LONG QUEUES AND a “resolute” Office of the Prefect of Discipline (OPSD) have triggered Bedans to convey their dismay over the dawdling system of processing the new Identification card (ID) ahead of the new Academic Year (A.Y.) 2024-2025. 

Left “bewildered and irritated,” Bedans queued for hours outside the office of the Information and Communications Technology Center (ICTC) to renew their ID. Yet much to their dismay, the line would allegedly span for “over 20 minutes” before it progresses. Moreover, to further aggravate the issue, the OPSD has also announced that, effective September 2, Bedans with outdated IDs will be “penalized through the issuance of a pink slip.”

Because of these concerns, Princess Erika Koizumi, a junior from the Department of Political Science who was also waiting in line to renew her ID, told The Bedan how “shocked” she was, considering how, ever since being a freshman, it was a “first,” for her, “na mararanasan na pumila talaga.” She further added how, amid being given “ample time” to process her new ID, it was the OPSD’s announcement of issuing a pink slip that prompted a number of Bedans to renew their ID accordingly. 

Aldrich Rivera, a senior from the Department of Legal Management and President of the Bedan Advocacy and Consciousness Enhancement Society (BACES), also expressed his grievances over the slow-paced queue, saying how the time spent waiting in line would “compromise their academic priorities, without even any assurances that the ICTC would cater to all Bedans needing to renew their IDs.” 

In addressing the woes and pleas of the student-body, CAS Student Council (SC) President Mari Okol disclosed how “[Amir and I] (the Vice President for Internal Affairs) have been going to the OPSD trying to communicate for [an] extension.” But despite this, the admins were allegedly “adamant in the implementation of pink slips for no renewed IDs.”

While Okol understands OPSD’s strict policy of renewing one’s ID for purposes of validation and security, she nonetheless, on behalf of the students, asked for “leniency” before the office considering other factors like: late enrollees, the number of students in the University, lack of equipments, facilities, and staff in the ICTC, as well as other uncertainties halting the immediate process of ID renewal. 

One with the SC in their call for change, Rivera and Koizumi implored the OPSD to extend the renewal of IDs and “empathize more with the community,” considering the myriad of duties and responsibilities of being a student. 

Finally, in amalgamating mandatory policies with the welfare of the students, the SC President asserts that “the admins should be more weary…[that] placing something mandatory should be communicated properly and it should be communicated with the right amount of time for students to adjust,” highlighting the significance of proper information dissemination to cater to the needs of the entire Bedan community. 

OPSD and ICTC have yet to release a statement regarding the issue. But until then, Bedans will only have until August 31 to renew their IDs before the OPSD will formally enforce its pink slip penalty. 

(with reports from Thirdy Pabilico and Rizian Balleta)