My absence from the face of the blogging world has to be explained: I was doing thesis. Haha. So many days I have been wanting to blog, especially during days when I want to rant about the particularly stupid ways this administration has been running amuck in this country.

I have been busy with thesis, and February was my last month as head of our organization, so pretty much my life has been hectic that blogging became the least of my priorities.

But now, time to kill. What have I been up to?

I'm slowly progressing in my thesis, thankfully, I've been working so hard but people don't seem to want to participate in this study. I can't blame them, though, as their lives aren't wrapped around the seemingly innocuousness problems I have, my thesis is not their problem anyway. Besides, they don't see the kind of urgency or need for my advocacy in media education. Leave it to the traditional way of thinking and teaching, I guess.

I am going to graduate, this I have in the back of my mind. I am going to finish this and submit it, even if it kills me. I am going to graduate this April.

For so long I have wanted to graduate, it's nearly here! I WANT to graduate. The two-year delay has cost me a lot, but even then, I have enjoyed my extra time. But I think I will be overstaying my welcome; I have been in Diliman for four years and I have to leave.

I am also not particularly fond of the inquisitions as to why I haven't graduated yet. People seem to think something is wrong with me for staying six years in college. I have transferred, hello. But people don't seem to care. They think I'm dumb to have taken this long to finish. Well, I admit to having my stupid foolish moments, but who doesn't have them anyway. But I'm not so dumb as to have flunked my subjects to overstay in the university. As it is, I want to finish the soonest possible time.

Oh well. I'm going to post a rant soon enough. But for today, I want to share the article published in PDI that I wrote. It was published a month ago, wtf, but still.

I miss this blogging. Plus I miss the ranting about the politics in our country. Don't know when I'll be back, but enjoy.

QC cops want to patrol UP
By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:24am (Mla time) 11/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines – The chief of the Quezon City Police District Wednesday said that policemen should be allowed to patrol the grounds of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, to stop the increasing number of crimes on campus.

Read more

I personally would not let the Philippine National Police into the UP campus.

UP, known for its activism, rallies, and demonstrations, upholds academic freedom and the right to freely express opinions and grievances, especially about and against issues that mostly involves the government. To some degree the UP administration painfully tolerates such actions by the students and the faculty, and all views from right to left are open (but not necessarily accepted).

By letting PNP patrol our campus would hinder our constitutional freedoms, as we will all well be under scrutiny and suspect of the forces assigned to protect us. Having PNP inside the campus would walk on the constitutional rights of the students; everybody will be a suspect. We might as well let them watch us, ID us, and report to intelligence whatever suspicious things they believe to see in us.

I ask: if you are in danger, would you let someone else hold the gun for you? Personally I would rather arm myself than arm someone else, though as a matter of taste I hate guns and the thought of carrying firearms.

Letting PNP forces into the campus is a symbolic action on other state universities and colleges, that if we do it, the PNP will have more reason walk inside other campuses (UP let us, why won't you?).

It does not help either that PNP and the military forces are suspect in the kidnappings (and possibly even killings) of student activists of different state colleges and universities, not just UP. We should not let our guard down especially during this regime of an illegitimate president that blinds herself that no human rights are trampled on in the disappearances and deaths of activists, journalists, and rights advocates.

PNP is under and controlled by the government that we students are very critical of, so much that in voicing opinions students take the fight to the streets. We have seen what the PNP can and does during demonstrations in the metro; one can only imagine what they will do once they try to "secure" UP during rallies (which are generally loud but still peaceful, as nobody gets harmed anyway, except egos at least, of those being criticized).

Should police forces trample on UP students' rights, our pleas for justice will fall on deaf (and undeniably stupid) ears--the justice department being controlled by none other than the puppet who does not understand the concept of freedom.

So let us not put ourselves into those situations where we can be held under scrutiny and force by the Philippine National Police.

Increasing number of crimes within campus is not reason enough to let the PNP loose into our grounds. What we need to do is to reinforce our own police and equip them enough to fight the crime happening within the campus.