On a lazy Friday afternoon, the Ching Tan room was abuzz with excitement. One question needed to be answered: Is the Sanggu advancing, regressing or hostaging campus politics?

Students from the Sanggunian and other student organizations came together on August 20 for the 2nd Policy Debates organized by The Assembly, the home organization of Political Science majors in the Ateneo.

The Ateneo Economics Association opened the exchange, criticizing the Sanggunian by saying that it “falls short in the aspect of implementation despite good intentions.”

The Development Society then hit back by saying that the [Sanggunian] is “doing well” and that it is accomplishing its functions by instilling a “democratic form of government”. For The Assembly’s Leiron Martija however, the idea of democracy implemented by the Sanggunian has resulted in the hostaging of campus politics.

“The [Sanggunian] is allergic to contestation. They should recognize the significance of contestation and allow students to have opinions for themselves. They are too accommodating and make everyone feel that [the student body, the opposition and the Sanggunian] all have to get along. That’s not how politics should be”, said Martija.

Hearing the side of The Assembly, School of Social Sciences 4th Year Central Board Representative Gino Limcumpao responded on behalf of the Sanggunian.

“Conflict is there. The discourse is there. This debate alone is a manifestation of the conflict. We accommodate people because we represent the student body. With regard to ideologies, [the Sanggunian] is going there. There will come a time when student parties will carry conflicting ideologies and train people to live out what they believe in”, said Limcumpao.