The Lantern Parade ‘06 CFASC Statement
The Lantern Parade: A Display of Unity Amidst Adversity
Friday, December 15, 2006 was a momentous day for the UP Community, specially the College of Fine Arts. It was the day for the traditional Annual UP Lantern Parade, wherein the FA students usually take the lead. But lo and behold, the whole UP Community, the media, and perennial viewers were shocked and stunned by the last minute announcement by the UP Administration/Pres. Emerlinda Roman canceling the Lantern Parade. Reason given: security threat in the campus.
Coincidentally, the day was the scheduled meeting of the Board of Regents, the highest policy-making body of the University. And top of the agenda was the controversial proposed 300-percent tuition and other fee increases that would affect over 25,000 UP students nationwide, and within the next four to ten years, roughly 1 Million Young Filipinos’ access to quality college education.
The thunder of the Cancel Order initially caused disappointment and despair to us all Fine Arts people: students, faculty and staff, as with other Diliman units. But we saw no lightning. We surmised that the Arts and the over 50-year UP Tradition were being threatened by the insecurity of some Quezon Hall power wielders. And Quezon Hall is not the UP community. The Arts and the Lantern Parade must be dedicated to the people, not dictated by some persons.
Thus our creative characters conquered their insincerity. The Lantern Parade must be defended, against lies or paranoia. We took our floats and feelings to the streets, literally.
We wished to grant FA Administrator’s request to abide by the arbitrary dictates by having a ‘merry go round’ within the College grounds. But we stood our ground. Defend the Arts; defend our freedoms against the whims and whimper of a few.
The invented threat turned the whole FA into unimagined unity. We wanted justice for all of us who toiled through night and day for the past several weeks to give our share of Christmas Joy to the UP Community Nating Mahal. And united, we have shown that Arts (and Christmas) must not be sacrificed for some Machiavellian shortcuts.
With our initiative and the corollary courage of our fellow students and faculty in other Colleges, the Lantern Parade has lived. Though a few floats did not make it (thanks to the confusion caused by the wizards at Quezon Hall), the astounding majority of FA students who joined clearly illustrates the students’ will to defy unreasonable and absurd excuses of rattled authorities (a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, as not even a single firecracker turned up in the bushes of Diliman. Oh, George Bush, your style blooms).
The success of the Lantern Parade displayed not only the power of a united and vigilant studentry. More importantly, we obtained victory of the Arts and Reason over autocratic and authoritarian dictates!
Students of Fine Arts, and Diliman, Take a Bow!
Defend the Arts! Defend our Freedoms!
Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty!
THE COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS STUDENT COUNCIL
December 19th, 2006 at 12:31 am
The executive committee, made up of all deans on campus, expressed no confidence in our student councils and organizations by effectively tagging them as terrorists. “threats to life and property” — my ass, bitches! if there is any threat to life it is the witholdig of education and employment that has become part of the despicable character of the UP administration! Furthermore, the tactic of terrorist-labelling is nothing new either to Bush or Palparan.
Shame on the executive committee first for resorting to such a tactic of deception, and shame again for thinking we were stupid enough to fall for it.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:18 am
As i made rounds asking classes if they meant to leave the college with us, there was an irritating point that came up several times. The point was that the participation in the ‘walk out parade’ was a political act and thus one that the students might want to avoid. I was even accused by a faculty member of ‘misleading students into thinking that this was just the lantern parade and not a poitical act’.
Aside from the fact that i have never denied or concealed my politics, first let me remind eeryone that we are in the University of the Philippines. This is an acaemic institution. While the rule still stands that ‘everybody is entitled to their own opinion’, it must be understood that these ‘opinions’ must be supported and informed by fact and sound argument. So, if you are going to ‘opine’ that the students’ participation is a political act, let me INFORM you that their refusal is also a political act. If walking out and proceeding with the lantern parade is tantamount to a negation of the UP administration’s will and authority, staying in fine arts and putting up with the lame-ass program there is tantamount in turn to a submission to the UP administration’s disregard for our efforts. simple enough? nothing (with exceptions such as rocks and flipping your hair) is neutral.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:41 am
alam ko medyo haggard na itong pagsosolo ko sa comments pero nakakabanas talaga.
the dean and college secretary even implied that i was trying to sabotage their program by setting the walk-out at four. nagmamaganda naman sila masyado. feeling center of the earth. nag-set po ako ng four o’clock dahil yun yung hininging oras ng mga gumagawa ng trumpo. di pa daw kasi sila tapos at ayaw maiwanan. walang kinalaman yun sa ‘walk-around-the-stick’ program ni Djams.
isa pa, si ma’am palayok (s’ya yung sa “misleading my students”. i forget her name. dalawa ata apellido, apologies), napatanong kung bakit ko daw ba pinapalitan yung plano. hello! yung plano? diba yung plano e maglalantern parade tayo sa december 15? buong UP naghanda para dyan tapos ano? nagsipraningan and executive board at BOR na baka mabastus sila ng mga studyanteng hindi nila pinagsisilbihan kaya’t i-cancel nalang siguro. pakshet!
may emoticon ba na bumubula ang bibig? penge naman o. lalagay ko sa unahan ng susunod na moda comments para alam nyo agad kung nauubusan na ko ng english. chuva!
December 22nd, 2006 at 7:12 am
bravo, Mr. Antares!
haha. I second the motion! Well, talk about ‘misleading the students’.. they might as well look at the mirror!
December 24th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
IN the mirror. wala lang.
January 6th, 2007 at 12:32 am
ooooh…. i was around when ‘misleading the students’ was talking. i know sobrang babaw ng point ko, pero diba ang gagwin naman natin sa mga lantern natin ay ipaparada? so it IS a Lantern Parade, but not THE Lantern Parade. wala lang. i just had to put that out after reading the comments above.