the most peaceful university and the most organized [Archive]

cHaSeR

Dec 15, 2002, 05:46 PM

I doubt if anyone here is in the best position to answer your question, unless he/she has had the privilege to study in all of the colleges and universities in the country at least during a point in their lifetime.

But what I can say is that De La Salle University-Manila is definitely NOT one of the safest campuses in the country in spite of the REALLY strict security measures being undertaken by the the Security Office and the Discipline Office. The shooting incident outside South Gate last year, the recent stabbing incident inside Gokongwei Hall around a month ago, and the rising number of theft cases by persons who have illegally entered the campus bearing false identities are just some of the examples to prove this.

But I am quite proud to say that ever since Brother Rolly stepped in as DLSU System President, everything has become so organized in terms of the enrolment procedure, especially with the introduction of the online enlistment and enrolment. I am still waiting for the day when the adjustment process is put online as well, but I reckon I would have graduated by the time this new innovation is offered to students.

La Salle is quite organized...but sometimes, too organized.

Being an organization officer myself, I have more or less been exposed to the bureaucratic system in La Salle, which is a pain in the neck, specifically when you're faced with the task of handling the logistics functions of room and equipment reservation, as well as approval of activities from the different Offices and high-ranking officials comprising the Student Personnel Services (SPS) of the University.

I must admit that it is quite disappointing to see how difficult it is to reserve rooms and equipment and have activities approved, especially when these activities involve people outside the University. This is because the SPS Offices want the student organizations to be so organized (too organized, really) in planning activities that if a certain logistics function is not met following the proper sequencing, timing, and protocol set by the University, your requests for activity approval or room and equipment reservation will not be approved. Jeez...they should give us a break.

One recent experience connected to this was my request for approval of our organization's Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie Premiere. Just because we sent out solicitation letters before the activity was approved, the Office of Student Activities (OSAc) did not approve our request. But our rationale for doing so was that, with less than a month left till the planned date of the Premiere, we needed time to send out letters to sponsors and wait for their replies.

Our request for activity approval was actually sent to the OSAc a month and a half before the scheduled movie date, but they took a look at our request two weeks after we submitted. By the time the Premiere would have been approved, there would be only two weeks left till the activity date. This is why we disregarded protocol and sent the solicitation letters beforehand.

After having explained our side, the OSAc decided to give us a chance. But just when we thought we were home free to hold our Premiere with no more worries, the OSAC put us in another predicament when they told us that the Premiere's scheduled date coincided with the University's Activity Ban Period. So, with less than two weeks left till the Premiere, we had no choice but to cancel the whole project altogether. The OSAc should have taken a look at our proposal the day we submitted it and told us right away that they woulfdn't approve our activity because of the Activity Ban. Talk about an exercise of futility.

I know that this is quite difficult to ask, but I wish La Salle wouldn't be TOO organized or too "stuck to the rules" when it comes to logistics and activity approval. They should learn to give chances especially when it comes to cases involving outside entities, like sponsors. Nakakahiya kasi sa mga external entities na we have previous arrangements with. Kaya nasisira pangalan ng La Salle at pahirapan nang kumuha ng sponsors eh. These companies already know that it is quite hard to go into joint undertakings with La Salle orgs because they know the OSAc will give them a hard time based on previous experience. The OSAc keeps telling us that it is very hard to get sponsors nowadays but they don't seem to realize that they themselves are the very reason why we can't get any sponsors.