The road ahead

Although many students might disagree — especially those freshly tanned and stress-free from the five-month summer break — the year ahead for DLSU is an exciting one. We have a new president, a new chancellor, and an administrative structure that was freshly reorganized for efficiency. The University has seen major changes in several facilities and spaces, in addition to yearly repairs and renovations done over the summer break on campus.

We face the upcoming ASEAN University Integration and looming implications of the K-12 curriculum in the same breath as we have changed class time slots and the academic calendar. We are working on sorting out all the knots of the integration with the Science and Technology Complex, and figuring out what to do to address the challenges that lie with the upcoming lean years following the K-12 restructuring of secondary schools. While we approach the academic year ahead with optimism and energy befitting a world-class university, it must be understood that with all of this change, there is a need for a reconsideration of past practices or established systems, especially if they are unable to cope with the times.

We at The LaSallian would like to begin the academic year by stating that being critical of something, of pointing out a system’s mistakes or an institution’s flaws, is not the same as hating and is not a direct manifestation of pessimism. It is a mark of those who can still see a glimmer of hope that things can and will change for the better if  proper action is done. It is rooted in the principle that recognizing that there is a problem is the first step towards fixing it, may it be on a personal or institutional level.

If one cares to listen, there is a general dissatisfaction with the way things are, despite all the hard work poured into improving University systems and achieving operational excellence. This is not to erase or disregard all the work those in power have put into refining University structures, but is a reflection of the direct effects of these actions from the other side of the fence. For instance, at the height of the online enrollment process a few weeks ago, many students took to social media to let out their frustrations over the difficulties they experienced. Similar to netizens expressing their dismay over the ever-worsening state of traffic in Metro Manila or protesters flocking to the streets to rally against one form of injustice or another, many of these insights come from a subjective assessment of what administrative actions have produced.

Often, in cases like these, it is not a question of how much better something is compared to others of its kind, or how much better it is compared to how it was a few decades ago. Subpar is still subpar, and it only makes sense, as Lasallians, to never settle for anything less than the excellence we set for ourselves in our vision-mission.

The optimal response, then, in the face of the multitude of problems that lie in the year ahead — and, indeed, for the years to come — is not one of unfazed optimism that is detached from reality and indifferent towards those who are disadvantaged. Neither is it the cynicism that has given up on hope, on the possibility of things ever changing for the better. Rather, the appropriate response is to ask what the problem is and recognize it, study what has been done, and, ultimately, move forward to what can be done.

And afterwards, we repeat the process.