In celebration of Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista’s (Tapat) 35th anniversary, the organization held a series of webinars titled Kwentong TAPAT last August 11 and 13 via Facebook Live. The talks featured students and alumni who advocate for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) rights and leaders who made strides to improve student rights and welfare in the University.
SOGIE stories
In the first talk titled SOGIE, Josher Quizon, Founding President of DLSU PRISM, the first official LGBTQ+ organization in DLSU, shared that his first SOGIE “experience” was when he when he joined UST Hiraya, an organization that advocates for safe spaces and intersectional feminism, when he was in senior high school. Being exposed to a “community” of outspoken individuals fighting for equality, he was inspired to also speak up against discrimination.
On the other hand, MJ Yap, who served as College of Computer Studies President in Academic Year (AY) 2007-2008, recounted how they went through different phases of their identity. Growing up, Yap thought that because of their sexual orientation, they had to conform to the stereotypes people would box them in. “I think it speaks to the lack of role models and positive representation in the media and our communities,” Yap explained.
Anil Ratanchandani, who served as Tapat President in AY 2008-2009 and Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education President for AY 2007-2008, emphasized that he was “bullied like crazy” when he was in high school because of how he expressed himself. But his University life proved to be different, he said, as DLSU became a safe space for people like him.
Vani Altomonte, former president of DLSU PARADA, an unofficial LGBTQ+ organization that preceded DLSU PRISM, affirmed Ratanchandani’s sentiments, adding that the Gender Studies (GENDERS) course offered by DLSU allowed him to further explore his identity.
Fighting discrimination
For Ratanchandani, when he tries to educate his peers on SOGIE, he asks them, “Do you think any form of discrimination is right?” He argued that SOGIE is a human rights issue that “should not be an issue in the first place.” For Altomonte, educating other people through open dialogue is the best way to “break stereotypes” surrounding SOGIE.
Yap stressed that clarifying to non-LGBTQ+ people that “everyone has a sexual orientation and gender identity” can help in pushing for equality as it allows them to find common ground with the LGBTQ+ community.
“The fight before was more of recognition and awareness, while today, it’s more of educating others of who we are,” said Ratanchandani, recognizing the strides made by the LGBTQ+ community in advocating for visibility inclusion. Quizon argued that the real challenge is having people “unlearn the traditions and biases” they grew up with.
Importance of civic engagement
During the second installment titled Student Rights and Welfare, Tapat alumni Johnroe Guray, Atty. Kate Sabado, and Elvin Uy, called on students to participate in civic engagement, even through simple acts.
Having served as Tapat’s President during her undergraduate years, Sabado emphasized the significance of understanding and integrating information into civic participation. “This is the way that we are able to assess ourselves, and to determine where we lie specifically with regards to our world view [and] our stands on certain things,” she conveyed.
Uy, who once served as Advocacies Chairperson in Tapat, emphasized that students should always remain critical of different events that are happening and evaluate if there is a need to take collective action. Echoing Uy’s points, Guray, who served as Student Council (SC) President in AY 1998-1999, added that Lasallians “should focus on being the next set of leaders of society”.
What more can the USG do?
Asked about the projects that the University Student Government (USG) should be doing in the future, Sabado stressed the importance of promoting awareness and vigilance among students on the current issues inside and outside the University.
“It is by having these things that you will be able to feel the urge to at least do something or contribute something meaningful, and align with people who have the capacity to do things,” she reasoned.
Guray, another former SC President, added that the voice of the USG “carries weight”, stressing that stances they take “can be used not just for the benefits [of] La Salle students, but [also] Filipinos in general”.
Meanwhile, Uy proposed that the USG consider aligning its initiatives by pondering on how a “world-class research university” should treat its “students who are adults”. Viewing it from this perspective, the USG, he added, can “negotiate” its relationship with the University, particularly when revising student policies or promoting inclusion and diversity in the University.
Challenges in online learning
USG President Lance Dela Cruz delved into the University’s online learning policy, pointing out that website problems in both Animo.sys and My.LaSalle added to the burden of students who lack internet connectivity and digital devices.
“If La Salle [is having difficulty] with the transition [online], what more on universities whose resources are not as vast as ours?” he elaborated.
Uy, a former K-12 Program Director in the Department of Education (DepEd), also highlighted the complications of providing tablets and educational tools to over 22 million primary and secondary education students across the country, adding that the DepEd’s current budget would not be enough to shoulder the costs.
Sabado also pointed out the need to provide infrastructure to ensure that students have internet connectivity to participate in these classes.
In response to this gap, some schools and student councils, Guray revealed, have reached out to “technology enablers such as telecommunication companies or device manufacturers and marketers” to help provide support.
Dela Cruz shared that the University has partnered with Smart to provide pocket WiFi units to students. “We have apps that we use, like Google Suite, Zoom, [and] Canvas—Smart made a new [internet] plan that specifically caters to this,” he said.
“You don’t have to make it perfect, as long as you’re progressing, and you don’t leave [the less privileged] behind, especially learners in the margins of our communities,” Uy declared.
