Editor’s Note: We would like to clarify that Lipat was the executive coordinator to the CSC auditor and not the former auditor of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Student Council. Cruz is also from Lakas Tomasino Coalition and not from Lakasdiwa. We sincerely apologize for this oversight.
Get to know the candidates running unopposed for treasurer, auditor and public relations officer for the upcoming 2019 Central Student Council elections.
TREASURER
Jan Rafael Lipat (Lakas Tomasino Coalition)
FOR POLITICAL science junior Jan Rafael Lipat, a more student-engaged and relational student council is essential in UST.
“[The long-term feasibility of my advocacies] may be addressed by letting [the students] be a part of the advocacy itself, through a strong presence of student volunteers who are into the advocacy in the Central Student Council,” he said.
Lipat, who served as an executive coordinator to the CSC auditor this academic year, also promotes the value of financial literacy.
In carrying out his projects and advocacies, Lipat also believes in maintaining good rapport with the administration to more easily bridge it with different student bodies, especially in seeking approval of these projects.
“Continued dialogue with the administration, because I believe that hostility will not work when it comes to bridging two vastly different yet interconnected members of the Thomasian community.”
AUDITOR
Patricia Claire Cruz (Lakas Tomasino Coalition)
Accountancy freshman Patricia Claire Cruz is running unopposed for CSC auditor. She’s calling for greater inclusivity among Thomasians.
“I [want] everyone to feel that they are safe and accepted regardless of their choices. I want them to feel the sense of belongingness and redefine the feeling of home as CSC,” Cruz told the Varsitarian.
For Cruz, upholding transparency is the biggest challenge she will have to face as an aspiring CSC auditor.
She adds that there is a constant need to prove one’s credibility as the officer in charge for the checks and balances of the council.
As the assistant associate of the academics committee of AMV student council, Cruz believes that an efficient student leader knows how to balance her responsibilities well.
“A student-leader is one who knows how to manage her own time without having to choose between two important things: being a student or being a leader,” Cruz said.
Cruz finds it a challenge to be the sole candidate for auditor.
“Being a sole candidate is harder than having an opponent. This circumstance indeed posed a great challenge since the only opponent I have to face is myself,” she said.
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
Ian Jericho Sun (Lakas Tomasino Coalition)
The candidate for public relations officer (PRO) is Ian Jericho Sun, a physical therapy sophomore.
“We are all at one point abused, others in ways they can’t speak out. I seek to tackle more than what the eye can meet,” Sun told the Varsitarian.
“Being oppressed, as what I used to think was a weakness, has given me an opportunity to be strong and inspire others. Now, I believe empowerment is a choice that just needs a little guidance,” he added.
Sun envisions an effective student council that will form an “empathetic bond” with the students it serves. “There can’t be a good studentry without a good council, and there can never be a great council without a great studentry,” he said.
For Sun, it is necessary for a student leader to learn how to follow in order to be effective.
“You can never be a leader without being a follower. It’s a must for student leaders themselves to take the first step for the rest to follow, and take the fall for the rest to fly,” Sun said.
Sun served as the chief of staff of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences Student Council.
