23/09/2025
๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ ๐ก | MUTED MANDATE: WHEN VOICES BECOME VOICELESS
Student organizations are meant to be platforms for serviceโnot stepping stones for prestige. Yet, like a recurring cold, many continue to flaunt empty slogans and disappear when real work begins. They hold positions without purpose, and lead without vision. The most troubling part isnโt just the absence of visible progress, but the fact that students deserve better. When leaders forget their mandate and members abandon their voice, the organization becomes a hollow shellโloud in presence, but deaf to purpose.
While criticism is warranted, it is still undeniable that student leaders have an admirable commitment by taking both the role of a student and a leader in the campus. These people are not just sacrificing their time for leisures, but even reducing their precious time for sleep. There is a public expectation that these should do great, and perform well in their function sworn to them not because they are compensated, but because they are passionate to serve.
However, as a general rule, public office is a public trust. Therefore, those who takes step to lead among students who seeks guidance and clear vision should not be onion-skinned. It is not the students who decided for them โ well, at least, if they only have a better choice โ and the burden of responsibility to prove their worth lies on them who had their empty promises, wearing bright smiles as if they carry the hope we need.
Needless to mention the lack of visibility in terms of long-term projects that are feasible despite numerous platforms that didn't materialize. As a bona fide member of any organization, everyone has the right to question and demand for activities that will suffice the worth that any organizational fee demands. This is not a matter of distrust to the organization, but a basic function of any organization that should be automatic.
Also the organizations couldโand shouldโdo better. The truth is, some leaders werenโt even elected by a clear majority. In many cases, abstentions outnumber actual votes, and yet positions are filled as if the silence were consent. Thereโs been no real democratic process, no genuine effort to earn the trust or mandate of the student body. Often, leadership seems more taken for granted than truly deserved. When these people take on positions lacking the explicit support of the individuals they claim to serve, itโs no wonder that students experience disconnection, silence, and reluctance to participate.
Additionally, certain individuals appear to have lost sight of what their role truly demands. Their mandate isnโt just to show upโitโs to step up. To guide students when confusion grows, to speak up when concerns pile high, and to stand firm in the name of transparency. But too often, we see the opposite: leaders chasing visibility instead of accountability, spotlight instead of substance. And in moments when their presence is most needed, they go quiet. That silence isnโt just disappointingโitโs disgustingly deafening. It reveals a brand of leadership more focused in appearances rather than impact, more concerned with recognition than accomplishments.
Those who seek or aspire to become a student leader must be prepared to face challenges, questions, and even criticisms bought by emerging demands from co-students. Otherwise, think of it twice, and consider not using empty promises, carrying only the prestige of being a so-called "leader", while being clueless about it, because most of the time, people demand what they deserve.
It's time for us to elevate our standards: to demand for miting de avance, so that aspiring leaders will showcase their potential if they truly deserve the seat, or they will be another batch of officers who did nothing but to plan, promise, without ex*****on.
There should be a more strict criteria on whom should be allowed to run, because many officers are running without the knowledge or capability that they have to possess. The fact that certain candidates are running unopposed should not serve as a reason for any complacency. It ought to serve as a wake-up signal. Leadership by default does not equate to leadership by merit. By permitting roles to be filled without proper screening, we endanger our future by relying on individuals who might not be prepared, eager, or capable to contribute.
Let's make the election of qualified student leaders the normโnot merely relying on familiar names or default options. Let us ask for relevant platforms, public debates, and strict standards. Even if just one candidate is in front of us, they still need to gain our trust rather than assume it. Our vote is not merely a formality; it serves as a standard. And that standard must reflect the weight of the responsibility we entrust to those who lead.
Written by Luis Angelo Talatala
Cartoon by Jasmine Gail Bongat
