SR selection begins April

THE YES VOTES have it. Now what?

“Now that the [CRSRS] referendum has been a success, we can begin the process of selecting the new student regent (SR),” incumbent Student Regent Shahana Abdulwahid said. “The whole process of selecting the new SR can take over two months, from the nominations at the college councils to the GASC at the system–wide level.”

“Right now, I am currently consulting the other UP units for their schedule of final exams, end of classes and the start of their summer classes. Depending on the academic calendars of other UP units, the system–wide selection of the next student regent will begin in April,” said Abduwahid.

College student councils all over the whole UP system will organize open nominations from students for the selection of the new SR within the month. The councils will then forward their nominations to their respective university student councils, and university convocations will be held in each campus. The General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC), composed of all college and university student councils, will then select the next student regent from among the nominees.

“Meanwhile, I will still be the incumbent SR, retaining all the powers, duties and responsibilities conferred to me by the UP Charter until my successor has been selected.”

She added that the student councils who wish to recommend amendments to the current CRSRS should submit their proposals as soon as possible so that discussions can begin early.

Rain before sunshine

According to the official tally from the Office of the Student Regent (OSR), 25,335 students out of 47,365 registered UP students participated in the said referendum, where 18,253 students (more than 72 percent) voted “yes” to the current CRSRS while only 6,783 students (26.77 percent) voted “no.”

“[This is] a huge victory for us (and the CRSRS),” SR Abdulwahid said. “The students have spoken, and they have shown that they were ready to protect their representative to the Board of Regents. This clearly shows that a form of democracy [has] materialized.”

But for the referendum to be successful, Abdulwahid said that huge financial and logistical challenges had to be struggled through first. The P60,000 budget given by the UP administration was hardly enough to cover the expenses for the printing of the ballots, the IDs, the posters, and other miscellaneous materials.

“We were determined to win this referendum even though there were huge financial constraints. We surely do not want a failed referendum just because of some logistical limits,” Abdulwahid added.

Another challenge that the OSR had to face was the legitimacy of the referendum.

“The legitimacy is one of the most important things we were concerned about, if not the single most important factor,” she said. “We do not want the administration or anyone else questioning its legitimacy. The students must remain vigilant until the new SR has been selected in office.” ▪

Article by Gromico Chopitea