Cliché of the Day: Lasallian Apathy

I would like to believe that Lasallians are involved and active in worthwhile activities. I, for one, have found interest in current events, travel, human interest pieces, and history. In short, I’m not too caught up with just fashion, showbiz, and my booming nightlife (or lack thereof) as others assume Lasallians to be.

Yes, I would like to believe it, but as we all know, we really can’t have it all.

Just the other day, I had an opportunity to drop by the DLSU campus after almost a year of not stepping foot on its premises. I was a bit amused that my trip back to the halls that housed my college existence didn’t at all feel like the time I went back to my high school after graduation. The whole place was the same. Things didn’t look smaller. No feeling of misplacement.

As I wandered from one building to another, across the different halls, I came across almost familiar faces. I knew I didn’t have an idea in the world who these faces were. I knew I haven’t met them at all. But they were nonetheless familiar. Affinity. Maybe that was it. They looked proverbial to me maybe because we shared the same thing in that we are all Lasallians. We have been walking the same halls.

But more than any characteristic we share, these people (who I supposedly don’t know) that roam my alma mater’s premises at present, look a lot like the people who roamed this same school back when I still attended it. Same hairstyle. Same lingo. Same porma. I see these people and there is no doubt in my mind that I am in La Salle.

Yes. It does sound so—well—generically, pathologically, and stereotypically La Salle. This doesn’t do me any good, but there is just no denying it. Aesthetics calls for some serious business in our school. It (the “it” being fashion, porma, and get-up) creates so much fuss, it is no wonder to me that most outsiders have a hard time getting over a very superficial image.

This image has become more superficial because of association. From maporma comes mayaman. Then ka-coñohan follows. And it is concluded by bobo and mababaw. Of course, the entrance of the age old stereotype relating to Lasallian apathy comes to the picture. The logic being:

All those who are maporma are apathetic.
Most Lasallians are maporma.
Therefore, Lasallians are apathetic.

Observe the fallacy in the syllogism. It indeed has flaw in its logic, but others (or the people who have not gone to and/or attended school in DLSU) will rarely see it. Wait, strike that. Others will choose not to see it.

I could start yet another battle of defense, but I want to take a different route this time around. I have lived my life as a Lasallian always wanting to disprove the otherwise false accusation regarding our concern for current affairs. I have always argued, even just in my blogs (hehehe), that Lasallians are not at all the apathetic airheads others think of us. I have gone on and on (and on) about how it is simply a hasty generalization. Now, however, I think it is time for me to step out of this green box and try to see what the others see. Let me try to deconstruct this.

What are they calling us? Ah, yes. Apathetic. Indifferent to a world that is full of issues and affairs. Ignorant to the call for activism. Stoic to the cries for help coming from the needy. Concerned with nothing but just the things that will actually affect their lives. In short, self-absorbed.

Is there truth to this? I would say no for the mere reason that I know that I, myself, am not apathetic. Yet, it is still possible for others to call Lasallians as such and reach some degree of accuracy in the matter.

They would see most of us in our “designer outfits”, “killer rides”, and “elite cliques” and simply assume, again by association, that this bunch of assholes—er—kids are too self-absorbed to be concerned with anything outside their superficial lives. I’d normally say that these are merely the image most of us project. We are actually into current affairs and saving the country and shit. We are not apathetic. Take our Student Council as an example. Our SC calls for activism. We can’t be apathetic. Or can we?

I would have to revert to my recent visit back to my beloved alma mater. As a former member of the DLSU-SC myself, I feel rather inclined to look for updates on SC goings-on. So, naturally, I walk around the amphitheater and along SJ walk and the hall in front of Medrano hall, where all the different SC bulletin boards are, and intently look at each board’s content.

Don’t blink now, as I think I’m starting to see what the others find so—bleh—about taga-Lasalles.

Ask me what I saw on the bulletin boards. If I saw impressive platforms and programs for the student body. If I read taglines that promoted student involvement and activism. If I saw even a sign to disprove the idea that Lasallians are apathetic.

So what did I see? Plastered on the walls are large, colorful, probably expensive tarpaulins. However, no significant policy or issue was featured on these posters. Rather, all I saw were the smiling faces of the batch representatives. One girl was even in a pose we’d usually see on a Starstruck participant’s poster. They were, at least, promoting the different activities lined up for the rest of the term. But the activities were all lame. They ranged from newspaper drives and used plastic bottle drives, to career talks and sportsfest festivities.

There I was, all unimpressed and disappointed, with the poster of four Starstruck hopefuls staring me in the face. Yes, the faces were handsome and pretty, but that was all that was positive about it. The display was flashy but it completely lacked of any substance whatsoever. Anything that would promote involvement. Anything that would tell an on-looker, “Hey, get up your lazy ass, go out there, and do something about it.” All there was was potential. Potential to become the next Mark and Jennylyn.

I was feeling grave frustration and rage running up my brain. It couldn’t be. They couldn’t be true. We’re not apathetic. We’re not boneheads. We’re not just about what we wear and how we style our hair. Damn it.

The SC should have been the standard bearer of all things “involved” and “currently aware”. But in truth, all it has borne is star quality. During the elections, the heartthrobs and head-turners win. In the office, these kids run a shallow show. The organization who should have steered the student body out of apathy may have well been the promoters of the evil stereotype. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure these kids have the best of intentions. We all do. But their intentions don’t reflect all too well in the image they are projecting.

After seeing what I have, I’d go about things differently from now on. I’d still take a defensive stance upon hearing any kind of DLSU bashing. But now, I will take a moment and remember that ugly poster (a poster that could be the quintessence of the Lasallian brand of apathy). I will be reminded that I would always like to believe that most of us are not apathetic and overconsumed by ourselves. Yes, I would like to believe it, but I definitely can’t have it all.