Maybe It's Just Me

I had to go to DFA for my passport application appearance last Saturday (December 5, 2009) via the 2go online passport application pick-up and deliver service. It was amazing, it took me only less than 30 minutes to finish it. I was pleasantly surprised with what happened since it gave me so much time to burn. My bus fare from Bataan to Manila is quite a sum so I decided to visit my fraternity brothers in UP Diliman. For everyones information, I am a proud member of UP EMC2 Fraternity, Mabuhay Ang Kapatiran!!!

I was surprised to how the face of UP Diliman changed, fences and gates that were never there before arose so proudly in the campus vicinity. It gave a sense of censorship that UP was never know for in the past (well, at least during my time). They say it's because of the high crime rate in the campus; this brings us to the second change that i noticed.

The faces of the students that were roaming around in the campus on my visit are not the typical looks that I interacted and mingled with before. They look rich. Maybe it was because of the increase in the fees that shove the youth that used to go to UP before. Those whose families comes from low income brackets that thrive to finish decent education despite their life's situation. Where have all this youth went then? Maybe in PUP or any other cheap state university near their respective area, we really can't tell for sure.

The sad reality of these facts is that the "best of the best" and the "cream of the crap" is not always coming from families with means. During my time, they are the ones that comes from families that could only afford to put their children to university because of scholarships.

I'm not really sure if I should be considered to be a person of authority on this matter considering the fact that I wasn't able to finished my degree in UP and that I used to pay full tuition during my time there. However, I can't deny my memories of the students that I've met during my time in UP Diliman. I can't convince myself that these are just changing times of UP Diliman. It is with my 5 years experience in UP from 1999 to 2004 that led me to think that the cost of University of the Philippines education is starting to be commercialized.

The root cause of any crime is the high difference between income brackets and social classes. The time when people inside UP campuses deviates greatly from those that surrounds it in terms of money and not of intellect is the start of proliferation of criminality inside UP Diliman's premises. Truly, what happens to UP is a reflection to what's happening in our country.

Hey, maybe its just me.