10/02/2023
I can relate. I miss you Alma Mater.
𝗖𝗙𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
"𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘰 𝘶𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘢-𝘊𝘍𝘈𝘚 𝘶𝘺!"
Dogs attack at night where they cannot be seen. A concept that started a stinky fight in the pool of social media where different skins dwell. USM with 1,024 hectares is not a small campus after all. Inside we see tricycles ferrying students to and fro their classrooms daily.
Recently, however, the issue on the location of the former College of Fisheries and Animal Sciences (CFAS) has targeted a big population of students bitten by the fact that they were blamed for the inconvenience they did not actually cause. When we focus on the bigger picture, the "CFAS problem" is not an issue of location but rather an issue of tardiness among USMians.
Irresponsibility leads to the tendency of putting the blame to the other. Before people assume that you are the problem, you started putting the bag to other people creating a social stigma. Majority of student commuters would frown every time they hear the phrase, "CFAS, 'kol." Apparently, it has a domino effect that activates a chain reaction causing for other students to also verbally attack the ones who have a schedule to the said location. They became the center of mockery and entertainment on different applications. But to strip down the issue to the core, they are actually discriminated and sometimes rejected by numerous drivers because they are labeled as 'inconvenience' to the other public commuters. How crazy it may seem that the individuals who are constantly degrading them are also USMians?
One's tardiness is the utmost reason why one is late in class. The CFAS building is just a few meters away from the College of Agriculture nearing the USM gate and it won't actually take up too much time to take the route. Dropping the "may CFAS pa kasi" card should be considered invalid and callous when the shade here is you messed up your schedule for failing to get up and prepare on time. One commenter was right. Instead of telling other people, "CFAS? ay dele lang...ayaw sa CFAS malate ka ana," how about "magbugtaw kag sayo para bisan muadto pa ug CFAS ang tricycle dili ka ma-late."
Perhaps, it is true for all of us that we sometimes slip into our schedules. We struggle with time management, not to mention other external factors why we end up late in school. Valid or not, there are reasons. However, once is enough. To be in the same situation multiple times reveals the unspoken fact that the problem is in you and not in the people around you. To be a member of a public institution is to share with almost everything including time. Responsibility is a complex thing that doesn't stay within ourselves but stretches out to the community that we are living in.
The CFAS blaming must be flushed down the drain before it fuels to a bigger misconception and stigma. Give a good try to solutions that concern our own personal development. We are students. We're here to learn. Responsibility is one of the virtues we have to craft within us, although it is not directly implied, yet it is innately embedded in our educational system to help students learn how to be respectful and responsible citizens of this country.
✍️: Kristine Mae Suela | MT Intern
💻: Marwil Billones | MT Layout Artist
