06/10/2025
𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗩𝗦𝗨 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗦 𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗬 𝗘𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
Security isn’t about imposing what should be, but assuring that every student feels safe, respected, and protected within the spaces they belong to.
It has been evident in recent weeks that several students of West Visayas State University have been barred from entering the campus due to the strict implementation of the haircut policy, particularly during the midterm examinations. Despite the urgency of attending their scheduled exams, students were held at the gates to enforce these rules, causing unnecessary stress and disruption. Some were even humiliated, with reports that security personnel threatened to cut students’ hair themselves if it was deemed “too long.”
These incidents are not isolated—they are recurring. They reflect a deeper issue in how policies are implemented without sensitivity to students’ diverse identities and lived experiences. No student should ever have to choose between their dignity and their education.
Academic excellence does not mirror nor reflect someone’s outer features. Intelligence is in the mind, not the hairstyle. A university built upon the principles of excellence will absolutely not suffer even slightly if a student does not conform to the administration’s arbitrary demands. These mandates are fundamentally outdated and increasingly disruptive—if they are causing such stress and humiliation now, they will be utterly unacceptable in the future.
We firmly believe that a student’s appearance, their self-expression, or how they affirm their gender identity does not diminish their intellectual capabilities or commitment to their studies. Your hair length has zero bearing on your degree. We need to keep up with the times because a truly excellent university does not discriminate against its biggest stakeholders—the students.
Progression must be a mindset that includes inclusive policy, not just a label like “research university.” A barber should not be the gatekeeper of education, and we urge the administration to choose the right side of history. Is the university’s mission to produce scholars, or to police haircuts? The answer should be obvious.
We, the LAKAS Youth Organization, stand firmly with the students who have experienced discrimination, humiliation, and fear at the gates of their own university. Such experiences should never happen again. Every student deserves to enter campus with a sense of safety and belonging, not anxiety and exclusion. We echo the call for a more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and compassionate implementation of policies—one that upholds, rather than undermines, the rights and well-being of the student body.
