Student activism

May 6, 2024

MANILA – The pro-Palestinian rallies in the United States campuses were ignited by the students of Columbia University in New York City (NYC). Within days, the ferment spread to at least 30 other US universities, and then to those in France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, and other countries. While there had been similar demonstrations in many Arab and Muslim countries, the US students hogged the headlines, broadcasts, and social media that—in my humble opinion—influenced the US’ insistence for Israel to temper its attacks in the civilian enclaves of the Gaza Strip, and for a ceasefire coupled with a release of hostages.

INEVITABLY AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE RANKS OF THE STUDENTS were infiltrated by “outside actors” and resulted, no longer in free speech, but in vandalism and violence. As a consequence, the NYC police, in full force, shields, sticks, and arms, subdued the protestors and hauled them to the precincts. Pity the poor, victimized students of Columbia and other universities who sacrificed their time, meager resources, possible suspension, and even expulsion to express their freedom of expression in solidarity with causes they believed in.

They remind me of my own student days when—as the president of the Far Eastern University Central Student Organization (FEUCSO) and of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP)—I led the birth of campus activism here. While we, in the private nonsectarian schools, battled to rouse the students in Catholic institutions like Ateneo, La Salle, and especially the “cloistered” colleges of St. Theresa, St. Scholastica, and Maryknoll (now Miriam), the University of the Philippines (UP) Student Council led by Fernando Lagua, the UP “Collegian” led by