The UP Open University Committee on Elections, as part of their campaign to promote student leadership among students of UPOU heading towards the upcoming first-ever University Student Council Elections, just concluded “Virtual Leadership: The UPOU Student Townhall on Leadership in the Digital Age.”
With discussed topics including leadership during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the role and importance of student representation, and overcoming the challenges of leadership, hundreds of students registered and attended both on Zoom as well as on the live simulcast on Facebook.
Invited speakers were UP Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Latrell Felix, UP Student Regent Siegfred Severino, and Kabataan Party-List Representative, Hon. Raoul Manuel.
“Bilang isang premyadong unibersidad na nasa distance education mode of learning, hindi na bago sa UP Open University ang paggamit ng teknolohiya sa pag-aaral, pagri-research, at pagpapalaganap ng makabuluhang impormasyon. Dito ipinapakita ng UPOU ang dangal at husay – sa paghahasa ng mga mag-aaral na empowered ng teknolohiya at determinadong magsilbi sa bayan.” Said Alyssa Danielle Navarro, chairperson of the Committee on Elections in her opening remarks.
(Being one of the premier universities on the distance education [modality] of learning, the use of technology for study, research, and dissemination of thought-provoking information is not new for UP Open University. It is here where honor and excellence is at full display – in honing the students with the empowerment of technology, determined to serve the people.)
“Sa prinsipyo natin, doon tayo nakakakuha ng motivation.” Said Chairperson Felix on the grounds of being a student-leader.
(It is with our principles where we get our motivation [to serve and to lead].)
“Kahit gaano kahirap yung situation… of course as student-leaders, we still have to be there for the student body,” she added on the point of adjusting to the needs of the student body.
“Kapag kabataan tayo sa edad, dapat ay naeembody natin ang demands ng ating mga kababayan.” Said House Representative Manuel on speaking out for changes that we want to see and make in our society. “Gusto natin hindi na manahin, diba? At ayaw na rin natin ipamana sa susunod na henerasyon kung ano ba ang nararanasan natin sa ngayon.”
(As we are young in age, we should embody the needs of the people. We don’t want to inherit it [the mistakes previous generations have made], right? And we don’t want to pass to the next generation the things that we are going through right now.)
“For the longest time, walang student council sa UPOU. Nahirapan tayong magkaroon ng representation sa mga committees, sa mga pinapasukang agreements ng OU. If magkakaroon na tayo ng university student council sa OU, definitely mas mai-improve natin ang pagkakaroon ng perspective from the students kung paano dapat tumakbo ang university given the bulk of the students,” 39th Student Regent Severino assures.
(For the longest time, there was no student council in UPOU. It was hard to have representation on the committees, [and] on the agreements that OU is entering into. If we are to have a university student council in OU, definitely we’ll improve on having a perspective from the students on how the university functions given the bulk of the students.)
The townhall is just one of the many events slated in anticipation for the upcoming USC Elections that will be held beginning on Monday, November 21, and the voting period will last for the entire week.
Other events include the mock elections that will be held on November 7-9, and the highly anticipated miting de avance of the candidates on November 14.
To watch the student townhall in its entirety, you can watch it on the official Facebook Page of UP Open University.
For more updates and developments leading to the elections, kindly visit the official social media platforms of the UPOU Committee on Elections.
Contributed by the UPOU Committee on Elections
Through the Office of Student Affairs
#UPOpenUniversity
