During a recent event, I happened to be seated beside a friend who looked uneasy as she entered the venue late. Her watery eyes were evident despite the dim lights and as I approached her, she said, "The quota has not been reached yet."
It was the second and final day of the 2010 Sanggunian General Elections. This friend of mine was running for a certain position in the Ateneo student government. Instead of being worried about the coming results, my friend was concerned if a failure of elections would occur. It was roughly one hour before the tallying of votes when I learned about this situation. And at that moment, I personally thought it would be hardly possible to get around 300 more votes in the late afternoon and bring the elections to a successful conclusion. Brooding on this matter for a couple of days, I have finally decided to write my first blog post...
II. Body
Never had I given a damn about the politics in our university and more so in the national context until I became a registered voter. I used to be both an apathetic student of Ateneo and apathetic citizen of the Philippines. However, unlike other people, I have not lost hope in changes, reforms, and improvements that the student government and the local and national leaders can bring about. Of course, we just cannot sit idly and wait for the changes to take place. We cannot just wait for them to realize their platforms - their plans that are hopefully for the common good. Rather, we should participate in the process of realizing the all-encompassing transformation that we demand. And in order to minify further didacticism, here are my thoughts: The right of suffrage is both a privilege and a responsibility. We ought to partake in the building of the nation. A single vote can make a difference, a big difference in fact. And as I have learned from Fr. Dacanay (not from Spiderman), "The greater the freedom, the greater the responsibility."
I remember myself participating in the mock elections, tagged as Blue Vote, that was held in school last December 2009. The results of these mock elections have not only been published in school papers, but have been also broadcast on the national television. Also, several presidential fora were held inside the campus, as well as in other universities in the Philippines. Hopefully, these telecast events would make an impression in the minds of Filipino voters and a difference -- slight, perhaps -- in the outcome of these forthcoming national elections. All these efforts are commendable, of course, in order to inform the voters about the aspirants. As responsible voters, we must know to a great extent our candidates whom we are giving our one big vote. Being informed will surely make a difference.
The same quality is also necessary in our fight for our environment. You should have already been aware of the aggravating condition our Earth has been experiencing, which thousands and thousands of people have been suffering from. And upon learning this, have you done anything to help? I have asked myself the same question and have answered it in and through my own small ways. I used to buy bottled water during my lunch. I used to drink canned softdrinks and would always prefer drinking with a straw. I admit having those habits until I was struck by what I read in the recent issue from The Guidon, our university's official student publication. Aside from reading the headlines regarding Gibo's triumph in mock polls, I have come across a relevant article, namely, "The Green Explosion: The things Ateneans need to sacrifice for the environment". And next to it is a section where one of the comments read, "...the problem lies not within the Ateneo's efforts, but in the apathy of its students." This was a punch on my face. And I hope you've been punched, too.
Do you remember Ondoy and Pepeng? Have you heard of the tsunami warnings? Have you read about the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile?
Perhaps, it's nature calling to us. Perhaps, it's God talking to us. And perhaps, I can start talking about religious apathy but I believe it in itself calls for a separate discussion.
III. Conclusion
Now, I am proud to say I am doing my part—being one of the many (possibly, an overstatement) students who abide by the laudable motives of improving the status quo inside and outside of Ateneo. It is good being free but being responsible, aware, and active member of the society could do a world of good. Let's start making changes. Let's start within ourselves and influence one another. Let's start now and not wait until it's too late.
IV. Recommendations
The same quality is also necessary in our fight for our environment. You should have already been aware of the aggravating condition our Earth has been experiencing, which thousands and thousands of people have been suffering from. And upon learning this, have you done anything to help? I have asked myself the same question and have answered it in and through my own small ways. I used to buy bottled water during my lunch. I used to drink canned softdrinks and would always prefer drinking with a straw. I admit having those habits until I was struck by what I read in the recent issue from The Guidon, our university's official student publication. Aside from reading the headlines regarding Gibo's triumph in mock polls, I have come across a relevant article, namely, "The Green Explosion: The things Ateneans need to sacrifice for the environment". And next to it is a section where one of the comments read, "...the problem lies not within the Ateneo's efforts, but in the apathy of its students." This was a punch on my face. And I hope you've been punched, too.
Do you remember Ondoy and Pepeng? Have you heard of the tsunami warnings? Have you read about the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile?
Perhaps, it's nature calling to us. Perhaps, it's God talking to us. And perhaps, I can start talking about religious apathy but I believe it in itself calls for a separate discussion.
III. Conclusion
Now, I am proud to say I am doing my part—being one of the many (possibly, an overstatement) students who abide by the laudable motives of improving the status quo inside and outside of Ateneo. It is good being free but being responsible, aware, and active member of the society could do a world of good. Let's start making changes. Let's start within ourselves and influence one another. Let's start now and not wait until it's too late.
IV. Recommendations
