Oblation Run, protesting students greet UP centennial celebration

Members of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity in the University of the Philippines (UP) yesterday commemorated the premier State University’s Centennial Anniversary with the traditional “Oblation Run” where naked members run around the campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

Student activists and professors also unveiled a mural to protest the  “commercialization” of UP.

Masked and naked male APO members started their run from Vinzon’s Hall past 11 a.m., giving out roses to female students watching the famous UP event.

As this developed, the UP Administration started the Centennial Day celebrations with a flag ceremony and the singing of the hymn, UP Naming Mahal.

The Centennial celebration was also marked with the launching of the Centennial stamp.

The UP, which was founded on June 18, 1908, started out as a humble campus in Manila and later grew to include seven constituent universities all over the country.

APO’s UP Oblation Run is usually held every December, as a form of protest on certain national issues, however, Wednesday’s version of the event was held for the UP Centennial celebration.

The fraternity officials explained that aside from being a form of protest, the Oblation Run is also intended to remind UP students of the symbolism of the Oblation Statue, which is “a selfless offering of one’s self to the country.”

“With President Arroyo’s signing of the new UP Charter into law a month ago, the Iskolar ng Bayan is dead, and UP’s institutions that have made these students the pride of the Filipino people have all been burnt to the ground. There is no reason to rejoice in this week’s UP Centennial as UP has already lost its soul,” said Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, founding president of the All UP Academic Workers Union and lead convener of Serve The People UP.

Serve The People UP is an alliance of different university-based, multi-sectoral organizations campaigning for a stoppage of the UP Administration’s alleged widespread efforts to commercialize UP lands, raise tuition and other fees, especially during the current celebration of UP’s centennial.

 The Ugnayan ng Mag-Aaral Laban sa Komersyalisasyon (UMAKSYON) and the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP), and CONTEND-UP also joined protests against UP’s commercialization, including the formation of the human chain around the UP Academic Oval yesterday morning.

Jacqueline Eroles, councilor of the UP-Diliman Student Council said the signing of the new UP Charter undermined the access of poor students to UP.