THE FACULTY of Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC) has drawn flak from social media for the late distribution of Type B uniforms, with students demanding refunds.
Among the student council’s critics is the UST Sociological Society, which released a statement on May 3 expressing disappointment over the delays.
“While the [UST Sociological Society] understands that there has been a failure on the contracted supplier’s end, we maintain that the ABSC is also liable and should have been prepared to effectively mitigate [the delay] from the start,” the statement released on Facebook read. “The ABSC should consider providing students—most importantly the graduating students—the option to refund.”
In a statement released through the council’s official social media accounts last April 14, ABSC president Marie Jann Klaire Lazo explained that the supplier, Bright Ravens Printing Company, failed to meet the scheduled delivery of uniforms because of the Holy Week break.
The council ordered a total of 8,431 Type B uniforms—a white collared shirt with blue and black stripes and a patch of the college logo. This was after ABSC conducted a survey of 2,539 Artlets, wherein a total of 1,434 students agreed to the Type B uniform, while 880 disagreed and 225 abstained.
The ABSC statement revealed that Bright Ravens had agreed to deliver the first batch of orders from April 7 to 9, while the second batch was set to arrive on April 15. The ABSC extended the deadline for the first batch to April 13 but only 500 shirts were provided by the supplier.
In response to the council’s statement, Bright Ravens released an official statement on its Facebook page last April 21 saying the “tedious amount of time” needed to produce the shirts and the delayed tally of sizes from the ABSC caused the interruption in production.
However, the supplier said it assumed accountability for the delayed delivery of the Type B uniforms.
“We promise that we are doing whatever it takes to speed up the process even if it would incur additional cost to us, to show you that we are sincere about accepting accountability in this transaction,” the statement read.
Artlets Assistant Dean and Social Welfare and Development Board Chair Narcisa Tabirara said the administration was looking in to the issue, adding that a new contract had been drafted between the ABSC and Bright Ravens to deal with the problem.
“The new contract is binding. It is something that works out on the part of the student council and the supplier,” Tabirara said in an interview.
Asked on the possibility of refunds, Tabirara said there was no decision yet. “Perhaps that may be logical especially for students who will really transfer to other institutions,” Tabirara said.
The faculty is also looking into the possibility of having a “weekly wash day” next academic year to make use of the Type B uniforms.
The Varsitarian sought comments from newly elected ABSC president Jan Dominic Castro, as well as members of the Board of Majors, but they have yet to respond. Arianne F. Merez
