01/06/2026
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๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ | ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ: ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ
When institutional protection fails, students step in.
โ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐.โ
This was how Andrie Formacion, a third-year BS Biology student, described life on campus.
โPersonally, I feel safe and comfortable within the classroom and around the university. Thereโs no atmosphere of overt harassment or slurs, and for that, Iโm grateful. But feeling safe is not the same as feeling free,โ he said.
On the surface, the university presents itself as a safe havenโclassrooms where differences are accepted and tolerated, hallways free from open hostility, and a campus culture that appears welcoming to LGBTQIA+ students.
In a generation where q***rness is more visible than ever, outright discrimination is rare. Yet beneath this calm exterior lies a quieter, more insidious tension: the difference between normalization and acceptance.
Being q***r is highly accepted, as Andrie observes. People recognize oneโs worth and right to belong, often with approval or affirmation but it is still not culturally normative. It is tolerated, even welcomed, yet not treated as something ordinary or routine within the universityโs rules and regulations.
โThe campus may be safe from bullies,โ Andrie explained, โbut it is not safe from policy-based oppression of identity.โ
Andrie shared that while he has not personally experienced discrimination rooted in hostility, he has witnessed systemic discrimination enforced through the student handbook, particularly the rigid rules on uniforms, dress codes, and hair length.
โIโve seen gender non-conforming students, and sometimes even students who simply express themselves differently, be disproportionately targeted, warned, or disciplined solely because their appearance violates an antiquated, gendered policy in the handbook,โ he said.
What was once meant to uphold order has become a tool that suppresses identity. He personally witnessed that students are stopped at campus gates, warned publicly, or threatened with disciplinary action, not because they disrupt learning, but because they exist outside a narrow definition of acceptable appearance.
When concerns are raised, Andrie noted that the response from administration is often the same: the handbook must be followed. The rulebook is treated as immovable, defended even when it causes harm. In these moments, those tasked with protecting students become the ones enforcing exclusion.
โFaculty may support a student personally,โ Andrie noted, โbut they often feel powerless to challenge the handbook rule.โ
Ironically, familiarity within the university is highest not with protective policies, but with punitive ones. Students and faculty alike are aware of the sanctions tied to uniform violations and hair length restrictions. These rules are widely known and widely feared.
According to Andrie, this fear overshadows any awareness of the universityโs non-discrimination policy.
โIn effect,โ Andrie explained, โthe universityโs old policies act as a firewall against its modern commitments to inclusivity.โ
The handbook, an issue raised for revision over the years, continues to regulate bodies and appearances with little room for flexibility or sympathy. As a result, instead of fostering a safe space, it cultivates anxiety where students and even faculty hesitate to act out of fear of sanctions and humiliations.
โDay-to-day, this means that every time a gender non-conforming student dresses or styles their hair according to their identity, they are operating in violation of a written university rule.โ
For Andrie, the way these strict policies are implemented exposes the gap between what the university promises and what students experience day to day. The university promotes a culture free from discrimination, yet enforces rules that are inherently discriminatory, especially against those whose gender expression falls outside a traditional, binary norm.
Imagine being barred from taking an exam because your hair is deemed โtoo longโ for your gender.
โThatโs not discipline,โ Andrie said. โThatโs policing identity.โ
As Andrie talks about campus life, he observed that it is within this gap that students begin to step in for one another.
It was in this space that Andrie became involved with ๐ช๐ฉ๐ฆ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐, formerly known as WVSU DRAG, an organization built in response to these silent gaps where he serves as Lead. It has become an essential safe space where students find community, affirmation, and solidarity.
โWVSU PRIDE promotes inclusivity not just for LGBTQIA+ students,โ he said, โbut also for students from Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities and persons with disabilities (PWD).โ
Within these student-led initiatives, inclusivity becomes realโnot enforced, but practiced. Here, Andrie shared that students are understood rather than monitored, supported rather than corrected. In this organization, support comes not from policy but from peers. No one should have to carry the added burden of being punished for who they are.
โTo my fellow students,โ he said, โuse your collective voice to advocate for the right of every personโwhatever color in the rainbow they identify asโto look and dress as they are, without penalty.โ
His message to faculty and administrators is firmer.
โYou cannot force respect through an outdated rulebook. Respect is not imposed; it is earned.โ
For Andrie, inclusivity is closely tied to expressionโit exists not just in written policies or public statements, but in the everyday realities of campus life. The university earns the respect of its students when it actively commits to dignity, when it abolishes restrictive, gendered rules that no longer serve education, but harm identity.
โStop policing identity,โ Andrie said. โStart affirming it.โ
As Pride Month begins, Andrieโs story reflects how a campus may be described as safe, yet some students continue to navigate the space between safety and freedom, often with the support of one another.
While many find comfort and belonging within the university community, conversations surrounding identity, expression, and inclusivity remain ongoing. As these discussions continue, the campus may remain safe for many, but for some, the pursuit of freedom to fully express who they are remains an ongoing conversation rather than a settled reality.
| by Veronica Donne de la Paz
| Photo by April Diesmartes Macantan
| Layout by Zoe Loste
