In her bid as College of Liberal Arts (CLA) president, Nadine Francisco of Santugon sa Tawag ng Panahon unveils career and advocacy-driven plans to elevate student voices and build an inclusive and student-centered CLA.
The LaSallian: What core leadership values have guided you as chief operating officer of the Arts College Government (ACG), and how will those values influence your approach as college president?
Francisco: For me, ‘yung isa sa mga values na talagang pinanindigan ko is to be consultative, and that’s where my vision actually for CLA right now revolves, because being consultative for me means you get to really understand what the students want, you get to understand what they need, and you’re not giving them, kumbaga, baseless platforms. You’re giving them something that is effective, something that they can actually use and something they can work with. So as chief operating officer, I was able to use this with regards to the projects. Even as simple as consulting with them how the process would go, [like] how would you like to proceed with this kind of project, especially with the project heads. And this is something I can bring as the next college president, especially for my constituents and for the students, that I get to ask them what they want, [and] I get to hear their voices. Because at the end of the day, the core of the student government is the students.
The LaSallian: What do you think are the most pressing issues within CLA that do not receive enough attention? What are some initiatives and changes you hope to enact as college president to mitigate these issues?
Francisco: For me, I’d say one of the most pressing issues is hindi nila alam kung kanino sila lalapit, especially in terms of student concerns. So even though we have the Arts College Government, even though we have the FAST units, they’re still not aware of who to reach out to. And as the next college president, one of the initiatives that I plan to do is called “Pulso ng Kolehiyo.” And this will be done through focus group discussions and town halls by the start or by the end of the term, and we get to really understand what pressing issues the students are facing. Kasi syempre, we only know so much that, yes, there’s enlistment issues, preenlistment, program petitions, and everything. But then once you ask a student, they always have something to tell, something new that you were not notified about. And through “Pulso ng Kolehiyo,” after those FGDs, those town halls, we’ll be able to create a college situationer, kumbaga parang, a term-end report that we can [give to] the administration. So this can also help amplify the policies that we can raise to the administration that this is something that we can change in CLA.
The LaSallian: How would you make sure that this FGD would highlight the diverse voices of CLA students?
Francisco: There’s this committee called the Council of Student Sectors for ACG. And it’s composed of many different sectors… like [the] LGBT community, for example. And then…we also have the program representatives…for a batch. They’ll be able to, kahit kumbaga, they stand as representatives for their specific batches. They’ll be able to say out, or voice out the concerns of their respective programs. And for me, the idea there kasi is, though understandable, that konti lang, minsan ‘yung mga for FGDs, sometimes ilan lang, maybe five to eight people. But for me, I’d say relevance is more important to me. Because that one voice of the student can make a great change already. Hindi lang siya parang, ‘Ay, kasi isa lang ‘yung nagsabi nito,’ parang hindi na siya dapat gawan ng aksyon. They’re still a CLA student, and they’re still part of our CLA.
The LaSallian: In previous years, CAP13 has faced challenges in mobilization and representation. What systems, whether for reform or support, do you plan to implement to strengthen their participation and effectiveness within the college’s assembly of organizations?
Francisco: There’s this thing we do for ACG, it’s called the “CAP13 Summit.” It includes all the CAP13 orgs (organizations). For me, it’s really hard for students to stay engaged, but that’s where I come in as college president. I get to talk to them about the importance of their home orgs, not just as orgs but also as platforms for addressing student concerns. We have program representatives who also represent those orgs. Through them, we can reach their home organizations. More than that, it’s important to communicate early. Kaya before the term starts if elected we’ll begin talking to the CAP13 orgs and their newly elected presidents. We’ll present our plan for ACG and the kind of sistema we want to implement to address student concerns more effectively. We also want to hear their own sistema and collaborate with them to create a more consolidated platform for student concerns
The LaSallian: In previous terms, many home orgs weren’t given clearance to operate, which left some students in the department without guidance. What are your plans to ensure these orgs remain visible? And if they can’t provide support, what happens to the students they might leave behind?
Francisco: So like I’ve mentioned before, as college president, you’re not only the head of your government; you also have a seat with the administration and the departments. So me, as college president, if ever that’s the case, ‘yung home org mismo, [if] they’re not cleared, they really can’t run their projects. You can’t even continue as an organization. With that, we [will] reach out directly to the department. Because at the end of the day, we don’t want the students to be left behind. I’m very close to the issue of home organizations because I’m also an academic chairperson, so I handle program representatives. It’s really hard sometimes to connect with home orgs, especially if they reply late, especially during enlistment. So we go directly to the admin, to the department, so we can still help the students more effectively and efficiently.
The LaSallian: CLA has one of the largest and most diverse student populations due to its courses primarily tackling psychology, culture, politics, and international relations, among many more humanities. How would you accommodate all the diverse ideologies and backgrounds in CLA?
Francisco: I think ‘yun ‘yung isa sa mga beauty [of being] a CLA student because we get to enjoy a very diverse community; we get to explore. There are psychology students, for example, who want to explore being a communication arts student because they see, ‘Oh, this is what you do pala.’
Aside from division, what we want for the next administration is to give students liberating representation. A liberating representation means we empower them as individuals. Kanina (July 9) sa MDA (miting de avance), nabanggit ng FAST24 batch legislator ko, si Ken Cayanan, na may red-tagging pa rin [even] within our University, and that’s something we want to address. We want to free students from those stereotypes and stigmas. With the different identities in our community, it’s important we give them a platform to enjoy and explore. Dito papasok yung isa sa mga initiatives ko. It’s called “Liberal Advocacies in Motion,” and basically, it’s like an NGO (non-governmental showcase). It will be a two-phase project: for phase one, students can discover what advocacies they want. If you’re a mental health advocate, then that’s okay, but if you still want to be more socially aware and reach out to society, we’ll help with that, too. Then in phase two, dito papasok ‘yung immersive experiences. For example, if your advocacy is animal welfare, we can partner with DLSU PUSA and lobby for better policies for our campus cats. That platform is important, it doesn’t just impact you as an individual; it also helps you impact society and [the] university.
The LaSallian: Moving on from the previous question, some CLA students feel disconnected from college-wide activities. Amid various needs, what are your plans to increase visibility, accessibility, and trust between the CLA student body and the ACG?
Francisco: I think that’s really one of the most pressing issues that we have right now. Kaya ko rin sinabi no’ong una na importante sa akin yung maging consultative, because it allows us to understand what kind of activities the students actually want. Kasi we can give them this platform, we can give them these opportunities, but then what if they don’t need it? What if they don’t want it? Dito papasok yung principle of being consultative, because you get to make something abstract [into] something concrete.
Meron akong initiative called the Liberal Arts Career Program. Medyo centered siya sa career for CLA. I’ve noticed even freshmen are very career-oriented. They want internships early, which is great because they get to explore. That’s why we give them this program, not just for internships and opportunities, but also funding. For example, [we offer] research grants and thesis [funding]. As a ComArts student, mahal talaga ang thesis. And, this will be in partnership with the CLA administration, DLSU Puso, and, if ever, the Executive Treasurer
The LaSallian: What are some of your personal advocacies, either related to CLA or social issues in general, that you hope to bring awareness to and/or mitigate through this position?
Francisco: The state of press freedom in our country right now is very troubling. That’s why I want to bring the advocacy of press freedom. Kaya meron ako yung project ng “Liberal Advocacies in Motion” because I really want to enhance these advocacies, kasi these advocacies are not just there, na you can just say you fight for them. It’s very important that we get to voice out these opinions that we have because we have the right to speech, but the right to speech should never be a privilege—it should be a right, it should continue to be a right. This is why I really advocate for press freedom kasi for me importante that not only do you get to speak out what you want to say, but at the same time never be afraid to speak your truth.
The LaSallian: To follow up, how do you plan use your position to spread more awareness to the student population, especially with CLA being social and political and value speaking out too?
Francisco: Aside from the project “Liberal Advocacies in Motion,” I want to focus once again on the liberating representation we want to give them. For me, it is important that we exercise our right to speech because these people are not just fighting for our country, they’re fighting for the Filipino people. One way I can do that is just build a community, to shape a community—a community where we’re not afraid to voice out any of our opinions. At the end of the day, it is a discussion, and you are there to understand where others are coming from. ‘Yun din ang mga importante na you get to discuss [that] this is my opinion on that issue. If others may think it’s bad, then let’s discuss why you think it’s bad, so we can help you understand the root cause of it.
The LaSallian: CLA is known for its strong culture of political consciousness and advocacy. How do you plan to uphold and cultivate this culture in your leadership, and potentially share this with the rest of the University?
Francisco: [The] “Liberal Advocacies in Motion” initiative. It’s one of the things that I’m really passionate about because this initiative not only allows us to be knowledgeable and socially aware, but we get to actualize those ideas. Kumbaga, step one is getting to know the social issues, [and] getting to know the advocacy. Step two is actually making the action, [and] going out there and helping the society. Because for us, this project, this initiative, helps us turn our passion into action.
The LaSallian: If elected, what legacy do you want to leave as CLA College President?
Francisco: For me, the only legacy I want to leave is not really a legacy, but an impact. It’s that they (students) get to understand themselves more and be more connected with their identity. It’s important to know and understand who you are and who you want to be because that’s part of your college experience. That’s why we envision a student-centered liberal arts experience, because we really want to focus on you, focus on the core, [and] be reminded that we are doing this for you. As for the legacy, I just really want my fellow students to feel more secure in their identity. For me, isa sa mga proudest moments ko or masasabi ko na fulfilled na ako is when I get to know that these people made a change. May it be for themselves or for others.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
