SENIOR INTERDISCIPLINARY studies major Rica Salomon started an online petition on September 4 to allow transgender students to appear in the gender they identify with in the 2015 yearbook.
The petition is in response to the rule imposed by the Aegis Administration Board that transgender students must appear in the yearbook portraying their biological sex, regardless of their chosen gender.
The said rule is applicable to both the toga and casual photo shots of the graduates.
Aegis is an organization that manages the creation and release of the annual yearbook.
The Aegis Administration Board, comprised of Director of the Office of Alumni Relations Kit Bautista, SJ, Aegis Acting Moderator Chris Castillo, Assistant to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs Cholo Mallillin and Associate Dean for Student Affairs Rene San Andres, approves the plans of the Aegis Editorial Board (EB).
The Aegis EB is composed of the student officers of the organization.
In an interview with The GUIDON, Aegis Editor-in-Chief Kristine Estioko said that the rule has been strictly followed by Aegis especially in recent years.
Estioko explained that the Aegis Administration Board is the body that establishes the yearbook rules and guidelines.
“[The Aegis EB] is the neutral ground between the students and the administration. We serve as a mediator to voice out [student matters] to the [Aegis Administration] Board,” added Estioko.
Salomon’s petition was initially directed to the Aegis EB but was later adressed to the Aegis Administration Board on the same day as its release.
Response to the issue
On September 4 as well, the Aegis EB released a memo on their Facebook page in acknowledgement of Salomon’s concern.
The memo clarified that the Aegis EB “[does] not legislate any discriminatory rules against any particular student groups.”
Moreover, the memo stated that Salomon was advised by the Aegis EB to write a letter to the Aegis Administration Board after she voiced out her concerns to them prior to the release of the online petition.
According to Salomon, she coursed a letter to the Aegis Administration Board through the Aegis EB on September 3.
Estioko noted that Salomon is not the first to voice out her opinion on transgender representation in the yearbook. However, Salomon’s is the most vocal attempt that the Aegis EB has experienced.
Estioko said that the Aegis Administration Board and EB will be releasing another statement regarding their decision on the issue.
She explained that the discussion of Aegis regarding the transgender representation issue in the yearbook is currently being kept confidential.
“Rest assured that we’re doing our best to find out the reason and details behind this rule so that we can arrive at the best course of action that adheres to the values of the university as well as serves our fellow seniors,” said Estioko.
Salomon said she is in constant communication with the Aegis EB in discussing the issue.
Time for change
Salomon said that she started the online petition because she noticed that the imposed rule on transgender representation has not only affected her, but other transgender students as well.
She said that although she was born a male, she identifies herself as a female; she wants to appear in the yearbook in the gender she identifies with.
Salomon shared that students and faculty members alike have signed her online petition.
Senior communications major Jose Mendoza, a supporter of Salomon’s petition, said that he advocates better transgender representation in the yearbook because he feels that transgender students should be presented the way they portray themselves.
Mendoza also noted that the imposed rule on transgender defeats the purpose of the yearbook as a memorabilia as it hinders transgenders to appear as they have been in college.
“I think this petition is very innocent and honest. It’s not asking for heaven and earth to be moved. If anything, this would be groundbreaking for the school,” said Mendoza.
“I hate to sound like I’m too liberal but, maybe, twenty years ago no one was brave enough to raise this concern but, now, people are more open. So I think new situations call for new responses,” he added.
Sanggunian Seniors’ Alliance Representative for Aegis Ray Santos shares the same sentiment as Mendoza, saying that the yearbook is a form of self-expression for transgender students.
The Sanggunian Seniors’ Alliance serves as a liaison between the Ateneo administration and this year’s graduating batch.
Santos said that if Salomon’s petition is granted by the Aegis Administration Board, this will signify their acknowledgement that times have changed. “We don’t always have to follow the way we do things traditionally,” he said.
As of press time, 237 people have signed Salomon’s petition.
