A culture of extraction

I pitied the status of student organizations nowadays. I do not know if they realize their importance. I do not know if they realize their responsibilities to their members. Current online debates point towards officers demanding obligations from their members but setting aside their responsibilities to them. My impression is that student organizations nowadays have become a victim of a culture of extraction.

Leading is not about forcing others to follow you but it is about you being a natural magnet for others to follow. Is there freedom when you force others to be free? I still maintain my position that membership in student organizations should be free (see previous article). But the current status of student organizations led me to another perspective on looking at them. What I see are organization who are extractive. I see organizations who look at members as cash cows. It is not just milking the cow but peeling the leather out of them.  

During the enrolment time this school year, the administration was criticized initially because of their decision to demand full miscellaneous fees. But others failed to see is that organizations have their own enrolment demands. In some colleges, one cannot proceed enrolment unless they paid up their "obligations" to these organizations. We ask them to pay outright but delay provision of their needs. And when members demand services, officers would reply, "Kayo na lang ang mag-officer. Akala niyo madali ang maging officer?" It is where there is deadlock. Officers do not clearly see their responsibilities. That they have the responsibility to be creative in the financial management. That funds does not always come from members. And only the best leaders can see this. I dream of organizations which conduct activities without contribution from members. Your schoolmates are not richie rich kids and every centavo is important.

Sometimes student organization are being used by some faculty to perform tasks in the name of student development when they cannot provide these services. When we cannot provide an equipment, we let them contribute for themselves. We say that they have provided a little so they need to provide more by themselves. Since we cannot just impose higher tuition and matriculation fees because of the restrictions imposed by the government, we insinuate our student leaders to perform by forcing their members to contribute. The burden was pass on to student organizations. I remember one time that a faculty member would organize a seminar about his subject and invite external speakers. Using an organization, students would contribute for this seminar. What I do not understand is that the seminar was about his subject which he could lectured on in the class in the first place. If he do not have the capacity to deliver the lecture, then at least he should have financed the seminar. Afterall, the students have paid the tuition fee for that particular subject. This is where a student organization become an accomplice of a faculty's waterloo.

This is where state universities fail. We lament the inadequacies of the government and so we turn our attention to our students. But to what extent? There should be a limit or else we find ourselves delivering mediocre service to students who are paying more fees than when they should have been in a private school. Giving more than the expense of an individual student is the essence of a state university.

sisihan at hugasan ng kamay

(this the the fifth and last article of the board exam series: Tip to top; It's a team play; bored teachers; administravision)

Sa isang tagayan:
Alumni: Nakakahiya ka student, dinungisan mo ang record ng skul natin bakit ka bumagsak sa board?

Parent: oo nga eh, sayang ang ginastos ko dyan
Student: Huwag ako ang sisihin ninyo. Si teacher ko kasi kulang ang binigay na lesson. Akalain mo ni isa sa mga questions sa board ay hindi man lang niya naituro.
Teacher: Ba't ako ang sisihin mo, ang hirap kasi sa inyo mga estudyante, spoon-feeding kayo. Gusto ninyo sinusubo lahat. Ni hindi nga kayo pumupunta sa library
Student: Palagi naman kasing wala si Teacher
Teacher: Owws... kayo nga ang gusto palaging walang klase eh. Mas nauuna pa nga kayo kesa memorandum

Student: At wala pa kaming sapat na laboratory.
Teacher: kung laboratory, huwag ako sisihin mo. Sisihin mo si Admin. walang suporta sa atin
Admin: Bakit ako? May binibili naman tayong mga lab equipment ah
Teacher: pero kulang
Admin: Kulang pa yon? halos naubos na pondo natin, kulang pa iyon?
Student: Paano ho ba naubos ang pondo, eh kulang naman ang lab namin?

Parent: Paano maubos, nagbayad naman kami ng 10k kada semester ah.
Admin: sampung libo? eh 5k lang naman sinisingal ko ah.
Parent: oh ito oh ang mga resibo. Acquaintance party, kickout party, pasiklaban party, field trip, intrams fee, society fee, LSG fee, fines.
Admin: hindi kami ang nagasingil nyan!
Parent: bakit may resibo? niloko mo ako anak ah.
Student: malay ko! katabi man nagabigay ng enrolment form yung nagasingil nyan. hindi nga kami makakuha ng forn kung hindi kami makabayad niyan eh. tapos di kami bigyan ng pre-clearance pag wala signature nila.

Admin: Basta kami wala kaming kinalaman dyan. Hinahayaan namin yang mga student orgs na iyan kasi kami naniniwala sa right to self-organization nila
Parent: Eh saan pala pumupunta yung 5k namin kung wala namang lab yung anak ko?
Admin: kung tutuusin kulang pa yan eh. Halos nahihirapan nga kaming sweldohan ang mga contractual namin eh. Tapos pinipilit pa kami ni Teacher na magpataas ng sweldo at bonus.
Teacher: karapatan namin yun!
Admin: kung kakulangan sa sweldo, huwag kami ang sisihin nyo. Kasalanan ni DBM yan. kinaltasan niya ang budget natin.

DBM: nanahimik ang tao, ginugulo niyo! Anong kinaltasan eh tinaasan ko pa nga ng 10% ang mga budget niyo eh.
Admin: tinaasan nga pero sinabihan nyo kaming taasan din sweldo ng mga permanent personnel namin. Eh di parang wala!
Parent at Alumni: Oo nga. Bakit ba kulang binibigay mo DBM sa kay Admin?
DBM: Hoy Parent at Alumni, magbayad kayo ng tamang buwis para may ipamigay kami kay Admin!