well in believing in them, and I believe here, we are at a common ground
And by the question I posed about our national leaders, it’s a way of saying that paying attention is one way to start, just to clarify.
And if you disagree with me, that’s perfectly fine but don’t feel discouraged. I don’t represent the entirety of Sanggu. They have so many leaders who can do so much for Ateneo.
Hi Kaye! Good job with your article. It’s about time that someone brought this up.
I agree with your point about the growing apathy (and weirdly, opposition) towards Ateneo student government. In fact, I myself am sometimes guilty of sanggu-indifference. But the thing is, I don’t go around rationalizing my apathy and preaching about how bad they are.
I know this article didn’t intend to bash the acads and org-driven students of the Ateneo. It’s only aim was to remind us of the value of sanggu that has long been forgotten by most Ateneans. It breaks my heart to see the responses to this blog on my newsfeed, learning that there are actually students who take pride in the irrelevance of sanggu in their lives.
Before anything else, you can never rationalize apathy towards political issues, whether they are on campus or national level. Yes, there are other avenues to express your (national) political concerns, and yes you do not need Sanggu to care about the country. Nevertheless, it would be totally unacceptable to profess full indifference towards the Ateneo Sanggunian as you reside in their very campus government, as you function as a student under their regime. They are the ones who set the rules by which you abide by; they fix the paradigm wherein you must rest for four years. They’re the reason behind your complaints; they are the reason behind your convenience. I think we all owe them a little bit of credit. Maybe, just maybe, not justifying your apathy and keeping the name of sanggu free from your self-righteous reasonings would even be enough. Of what value is your national concern if you can’t even give a tiny bit of a damn about your student government and what goes on in your school.
Sige na. May pakialam na sa pulitika. Pero aanhin mo yang paki mo sa Pilipinas kung sa mismong gobyernong nagpapatakbo sa campus mo, hindi mo manlang mabigyan ng pansin. Tapos inaaway mo pa…
Buddy, the ADMIN does all the things you attribute to Sanggu. Need I remind you that we’re talking about a UNIVERSITY, not some youth activist group. Notice how most prestigious universities don’t have a student government that’s desperate for attention, if they even exist; and that these student governments just do what they do behind the scenes. If Sanggu depends on the love and respect of the student body to thrive, it might as well die. What happened to joining because of the cause and not because of the attention.
Not here to shit on your post. I was just wondering how people found this blog. =))
Great that you talked about this! And I see your point, but try not to have such an arrogant frame next time. Arrogance is probably humanity’s other cancer.
Kahit hipster ako may paki ako excuse me, makinig kayo Two Door Cinema Club at sa Magis radio. Ang cool ko!
I’d like to point something out that I’ve realized. I address this to you Kaye Bata.
I’m not that enlightened, and I’m speaking from whatever knowledge and experience I have. So please, enlighten me.
I have not felt the presence of Sanggu since the elections last year. Strangely, I am part of Sanggu and I must say that the implementation and propagation of Sanggu is poor. I am not saying that Sanggu isn’t doing anything (although that could be the case), what I’m saying is Sanggu, in my honest opinion, has very bad implementation and follow-through.
Why do we not hear of them? Among your reasons… We should remember that Orgs get their message across even to those who are to ‘busy’ to care. Thus, I infer that the reason we don’t hear of them is not because we don’t pay attention — it’s because their voice is too small.
Hell, I’m from Sanggu and we havent done anything in a while.
So many comments, so many opinions, so many reactions (esp. ones in protest/opposition!)
) Ms. Kaye, your work here is done. 
People are thinking again!
Ateneo has a student government?!? Seriously though, hindi nafefeel ng students ang presence ng sanggu kaya wala silang paki. Lumalabas lang naman ang presence ng sanggu pag malapit na ang elections. Filipino Politics.
I know why I don’t care. I’m wondering, why should I care? Is the Sanggu so desperately in need for recognition from their fellow students? Can’t they just do what they do without being noticed?
My PoS100 class has taught me that politics is innate in man. The problem is that we’ve deviated from substance and matter; that politics is irrelevant to our everyday life. But we are mistaken when we believe that to be true. Our everyday choices may not sound political in nature, but by nature actually have the capacity for action. And so therefore, we as humans, are capable of making a miracle – of positive change – and change is change wherever and whenever you pay attention. Thank YOU for paying attention because Ateneo, the Philippines, and the world need game changers.
Reblogged this on realism over idealism.
Koi? Are you AK’s sister? :O
yeah
)) great article! 