26/11/2018
UNITY STATEMENT OF THE UP ENGINEERING ALLIANCE OF STUDENT LEADERS ON VIOLENCE AND SECURITY ISSUES IN THE CAMPUS
Last November 13, the Upsilon Sigma Phi and the Alpha Phi Beta fraternities got involved in a brawl just outside Palma Hall, which included throwing of homophobic slurs.
On November 14, a gun-related incident happened inside the campus which endangered the safety and security of the university.
Less than a week after (November 20), a leaked group conversation attributed to some members of the Upsilon Sigma Phi spread online. It contained disturbing misogynistic and hateful speech directed towards women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, Muslim groups, Lumads, among others.
On a separate incident which occurred on November 22, an Engineering student was abducted and physically assaulted by an unknown group of individuals inside the campus.
The Engineering Alliance of Student Leaders condemns all forms of violence, toxic masculinity, homophobia, sexism, misogyny, and impunity. These things have no place in our society, especially inside our university.
These recent events have left the university shrouded in fear. We, the student leaders of the College of Engineering, demand the UP Administration to conduct a thorough investigation immediately. We need more than just statements. We demand action and transparency with its outcome. The UP Administration should not tolerate these inappropriate actions and behavior. We also call for the imposition of appropriate sanctions to the individuals and formations involved.
Furthermore, while it is imperative that we emphasize our right to organize, the recent events should be a wake up call not only to fraternities but also to all sororities and organizations to change practices, that cultivate toxic culture and violence. Like the UP Administration, we also demand that the organizations of the involved students impose sanctions in their respective groups or formations.
The members of the Alliance pledge in the active pursuit of this change within our organization, fraternities, and sororities even if it goes beyond the traditions and norms that have been established throughout the years.
The Engineering Alliance of Student Leaders, along with the UP Engineering Student Council, and the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, firmly believes that the university should always be a safe space for all. Only through collective and collaborative action will we be able to achieve this ultimate goal.
SIGNATORIES:
ADSA UP Diliman COE
UP Engineering Student Council
ENGAGE UP
EMC² Fraternity
IIEE-CSC-UPD
IEEE UP Diliman
UP Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Association, Inc.
UP Association of Civil Engineering Students - UP ACES
Association for Computing Machinery - UP Diliman Student Chapter, Inc.
UP Aggregates Inc.
UP Academic League of Chemical Engineering Students (UP ALCHEMES)
UP Alliance for Responsive Involvement and Student Empowerment (ARISE)
UP Circle of Industrial Engineering Majors (UP CIEM)
UP Beta Epsilon Fraternity
UP Circuit
UP Circle of Engineering Students (UP CREST)
UP Center for Student Innovations
UP Association of Computer Science Majors
UP Engineering Choir
UP Engineering Society - Diliman
Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers - U.P. Student Unit (PSME-UPSU)
UP Epsilon Chi Fraternity
UP Engineering Radio Guild
UP Geodetic Engineering Club
UP Society of Geodetic Engineering Majors - UP GEOP
UP Gears and Pinions
UP Industrial Engineering Club (UP IE Club)
UP Chemical Engineering Society Inc.
UP Mining Engineering Society (UP MINERS)
UP Materials Science Society
UP Pi Kappa Gamma Sorority
UP Progressive Responsive Innovative Movement in Engineering - UP PRIME
UP Tau Lambda Alpha Sorority
Society of Manufacturing Engineers - UP Diliman
UP Women in Engineering
