Gayoso, Jayvee Clarence G.

2015-07899
Student Activism in the Philippines
Student activism is a hot topic these days. Many students are being involved in what the
media calls activism because of the many pressing issues the world faces today, but what really
is student activism?
There are many manifestations of student activism around us but to effectively define
student activism, one must first know the meaning of social activism. It is an intentional action
with the goal of bringing about social change as stated in the Amherst College website. Anyone
in the society regardless of social class can join this movement as long as he or she supports the
change that the group fights for. This fight for change roots from abuses the members of the
society experience.
Student activism itself can be viewed as a localized type of social activism done by
university students. It is also known as student movement and defined by The Free Dictionary
website as the struggle of students in defense of their interests and their participation in political
struggle in general. By looking at the definition of social activism used earlier, we can say that
student activism as a whole is an action done by students to bring about social change, not only
as beneficiaries of an educational system but also as members of a society. Student activists feel
like they should take part in the movement because they are also affected by the different social
issues whether it is directly or indirectly related to the education policies and crises.
In the Philippines, student activism is very visible in different state universities like
University of the Philippines and Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Different student
leaders organize different protests in and outside the campus. These protests are not only in the
form of street rallies but also in different types which will be discussed in the next paragraphs.

These student movements have been important parts of Philippine activism as a whole. One
good example of this is the Manilakbayan movement of Mindanao tribes which was supported
both by the University of the Philippines administration and students during their one-week stop
at the Diliman campus. The students rallied behind the natives who have been battling to stop
the Lumad killings. In support of this, the hashtag #StopLumadKillings even trended at Twitter
which was also supported by the Diliman-based student-athletes.

This particular example

destroys the myth that student activism need be against school administrations.
The main goal of Filipino student activists is to support the interest of the public
regarding different social issues which hinder the development of the living conditions of the
Filipinos. Besides supporting the rights of indigenous people which was mentioned earlier, they
also aim for the eradication of poverty, better education system, national independence, and
many other problems often linked to the inefficiency of government and the corruption of its
people. Although most of the issues student activists bring up are against the government, they
also push for enlightenment of the masses to their rights and responsibilities as a Filipino citizen.
These issues are significant to the whole student movement in the Philippines because these are
the trigger to their different activities as student activists. Without these issues, student activism
would stop because it would not be needed anymore.
Due to the inconveniences brought by street demonstrations, especially heavy traffic, the
public generally feels negative towards these movements and often questions the students
priorities. They argue that if the students would just focus on their studies instead of organizing
protest events and thinking of ways to echo their voices to the government, they would be more
helpful to the country. This reaction is not surprising since undeniably, the demonstrations
produce heavy traffic, often result to violence, and some of the students choose to miss class to

participate in the organized events. However, student activists will tell you that these are only
short-term effects of their movement but if they succeed in what they aim, it will be the success
not only for them, but for the Filipino people as well. This has been one of the most challenging
hurdles for the student movements in the Philippines: gaining the trust and support of the general
public. One implication of this problem is University of the Philippines being branded by some
as Unibersidad ng mga Aktibista and some parents not wanting their children to enroll in U.P.
because of this.
Most of us think of placards, bandanas, shouting students, and burning effigies when we
hear the words student activists but street protests are not the only way these activists are
standing up for the issues they fight for. In fact, a student who wishes to struggle for social
change can be considered as an activist without participating in any student street
demonstrations. A student can voice out his or her opinion about an issue by simply writing for a
school newspaper. An example of this is the Philippine Collegian which does not only contain
news about UP Diliman but is also a medium for its student writers and editors to be able to relay
their message about the different social and political issues which affect the student body and the
college students as a whole. An example of written activism can also be shown by student
songwriters and bands that produce songs for student movements. They try to bring in a cultural
aspect to be more effective in sparking change in the heart and mind of their fellow students and
countrymen. A student organization in UP Diliman called Alay Sining perfectly portrays this
description of activism as they use the different talents of their members like acting, singing,
painting, and dancing to show their struggle for the interests of the students and the Filipino
citizens.

Student activists also take advantage of the Digital Age by posting articles and

sentiments on social media sites such as Facebook and creating hashtags in Twitter similar to the

#StopLumadKillings discussed earlier in the essay. The forms of activism continue to evolve
along with the technological advancement because the students that are involved in the
contemporary era of student activism are born in the Digital Age. All sorts of media platforms
can be used nowadays and because of this, they can bring their street demonstrations to every
computer as long as you have internet. Despite all of this, street demonstrations will continue to
be the number one form of student activism because the physical participation of the members of
the student movement rallying in the street shows solidarity and force to uphold what they are
fighting for. For these students, they are showing what they are capable of everytime they flock
the streets inside their campus or the major roads of our country.
The most important changes in the history of the Philippines were actually sparked by
student activism or movements. After more than 300 years of Spaniard rule over our country,
illustrados who studied in Europe are led by the likes of Jose Rizal, Marcelo Del Pilar, and
Graciano Lopez-Jaena and formed a group known today as the Propaganda Movement where
they would hold regular meetings about revolutionary ideas of equality between Spaniards and
Filipinos and also produced a newspaper called La Solidaridad, an underground newspaper
which they used to promote their ideas to other Filipinos as well as to inform the world about the
cruelty of Spaniards to the Filipino natives. Their ways were similar to what contemporary
student activists do today except they were behind the spotlights and could not hold street
demonstrations.
Another critical moment of the Philippine history is the First Quarter Storm. According
to the Asian Correspondent, the term refers to the wave of student protests done to stand up
against the Marcos regime late in the 60s up to the declaration of Martial Law in the early 70s.
Some of the student leaders were Baltazar Pinguel, Gerry Barican and Sixto Carlos. Some of the

most influential student organizations at that time were Kabataang Makabayan, Samahang
Demokratiko ng Kabataan, and National Union of Students. Some of these groups had to go
underground because of the Martial Law. These student leaders were at the core of the uprising
during the EDSA 1986 revolution which trumped the dictatorship of the former President
Marcos.
These said student movements continue to inspire the student activists today who are
hoping that they can also spark change like the ones before them. Whether the public likes it or
not, these students will continue to bombard Facebook timelines with rants and political
information, trend socio-political hashtags in Twitter and hold demonstrations on our major
roads as long as the government continues to be inefficient and corrupt, the public stays quiet
about major issues, and the poors condition gets worse because there is only one thing that can
stop them: change, and that change should be for the better. These students are the future leaders
of this country and their activism is a great evidence that they are willing to do something to
fight for the peoples rights beyond the four corners of their classrooms because student activism
is not just a street demonstration, a Facebook post, or a Twitter hashtag; it is a struggle of the
students for their future and the millions of Filipino people who continue to battle cultural,
social, and political injustice.

Works Cited:
Amherst College. Social Activism. 18 October 2015. https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/
careers/amherst-careers-in/government-nonprofit/picareers/careers/social_activism
Espejo, Edwin. Springing Back to Life: The Student Protest Movement.06 May 2008. Asian
Correspondent. 18 November 2015. http://asiancorrespondent.com/2008/05/springingback-to-life-the-student-protest-movement/
The Free Dictionary.com. Student Movement. 18 October 2015. http://encyclopedia2.
thefreedictionary.com/Student+activism