08/08/2026
Excess Baggage
// Lira Jane Abulencia | Arachne
Each semester is another flight, and survival has always weighed more than the journey itself.
In 2017, Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, opened the doors of higher education to millions of Filipino students, yet free education never erased the hidden costs of staying in a university, leaving many students carrying burdens beyond the classroom.
Studying in Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) became my greatest reality check, as tuition may no longer be a burden, but making ends meet exacts its own toll, with sacrifices quietly accumulating semester after semester.
Every admission season at SLSU reflects this reality, as thousands of aspiring students line up as early as midnight just to secure a slot, only to discover that acceptance is merely the first checkpoint before carrying the heavier load beyond the university gates.
The underlying expenses of higher education also persist, especially for students from distant municipalities across Quezon and nearby provinces who shoulder boarding house rent, transportation, utilities, daily expenses, and academic requirements.
Although scholarships and financial assistance provide relief, delayed releases force recipients to borrow money, stretch already limited budgets, and endure until support finally arrives after the burden was carried, while countless others navigate college without any assistance at all.
These baggage remind me how government investment cannot end with free tuition alone because supporting students also means providing timely financial assistance, affordable living conditions, accessible transportation, and reliable support systems that allow learning to take priority over survival.
As another academic year begins, students deserve to spend each semester pursuing the dreams that brought them to the university instead of carrying burdens of a supposedly free education yet suffocating, heavy, and expensive in hindsight.
I hope one day, no student will ever have to abandon their dreams mid-flight simply because the weight of their survival baggage became heavier than the opportunity education promised.
// layout by Julius Ladines
