This essay appeared in my column JUSTIFIED.
In the Philippines there are only two schools: U.P. and others---Sen. Miriam Santiago, U.P. alumnus
(This year, my former alma mater---the U.P., I got my bachelor's from Diliman---celebrates its Centennial. The University of the Philippines is symbolized by the Oblation, a statue of a naked man which epitomizes offering one's self in service to society. As a tribute, the following topic, which is also timely since it's the start/end of the second/first half of the school year, talks about school pride which is usually manifested through school bashing---other schools, that is.)
I have come to regard it as the national past time of students. Okay, this last declaration isn't sanctioned by any record book but I 'm positively sure any student---past and present---will agree with me.
No, I am not talking about malling. Malls were not that ubiquitous then, much more part of any student's lifestyle. Not even cheating. Oh sure, it's definitely part of any mediocre student's bag of tricks but I'm proud to say I didn't belong to that shady stratum of the studentry.
I have come to regard it as the national past time of students. Okay, this last declaration isn't sanctioned by any record book but I 'm positively sure any student---past and present---will agree with me.
No, I am not talking about malling. Malls were not that ubiquitous then, much more part of any student's lifestyle. Not even cheating. Oh sure, it's definitely part of any mediocre student's bag of tricks but I'm proud to say I didn't belong to that shady stratum of the studentry.
What I'm talking about is---drum roll, please---school bashing. School bashing is that insidious habit of students of putting down rival schools. Oh how we (or used to) delight in it! We attribute certain negative characteristics , both real and imagined, to other schools with the end of exalting our own alma mater while putting other hapless students' school in a bad light.
For most students, school bashing has become a communal thing to do, some sort of a bind that binds. It has become not just an excellent conversation piece but also a gold mine of jokes.
Generally, the usual basis for school bashing is the perceived reputation of that particular school as personified by the students who study there. If the students are not so brainy, or financially disadvantaged, then the school itself acquires that characteristic. Of course it is hasty generalization in the extreme , but hey, who says it isn't fun?
In college at the State University (aka U.P.), students of other universities are usually poked fun at by the fact that they fail to pass the entrance exam or make it in what is touted as the premier university in the country.
Jokes would pass around campus belittling other universities and their students. Usually the acronyms which stand as a contraction for the schools' names will be changed into something funnier.
AdMU (for Ateneo de Manila University) becomes Ang di Makalusot sa U.P. or Ang di Makapasa sa UPCAT (in reference to the entrance exam of the State University). DLSU (acronym for De La Salle University) becomes Di Lumusot sa U.P. Other schools? Well, they exactly become just like that---"others."
As one U.P. alumna exclaimed: "There are only two schools in the Philippines ---U.P. and others." Of course, most of the taunts do not hold water but school bashing has heightened school spirit one way or another. Just ask any Blue Eagle, Green Archer or U.P. Maroon.
Other basis for school bashing would be the uniforms worn by the students of the school. During my high school at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University/JRMSU (formerly ZNSAT), students from other schools would shout "taya, taya" (the Cebuano term for rust) when we pass by their campuses just because our school uniforms' color (for the girls, anyway) and school color itself was maroon.
The bases for school bashing---initial perceptions and purported reputation---can persist even if the school has improved , its real reputation has changed, or the student composition has become different.Talking about first impressions dying hard.
School bashing has some merit to it if it is all done in stride, in a healthy manner and if it enhances school spirit. It's like drinking coffee: it perks you up, starts the gears in the brain, but too much of which is definitely harmful.
School bashing is to students what gossiping is to a clique (barkada). There's nothing like a common object to direct your angsts at to your hearts' content.
The negative side about school bashing is that it is a hasty generalization. What applies to some may not apply to others. Or what was perceived to be true before is not true anymore.
In logic class we are told that a hasty generalization is fallacious; it violates the rules of logic and common sense. Well, logic be damned. Fun is the bottomline of this students' favorite past time. For any student, having fun while at school is definitely there at the uppermost part of the list.
There is really nothing bad about school bashing as long as students shall bear in mind that no one school has a monopoly of all the positive "academic features"---diligent and high IQ'd studentry, excellent facilities, top-notch teachers and low tuition fees. To badly paraphrase the singer Sting: "Nobody has a monopoly of common sense on either side of the educational fence."
School bashing remains a fun past time as long as respect for rival schools (and their respective students) is maintained.
For most students, school bashing has become a communal thing to do, some sort of a bind that binds. It has become not just an excellent conversation piece but also a gold mine of jokes.
Generally, the usual basis for school bashing is the perceived reputation of that particular school as personified by the students who study there. If the students are not so brainy, or financially disadvantaged, then the school itself acquires that characteristic. Of course it is hasty generalization in the extreme , but hey, who says it isn't fun?
In college at the State University (aka U.P.), students of other universities are usually poked fun at by the fact that they fail to pass the entrance exam or make it in what is touted as the premier university in the country.
Jokes would pass around campus belittling other universities and their students. Usually the acronyms which stand as a contraction for the schools' names will be changed into something funnier.
AdMU (for Ateneo de Manila University) becomes Ang di Makalusot sa U.P. or Ang di Makapasa sa UPCAT (in reference to the entrance exam of the State University). DLSU (acronym for De La Salle University) becomes Di Lumusot sa U.P. Other schools? Well, they exactly become just like that---"others."
As one U.P. alumna exclaimed: "There are only two schools in the Philippines ---U.P. and others." Of course, most of the taunts do not hold water but school bashing has heightened school spirit one way or another. Just ask any Blue Eagle, Green Archer or U.P. Maroon.
Other basis for school bashing would be the uniforms worn by the students of the school. During my high school at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University/JRMSU (formerly ZNSAT), students from other schools would shout "taya, taya" (the Cebuano term for rust) when we pass by their campuses just because our school uniforms' color (for the girls, anyway) and school color itself was maroon.
The bases for school bashing---initial perceptions and purported reputation---can persist even if the school has improved , its real reputation has changed, or the student composition has become different.Talking about first impressions dying hard.
School bashing has some merit to it if it is all done in stride, in a healthy manner and if it enhances school spirit. It's like drinking coffee: it perks you up, starts the gears in the brain, but too much of which is definitely harmful.
School bashing is to students what gossiping is to a clique (barkada). There's nothing like a common object to direct your angsts at to your hearts' content.
The negative side about school bashing is that it is a hasty generalization. What applies to some may not apply to others. Or what was perceived to be true before is not true anymore.
In logic class we are told that a hasty generalization is fallacious; it violates the rules of logic and common sense. Well, logic be damned. Fun is the bottomline of this students' favorite past time. For any student, having fun while at school is definitely there at the uppermost part of the list.
There is really nothing bad about school bashing as long as students shall bear in mind that no one school has a monopoly of all the positive "academic features"---diligent and high IQ'd studentry, excellent facilities, top-notch teachers and low tuition fees. To badly paraphrase the singer Sting: "Nobody has a monopoly of common sense on either side of the educational fence."
School bashing remains a fun past time as long as respect for rival schools (and their respective students) is maintained.
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