A year of zeal: Up and coming student organizations

Some origin stories aren’t as poetic as the narrative of the Holy Bible’s Genesis, or as abrupt and mystifying as the beginning of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Some origin stories, when stripped of metaphors and other literary techniques, become stories of human passion.

As much as we’re often overwhelmed in our academic affairs on campus, some Lasallians pursue both personal and larger goals when it comes to what they love beyond the confines of classrooms. Some quench this passion through joining organizations, and some whose passions are so distinct, create their own.

Creating a new student organization requires an immutable commitment to a cause, and with it, building friendships, developing skills, and creating projects, all in service of that cause. It can begin with noticing a missing link, a vacant space, or a neglected ideal or tradition. But what lies at the heart of it?

Beginnings and certain epiphanies

Aadil Ayub (II, POLSCI), a serious music enthusiast, has been working in the past few months on starting a new music organization. Growing up in Pakistan, he witnessed the conservatism that seeped through the music industry bringing only a few record labels and a social climate that lacked local music appreciation.

After a few months of arriving and studying in La Salle, he became baffled that students in a musically inclined country would have little to no knowledge of talented musicians on campus. He thinks that, because there is an influx of foreign acts and lack of exposure for local ones, the Philippine independent artists are underground; there is a pop scene and then all the other genres fall under the indie scene. “I want to create a culture of music in this University where student musicians get to express themselves. Where they take ownership of the music scene in La Salle, and celebrate the talent of musicians in this school.”

How it differs from the already existing music organizations is that, “It won’t be like a mini music school, where they train everyone every week and [trainers] have complete control over what they’re going to perform, during auditions and in funding. We didn’t want something that was so regimented. We wanted a huge music-centric platform.” He envisions an organization that holds independent open mic nights, concerts, music festivals, one that encourages creating music videos, and writing for music journals and magazines. “There’s a lot of talent and opportunities for networking, if we don’t do it it’s going to be a huge waste. It doesn’t end at Soundcloud,” he says, envisioning that the organization be marked by freedom and space for creativity and experimentation.

Riddick Ricoter (IV, LIT), on the other hand, plans to revive an already existing organization that tragically through time faded into the wayside. Still recovering from the dissolution of that professional organization, he says with a renewed vigor, “We wanted to come up with this organization that values literature, and not just literature, but culture.”

As the battle between literature and technology show more favor for the latter, he says, “We get our motivation from the absence of the presence of literature,” letting the oxymoron hang in the conversation like a white flag. These days it’s considered a rarity to find students who read in their spare time, especially in between classes. Finding someone with their heads bowed down to a piece of literature is nowadays resigned as a romantic idea, or even a holy manifestation. “The Bible has created a religion out of a literary text. That is the value of literature—it can go places. It is what you make of it. Ikaw bahala.”

But the act of creating this organization is an uprising in itself. Bringing together all literature majors and literature enthusiasts, to engage more thoughtfully and critically in film, TV, and books, he adds, “It might sound cliché, but that in itself accomplishes our vision for the organization, because it helps the members become better as individuals, ethical and moral, who think sophisticatedly about culture. Why not make it official?”

From being exposed to Habitat for Humanity as a mere high school student to finding her true calling as the future president of its DLSU campus chapter, Gabbie Perez (II, LIT) rediscovers herself through building houses.

Although she had found the weekly routine a tedious task in the beginning during her high school years, it wasn’t long until her destiny unfolded with the international non-governmental organization before her. One day, it was no longer about just cementing and sifting. Suddenly, a classroom full of other wide-eyed students appeared before her. “Nabuhayan ako ng loob,” she figured, in the midst of teaching proper etiquette. “Hindi lang kailangan mag-build ng house, pwede rin ibang way magbigay. Simple lang siya.”

Gabbie believes that there’s more to the org than meets the eye. Aside from developing communities, the org’s aim is to create a whole new avenue within the Lasallian community. “Everyone should have the chance to give back to the community what they have learned. The Lasallian community would no longer have to ask ‘Where will I start? To whom will I talk to?’ because it’s [right under their nose].”

A whole lot of zeal and then some

All these leaders have the passion and the drive to create new foundations, but they have yet to conquer them through hurdles in the application process. Before aspiring organizations can proceed with their goals, they must first gain the approval of certain offices—SLIFE (Office of Student Leadership, Involvement, Formation and Powerment) and CSO (Council of Student Organizations). According to Miss Kaye Ranieses, SLIFE’s Coordinator for Operations, the Accreditation Model functions as a manual. Potential will only be put to waste if aspiring organizations fail to be guided accordingly, especially if the org’s objectives do not meet certain points of criteria, such as leadership, clear sense of purpose, and the org’s mission to address the Lasallian core values.

A constitution is crucial for organizations as its contents reflect upon both the organization and La Salle. It maps out a systematic pursuit of organizations and how it intends to uphold the statements inscribed. If an aspiring organization happens to overlap with an existing organization, they are simply redirected to teaming up with the latter.

Another challenge when it comes to establishing organizations is membership. Heads of aspiring organizations admit that support systems become necessities, and admit to being on the lookout for uniting people who share the same passion. “As early as now, we’re already canvassing members, [since our] goal is to expand,” Gabbie shares. Likewise, as some of them have learned from previous mistakes, communication is key.

Usually it takes a year or more for students to gather enough members, create a constitution, defend it in the panel interview, and get successfully accredited. Riddick says, “Our struggle right now is a personal struggle.” Even this early in the term, already they are riddled with thesis and other course requirements.

Miss Kaye advises aspiring organizations to “Be sure of what they really want to achieve.” In the face of doubt, however, Aadil says, “I should do it, or it might not ever happen,” with a clear voice, and eyes that look off to the distance. Despite an upcoming year of grueling paperwork and brainstorming towards an uncertain verdict, it can be said that it will be a year of zeal for most of them: Making calls to different student musicians and music enthusiasts, reconnecting with estranged fellow writers, and so on, with their own visions pointing them north. Just goes to show that when the application process gets tough, the tough gets going.