Editor’s Note: The paper is withholding the release of extremely sensitive details of the case, with the welfare of the victim in mind.
A UST biology student has come out in the open to decry the leniency extended by University authorities to her ex-boyfriend, a fellow student, who inflicted multiple physical abuse on her earlier this year.
A student discipline committee took a “compassionate approach” and did not expel biology student Kyle Viray even if he was found guilty of violating the Student Code of Conduct and Discipline, said the victim, Diane Arcena.
Arcena told the Varsitarian that Viray was merely asked to render 250 hours of community service as a condition for the release of his graduation credentials, and then barred from attending the solemn investiture or graduation rites of the College of Science.
“[T]he fact that he was only sanctioned 250 hours of community service was beyond upsetting. The cruelty that I had to go through in his hands was nothing compared with the sanction he’d be receiving,” said Arcena, 20, in an online interview.
Viray declined to comment, but told the Varsitarian that he would give a statement after getting in touch with his lawyer.
Viray was found guilty of “inflicting injuries, physical or otherwise, on another person, whether inside or outside the campus,” she said.
Members of the Student Welfare and Development Committee of the College of Science themselves acknowledged that under the Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education issued by the government, the appropriate penalty for violent or destructive behavior is “exclusion.”
The May 8 resolution of the committee, Arcena said, justified the leniency by saying that Viray was a graduating student and that it was his first offense.
It admonished Viray to “faithfully observe the core values of the University and to act in accordance with the principles, traditions and ideals of the Catholic Church.”
Hematoma
Viray came under heavy fire on social media over the weekend when a series of tweets revealed the incidents of physical and emotional abuse he allegedly committed against Arcena.
Arcena herself posted photos showing hematoma on parts of her body after a receiving a beating from Viray. She did not name Viray until her interview with the Varsitarian.
The beatings, she said, took place on Dec. 18 of last year and on Feb. 21, March 2 and 23 this year.
“I kept silent for so long and was afraid to speak up because of the trauma. It haunted me every day and even in my sleep. But I couldn’t keep silent knowing that if I do, there could be others out there who could be victimized as well by his horrendous acts,” Arcena said.
She decried the committee’s decision as a slap on the wrist, adding that Viray’s actions constituted a criminal offense.
“I understand that the University is trying to uphold their values but this is a major offense and I strongly believe that our case should have not been taken lightly. Even the acts committed qualify as a violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2002,” she said.
In a letter dated April 2, Arcena’s mother Natividad Cariaga, a physician, appealed to Science Dean Donnie Ramos to impose due disciplinary action on Viray and ensure protection for her daughter.
Arcena said she had the incidents of beating put in the blotter of a police station in Sampaloc, Manila on the same day the letter was sent to Ramos.
Another ex-girlfriend of Viray, also a Thomasian, suffered the same treatment from him, she said.
“One of his exes already reported him to the Student Welfare and Development Committee and guidance counselor of [the College of] Science during the time that she was being abused,” Arcena said.
The Office for Student Affairs and the Office of Public Affairs have yet to issue any statement on the matter as of writing.
Sandra Yvonne Faune, Arcena and Viray’s mutual friend and classmate, said she was asked by the discipline committee about the couple’s relationship.
“[Before the beatings], okay sila, like the usual couple na makikita mo. [They were] sweet, sabay pumasok or umuwi, magkatabi sa class lagi… hindi ko exactly alam bakit biglang naging ganoon relationship nila,” Faune told the Varsitarian.
Faune said Arcena still came to class and thesis meetings after the beatings.
“She usually comes to class na naka-jacket. Makikita mo lang `yung sa neck niya, akala lang namin noon allergy lang,” she added.
Beyond the deadline
Another classmate, Hannah Sinarimbo, said the investigation hearing was “unfair” as the committee allowed Viray’s camp to submit his written explanation beyond the deadline.
“Isang araw lang nangyari `yung hearing. First `yung side namin then `yung kabila na late pa dumating. Tapos nalaman namin na late pala nag-submit `yung side nina Viray ng counter-statement. Samantalang in-extend na `yung time para sa kanila na magpasa kasi nu’ng first na deadline wala pa rin,” she said.
Camie Buan, a friend of Arcena, said she was supportive of the relationship at first but got furious when she found out about the abuse.
“There were times when I couldn’t help it, I would message Kyle about it and he would reason out that he loved Kim so much that sometimes, [he said], nawawala siya sa sarili niya,” she said. With reports from Miguel Alejandro IV A. Herrera
It is shameful that UST has chosen leniency for the monstrously violent Kyle Viray.