Today’s CAROLINIAN called this press conference to chronicle the events that threaten to repress, suppress, and completely eliminate not just campus press freedom but campus freedom in general in the University of San Carlos.

In 2001, Today’s CAROLINIAN exposed the anomalous textbook pricing of the Department of Literature and Languages. As a result of the expose, the university held an administrative investigation to determine the merits of the evidences presented by Today’s CAROLINIAN. Two years after, DOLL’s textbooks have been changed, new policies regarding the sale of textbooks were instituted, but Today’s CAROLINIAN still has to receive an official copy of the investigative committee’s report. September of last year, the Today’s CAROLINIAN office was burglarized. Our equipments were stolen – hard disks, printer, scanner. Until now, the perpetrators of the theft have gone unknown and unpunished. This summer, Today’s CAROLINIAN stood on trial, facing administrative charges slapped upon the publication by then dean of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as priest administrator Fr. Florencio Lagura. Lagura’s original charges were offending the sensibilities of the readers, pathetically going below the norms of decent journalism, and going against the nature and mission of the university. This was reduced by the Formal Inquiry Committee into charges of ridicule and grave misconduct.

While the hearings were ongoing, however, the order already was given by SAS not to release the transcript of records of two of the publication’s members. Their TOR were only released after they threatened to take legal action against the university.

We await the verdict of the trial. But we suspect that like the textbook scam hearing, the administration would just sit on the result and deprive us the right to know the findings.

Most recently, however, we received a letter from Fr. Vicente Uy, vice president for administration, demanding for another editorial board exam this second semester, demanding that the editorial board this semester be changed. Invoking the CJA, he threatened to stop the collection of funds unless his demands are met.

While the question of the CJA’s legality is beyond TC’s means, we do condemn it as an instrument of campus repression, used by administrators all over the Philippines as the means to encroach on the autonomy of student publications. And we question the motive of the administration behind their heavy-handed, illogical, untimely, and unchristian manner of asserting their control over an independent and autonomous Today’s CAROLINIAN. We cannot force ourselves to believe Uy’s demand has been made in good faith. Prior to the demands made by Uy, there was no attempt by the administration to talk with Today’s CAROLINIAN. The only communication we received was from SAS, requesting for a meeting with the editorial board selection as agendum. We received the letter on March 14, the day before the editorial board exam was to take place. Today’s CAROLINIAN, of course, does not recognize the authority of SAS over the publication since the student publication is not an organization but an institution.

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