• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Negros youth groups from various sectors convened in Bacolod City last Saturday for their annual State of the Youth Address (SOYA) and presented 5-key demands to the government.
Themed “Back2School in Crises,” the youth collectively marked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recently concluded State of the Nation ‘clearance form as uncleared’ and deemed him not ready to enroll in public service.
“Why ‘Youth in Crises’? Crises with an ‘e’ and ‘s’ because the youth today is currently undergoing a historical crisis in education,” Kabataan Participants Negros Secretary-general Florence Guzon said.
The SOYA’s five-key demands are: to promote free, quality, and accessible education; defend the youth and students’ rights and welfare; prioritize genuine land reform; uphold campus press freedom; and establish pro-people economics.
Meanwhile, student-journalists Jenny Millares of The Spectrum and Tanya Aguirre of The Technopacer – Talisay, discussed the various threats and violations to press freedom.
Millares tackled administrative interference and safety concerns for student-journalists in private schools, while Aguirre took in the issue regarding budget cuts and censorship in state universities.
On the other hand, the SOYA also addressed the inaccessibility of higher education despite the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and exposed how labor conditions and lack of social services hinders the youth in their pursuit of good quality education.*
