The Four-eyed Journal » College

How does it work: DLSU-D Student Election System

jhay — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:06:28 +0000

Today is the first of the two Election Days in which students of DLSU-D will vote for a new set of University and College Student Council officers.

From a total of 97 candidates, 49 came from Samahan ng mga Estudyanteng Naninindigan para sa Tunay na Reporma at Ordinansa (SENTRO) political party, 46 came from SINAG Political Party while two are running as independent candidates.

They are contesting a total of 64 positions in the 7 College Student Councils and the lone University Student Council.

The total number of student-voters in DLSU-D is estimated to number around 12,000. However, year after year, the average voters’ turnout is around 30-45%. It’s a long standing issue which deserves a separate discussion in another post for another time.

Today, I will deal with one of the most pressing questions with regards to the elections: “How are winners of the elections determined?”

The answer can be found in Sections 112 and 113, Article XIII of the 2008 Revised Student Election Code of DLSU-D, which reads:

Section 112. USC Officers. Candidates who have obtained the highest total percentage of votes cast in all colleges shall be the winners for the said positions in the USC.

The winning candidates are determined in the following manner: first, each candidate’s collegiate electoral score is determined by obtaining the percentage of votes cast for him/her in each college, second, each candidate’s electoral collegiate score is combined, and third, the candidates with the highest combined collegiate electoral scores shall be the winners of the election for
USC Officers.

Section 113. CSC Officers. Candidates who have obtained the highest total percentage of votes cast in all program courses offered in their respective college shall be the winners for the said positions in the CSC.

The winning candidates are determined in the following manner: first, each candidate’s program electoral score is determined by obtaining the percentage of votes cast for him/her in each program offered in his/her respective college, second, each candidate’s electoral program score is combined, and third, the candidates with the highest combined program electoral scores shall be the winners of the election for CSC Officers.

This is what has been called as the Collegiate Electoral Score system. The wording of the provisions are clear on how it works, but it’s a lot easier to understand by looking at it’s formula version:

Formula for the Collegiate Electoral Score

A candidate’s Collegiate Electoral Score in each of the 7 colleges are then added together for his/her final score. The candidate with the highest final score would be the winner for the position he/she contested.

The same formula is used in the College Student Council elections, but instead of “Votes cast in a college“, it will be “Votes cast in a program” or a course in that college. Then, all the scores are again added together. The candidate with the highest score wins the position he/she contested.

Does this formula conform with the 2008 USC Constitution? Yes it does. The USC Constitution simply requires that USC Officers be elected at large by the bonafide students of DLSU-D. (Sec. 2, Art. V, 2008 USC Constitution)

By “at large” it means all the students in the University. However, within the University, there are seven colleges with differing student populations. Some colleges are twice or even triple the size of another college in terms of student population. An example would be the College of Business Administration which has the largest student population of over 3,000 students. This is more than double the population of the College of Criminal Justice Education whose population is no more than 1,000 students.

So before the Collegiate Electoral Score system was introduced, student elections in DLSU-D have been dominated by political parties with solid support from the largest colleges namely the College of Business Administration and College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

The voices of the smaller colleges are drowned by the votes of the biggest colleges. That is not in line with the essence of democracy, that is a ‘virtual dictatorship’ of a few colleges.

In order to remedy this unfair situation, the framers of the 2008 Revised Student Election Code of DLSU-D devised the Collegiate Electoral Score system. It was inspired by the Electoral College system used in the election of US Presidents.

Because like DLSU-D, the United States of America faced essentially the same problems in every election, there are states that are more numerous than other states in terms of population. William C. Kimberling, Deputy Director of the Federal Election Commission Office of Election Administration explained:

Direct election was rejected not because the Framers of the [US] Constitution doubted public intelligence but rather because they feared that without sufficient information about candidates from outside their State, people would naturally vote for a “favorite son” from their own State or region. At worst, no president would emerge with a popular majority sufficient to govern the whole country. At best, the choice of president would always be decided by the largest, most populous States with little regard for the smaller ones.

Paraphrasing Mr Kimberling in the context of DLSU-D elections, USC officers would always be decided by the largest, most populous colleges with little regard for the smaller colleges under the old system. Such candidates may have the highest votes in the election, but it is not the popular majority from all the seven colleges in the University.

So in setting up the Collegiate Electoral Score system for DLSU-D, the framers of the 2008 Revised Election Code adopted the principle that each of the seven colleges be given equal weight during elections. The system will also ensure that the winning USC officers would have the majority support of students from each of the seven colleges, not the majority of just one or two colleges.

The new system creates a more level playing field for political parties their candidates and it even gives a chance for independent candidates to take on veteran players, this ultimately leads to a more dynamic and vibrant student-politics in DLSU-D. Equally important, it gives real meaning to one of the oldest slogans in the USC – “unity amidst diversity.”

Disclosure: I was a member of the Student Election Code Revision Convention. I present, I am affiliated with SENTRO Political Party.

MIT now offering course on Solar Power

jhay — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:00:49 +0000

Those who would want to learn more about solar panels, harnessing the power of the sun, the technologies, economics and know-how involved would now be delighted to know that you can do so in an academic setting, no where else but in Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

MIT’s Professional Education is now offering a course called “SOLAR ENERGY: CAPTURING THE SUN” and has the following course objectives:

Examine global energy calculations, including how to do them and what they mean.
Assess global climate models and what they mean.
Investigate the way nature performs biological energy conversion.
Examine solar capture and conversion (photovoltaics and photochemical assemblies).
Describe energy storage: chemical fuels, batteries and supercapacitors.

The course is open to almost every one, says MIT, professionals, educators and public, and all who are concerned about this planet’s future. Having a college background in science or any other undergraduate degree would be enough foundation to help in understanding the materials and concepts presented in the course.

Classes would begin on August 2, 2010 and end on August 6. How I wish I could afford this course and study at MIT. Hopefully, similar programs would also be offered soon here in the Philippines by top Universities and colleges.

Having eco-engineers that are equipped with the knowledge to utilize solar power would greatly help solve our energy and environment problems. Now I wish the next President would include this kind of initiatives in his education program.

Image by Jimmy_joe

DLSUD’s flexible tuition fee payment scheme

jhay — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:18:37 +0000

Starting this 2nd semester, DLSUD is now implementing a more flexible tuition payment scheme wherein students can now pay for just 20% of their total tuition and school fees to be considered as enrolled in the university. The rest of the balance would be paid out in monthly installments for the rest of the semester.

DLSUD's new monthly tuition payment scheme

This is opposed to the old scheme of having to pay for 40% of one’s total tuition and school fees upon enrollment then paying for 20 % before the Pre-lim examinations then the final 20% before the Mid-terms or the Finals examinations.

DLSUD's old tuition payment scheme

It’s definitely good news for all students and parents of DLSUD. Paying for tuition fees are no longer as taxing as before. With the world economy still in a bleak situation and with the local economic conditions no different, it’s a positive step in helping students and their families access a Lasallian education.

However, I think that’s not all there is to it. Competition from other universities and colleges in the CALABARZON area has contributed to the adoption of this new payment scheme. Many are saying that the biggest local competitor to DLSUD is Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite Campus (LPU-Cavite) in Gen. Trias which has just recently opened a couple of years ago. With lower tuition fees compared to DLSUD coupled with the worsening economic conditions, families are finding ways to lower their expenses and these schools are attractive alternatives.

Students are not the only one looking for alternatives. I’ve heard consistent buzzwords from some DLSUD faculty that I know, even alumni, that LPU-Cavite is also aggressively headhunting teachers with a higher pay and a chance to be a pioneer at their new so-called “resort campus.” Day by day, I keep on seeing more LPU-Cavite students at local hangouts like SM Dasmariñas and even Walter Mart.

So what can DLSUD do to keep its students and faculty and attract new ones? Lowering the tuition and school fees would be a pipe dream and a dream it will remain. Improving its services (and it doesn’t mean more facilities per se) and academic excellence is a more doable option. But I know DLSUD will come through, as it has always had.

The Awesome Relief Operations Volunteers of DLSUD

jhay — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:13:40 +0000

The relief operations of DLSU-D has scaled down after nearly four weeks of gathering relief goods and donations, repackaging them into family packs and delivering to affected areas mostly here in Cavite and in Taytay, Rizal.

In that span of time, the efforts of DLS-Health Science Institute and DLSU-Dasmariñas have reached out to nine barangays with a total of 3,592 families who were affected by destructive forces of typhoon Ondoy. On top of that, we’ve collected Php116,034.60 worth of cash donations from the generous students, families, alumni, friends and partners of the Lasallian community here in Cavite. A full and detailed report of which could be found here in the DLSUD website.

Of course, the relief operations would’ve have not been a great success if it were not for the brave, generous and kind volunteers, most of whom are students of DLSUD who dedicated their time, effort and persons in sorting, repacking and even braving the dangers that come with the distribution of the relief goods to the affected communities.

There were almost 300 volunteers who came to campus despite the lure of malling and leisure due to class suspensions, accompanied by faculty and alumni to push through with the relief operations. We even had help with the volunteers from the local chapter of KABTAAN Party-list.

There are too many too mention in this post so I’d just publish here the Volunteers’ registration log file from September 28 to October 1. The list is still incomplete and I’ll update it as soon as possible.

If you volunteered during the relief operations but your name is not in the list, please let me know through the comments form below.

Going back, they all deserve our thanks and gratitude for heeding the call of the times and becoming heroes in their own way, big or small.

Animo La Salle!

2008 in Photos: Volunteerism, advocacies, photography and love

jhay — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:11:42 +0000

The year 2008 has been awesome for myself, my fellow volunteers and friends. I hope you’ll join me in this long post that looks back at the past events that I joined, witnessed and become part of this past year:

February

We held our breaths as we delegates to the Students’ Constitutional Convention and officers of the University Student Council 2007-2008 waited for the results of the plebiscite on the newly revised University Student Council Constitution of DLSU-D. Thankfully, it was ratified!

With the new USC Constitution ratified and in effect, we then focused on our advocacies such as taking a stand on the NBN-ZTE corruption scandal. On this day, the University released a statement regarding its position on the said issue.

The move was followed up by a University-wide forum on the NBN-ZTE scandal to better inform the academic community about the issue and to remind everyone of the stand the University has taken.

A day to reckon with, the DLSU-D contingent of students, faculty and several adminstrators in a convoy of two school buses were harassed and blocked by Bacoor Police first at Daang Hari then at Emilio Aguinaldo Hi-way in our peaceful attempt to join the Inter-faith rally at Makati.

At the end of the month, I visited the Cavite State University in Indang as a guest speaker on the basics of blogging in a seminar that tackled new trends in media. I thank Neil Bernardo of Es2pido.com for the honor and opportunity. And of course for the kapeng barako they gave me.

March

The third month of 2008 was less intense than February. On the first week, we the brave 85 Lasallians who were blocked and harassed and prevented from joining the Makati rally finally met with Jun Lozada at a forum at La Salle Greenhills. Lozada and the other delegates were appalled when they heard us re-tell the story of that infamous day.

Inspired from that encounter and having learned from that experience, we returned to DLSU-D and organized the Cavite Inter-faith Gathering so as to make known to the country that Cavite is not “GMA Republic” as some of her supporters claim.

With the closing of the school year, a good friend and fellow volunteer of mine capped it off by joining the Youth Action Day at Liwasang Bonifacio. It was a fun and encouraging experience to join ranks with other youth and students in standing for what is right and just for our country.

April

Come April we held a small party for scholars, committee members and avid supporters of the University Student Council 2007-2008. It was the least we could do to reward all of them who have helped us in the USC in carrying out our duties, projects, programs and activities. They were with us through the toughest times and the lightest ones.

Quickly after that, we were back on the streets, marching towards the Supreme Court which decided in favor of Romulo Neri on the issue of using executive privilege during the Senate hearings on the NBN-ZTE scandal, to appeal that ruling. Sadly, the Supreme Court upheld its decision.

Moving, it was time for some serious break from all the hard work at the University. I went away to Puerto Galera with my barkada to celebrate the birthday of my best friend’s younger brother. Three days and two nights of beach, fun, parties and babes. It was awesome!

May

The last month of summer break was quite memorable contrary to what I believed the month before. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the press launch of the Asus Eee PC 900. We all know how it went on from there right? The face of mobile computing has never been the same.

After that, I was back at DLSU-D for another exciting and joyous event. The blessing of our last project in the USC 07-08; the DLSU-D Jeep aka “Ikot La Salle”. It’s a safari-type passenger jeep that will make rounds in DLSU-D’s large campus, saving students from the pain of walking around campus. Plus, they are able to keep their fellow Lasallians in school because a huge chunk of the earnings will go to the scholarship fund.

On the last week of May, another blessing came my way. My very first laptop, a Compaq Presario c765TU. My blogging has never been the same.

To wrap up my summer break and to prepare for the coming school year, I joined my fellow volunteers and faculty from the LCDC in an exposure trip to Subic. Though I did not enjoy the beach, visiting the Preda Foundation and learn from their experiences in taking care of juvenile delinquents and youth which are in conflict with the law.

June

June opened with a bang for me and my fellow bloggers at Bloggers’ Kapihan when we trouped all the way to Angeles City, Pampanga to help in the launching of Gov. Among Ed Panlilio’s blog. We’re so excited to have Among Ed blogging because it’s another way to make blogging more relevant to the Kapampangans and for the good governor to reach out and spread the virtues of good governance.

It was also at this time that a new mobile network came out. uMobile and they have one fancy idea: give the subscribers free credits every time they view an advertisement. Sounds cool, but eventually the idea never fully took off and its parent company Smart Communications, Inc. re-branded it into Red Mobile which is set to compete with Sun Cellular.

June is also the opening of the new school year and so it was back to my usual work load. Actually I had more this time around as I was elected as the Coordinator of the SERVE volunteers. Our very first activity was the General Assembly for all volunteers, especially the greenhorns because it was aimed at welcoming and orienting them into the world of volunteerism.

Asides from being the “Kuya” of the SERVE volunteers in DLSUD, I was once more donned my director’s cap as I facilitated the yearly Theater Acting Workshop for the theater group of my high school Alma Mater, Infant Jesus Academy’s Teatro Artistico. Didn’t know I was in stage acting didn’t ya?

July, August & September

These months were quite low in terms of the number of activities and events I joined. Mainly because it’s the middle of the 1st semester and so academics were my priorities. The few events that took place though were big ones. Jun Lozada was finally able to visit DLSU-D and shed more light on why we must come together in seeking out the truth.

Come August, our new volunteers had a taste of what it’s like to be one. The annual Self-Awareness and Advanced Leadership Seminar were held with almost 100 volunteers making up the contingency. It was three days of fun, learning, bonding and getting the hang of being a volunteer.

Another big event that closed my August is the grand Truth Festival held at the Raha Sulayman Park in Manila where artists, activists, priests, nuns, students, musicians, performers, street children, and common folk joined together and used art, music, lights and dance to send one message: the people seek the truth.

Come September, I held a swimming party to celebrate the birthday of my significant other.

October, November & December

The last three months of 2008 has been equally momentous to me. The sem-break was spent quite well with a gathering of all student volunteer groups in DLSUD with Bro. Ceci, FSC where we discussed possible closer collaboration between the different volunteer groups.

November saw another awesome gift for me, my very own dSLR camera, a Nikon D40. You’ve probably noticed by now how my photos seemed to have changed compared to the ones from the earlier months.

Also in November, I returned to becoming a playwright and director when together with the senior students of Infant Jesus Academy, we mounted an epilogue of the classic Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice. All this in part of the Book Month Celebrations of IJA.

December opened with us caring for the needy. We volunteers helped the LCDC with the Blood Letting project. The demand for blood has been increasing in Dasmarinas because of the various accidents and illness inflicted upon the residents. However, we remain vigilant in helping them in any way we can.

Another growing tradition here in DLSUD is the annual lantern parade. It may not be as big and famous as the one held by the University of the Philippines, but we Lasallians are sure on our way.

In celebration of the International Human Rights Day, we organized a round-table discussion about the state of human rights cases here in Cavite. It was then followed up by a bigger commemoration gathering at the Imus Cathedral where mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, Ms Edith Burgos was joined by Axel Pinpin, known as one of the ‘Tagaytay 5′ on the panel of speakers.

Lastly, I wrap up 2008 with the Gift-giving/Christmas party organized by the Nuestra Senora de Candelaria Parish here in my home town of Silang, Cavite for the poor and marginalized in our parish. It was a day of sharing and having fun.

I thank you so much for making it this far. Thank you also for going down memory lane with me, 2008 has been colorful, fruitful, and an awesome one for me.

How was your 2008? I’m sure have interesting stories and memories to tell as well. Do share them through the comments below and lets enjoy the closing hours of 2008 while we look forward to a more hopeful and fruitful 2009.