If there is one thing the world can thank a contemporary American politician for, it is probably the mainstreaming of the world’s environmental concerns. Indeed, following the immense success of his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, only climate change denialists would still attempt to argue with Al Gore’s decision to dabble in filmmaking.
The University Board of Trustees might have been on to something, then, by appointing a climate scientist as the next leader of our university. The new University President, Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, represents a new era of the Ateneo, one entrenched in a context of worsening national crises and a national leadership that chronically misunderstands what the country needs.
While the school achieved major milestones under the leadership of Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, the time is now ripe for a fresh analysis of Philippine society, and how the school can best do its part in the business of nation-building. Fr. Nebres became president when the promises of a restored democracy were still fresh. However, now that many of these promises have been broken or remain unfulfilled, the Filipino people are eager to find a new direction—and the Ateneo must not be afraid to participate in this struggle.
The chances of this look promising under Fr. Villarin. In The GUIDON’s news-feature about him this month, the scientist-priest mouths strong words about the Ateneo’s involvement in politics. “The Ateneo cannot be unpolitical,” he says. “What the Ateneo says or does not say will affect this country… We should speak up.”
These words are bursting at the seams with prospects of affording the Ateneo greater relevance to the Filipino situation. And for our new university president, aligning the green efforts of the university with the people’s struggles for the environment is a logical first step.
The Ateneo already has its share of efforts for the environment, and these have been met with some success. In 2009, for example, the Ateneo Environmental Management Coalition (AEMC) was formed to lead all the green initiatives on campus. The coalition’s programs were not exactly met with enthusiasm, but at the very least, the AEMC succeeded in instigating changes in the way Ateneans managed their waste. Moreover, Fr. Villarin says that he has already met with the AEMC and has given them new marching orders: explore how to solve traffic congestion on campus.
While the Ateneo’s attempts to make itself a greener university are all well and good, it has to recognize the impact it can make if it devoted the same amount of effort to the fight for the Philippine environment.
Currently, for example, foreign mining firms show no signs of letting up in their plunder of national patrimony, and this seems to be encouraged by the government with its flawed mining industry liberalization policies. The results of such policies include displaced communities, environmental degradation and the industry’s measly contribution of 1.2% to the GDP, even with the billions of dollars’ worth of Philippine minerals exported abroad.
Fr. Villarin said that the community should speak up about political concerns—here is one that just begs for attention. While we manage traffic congestion on campus, perhaps it’s also worth our time to take a good look at issues such as this.
