By Christian Edu Villegas
(Vol. XXVII No. 5, Editorial Cartoon)
(Vol. XXVII No. 5, Editorial Cartoon)
As time passes
Time, indeed flies fast and we almost did not notice that even the midterm examination is already fast approaching. Classes have now become intense, except for those that are handled by irresponsible instructors. Projects, paper works, presentations, reports, examinations, etcetera, are now loaded to most students’ shoulders. Indeed, we can already feel that from the exhausting enrollment we had, we already have gone a little farther.
Along with the fast-paced days is the revival of the urgent cries of students about the perennial problems that this university has – perennial problems which, unfortunately, remain unattended up to this very day. These problems burden the students since they have to deal with them everyday.
One of the perennial problems is the unroofed pathways. With the onset of the rainy season, treading the pathways under the pouring rain is absolutely a burden. If we will recall, among the recommendations of the accreditors in the past accreditations was for the administration to provide covered pathways for the students. These days, with the unpredictable weather, the need for action on this recommendation has become more imperative. More rain means more burden for the students, and of course, more victims of flu.
Another problem is the lack of comfort rooms (CRs) that really mean ‘rooms for comfort’. This has been a problem of the university since time immemorial. Concerted efforts from the past Student Government (SG) administrations up to the present have been poured, yet, it is only alleviated for a short time, and then later on, it still remains a problem. This time, hiring personnel to maintain the cleanliness of the CRs is not good enough since no matter how hard they try to clean it, the CRs remain disgustingly stinking and are obviously, not rooms for comfort. True, we put the blame on students for not doing their part in the proper use of CRs, but perhaps it is time to consider that students do not care about the CRs because after all, it is not worth caring for. If we are going to look closer on the CRs that this university has, the problem is not with the maintenance as well as with the users – the problem is with the type and kind of CRs that we have.
The lack of a roofed place for Physical Education (PE) classes is also another problem. With the unpredictable weather these days, this is another burden. In the past years, it has been a long promise of most SG candidates who seek for top position in the SG – to find means to provide roofed class areas for the PE students but, unfortunately, no one made it to fruition. PE students remain almost toasted under the scorching heat of the sun and their classes are cancelled when the rain pours. Or if not, after a heavy rain, they would often settle on the slippery wet floor of the open courts which is prone to accidents.
These are only some of the perennial burdens that the Norsunians have. There are still a lot of problems out there and a lot more will come this school year. How to solve even the three mentioned burdens is next to impossible. We were taught in the past years to do more with less since NORSU, as a state university, gets very limited budget from the national government, thus, it is too ambitious for us to say that these can be solved right away.
On the other hand, we should not think that being in a state university, this problem will remain a burden to the students. Now is the time to slowly but surely address these problems, or put them among the priorities of the administration since these concern the students. This way, the students’ burden will be lessened. Someone in power should take the cudgels for these!
Could the Federation of University Parents and Teachers Association come to the rescue? Or the SG? Maybe it is now time to prove to everyone that SG’s remarkable project is not only about beauty pageants. Now is the time to focus on something that really answers the concerns of the majority of the students.
May this urgent call not fall on deaf ears.
Along with the fast-paced days is the revival of the urgent cries of students about the perennial problems that this university has – perennial problems which, unfortunately, remain unattended up to this very day. These problems burden the students since they have to deal with them everyday.
One of the perennial problems is the unroofed pathways. With the onset of the rainy season, treading the pathways under the pouring rain is absolutely a burden. If we will recall, among the recommendations of the accreditors in the past accreditations was for the administration to provide covered pathways for the students. These days, with the unpredictable weather, the need for action on this recommendation has become more imperative. More rain means more burden for the students, and of course, more victims of flu.
Another problem is the lack of comfort rooms (CRs) that really mean ‘rooms for comfort’. This has been a problem of the university since time immemorial. Concerted efforts from the past Student Government (SG) administrations up to the present have been poured, yet, it is only alleviated for a short time, and then later on, it still remains a problem. This time, hiring personnel to maintain the cleanliness of the CRs is not good enough since no matter how hard they try to clean it, the CRs remain disgustingly stinking and are obviously, not rooms for comfort. True, we put the blame on students for not doing their part in the proper use of CRs, but perhaps it is time to consider that students do not care about the CRs because after all, it is not worth caring for. If we are going to look closer on the CRs that this university has, the problem is not with the maintenance as well as with the users – the problem is with the type and kind of CRs that we have.
The lack of a roofed place for Physical Education (PE) classes is also another problem. With the unpredictable weather these days, this is another burden. In the past years, it has been a long promise of most SG candidates who seek for top position in the SG – to find means to provide roofed class areas for the PE students but, unfortunately, no one made it to fruition. PE students remain almost toasted under the scorching heat of the sun and their classes are cancelled when the rain pours. Or if not, after a heavy rain, they would often settle on the slippery wet floor of the open courts which is prone to accidents.
These are only some of the perennial burdens that the Norsunians have. There are still a lot of problems out there and a lot more will come this school year. How to solve even the three mentioned burdens is next to impossible. We were taught in the past years to do more with less since NORSU, as a state university, gets very limited budget from the national government, thus, it is too ambitious for us to say that these can be solved right away.
On the other hand, we should not think that being in a state university, this problem will remain a burden to the students. Now is the time to slowly but surely address these problems, or put them among the priorities of the administration since these concern the students. This way, the students’ burden will be lessened. Someone in power should take the cudgels for these!
Could the Federation of University Parents and Teachers Association come to the rescue? Or the SG? Maybe it is now time to prove to everyone that SG’s remarkable project is not only about beauty pageants. Now is the time to focus on something that really answers the concerns of the majority of the students.
May this urgent call not fall on deaf ears.
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