CCL coordinator faces possible expulsion from University
De La Salle University – Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) student Paolo Tarra is subjected to possible expulsion from the University, due to an alleged violation of the Memorandum of Agreement Non-Fraternity/Sorority and Organizations (MOANFSO) after the Democracy Walk incident on February 26, where Anakbayan – Kalayaan (AB-KL) and Coalition of Concerned Lasallians (CCL) members were intervened by University personnel from joining the activity.
Security guards and Student Welfare and Formation Office (SWAFO) personnel physically prevented AB-KL and CCL members from displaying their protest streamers with the words “LASALLIANS OF CAVITE AGAINST CHA-CHA!” The event featured a reenactment of People Power Revolution, which was open to the DLSU-D community.
Two months after the incident, Tarra received a complaint from SWAFO last April 22, filed by a College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT) alumnus, accusing him of persuading students to join an unrecognized organization within the University.
In an interview with The HERALDO FILIPINO, Tarra shared, “Apparently, doon sa mga visual materials namin nakalagay ‘yung signatories ng organizations… ayun daw ‘yung viniolate namin kasi nagc-conduct daw kami, bilang unrecognized organization, ng activity sa loob ng school, which is very weird. Aside from us being a part of an unrecognized organization kasi ay mga estudyante pa rin naman kami ng school, therefore we have every right para mag-participate sa event.”
“’Yung violation ko [raw] ay persuading [the] students na mag-join ng unrecognized organization,” Tarra added, in relation to the Section 19.2.3.3 (Persuading students to violate their Non-Fraternity/Sorority Agreement by inviting them to be members of any fraternity/sorority or organization unrecognized by Student Development and Activities Office [SDAO]) of the yet to be updated Student Handbook.
He remains firm that the violations accused against him are not justifiable, saying that the evidence SWAFO holds against him is baseless, as it only consists of Facebook posts from AB-KL, which he believes does not equate to him persuading DLSU-D students to join unrecognized organizations by SDAO.
“Nasa constitutional right natin na may karapatan tayong mag-unionize at maging parte ng mga association kaya in essence, ‘yung pagkakaroon ng ganitong memorandum and policy in general sa loob ng school ay tinatapakan ‘yung ganitong constitutional right ng mga estudyante,” he said.
Tarra also shared that during the mediation process with SWAFO, where the University Student Government (USG) President Benedict Bravo represented him as his legal counsel, both Bravo and Lasallian Community Development Center (LCDC) agreed that no violations should be imposed towards Tarra since they understand his advocacy; however, SWAFO rejected the proposal.
“Ayaw talaga nila (SWAFO) magpatinag. So n’ung time na ‘yun, aside sa paglalapag sa’min ng violation, doon din [inamin] ng SWAFO na ‘yung social media pages ng AB-KL and CCL ay matagal nang under surveillance ng DLSU-D administration. Nabahala kami, like bakit siya under surveillance? Wala naman kaming ginagawang masama,” Tarra revealed.
The CCL Coordinator also believes that this is a matter of student repression, and that the University and SWAFO are doing all means possible to silence the pressing issues concerning the students.
Other instances of overlooked issues were mentioned, such as the expected tuition fee increase (TOFI) for the upcoming academic years (AYs), as well as cases of gender-based harassment that occurred within the University.
He further emphasized the contradicting nature of the apprehension that they experienced during the Democracy Walk, narrating how the personnel’s actions were unfitting, considering that it was a reenactment of a progressive movement.
Meanwhile, Tarra also added that this has been a deep-rooted issue between SWAFO, AB-KL, and CCL dating back to 2019, where the disciplinary office has a history of filing cases against the coordinators of the mentioned youth organizations.
