By Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan national coordinator John Samuel Lazaro
After various student publications and organizations, and students condemning the administration of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for suppressing press freedom, stating #WeAreAllTomWeb, the situation begs the question, why is the UST administration so offended that its students look like minimum wage workers?
In the first place, it is the UST admin that regulates the students’ uniforms. Now they are ashamed that their students look like 7-11 cashiers. In an attempt to shield its reputation from public ridicule, the UST admin unmasks itself as condescending stuck-ups that look down on workers.
They are so ashamed that their students look like minimum wage workers because it threatens the institution’s promise that its graduates can rise above poverty and gain access to prestigious employment opportunities.
Contrary to popular narrative, the UST administration did not censor TomasinoWeb because of its “clerico-fascist” nature. Censorship is a product and weapon utilized by the institutions driven by the profit motive.
UST must rightfully be ashamed for looking down and trampling on the dignity of workers. We ask the youth and students to dig deeper. Look beyond the obvious issue of censorship, and you will find that what we are contending with is a whole social system built on inequality, utilizing multiple forms of oppression and devaluing the dignity of workers. A system that UST, as an established educational institution, is part of the status quo that dictates the rules which offend their royal and pontifical standards — the capitalist state.