UP revolution

Landscape, ideology, and real life: a revolution

 

 A real life conversation concerning UP in terms of its landscape and ideology (hidden behind) is such a very delicate and rewarding adventure. So much to me as an adventure, since I have seen UP-- the center point of a revolution of any kind. If there is a revolution that will broke, for sure UP would play the center stage. The talk of Up’s significance therefore could be not and should not be underestimated. My search for landmarks and signposts to decipher the ideology hidden is such an adventure. And here have dealt with things that might not be as other thought it should, but I have thought of great significance… as I name the landscapes/landmarks of UP and its corresponding ideologies, I’m not proposing that it is THE ideology but I have seen this hidden to gems to be very significant. As Geertz have proposed, these landmarks could serve as signpost to lead us to better understand our world and the truth of life.

 

Here I do devise to list the data in a table form to make it more simple and profound looking…

 

                                           

Landscapes/ landmarks	Ideology hidden
Twin buildings,i.e. library/Quezon        hall, Educ/law center, Eng’g AS	Equality and uniformity
Basketball courts and sports        amenities in dorms	Living in a community
EEE department has a separate        building from the Eng’g building, and many others	Separation/ pride
“kalayaan” dorm compared to        other “tree” names of other dorms        (yakal, molave)	Entering UP means   freedom for freshmen or for students
Residential areas inside the campus        i.e. area2 and 3, dagohoy, palaris	Diversity of   people living as a community
Surrounded by open gates	All are welcome   to enter, not bound by boundaries
No uniform, student fashions clothing	Expression of   weirdness and uniqueness
Sunken garden, lagoon, parks and wide        open spaces	Wild living,   living in the wild
Carillon Tower (alarm clock/ bells)	Serve as a waking   mechanism, uprising
Carillon Tower (highest peak in UP)	Focal point/   center point of revolution

 

 These ideologies for landmarks are birthed out through personal interviews and reflections. And on the following conversations I will share my personal experiences and observations living in the said areas.

 

  Equality in UP has been that of a common word, we long to be equal with other people no wonder some grown to unconsciously confuse equality with laziness. Students become so lazy these days and just not taking responsibilities. Many buildings in UP have been designed to look uniform or much more to be look that much the same. Yes, UP students have just express weird things and call it UNIQUENESS through the way they dress, but then I just thought it is just a shallow showcase of uniqueness. I do believe that uniqueness should be seen from the inside out. More to my surprise is that many times we have just judge people not on the basis of their character and spirituality but on how the way they look uniform and the same in the outside appearance.

 Much of what I have seen UP landscape tries to convey is a sense of the community, and diversity and freedom. When I was a freshman I used to live in the dormitory, kalayaan dormitory that is. Kalayaan which literally means FREEDOM is now my new home; it promised us freedom and a community. Freedom just simply because we are far away from our family and community because I used to live with diff. people (add to that the near-complete amenities inside the dormitory). But then I have seen that we are also given a freedom to choose to hide our bad hobbits and given a chance to choose our community or own circle of friends. If we are not careful enough we oftentimes see our search for freedom lead us to BONDAGE AND Slavery (premarital sex, wrong relationships and pride) with our own doing because we haven’t choose the right way. As for me, I only find my freedom when I meet Jesus as real more than a religion but a person (He has change my life, I have been confronted with a choice and I chose Him).

 What best describes UP also, are its open gates, parks and wide open spaces and the carillon tower. Almost all kinds of people are welcome to UP with its gate-guards not requiring anyone an I.D. and also everybody could wildly move in its parks and spaces (you know football and wild and war games). I love UP to live wild; after all there should never be a place for apathy and neutrality. When students get the most of there lives living boring. Let’s live a life of adventure, shouting in out parks and open spaces- I want to live.

I used to be very interested for stories of revolution and uprising. The carillon tower has been a great symbol of origin at the time when UP is in a good mode; when people woke up from there sleep because the bell is ringing its songs at the highest peak in the campus. As far as I have recalled, its been a few decades ago that the bell are on devastated stage but then I heard that one of the biggest project in the UP centennial is the restoration of the tower. It’s been a high time to restore out identity as a University that will lead this country for a revolution. There will be a revolution not just of shouting and of mass demonstration but of integrity and character. The restoration of the tower just conveys a picture of going back to our origin. The tower has been an alarm clock of the whole campus in the past and its highest point and its restoration means a great significance. Likewise to me, as I return to my point of origin only would I understand my true design and blueprint--a masterpiece, a brilliant star destined for greatness, you know.

Comments

[Kristine Marie]

How profound. hehe.

[Michael]

ha ha nice comment, very very deep, but if you want to know more, just contact me.