Wiki x UPLB x [P]

I wonder who actually writes those wikipedia articles. And I remember a professor in UPLB who, according to someone I know, uses wiki as source of his lectures. From time to time, let's bomb the academe and everything we hold sacred with paintball and irreverence, shall we? It has been more than a year since that incident, with the chair burning and the literal gatecrashing. Sources of what I am reminiscing may still be found all over the internet using the keywords paintball and velasco. Meanwhile, here is the UPLB wikipedia entry. And to attest the er... cuteness.. of the article, I'll quote three passages:

"As a result of the first automated USC elections, the current USC Chairman is Pura Beatriz Valle of SAKBAYAN Partylist."

Trivia: Pura is the current Chairperson of the USC. She ran under the party-alliance Samahan ng Kabataan para sa Bayan. SAKBAYAN neither represents any marginalized sector during the national elections nor does it campaign for any congressional post. And btw: SAKBAYAN is far from being itself without the letter S.

"Among the more controversial cases handled by the SDT is the sanctioning of Student Regent Charisse Bañez (SAKBAYAN) who was denied graduation due to some pending cases."

Trivia: Charisse Bañez and other prominent student leaders, who are staunch critics of anti-student policies, are favorite victims of trumped-up charges. Multiple trumped-up charges. I was one of those who were sentenced with a six-month suspension. It has been more than a year since. It has been, what, about a week since we did what we promised last black friday.

"The UPLB Perspective is the official student publication of UPLB. UPLB Perspective is known for its militancy. Being autonomous from UPLB, university administration interventions in the selection of its editor-in-chief have been heavily criticized."

That was three sentences! Sorry for being biased with this last lifting of text because intervening in the UPLB Perspective selection process seems to be one of the hobbies of UPLB chancellors. I'd just talk briefly about my case and how I view the recent irregularity as reported by the Philippine Collegian:

I was second place during the 2009 EIC Exam, but I was chosen by the Chancellor to be the EIC. Despite this administrative decision, the editorial board of UPLB Perspective of that school year (under my term as EIC) was one with then SR Charisse Bañez in campaigning for transparency in the EIC selection process. It was also that school year when we were suspended, which in effect paralyzed the campus paper since I am not acknowledged as a student--and not being a student means not being editor in chief of the official student paper, the admin says.

Is this year's EIC controversy another story? Or, perhaps the same story with different characters performing different roles? The chancellor did not have to intervene this time.

There has been no regular releases of issues of the publication from my term up to the current term. During my term, we released one regular-sized issue and a number of pamphlet-sized ones--yes, we used to distribute 8.5 x 5.5 news papers. And yes, wiki, we were campus journalists and we were militant--probably the reason why we had a hard time releasing print copies of our paper (Thank you very much, campus repression, non-collection of student fund c/o the colonel OSA director, and everyone who helped!). I guess it is safe to say that UPLB was against the large lecture class policy then. UPLB was aware that 200 students in one classroom being an austerity measure amidst the 300% tuition increase, violates the objective interests of the academe's stakeholders. Actually, UPLB is still against the large lecture class policy--up until now.

I hope the current term of the UPLB Perspective also campaigns for transparency in the selection process and, in the same way, continue the militant tradition of the flagship paper, not just of UPLB, but of Southern Tagalag. If not, then at least show the constituents that 'brod is not thicker than water' (a variation of Cor Maranan's status message--mahirap nang maakusahan ng plagia!).