WARNING: WALL OF TEXT
Okay. I just think it seems quite elitist to focus on helping one university. Especially because its a top institution, because education may be a right, but its also damn well a privilege. Maybe I am placing my own prejudices on the argument so I can be totally off here. But here in the UK the two top institutions (oxbridge) are made up of 50% privately educated individuals (Eton, Harrow, Winchester etc) even though they make up 7% of the population. I suppose the conclusion that can be drawn from that is not that rich and members of the elite are more intelligent then the rest of the population but they have the resources to get their children to the top institutions. This is beginning to change here as its become to be seen as a problem (a subset of a wider social class problem).
In that sense, education is definitely a privilege and being in the "top 1%" is a result of hard work but also because of the inherent privileges afforded to people at birth. It's really hard to have a complete meritocracy and say education is a right when not everyone begins at the same place because public education in most countries does not compare to private education. But as I said I dont know much about UP so...hahahaha. >.>
Anyway I think that went off on unrelated tangent.
I understand what you are saying, Imp.
But actually this university that I'm talking about, UP, given its supposed academic excellence, being one of the top schools in the country, is ideally fucking cheap. Because, it being a state university and subsidized by the government, its tuition per semester is close to nil. That was back in the day. I reached a time when it was 300php/unit, or close to 7 USD! But in the 1980s it was about 40php/ unit. So a good load of 15-18 units takes us to about 6-7,000. per semester. Other state universities even go way lower than this, however, it's not the same campus, and not the same standards. Most importantly, not the same environment. Which will be explained in a short while.
not that i agree that these "rich" kids be not allowed in state universities. i say, give them a lesser priority than those who came from secondary institutions with appropriate merits and qualifications. having graduated from one, I've seen such where tuition assurance is given priority over academic excellence.
For UP, there is a lower passing grade of admission for students from provincial areas, because of the understanding that their educational standards are lower in the provinces, and they are the ones who are in more need of the subsidized services of this school. They are top priority. Plus, the school also identifies the top students from the rural areas to give them free review sessions to prepare these students for the entrance exam. so, again, ideally, the school is trying hard to get the best students not only from the good schools, but also from the schools in rural areas all over the country, to ensure that they give everybody level playing ground.
That's the first hurdle, and that's the solution they came up with. This was applied decades ago.
(to those besides Imperium, this was explained by the chancellor to the media in the press release about the kristel case).
Next hurdle: So students from rural areas that deserve quality education by a state university already passed the exam. The problem lies now in getting them to enroll. Because many families can't even provide travel expenses for their kid to go to said campus. Tuition may be cheap for the middle class, but for the struggling citizens, you may have to learn many begging techniques. Still, I think the university is very lenient, and has provided many schemes to tackle the problem.
Students from rural areas are given priority in the campus dormitories that are also dirt cheap (500php/month- with food). And you can apply for the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program, where they assess your financial capabilities, and adjust your tuition accordingly, they can even give you allowances and refunds. Most government scholarship programs are applicable here. (you can even notice the difference between a physics scholar and a engineering scholar- physics has a higher budget, maybe because they're so few?) You can apply for student loans. You can become a student assistant and get certain fees waived equivalent to your working hours, etc. etc.
And because of these many schemes, you will find that in UP you meet many people from different classes (rich, middle, poor) coming together for intellectual pursuit alone. That is the ideal that the university aimed to achieve a long time ago. You may be surrounded by valedictorians and salutatorians of their own high schools, from all over the country, different provinces, different cultures, and that's what's amazing about this university. So it's in the very least, elitist, as you say. In fact, it is one of the very open schools you can find in the country, provided you just have the brains to get there.
The university I used to go to, anyway. Because, like I said, recently,
tuition fees skyrocketed to more than 500%!! And they revised the financial assistance program quite drastically. That's what discouraged the kids from provinces and rural areas to even consider taking the exam.
Problems in UP:
1. Poor Security. Too many students killed. UP Los Banos from Safest University became Most Dangerous
2. Almost all things are legal, Fraternity, Rally, Not Wearing Proper Attire during Class (Pwedeng mag-tsinelas lang.) Para laging may rebellion sa school. Lahat na halos ng bawal sa ibang universities ay legal/pwede sa UP.
Takot ba sa restrictions ang mga tao sa UP?!
3. Many Students are Rich. It's a State University, rich kids should not be in UP.
Here now I can elaborate on why the UP culture is not at all elitist.
Re: Poor security-
this is because UP insisted on an open campus, and even supports the many communities around it, even allowing non-student communities to settle in the campus property. Since its area is so effing big (second only to UP LB, with its own public transportation system, so big it has its own zip code). I thought it was for good intentions, since many children also loved to play in its fields and gardens, and outsiders can actually sit in classes from time to time. That's how open it was. Eventually people abused this so crime rates increased. They had to tighten security- even if it kind of went against its principles of an "open campus".
re: UP LB,
(Los Baños campus, for you Imp) that's because UP LB has the most violent frat wars- so obviously their safety there is compromised.
re: Fraternities/sororities:
that's a totally different issue that could warrant another wall of text. So i won't comment.
re: Not wearing proper attire-
This is because they encourage freedom. Not only that, given the fact that many students are poor, they are lenient with dress codes. It also promotes your own style, your own way of taking on the world, if it were. What is "proper attire" anyway?
What's so wrong with attending class wearing slippers? if you could comply with the academic requirements, if you could exchange brilliant ideas, what's wrong with the way you dress? It makes you feel at home and comfortable while putting your head to work, instead of worrying about material excesses.
re: rallies-
It is normal for thinking citizens to question rules and policies. The world is never perfect, and anybody is free to speak their mind. The teachers tolerate this behavior because they cannot stop students from expressing whatever they feel. They cannot take away this right, and the university "upholds justice" and "fighting for your rights". It's not
every student who takes up arms and stuff, I for one was the apathetic kind. Also, the teachers know that the students love the university and would not endanger its campus, most activists choose information dissemination over violence. some even ask a few minutes of class time (though I hate it) to tell everyone about their cause in a calm way, without need of megaphones or placards. It is in critical thinking that leaders and shakers are born.
re: rich students:
now why would you stop them from enrolling in UP when they have the brains for it? Maybe there are schools which admit students who are none too bright but can bribe their way in with money. But at least I'm confident it doesn't happen in UP.
Recently, because of the tuition fee increase, only the rich and upper middle-class could dare to take the exams and enroll. I was still in the campus that time (my last year, although our tuition as existing students were unaffected) and I did notice the sharp change in culture. Before it was the rich who were mocked in the campus, they were the butt end of the jokes, since they were the minority then. But when the tuition spiked, damn, students came mostly from the Manila high schools, they flaunted their audis with their chauffeurs and their Longchamp bags. As opposed to the time when we didn't care which high school anybody came from, since it was obviously a no-name school from some rural province.
CONCLUSION!
That's why, I don't blame the administration for the Kristel case, as I always believed in what the university upheld. I blame the government for hacking the educational budget to pieces and leaving them the scraps, driving the university to increase its tuition that was the root of all evil.
