Laugther. Joyous Glorious Laughter.

I had lunch with my officemates and boss yesterday at the school of theology. And during the meal, I felt that food wasn’t the only thing swallowed between mouthfuls.

It all started when Banana (a fellow UP grad) asked Sir Tofu about the proper use of “ng” and “nang” in the Filipino language.

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Sir Tofu, my boss, is a former professor at the Ateneo. He was part of the Dept. of Filipino faculty and is also an Ateneo alumnus. Sir Tofu also worked in the advertising industry (Ogilvy & Mather) as an Account Executive and he spent some time at Ateneo Art Gallery—from what I know.

***

Sir Tofu was pretty obliging in answering Bananas question, he gave examples and even expounded on the nuances. After banana (“Ah ganun pala. Lagi ko kasing nakakalimutan.) and I were enlightened—and I guess Orange too, the topic shifted to Sir Tofu’s experience in teaching at UP Baguio.

I felt I knew what anecdote Sir Tofu would tell because I heard it already when I was a probationary employee. And I was right.

The tale is of a delicate kind so I’ll try my best to be impartial about the whole thing.

In a nutshell:

When Sir T was teaching at UP Baguio he felt irritated with the pseudo-activist (from how he painted it) thread of UP students.

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UP, as you may know, is an institution often associated with a strong sense of student activism especially during the Martial Law period of the 70s and 80s under President Marcos.

***

Sir Tofu had a heated discussion with a student about UP’s impending tuition fee increase. The particular outburst, “Kung kailangang magbibit kami ng armas at sandata para makamit ang pagbabago, gagawin namin!” Touched a nerve.

Well the outburst even for me is a bit OA. But if it were of a genuine kind I wouldn’t dare pass judgment. But in the way Sir T related other stories about his students in UPB it became apparent how students there embraced the concept of activism as a fad. Well it isn’t anything new. There really are fakers but also there are genuine ones.
He went on to criticize how his students in UPB didn’t like to be told what to do. (Yikes, I think all UP students are guilty of this to some degree) How his students fell silent each time he asks them what activism really is etc…

Well, well, well.

There are a lot of factors to consider in analyzing all the events he experienced so I’ll just work on what I’ve gathered. If his students at UPB were really like that, then I can say it was unfortunate that he wasn’t able to teach a better bunch.

My only qualm about it is how he used his role as a teacher. I expressed openly that his antagonistic approach would tick any student in any classroom. Especially if he was being “Atenista” in UP territory as some of his students said. I told him that he could’ve used his position to “guide” the students in the right direction. Well I don’t know the full story; maybe Sir Tofu tried but his students were just really stubborn.

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Sir Tofu’s side would be more understandable if I pointed out that he isn’t a typical Atenista. He isn’t rich. He was the type of student “ na nagsunog ng kilay” to finish school (even literally, he told me how he did his assignments by the light of a gas lamp when he was a student cause they didn’t have electricity in the house). He got a scholarship for his efforts and got in De la Salle Greenhills High School (another institution for the affluent) and eventually Ateneo, presumably on scholarship as well.

So I guess, his more of a UP student than an Atenista really. That is why he takes ideals seriously—wait does that mean Atenistas aren’t like that? Though this maybe a hasty generalization…I can’t help it.

***
So why did I decide to blog about this in the first place.
I know I shouldn’t even be talking about it cause it’s nothing really...

But I can’t seem to get over the fact that Sir Tofu seems to generailize the entire UP population. He seems like a triumphant news reporter exposing UP students for what he presumes they really are: pseudo-activists who don’t like to be told what to do. An article he wrote for an Ateneo publication, which he showed me, confirmed this. I mean, it maybe not his intention to generalize but the manner of his communication betrayed it.

I’m all for people having an opinion, and don’t get me wrong he's a good boss, but generalizing is simply unfair.

***



I went jogging this morning at the Ateneo grounds. Since school is starting this week what I saw made me

laugh.

I was pacing my steps along the University road and was approaching Xavier Hall, when Bellarmine field came to full view

i saw a fleet of SUVs / sedans / luxury cars one after the other

and it reminded me of this…



lets sing it!


Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.