THE coordinator to the Central Student Council’s (CSC) Office of the Secretary is now aiming for the executive post itself, seeking to eliminate bureaucratic red tape that he believes has contributed to dwindling student participation in campus affairs.
Biochemistry junior Nashville Mauricio is the lone aspirant for CSC secretary, the second highest position with a candidate this year.
He is running on four platforms, including “Sign on Time,” which seeks to streamline the process of securing approvals for paperwork from University offices to help ensure that student-led events proceed as scheduled.
“I think that will be very efficient sa mga organizations, sa mga student para makapag-serve sila better sa kanilang constituents,” he told the Varsitarian. “I think, if mangyari ‘yon, it will inspire na ‘Okay na mag-organization kasi mas malinis na ‘yong processing, mas madali na ngayon.’”
To further address the drop in campus political engagement, Mauricio proposed the research-based initiative “The State of Student Leadership: A Fact-Based Analysis.” The project seeks to examine barriers preventing students from running for CSC posts.
“[This will] gather data on what’s the actual state of student leadership,” he said. “And from there, we can [proceed to] projects or implementation ng Sigla or the leadership academy.”
Mauricio is also pushing for the “Student-Initiated Growth and Leadership Academy,” or Sigla, a training series designed to simulate student governance scenarios and equip student leaders with practical skills in solving issues and launching initiatives.
“At least, with this, malalaman natin ‘yong problem and [mabibigyan] natin ng specialized solution ‘yong problem na ‘yon,” he said.
“Right now, [there’s] always speculation that there’s a decline in student leadership in UST…wala nang gusto tumakbo. With this research, we can actually gather the data on what’s the actual problem,” he added.
Mauricio said tackling the root causes of the drop in student government engagement — such as the lack of incentives, academic pressures, or changing attitudes toward leadership — could help “revitalize” student involvement in the CSC.
“It’s Important for us, sa term namin, na maibalik or maipakita namin that the CSC is still present,” he said. Micah G. Pascua
