THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas, notably its Office of Student Affairs (OSA), has come under fire for its decision to block the school’s online campus media organization in response to a viral photo on social media.
UST-OSA allegedly requested the removal of the image uploaded by the digital media outlet because it allegedly elicited “public ridicule” from students in the College of Information and Computing Sciences (CICS).
Photo Courtesy: TomasinoWeb
On February 15, TomasinoWeb’s official social media channels shared a photo of two CICS students visiting a convenience store. The students’ uniforms resembled those of the convenience shop workers.
The UST-OSA also sought a public apology from TomasinoWeb, prompting student activists to conduct a protest at UST’s P. Noval Gate on Monday, February 19, to call out the OSA.
TomasinoWeb adviser steps down
TomasinoWeb adviser Leo Laparan II resigned, citing “the recent turn of events has rendered my position in the student organization immaterial and insignificant moving forward.”
In an interview with The Varsitarian, Laparan expressed his viewpoint, claiming that what the UST-OSA did was censorship and was a significant blow not just to the affected institutions, but also to the whole state of media.
Photo Courtesy: The Varsitarian | Facebook
“What happened was censorship. And I cannot accept and I cannot believe that as a practicing journalist, nangyari ito sa two-decade career ko sa isang media organization in a student environment setting,” said the adviser, who is also The Philippine Star’s desk editor.
“Prinessure ninyo, pinilit niyo ipa-takedown, tapos may threat na ‘pag di ginawa, puwedeng ma-sanction. Saan kami lulugar?”
“For self-preservation ‘yung ginawa ko–to keep my dignity and pride as a journalist na natapakan, I decided to resign…I don’t want to work in a setting like that,” he added.
TomasinoWeb’s official statement
Just days after receiving what appeared to be unfair punishment from UST-OSA, TomasinoWeb issued an official statement regarding the dispute, which stemmed from a post they made on their social media sites.
“The organization was told that the photo has become a source of public ridicule toward CICS students, their College, and the University as a whole due to the supposed association of the CICS Type B uniform with the convenience store’s employee uniforms.”
“TomasinoWeb never intended to cause any harm to anyone. While we believe being a convenience store worker is honest work, we acknowledge that the photograph still caused a stir online, and for that we sincerely apologize.”
“To rectify this, we have removed the photograph from the album across all our social media,” concluded the statement posted on TomasinoWeb’s Facebook page.
The organization’s operations are temporarily on hold due to the growth of the scandal, as well as the resignation of its adviser.
Students and alumni reaction
With the turn of events, many students, including UST alumni and students from other colleges, objected to what appeared to be a press freedom attack on the student organization.
Screenshot from: @Elliot Dimasuhid | Facebook
Screenshot from: @Zyryx Bartolome | Facebook
Many others have shown their support for TomasinoWeb and their adviser, saying that these individuals must be permitted to express their beliefs.
UST-OSA’s move has been interpreted as an attack on press freedom, and it may jeopardize campus press freedom due to inappropriate handling of student complaints.
As of this writing, the UST-OSA has yet to issue a statement addressing the controversy. However, the university’s public affairs department has launched a joint effort to fix the situation.
