Students at UP object to the growing commercialization of university areas.

Protesting against the commercialization of campus spaces, students at the University of the Philippines - Diliman in Quezon City claim that this goes against the university's mission of providing education for the underprivileged. They objected to plans to close vendors in preparation for the DiliMall's March debut.

The UPD-SC claimed in a unifying manifesto that the economic crisis, unfair labor practices, the impending loss of livelihood for jeepney drivers due to the jeepney phaseout, and the purported prioritization of profits over urgent matters on campus like safe and inclusive spaces were all factors.

“The commercialization of spaces in the university is evidenced by how its own community members become secondary to the interest of profit, wherein commercial establishments that have no place within our campus would occupy the first floor of the mall. This commercial pursuit jeopardizes the academic orientation of the university as a public learning institution built for the indigent public,” the manifesto read.

“The prioritization of profit over academic development is observed with how students still lack safe and inclusive spaces within campus. Rooms available for student functions in the Student Union Building remain limited, while the co-ownership of Lorena Barros Hall by students and the usage of rooms in Vinzons Hall is in limbo. More importantly, with the UP-DND Accord gone, police sightings on campus have become prevalent, putting the safety of students and their practice of academic freedom at risk,” it added.

Students argue that the University of the Philippines' mission to become the University of the People is being challenged by increasing commercialization, and they want the university to be renamed the University of Profit.

Via Inquirer