ATROCIOUS ARE THE recent events that are continuously lived by the youth, from nationwide issues to the deafening silence echoing within the four walls of our institution. Leaders contribute to the noise but fail to assert madness in the divinest sense. How dare they – championing the title meant to represent the student body, but is wrapped around a suit full of artificialities, disguising for attention and not for action, when those that suffer long for the latter. R.I.P. Emily Dickinson, I am with you as the discerning eye.
It is without a doubt that the student life, in this day and age, is coupled with troubling concerns that affect the future that we are supposedly building. Such weight is burdened upon the frail shoulders of the youth that are already quivering under the pressure of expectations and uncertainty, rooted from the desperation for survival. Amidst the struggles, students turn to the leaders they have put into place, yet they are met with a performance filled with speeches that lack sincerity. The very duty of serving the community is reduced to a spectacle, driven by optics, leaving the student body longing for action meant to provide relief while navigating their academics at the cost of their health.
“Yet lest we not forget, you have a responsibility that should transcend over your personal journey towards betterment; for the moment you decide to parade around classrooms to persuade the students for their votes, you know you have surrendered yourself subject to the responsibility of carrying their voices as your own. To lead is not to perform”
Ironic are their chants, claiming to speak against the deafening silence yet remain complacent within the comfort of their titles. They claim to amplify voices but only echo their own. Forgotten they must have been of their purpose whilst blinded by the desire to be seen as competent. To act, not to merely announce is demanded by the students of Red and White, yet slowly it fades, for the noise of curated passion seemingly disrupts more. Perhaps the lion should concern himself more, especially in reflecting whether he truly embodies student leadership that is built upon public service when called for, and not merely at a time of convenience, considering only his own interests.
But truly in all things, I hold hope for the better. Despite these currents of performativity, I hold compassion for those yet to realize their purpose. Our realities may seem to vary, influenced by a multiplicity of factors, but we all seek comfort in the well-known second home for all. Our generation may have truly progressed, not only in terms of societal awareness, but in the understanding of one another.
Despite the frustrations found upon disillusionments, a discerning eye is what I possess. At the end of the day, these individuals are navigating the same chaos, yearning to matter and to mark a difference in ways they have yet to understand. Yet lest we not forget, you have a responsibility that should transcend over your personal journey towards betterment; for the moment you decide to parade around classrooms to persuade the students for their votes, you know you have surrendered yourself subject to the responsibility of carrying their voices as your own. To lead is not to perform. To whom it should concern, I await for genuine madness in the divinest sense.
Email me at thebedan_associateeditor@sanbeda.edu.ph