BEYOND THE CENTENNIAL: MAROONED
The last time I have seen the beauty of whites combined with the colorful sablays was two years ago when my brother graduated with thousands of other students from U.P. Diliman.
It reminded me of two years ago. When I was one of them.
Graduation day--- It was a proud sight for parents; seeing their children march while proudly bearing the seal of being a UP graduate--- the Sablay.
For the graduates, graduation day is something phenomenal--- It was a day of soaring prides; their prides of being graduates of the
And graduation was also a seal of survival--- having survived the bittersweet torture the university had cast upon them.
For the alumni, it was a different story. Graduation is a painful reminiscence of the past when they were the ones in the place of the graduates-- when they are wearing the same smiles and proud faces and bearings.
Post- graduate depression. Who could blame them? Who could blame me? I am a proud alumna. Who would not want to go back to a place where one’s eyes have been opened to the harsh and sweet realities of the world? Who would not want to experience again the excitement, the anxiety, the dread, the anger, the stress, the brain drain, and the so-called bloodshed the students from U.P. are experiencing all throughout their stay at the university.
An exaggeration? Unlikely. Try to experience the U.P. way of life then you will know what we are talking about. We are not just boasting about it because we want to show other people how hard it is to be in U.P., but rather we want to show people how proud we are that we (iskos and iskas) are surviving these kinds of learning.
Four years of being cradled into the arms of UP
It was during that first step into the corridors of Rizal Hall when I felt the first sign of misfit. It seemed that whatever I try, I will not be able to fit myself into a very complicated puzzle. Prior to that first step, I have heard so many things about UP that made me dread to even enter its gates: Frat wars, mobilizations, academic pressures, the exercise of freedom, demon professors, and many other reasons. What just pushed me to enter U.P. is the prestige of being called Iskolar ng Bayan with the futility of that reason making me want to die of shame right now--- because I do not understand what those words truly mean that time. I was just a freshie then. No one can blame me because I have not been exposed to the realities of life that a U.P. student is made to face.
Frat wars were my first ghosts. I was afraid of them even if I haven’t witnessed one yet. Stereotypes were present during high school. One stereotype of UP is the presence of those frat wars. I even remember the first question I asked our Freshmen Block Coordinator when she had informed us about the frats and sororities:
“Nananakit ba sila?”
Pathetic. But it was an emotion voiced out by a freshman who came from an exclusive catholic school.
I was able to answer the question myself just a year after because I had a lot of friends who became members of fraternities. I have also seen what these groups do. My misconceptions had immediately been put into the trash bin after I got to know them. Most of these groups had done/ are still doing the university a lot of service, which I knew I could not have done myself.
During my sophomore year, I had been a member of a woman’s group, which fights for a good cause. It wasn’t my intention of joining it, but I did because of my friend. After one year, I did not renew my membership. I felt I was being unfair to the organization because I could not really relate to their way of advocating for something, which is usually through mobilizations. I came from a Catholic high school and I admit that I still keep my conservative values, however that is not the reason why I did not continue with my membership. It is just that I believe that there can be other ways of advocating for something. I could not just continue being a member of a group because it has such great visions… but I just could not live them.
But I salute the students who join mobilizations because they have the heart to fight that way, which I lack.
Cramming is something I have mastered in my four years at UP. It is just so hard not to. A student just can’t understand how a professor’s mind works or how professors’ minds work.
Look at this example.
This week they will not give a sign of any coming long exams or papers. Of course as a student, you will feel relaxed; you have nothing to do. Then here comes their minds. Suddenly, all of the papers, projects, long exams will come pouring in… all at the same week! Even though they are from different departments, it is just so hard not to be suspicious that they have certain devices, which connectthem. We have no choice then… we have to cram.
Academic pressure is really a common feeling that temporarily diverts students from their social lives. It is really hard to survive in U.P. if you do not have the spirit to even try to cope with the pressure. U.P. is the last place you want to be when it is toxic week.
But then the irony of it all: We feel flattered when people talk about how hard academics are at U.P. Our ruined egos because of the results of our grades are always lifted whenever people say, “Bagsak ka? Ang hirap talaga sa U.P. ,no? Why? Because we all know that if we are one of those unlucky others, if we fail an exam, what we’ll hear is always, “Ano?! Bagsak ka? Ang dali dali ng exam, e.”
It is an advantage only U.P. students can get. We have an excuse if we fail.
I failed my Math 11 during my first take, (though I don’t exactly blame only myself because the professor is always talking to the black board); my parents did not even reprimand me. I just showed them my manual and they said they understood me already.
But of course I passed my summer class. I got a 3.0, but believe it or not, I was so happy I even cried.
It is only in U.P. where you experience real BRAIN DRAIN. And just like a quote from a text message said: “In U.P., it is not just nose bleed… It is BLOODSHED.”
This hell- kind of academic life actually created a lot of the nations’ most controversial and greatest people: national leaders, national artists, journalists, and many others. If they haven’t experienced this kind of life, believe me they wouldn’t be where they are right now because they will not be taught to stand and fight for what they think is right even though what they fight for are not always the right thing for everybody.
Because in U.P., we are taught to live a life of freedom.
It was my first time to watch the UAAP Cheerdance live last 2007. Since then, I started watching it live even if I had to fall in line at 4 am in the morning just to get a ticket. Why? Because of how I feel every time I watch it.
It was always the most exquisite feeling. U.P. has seven constituent universities and it is inevitable that there is an existing competition among them.
Ever seen the t-shirt, “U.P. na, Diliman pa”? Or something to that effect, because I haven’t really seen it; I just heard about it.
Then almost simultaneously, a credible source told me that that is why another version of the “U.P. Ako, Ikaw?” shirt came out, (where the U.P. Manila was changed to U.P. Maroons) is because of the reason of being able to cater to all U.P. campuses. A selfless move.
Or how about the “U.P. na, Med pa”? Or something to that effect because I haven’t seen that also.
During cheerdance, it is different--- I did not feel that I am from U.P. Manila nor did I feel that my brother and his friends are from U.P. Diliman. I did not feel I am from CAS, nor a new acquaintance named Yña, is from
I am from U.P. … from the UNIVERSITY OF THE
We become a system not because we need to or we have to. We become a system because we feel it. I experienced that feeling again three years ago during the U.P. Centennial celebration.
That was different. It was not just a cheerdance the whole U.P. community is celebrating… it is the 100 years of academic excellence of the county’s premier state university. It created goose bumps incomparable to any goose bumps I experience when watching the horrorest horror movie. Seeing the whole U.P. community singing “U.P. Naming Mahal”… the solemnity and the grandeur of that moment will never fail to touch the heart of every U.P. student, professor, and alumnus every time that moment will be relived.
Many people who will read this might raise their eyebrows or might even critique the way I have written this; but all of these are true because these are what I have seen, heard, and felt in my four years of stay at U.P.
The words I used are very simple. Way too simple than what the best U.P. writers have used because I want everybody to feel the pride we, Iskolars ng Bayan, feel for our university using the simplest, but most meaningful and familiar words.
“Man is the highest form of animal. He is made to be above all except
God.
So no matter how eagles soar high and how falcons attack;
How bulldogs bark and how aggressive tigers are;
THEY WILL ALWAYS SUCCUMB TO THAT ONE NAKED MAN,
STANDING WITH HIS ARMS WIDE OPEN…”
It was I who made that quote. It was created out of response to a boast coming form an others friend. She sent me a quote after the 2005 cheerdance, provoking me to get angry. Instead of answering back, however, I made this quote and sent it to every U.P. student in my phonebook. It was made out of pride and out of love and dedication to the university, most especially to my campus, which had opened my eyes to the realities of life.
ISKOLAR NG BAYAN--- a dedicated person who surrenders himself or herself for the service of the nation in his or her way; may it be big or little. A simple, yet true insight.
One blood.
One color.
One symbol.
One seal.
One pride.
FOREVER MAROONED.
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