At the Margins
jdelima@theguidon.com
When I joined The GUIDON in sophomore year, I didn’t confidently foresee that I would stay long in the student paper, being the stubborn writer that I was. But things slowly began to fall into place when I was appointed as one of its editors last year.
It became clear to me that my career as a Guidoneer was the niche where I would find a specific role to fulfill as a student of the Ateneo. Truth be told, my Ateneo education wouldn’t have been complete if not for The GUIDON.
I am not going to share much about how I improved as a writer. It is a given that The GUIDON provides an avenue for its members to practice sound and excellent journalism. More than that, if there is one thing that I learned in The GUIDON and will further strive to live by with great conviction, it is selflessness. I would oftentimes say that I love this publication, but maybe it is better to articulate this sentiment by saying that, in The GUIDON, I learned how to be selfless.
This is consistent with what the Ateneo seeks to imbibe in its students. The Ateneo teaches the knowledge and skills necessary for students to leave the school prepared for the career paths they wish to pursue. But its emphasis on the principle of cura personalis, inspired by the Jesuits, also forms Ateneans on a personal and spiritual level. This takes place, for example, through programs that stress the value of being other-oriented or being “men and women for others.” The distinct core curriculum that every Atenean undertakes is at the forefront of this project.
The GUIDON was where I found concrete ways to experience this. I was able to share stories for the Ateneo community and those outside the campus. I became more compassionate for the poor. I talked to them. I heard their sentiments. I wrote about their plights and even shouted with them in their rallies and noise barrages in front of Gate 2.5 and beyond.
The ongoing struggle of Palea members who have not wavered in fighting for their rights despite the difficult situation of unemployment, the marginalized sectors during the SONA rally who expressed their ire against corrupt institutions in the country, the Casiguran farmers, fisherfolk and natives who marched all the way to Katipunan to bring to us their protest against Apeco—these events and issues pushed me to come out of my shell and be someone in solidarity with the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed in society.
There are varied ways to define an Atenean. But more than anything else, the fullness of being an Atenean is realized through no less than one’s love for the poor. Cardinal Tagle, himself an Atenean, reminded us during graduation, fresh from the conclave, to never disregard nor forget the poor, whatever direction we are going to take in life.
I ended my college life not only as a student in the Ateneo but as a Guidoneer for three years. At the very least, I can say that I did so with so much joy and gratitude for these things that taught me lessons and formed me to become a better person. I hope other Ateneans also discover the importance of responding to the call to serve and to be for the poor in their own different ways.
