Tomorrow, my alma mater will officially kick off its year long celebration of its centenary. But I don't know if that many is excited about it at all aside from its current students and the fresh grads. With very little publicity for upcoming events and its weak, if not non-existent, alumni relations, it will be hard to pump things up among graduates who could've celebrated this milestone more meaningfully than most (yes, I'm talking about the big shots). More money could've poured in to help develop the university. But then, good publicity has never been UP's strength. The face of UP in the media is usually that of an angry one, dripping in sweat from attending a rally to uphold a cause that UP has been fighting for for so many years now, or another angry face but this time, one at the halls of power, dripping in mud from swinging barrels of them at someone else. It's not the school's fault it can't play good basketball. I bet no self-preserving parent who invested good money in pricey basketball clinics would allow their tall and handsome sons attend a public school and mingle with poor nerds.
But there're many things that students and alumni alike would like to see UP have. Things like newer facilities, teachers who get paid well so they can stop throwing their frustrations at the hapless students, well-maintained classrooms, better cared for books and archives at the library. A better sense of pomp and pageantry would also be welcome (come on, a motorcade in the middle of the day? Hindi niyo naman gustong mangamoy pawis ang mga kagalang-galang niyong alumni niyan?). For a university that offers doctorate degrees in art studies and appreciation as well as a whole college dedicated solely to the fine arts, I could only guess how the centennial committee managed to choose the current centennial logo.
A friend once remarked that UP doesn't have a sense of community the way other schools have. I think she's gravely wrong. Debates and arguments, bickerings and fights that transcend the professional among its people have always been the hallmark of UP. And internal scuffles don't necessarily mean there is no community among them. It just goes to show how dynamic its population is, how deeply committed the people are in their beliefs and steadfast in their principles. It doesn't derive its pride and identity from awards and recognitions; the school knows there are better things to do than gloat with the medals or trophies it received. The people in it know what things really matter, and the things that do matter are those that go unnoticed because they have been embedded in the people's everyday lives, in it's culture, in it's way of life. It cannot be summed up in just one single event or competition. Without the debates and disagreements, the government might as well shut the school down. There's a big difference between having a community and a herd for a school.
But the thing about UP is despite all these, it has never wavered in its mission to uphold excellence. While rankings and recognitions are beyond UPs concerns, it still manages to get high marks way above other schools, despite the lack of funds, the migration of its best teachers, and amid all the issues. I could only wonder what it would achieve if it was as rich as its private counterparts.
Tomorrow, everyone who wants to will celebrate exactly that. It is not after all, a school exclusively for its students; it is the university of the people in the truest sense of the word. The university's gain is the gain of the country, and its faults, the country's pains. And just this once, all those who have had the privilege to bear a student number will bask in its crimson glory.
UP, ang galing mo.
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