THE MAGNA Carta of Undergraduate Students’ Rights has finally been amended after 17 years. From January 8 to 11, the Sanggunian revised the 2002 Magna Carta, reviewing provisions on academics, mental health, gender equality, and sexual harassment, among others.
The branches of the Sanggunian Department of Students’ Rights and Welfare, namely the Commission Against Sexual Misconduct and Violence (CASMV), Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), and Commission on Mental Health (CMH) drafted and edited sections to go in line their respective advocacies.
According to Sanggunian Commissioner on Sociopolitical Involvement Troy Tarriela, “The Magna Carta now better protects students from socio-political persecution and ensures their academic rights.”
The Magna Carta’s ratification process, aimed to be completed before the end of April, includes the Sanggunian presenting it to several University offices, school and Vice President councils, and at a school forum.
Coinciding with this year’s General Elections from March 13-15, the Ateneo Commission on Elections held a plebiscite for the approval of the revision of the 2016 Constitution, which would include the Magna Carta revisions in the Bill of Rights of the 2019 Constitution. The results yielded a positive vote, along with another plebiscite to reallocate Php 1 million from the Sanggunian Fund to mental health subsidies.
Changes made
Bendaña explained that the 2002 Magna Carta’s main focus was the “systematic search for the truth.” According to her, the new Magna Carta was revised to reflect a new set of values.
“We believe that in the current context, it’s [no longer] about competence [and] excellence, but about compassion and social justice, so the [new] Magna Carta is geared towards that,” she said.
In line with this, one of the changes made to the 2002 Magna Carta was the addition of an article focused on the students’ right to safe spaces. Bendaña noted that this new article addresses topics such as psychological and emotional violence, gender-based discrimination, discrimination against impregnation, and rights of persons with special needs (PWSNs). These topics were not present in the 2002 Magna Carta.
Included in the revisions is a provision on sexual misconduct. This protects students from instances such as “derogatory or degrading remarks or innuendoes directed towards the members of one sex or sexual orientation used to describe a person, or verbal abuse with sexual overtones, malicious leering or ogling, gestures with lewd insinuation, and unwelcome inquiries or comments about a person’s sex life,” and other similar cases resulting to sexual harassment and sexual assault.
For the provisions on gender-based violence and the rights of PWSNs, the Magna Carta seeks to defend students against derogatory marks, as well as prohibition to participate in University activities and denial of opportunities, among others.
Apart from this, the amendments delineated the rights of the students in filing reports against perpetrators within and outside campus.
“Ultimately, we aim to achieve an Ateneo university that’s sensitive of other people’s needs, especially those [who are] marginalized,” Bendaña said.
Revision process
In revising the Magna Carta, Bendaña mentioned that the first four days of the process consisted of writing the revisions and proposal.
Afterwards, participating Sanggunian members in the revisions had meetings with the different offices affected by the added revisions to gain their endorsement, such as the Office of Guidance and Counseling in regards to revisions made on sections focused on mental health.
Bendaña mentioned that the Sanggunian had met with the affected offices one by one. This entailed presenting the relevant revisions to them, as well as consulting them to further improve the revisions before proceeding with the school forum presentation.
As of writing, the Sanggunian has already presented the Magna Carta to the Vice President’s Council, and has yet to meet with the legal team of the University to discuss the legal implications of certain wordings. The final step of the process is the Magna Carta’s presentation at a school forum for the students.
“Kaya ang ginagawa namin is iniisa-isa namin ang mga offices to get their endorsement, [so that] hopefully, before our term ends as Sanggunian, mapasa na ang Magna Carta,“ she said.
(That is why what we are doing is going to each office to get their endorsement, [so that] hopefully, before our term ends as Sanggunian, the Magna Carta will be passed.)
Long overdue
Given its 17-year age, the Sanggunian felt that the document had long been ripe for a revision.
Unlike the current student government, school year 2015-2016 Sanggunian Coordinator Luigi Del Rosario explained they were “severely undermanned” during his time.
He added that they “couldn’t take on something that big [revising the Magna Carta] as a priority then because there were more pressing things needed to be addressed and focused on” such as participation in the newly implemented curriculum and the 2016 National Elections.
“There were a number of outdated articles and a shortage of policies that simply did not answer to the new issues and social phenomena of the generation,” Tarriela said.
“Much like any other statute or institution, Ateneo’s Magna Carta is never perfect or ever really finished,” he explained. “It is ever-evolving and changing according to the needs of the student body,” he added.
