AELECOM pioneers

online electionby:

The BEACON Research Team

If COMELEC currently finds itself in the grill because of its procurement of poorly-tested and glitch-vulnerable PCOS machines, then AELECOM finds itself in a different spot.

On February 14 this year, AELECOM, with the technical assistance of Center for Information and Technology Services (CITS), will pioneer Ateneo’s first online elections. While rumors about it had been apparent in the previous year, its implementation is said to be the major reform in the history of student council elections.

Commissioner Airrish Delgado of AELECOM clarified that the polling center for the student-voters will still be the Bellarmine-Campion Lobby and not the Basic and Advanced Computer Laboratories. Accordingly, AELECOM will deploy laptop computers with Internet connection in order to effect the electoral process.

Delgado also said that the election period shall last from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening. During the said period, voters, regardless of their location as long as they have access to the Internet, may visit the official AdZU website and click the banner which indicates El Consejo Atenista Election.

From there, they may log in with their respective usernames and passwords and cast their votes. Further instructions will be included in the said webpage.

On the other hand, for voters who may opt to vote in the actual poll centers, they are required to present their ID cards to the registration personnel. Afterward, they will

be admitted to their designated desks to cast their votes.

Delgado also said that unlike last year’s ballot count which normally lasted overnight before the official declaration of winners, this year’s release of results will be faster. “We will be releasing the results around 9:00pm to 10:00pm as soon as Sir Raymond prints

it (tally sheets).” Raymond Ong is an IT specialist and systems developer of the online election.

When asked about the expected voter’s turn-out, Delgado said that AELECOM has not released an official percentage projection, but they certainly expect greater student involvement this year. “We are expecting to surpass last year’s turn-out [of 49%], maybe around 50% to 60%,” Delgado remarked in Chavacano.

The official student publication of Ateneo de Zamboanga University Volume 68Special Election Teaser

February 2013

“We are expecting to surpass last year’s turn-out

[of 49%], maybe around 50% to

60%, ”

2 Volume 68, Special Election Teaser, February 2013

The BEACON | The Official Student Publication of Ateneo de Zamboanga University

3Volume 68, Special Election Teaser, February 2013

Candidate for President: Adriel Earl Toribio Vice- President: Kevin Roy Jimera Governors and Vice-G: AAO –Governor: Milarose Barraca; VG: Judean Galvez NAO –Gov: Ma. Buenapedes Lae C. Agraviador; VG: Michael H. Ong MAO –Gov: AL-Zhayeeb Hamin; VG: Gian Carlo Siason Flores EAO –Gov: Abdurauf J. Baldomero; VG: Lizette Anne Carpio

Compiled by Aseya Khadija Calo and Maliver Gaas

Party Name: One AteneoMotto: One vision. One community. Re-electionist Adriel Earl Toribio and his vice-presidentiable Kevin Roy Jimera are this year’s front-runners of One Ateneo. With the belief that the studentry deserves more from their student gov-ernment, they present their 5-point agenda which they will assure of delivering to the student body should they succeed the office.

5-point agenda platform: One Ateneo advocates for Improved Reliable Student Services which includes the reduction of paperwork for more automated systems. They plan to achieve this by doing the following:

•Anautomatedlending,lockeracquisitionandmappingsys-tems. Revising the current manual systems of borrowing materials and acquiringlockersandconvertingthemintoautomatedsystemsthroughthe use of students’ RFIDs.

•Fullchangeofwoodenlockerstometallockers.ByMayorApril 2013, all the wooden lockers will be replaced by metal lockers. This will serve as a continuation of the previous administration’s project.

•ElConsejoAtenistahotline¬¬.Thehotlinewillcomeintheform of a cellphone number that will serve as the core communication line for the students. Should students need to reach and address any of-fice in the Ateneo, this hotline will redirect you to your desired contact.

•Expandedandrestructuredstudentsubsidypolicy.Atpres-ent, Consejo is only able to provide a subsidy of Php2,000.00 per orga-nization. Should they get elected, they offer to increase the subsidy to approximatelyPhp5,000.00toPhp10,000.00perorganization.

•Studentloanprogram.Theywillbeallocatingfundstothosestudents whoareinneedfinancially.Suchsubsidywillbeextendedasloans which are to be repaid within or at the end of the semester.

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One Ateneo will ensure improved El Consejo Atenista systems and processes. They believe that documentation of processes and trans-actions are found to be needed as they advocate for transparency and ac-countabilityintheirexerciseofgovernance.Theywouldliketoachievethisby doing the following:

•Semester-endandyear-endfinancialdisclosures.Publicationofa com-prehensivereportregardingtheirexpensesandallocatedbudgetattheendof the semester and academic year.

•MonthlypublicationofElConsejoAtenistasummaryreport.Publicationof a comprehensive report regarding certain financial issues and activities that Consejo will involve in within every month.

•Informationdelivery throughsocialmedia.OneAteneowillpursueonutilizing the El Consejo Atenista Bulletin and Ateneo Issue Page Facebook pagesforquicker,moreimproved,andmorereliabledeliveryofinforma-tiontoaddresstheurgencyofthestudents’queries.

•FormalizationofCodeofFinancialProcedure:AccountabilityinRequest-ingandLiquidation.Thisisunderthemonthlysummaryreportthatwillenablethestudentstobeknowledgeableabouttheprocessesofliquidationof grants and subsidies.

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the

SOLE ELECTIONISTS’ BATTLE

The BEACON | The Official Student Publication of Ateneo de Zamboanga University

3. One Ateneo will restructure and redefine the structures and funct-ions of the academic organizations (AOs). Furthermore, they will redefine the officers’ job descriptions to improve the respective AOs as a collegiate body.

One Ateneo will assist in the creation of relevant academic organi-zation (AO) initiatives to ensure that the officers in each AO will function-alizenotonlywithinperiodsofAteneoFiesta,acquaintancepartiesandindependent AO activities, but also perform their duties as an officer to the whole Ateneo studentry for the rest of their tenure.

With students’ lack of enthusiasm in running for student government positions, One Ateneo plans to provide a year-long student development andleadershipprogramtoequipthemwiththenecessaryskillsandleader-ship values for the present and the future. They plan to attain this by doing the following:

•Student-centeredactivitiesandprograms.OneAteneoplanstotraintheAteneo students to become student-leaders, speakers, facilitators, conflict managers, mediators and implementers of initiatives with the hope that students could represent themselves well as part of Ateneo even without the student government.

•Intensiveandrelevantstudentawarenessprogramsandactivities.Lettingthestudentsbecomeaware,involvedandexposedinthegreaterrealitiesin the Zamboanga community, in order to reduce the gaps between the Ateneans and the rest in the society.

•DevelopmentandincreasedsubsidiesforCouncilofLeadersAssembly.COLA is an umbrella alliance of student leaders from all organizations in the Ateneo. It has legislative powers and acts as the lower house of the Legislative Branch. Should One Ateneo succeed in the elections, they will ensure higher subsidies for the development of COLA’s projects, activities and initiatives.

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School or College: Nursing Academic Organization NAO Governor: Geraldine Jaji NAO Vice- Governor: Kris Bordner Hacut

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Compiled by Christianne Dawn Sicat

Party Name: independentMotto: <not applicable>

platforms:Promotion and implementation of outreach programs for less for-tunate sectors and individuals in society.

Further involvement of student-nurses in school activities that will bring nursing students from all campuses and colleges closer to one another, thus strengthening the nursing community.

Promotion and implementation of fund-raising events that will helpeachbatchfinance theirexpenses foracademicornon-aca-demic activities.

Implementation of engaging activities beneficial to all levels in the Nursing Department for the betterment of their education, such as tutorial programs for their under-class men.

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School or College: College of Science and Information Technology Vice Governor: Abdel Aziz A. Alfad

Party Name: independentMotto: <not applicable>No platform submitted to Ateneo Electoral Commission.

Creation of outlets for students to voice out their concerns and opinions regarding issues affecting the department they may find inneedofdiscussion,suchasasuggestionbox.

EqualprioritizationamongallactivitiesandsportsduringAte-neo Fiesta and Nursing Days.

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Accessibility and comprehensibility of information regarding re-quirements,activities,classes,duties,andclassfundstothestu-dents.

Engagement of nursing students to volunteer works through dif-ferent medical missions.

independent candidates

A student government should never be fair, because they should always side with the students.Their existence, their resourcesare owed to the studentry and not to the administration. They are the student’s voice, the link to the decision-making tables. They are the student’s force.

So then, what use for a student government to be called as such when it fails to serve the studentry’s interest? What use for a student government to be called such when it does not even make aggressive stance, and continuously succumbs to the bureaucracies around it without regard to what the studentry really deserves?

What Ateneo and its leaders need is to mature politically. Maturity in a sense of realizing the greater powers beyond governance—governance not in the fashion of organizing parties and events, but governance of entitling to the students what they inherently own, what they deserve. Governance does not end at allowing the students ventilate their concerns at a Facebook group, in fact governance begins right there. It ends when such concerns are addressed, and when the studentry sees the benefit of complaining materialize in the end.

Governance certainly does not end at informing the Ateneo students that there will be a public consultation on tuition fee increaseforthenextschoolyear.Asastudentgovernment, it is your duty to say no to it in

behalf of the three thousand-plus college powerhouse. Governance, certainly does not end at drafting a magna carta. It has to go through implementation. Only then can we say that governance at that respect achieved its full cycle.

Furthermore, governance does not end at the fact that a student leader sits among the topexecutivesintheCollegeCore.Whatreallydo we know about his contribution to the decision-making process? Does he re-assert the welfare of the students? Does he insist on his convictions? Or does he just sit among the others, listening eagerly, agreeing blindly?

What Ateneo has to understand is the potentials Consejo can serve. It must emanate an aura of fierceness, of arrogance against administrative impunities. Consejo must finally break free from being an events organizer to a real student government. Consejo must become a force to be reckoned by the administration, in a sense that its voice and its pro-student stand will really help shape policies and decisions carried out by the university. We do not want a student government who exists for formality’s sake,and worse, whose most visible achievement by far is their white-painted walls and fully air-conditioned office.

Half-baked by Kelvin J. Culajara

Project Director: Kelvin J. CulaJara Desk eDitors: Christianne Dawn siCat, aseya KhaDiJa Calo Layout: Jessa Kristine Del Mar & FarouK susulan