Estudyante Lamang

by Miguel Calayag


Pagka’t ako’y tao lamang. As Dr. Leo argued in class, it is such a poor conception and use of the tao, of the person. It is as if humanity is something to be ashamed of. I have problematized a permutation of this lamentation; this is a short piece on student activism.

I am a member of the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement, also (perhaps infamously) known as CRUSADA. It is a political party within the Ateneo working to foster a campus culture conducive to political discourse. The Party is guided by Christian Social Democracy. We have forged partnerships with organizations such as the Ateneo Employees’ and Workers’ Union (AEWU), PALEA, and the marchers of Casiguran. We have held forums on the horrors of Martial Law and supported the commemoration of the victims of the brutal massacre in Maguindanao. And yet we are ridiculed. Some argue all our efforts are for naught.

One of the statements that made me ponder the most was this: Minsan mukhang nakakalimutan ng CRUSADA na estudyante lang tayo. Hindi ba estdyante lang naman tayo? Honestly, at first, there were lingering doubts. Was I forgetting that I was a student? Estudyante nga naman ako. Mag-aaral na lang ako kaysa mag rally o kaysa sa makinig sa kung anong speech ng kung anong labor union. I realized this question was asked to me before, what is Christian Social Democracy to a student?

I am not inclined to give a lecture. I only intend to share my thoughts on the matter. Perhaps, we are not just students. Hindi tayo estudyante lamang. We are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, we are citizens of a democratic Republic, we are neighbours, and we are strangers. Even granting the category of the student, to limit ourselves to this category violates the very purpose of the student: to learn. And learning is more than reading books and listening to lectures. It is also about learning to ask the right questions. Instead of asking “Hindi ba estudyante lang naman tayo?” perhaps we should ask “Hindi ba, hindi lamang tayo estudyante?”

Student activism in the form of establishing a partnership with the Ateneo labor union, for instance, as others may argue, is just a statement. But perhaps sometimes that is all that is needed and is a good start for further engagement. To tell the Other that we are here beside them. We are here to talk with or listen to them. Perhaps sometimes, that is enough (at least at the moment); that the student is friends with the worker, the librarian, photocopier operator, or the security guard and talks to him/her once in a while. After all, these people constitute the University as much as its students and teachers. They should not be merely relegated at the background, they are equals.

For those students who resonate with this idea, never think that student activism is useless. It is not. Moreover, student activism is not about picking up a gun or simply going through rallies, shouting at the top of one’s lungs. It is about engaging social, economic, and political issues as a student, however, ostensibly limited it may be. More importantly, hindi tayo estudyante lamang. Because one day, students (as if children) will be men and women, and when will they be for Others, if they do not begin – as simple and sincere as they can – now?