“[It] wasn’t that organized last year,” says Central Board (CB) Representative Maria* in Filipino. “This year, Sanggu has a clearer vision and provides a clearer path for officers like me.”

School year 2007-2008 was a year of controversy for the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila (Sanggu). Gadfly Society, a “secret society” that aimed to incite change by calling on Ateneo’s sectors, launched a blog labeling Sanggu as obsolete. The difficulties that year climaxed when Karl Satinitigan (IV BS LM), then Sanggu president, was ousted from office because he wasn’t enrolled.

This year, however, a lot has changed in Sanggu. In contrast to last year’s accusation of an absent government, Sanggu has launched widely publicized projects, such as the Bring-Your-Own-Baunan scheme and Ateneo Student Concern Center’s drop boxes.

But, how far have Sanggu officials sacrificed to initiate these changes? According to CB Representative Clarissa*, during the discernment talks, the Office for Student Activities (OSA) warned aspiring officers like her of the sacrifices they would have to make in their academic and personal lives. “From that, you’ll get the picture that there’s nothing you can do alongside Sanggu duties,” she says in a mix of Filipino and English.

Sacrifices have to be made

For some members, being a part of Sanggu means having to make a lot of sacrifices. For Maria, this means missing out on her friends’ get-togethers and family dinners. “When my parents talk about me running again, I say that I don’t want to run anymore,” she says in Filipino. “I don’t have that much control over my time anymore.”

In Clarissa’s case, this means not having enough time for academics. According to her, the time she could have spent on studying is now reserved for attending both CB and committee meetings.

Besides sacrificing time, being a Sanggu official can also mean having difficulties with his co-workers. Clarissa attributes this problem to the difficulty of communicating with them because of the differences in their class schedules. Says Clarissa, working with fellow representatives means having to compromise to their needs.

Late night meetings

According to Section 10 (Regular Meetings) of the CB’s revised Code of Internal Procedures (CIP), representatives should meet every Friday “at the time and venue agreed upon by its members.” As far as this year is concerned, meetings are held from 6 to 9 pm usually at the Manny V. Pangilinan Student Leadership Center.

Other CIP provisions also state that tardiness and early departure will be partly considered as an absence depending on the fraction of time the officer attended. According to the Student Judicial Court executive report The Inquiry there are six block and course reps that are subjected to trial for exceeding the number of allowed cuts.

As it takes Maria a while to arrive at home, she usually leaves meetings 30 minutes earlier. She believes that it might already be too late if she leaves at the end of meetings.

“It pisses me off when [my co-workers] don’t understand that I have to leave because it’s too late,” she says. “I’d rather miss some parts of the meeting than be stabbed or held up.”

Says Clarissa, “[It would be better] if we could move the meeting in an earlier time. [That would] improve attendance and make people more efficient.”

As far as Sanggu’s weekly meetings are concerned, Omi Castaňar (V AB DS) agrees that scheduling the meetings at an earlier time would be better. It is difficult, however, to allot a three-hour slot that the majority can attend. He also initially planned to have the three-hour meetings moved on Mondays, but with the schedule problems that arose, they continue to be held on Fridays.

‘Juggling obligations’

According to Ateneo School of Government Leadership Program Staff member Maricel de Guzman, being a student-leader is not an easy job. Being a member of student organizations like Sanggu means having to develop the skill of juggling one’s obligations.

“Juggling [obligations] is a skill. To get that skill, you need to practice it. It’s a process to achieve that,” she says. This means knowing how to mediate between the administrators and the students, as well as balancing it with his personal life.

Being a student leader also means having to encounter different kinds of student leaders. Says de Guzman, there are dominating leaders who set their subordinates into a specific direction. According to her, leaders shouldn’t dwell much on being too dominating as this may be misinterpreted by their co-workers.

There are also facilitative leaders who often encourage their co-workers to participate in making decisions. According to de Guzman, student leaders should be geared toward this kind as much as possible.

Nevertheless, she believes that being a leader boils down to providing avenues for a particular community’s voice to be heard. “[It] is about being the voice of a certain community and providing [its members] with the necessary framework or [guidelines] on how to live through change.”

In Castaňar’s case, being a student leader means acting like one every minute of his life. Though his academic and leadership duties would often clash, he makes sure that they don’t impair his other commitments. “You have to be on your best performance because people will not really remember you for the good things but for the bad things,” he says.

Mixed feelings

Like in the past years, however, students have mixed feelings for the student council.

Upon getting into the Ateneo, Block Representative Paul* expected a certain presence from Sanggu. But, after one semester, he thinks that it’s not as visible as varsity teams and other student organizations.

”[Some sectors of the community] went overboard at some points,” he says, referring to the criticism that Sanggu is irrelevant. ”[But,] it was a wake-up call of some sort.”

Meanwhile, OSA Director Christopher Castillo believes that Sanggu is performing well. ”If we grade them from one to ten, with then being the highest, they have an eight,” he says. ”Is that good? Yes.”

Nevertheless, to some extent, these sectors might also have too high expectations for these student leaders. Says de Guzman, these high expectations are most likely caused by the numerous local and national issues that the school deals with. She also says that, with the Ateneo’s culture to be magis or to give more, the community can’t be blamed for setting these standards.

She says in Filipino, ”[These student leaders] should probably study the community’s expectations of them… and find ways to innovate.”

Forming leaders

At the end of the day, however, officers like Clarissa find their jobs at Sanggu fulfilling. “Perhaps, the 0.01 decrease in QPI [is just fine] because you didn’t exert much time or effort as before in academics,” she says.

Castañar shares the same sentiment. “Personally, I’m always telling myself that after one school year, I’ve grown a lot. I’m already reaping the seeds of maturity I had because of my Sanggu experience.”

Although Maria didn’t find her job fulfilling during her first year at Sanggu, she says that her current position has made her see the student council from a different light. Says Maria, her experience this semester has offset much of the annoyance she felt. “When you’re a student leader, it’s important that you have to acknowledge all the different experiences,” she says.

*Names have been changed to protect the individuals.

How well do you know Sanggu?

Art. 5, Sec. 2 (Declaration of Principles, Purposes, and Policies of the Sanggunian):
The Sanggunian is founded on the principles of representation, participatory democracy, accountability, (…) and efficient and effective service towards the holistic formation of the Atenean.

Art. 6, Sec. 1 (Composition of the Sanggunian):
[The Sanggunian] is composed of all members of the Central Board, the School Boards, the Student Judicial Court, the Commission on Elections, The Sectoral Councils, and the Sanggunian’s Special Units.

Art. 6, Sec. 2 (The Central Board):
The Central Board shall be composed of (…) (a) the President, the Vice President, the Secretary-General, and the Finance Officer, all elected by the student body at large; (b) the Central Board Representatives; and (c) the Sectoral Representatives.

Art. 6, Sec. 3 (The School Board):
Each School Board shall be composed of (…) (a) the Chairperson and the Secretary-Treasurer elected by the each school’s student body at large; (b) an Executive Officer from each year level; and (c) block and course representatives.
Matters concerning particular schools fall under the jurisdiction of the School Boards.

Art. 7, Sec. 1 (Power and Responsibilities of the Central Board):
(c.) To ensure fair and legislative representation in all University bodies whose activities and decisions concern the welfare of the students.

Data taken from: The 2005 Constitution of the Undergraduate Students of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools