At the Margins
jdelima@theguidon.com
The Assembly, the political science organization of the Ateneo, now called The Ateneo Assembly and sporting a new logo, totally revamped its face this school year to members of the Ateneo community.
Remarkably, it organized an official administrative board, with more members stepping up apart from the executive officers to accomplish tasks needed to more effectively carry out projects, among others. Its constituency is also now represented by a student per batch.
Beyond rebranding and certain operational adjustments, The Assembly also firmly asserted its importance in politicizing the otherwise apathetic Ateneo student body. In the September 2012 issue of The GUIDON, The Assembly made the front page in conveying its plans to empower all student political parties in the Loyola Schools.
In turn, however, this is perhaps why The Assembly has generally distanced itself from recent activities spearheaded by its once most closely affiliated party, the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada). During Crusada’s Maguindanao Massacre prayer vigil in front of Gate 2.5 last November 26, for example, The Assembly was nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile, The Assembly has also not participated in the efforts of different groups in and outside the Ateneo, which includes not only Crusada but also the Sanggunian, the Ateneo Resident Students Association and the Task Force Anti-Apeco. Even UP Alyansa and Cardinal Tagle himself joined in the efforts to oppose the multibillion-peso Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (Apeco) project of the Angaras in Casiguran, Aurora—but where was Ateneo’s premier political science organization?
There is no denying that the desire to “institutionalize party politics” is a noble feat, for the sake of encouraging parties to ground themselves on solid political principles and advocacies that would guide their respective plans and actions, rejuvenating campus politics. The Assembly’s apparent silence in the face of pressing social concerns and issues, however, is alarming.
In exchange of its approach to aggregate as much interests as possible from every corner of the Ateneo’s political sphere or any other political spheres for that matter, The Assembly is perhaps forgetting that, as the school’s premier political science organization, it should be at the forefront of efforts to challenge the dominant structures that perpetuate oppression and injustice in society.
From when I was a new member as a college freshman until at least last school year, when I was among its executive officers, The Assembly was clearly a student organization committed to the fulfillment of democratic ideals that promote justice and equality, dismissing the false promises of neoliberalism that privileges progress at the expense of human dignity. This is the point of it all, more than the strategy to blend harmoniously with partisan politics and the fear that those with a different perspective might draw away from the organization.
The Atenean is known for playing it safe. He chooses to be neutral when confronted with a lot of issues. He answers with yes and no. That is how the Atenean handles the important questions at stake.
But the least that The Assembly can do is articulate, and not refrain from addressing issues at hand. Or else, The Assembly will become nothing less than what everyone thinks is the best way to criticize students of the Ateneo—Atenean.
