Streaking!

I never saw the streakers in UP in my entire life. There was one time I was close to seeing them during my freshman year. When I got to Chem 16 class my labmate told me she saw naked men run in the hallway of Palma Hall during lunch break. Natawa ako sa reaction nya, "Yuck Fiona yung pubic hair!" Hehehe.

Every year, students from the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity (APO) of the University of the Philippines run around campus naked but with faces covered--called streaking--as some sort of offering to their beloved fraternity on its anniversary as part of their tradition. APO celebrates its anniversary every last school day of December. This year, the Oblation Run had another purpose: sign of protest for the impending tuition fee hike.

The participants, members of the UP fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, held their "Oblation run"-- named after the University's symbol of freedom -- at about noontime, according to APO Grand Chancellor Max Quijano.
Quijano said the Oblation run coincided with a scheduled meeting of the Board of Regents, UP's highest policy-making body. The BOR might decide Friday whether to impose an 80 percent tuition increase.

The tuition fee will be increased from 300 PHP to 1,000PHP per unit. Whew! No wonder these kids are running around naked, soon they won't be able to afford clothes anymore!

Meanwhile, Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. criticized the University for allowing these students to run naked on campus.Meanwhile, Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. criticized the University for allowing these students to run naked on campus.

In a statement, Pimentel said he could not see any purpose or logic why male students, their faces covered with balaclavas or rolled up t-shirts, have to shed off their clothes and expose private parts "except to provoke voyeuristic tendency or create lewd thoughts among the spectators."
"I ask the UP administration why they allow students to publicly go naked and display their private parts. What benefit does this public institution, paid by people's
money, get out of it?" he said.

The Senator's is such a stick in the mud. That's freedom of expression, kaya nga Oblation run eh.

I remember during my time we paid something like P24 or 27/unit. Students then would protest by delaying their payment till the last day, meaning we had to wait till there was a rollback so we won't have to pay the new rate. Of course, walang nangyari, I ended up paying a late fee of P50, which was a lot then.

If the people's taxes pay for the institution, why do these students need to pay 1,000PHP per unit? Confusing. One of these days parents will start running on campus naked someday.

Photo courtesy of Nu's

News bits courtesy of INQ7 News and ABS-CBN Interactive