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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

For students in a university or college, being a part of a student government is a

place for honing leadership skills and personal growth in a political arena during the

most critical years of their lives. These said tertiary institutions, according to Giraud

Klopf (1960), should have these kind of organizations (student governments), with their

functions focusing on the supervision of students social activities.

In this study, the student leaders from the student government and clubs in

Ateneo de Davao University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao and the University

of Mindanao revealed their experiences in the conduct of school activities in their

respective student governments, mainly in the aspects of its formulation, implementation

and evaluation. In connection to one of Klopfs (1960) idea, he also pointed out the

importance of effective planning and operational procedures if the student government is

to function properly. As taken from G. Klopfs (1960) study, careful planning needs to

take place during the preparation stage of student government. The coordination

between the student government officials to one another, to the (school) administration,

and between the community of students must be a golden standard in every

organizational action. Also, the how and what should the student government report

back to the student body is also a very important issue.

According to Michael Sanseviro (2007), a Georgia State University professor,

student involvement in institutional processes is necessary to engage students as

active citizens. He later found out in reality that this is not what the students perceive

from their experiences in institutional processes.


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In a related study in a private and sectarian university in Metro Manila (2012),

student government officers from the different school divisions complained about the

outcome of another school divisions Job Fair activity. During a follow-up meeting held

to discuss the evaluation of the outcome of the activity, the other school divisions

student government officers stated that the job fairs implementation heavily favored the

business-related courses, and was deemed as a job un-fair.

The ideal process of the conduct of school activities in a certain private and

sectarian university in Davao City is in three forms, first is that of the Division Student

Executive Council-initiated activities, the Student Council-initiated school activities and

the Clubs & Organizations-initiated .

However, in reality, there were instances that usual processes in the conduct of

school activities in this said university in Davao City are not followed. According to the

schools student publication (Anonymous, 2004), a Division Student Executive Council

complained about the implementation of the attendance card to the students of their

Division during their schools Fiesta activities. Although this tradition was started just the

previous year, the current set of student leaders from the Divisions Student Executive

Council were not consulted regarding the implementation of this matter. In another article

from the schools publication (Anonymous, 2009), there was a heated argument between

the Office of Student Affairs Director (OSA) against a certain School Division and the

Student Council. This was regarding a volleyball game during the 2009 Intramurals,

where the certain School Divisions team was sanctioned by the OSA Director with no

time-outs during their game. This decision, according to the Student Council President,

was not what the OSA Director and the Student Government Body agreed upon.

In a certain public university in Davao City, according to an outgoing Student

Council President (2013), the usual conduct of school activities is traditionally done and
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categorized into two processes: that of the Student Council-initiated activities and the

different activities of each clubs in the said campus.

And like the cases in that certain sectarian University in Davao City in reality,

there were certain parts in the conduct of school activities in this public University where

the ideal process is not followed. According to one of this public Universitys

Communication Arts major, a forum organized by one of their College Student Council

about Human Rights Violation was delayed by the School Administration. The forum,

which was planned to be held on a certain date, was denied of its venue and time slot by

the upper brasses. According to the Communication Arts major (2013), At first, the

forum was already approved. But at the actual time of the event, the School

Administration put the activity into hold without an explanation. But I suspect that they

didnt want it to happen in the first place. They eventually rescheduled it on a later date,

yet still did not explain to the certain College Student Council on why they did not consult

them regarding that decision.

Recognizing that there were instances that the ideal processes of formulation,

implementation, and evaluation of school activities were not actually followed, the gap of

the study lies in the information to be obtained from the Student Leaders experiences in

the conduct of school activities in universities in the local arena (Davao City).The

researchers, both as part of the student populace and participants to these activities,

described and analyzed the experiences of the Student Leaders from Ateneo de Davao

University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao and University in the formulation,

implementation and evaluation of school activities in their respective schools.


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Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on the Open Systems Theory. According to Bertalanffy

(1971) the open-systems theory assumes that all organizations are comprised of

multiple subsystems, each of which receives inputs from other subsystems and turns

them into outputs for use by other subsystems. The subsystems are not necessarily

represented by departments in an organization, but might instead resemble patterns of

activity.

In this theory, organizations are interacting with each other, and that there is a

regular input and output of ideas in the system, all of which determines the feedback of

the course of action taken. At the processing stage the organization creates a new

product, process materials, trains people, or provides a service. Something is done to

the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The cycle

is eventually renewed and the process begins again.

The Open-systems theory is significant to the study because it support the

assumption of the study that there is an interaction between the Student Leaders,

committees they have created and Student administration in the conduct of school

activities, and that there is a regular input and output of ideas in the institution (school).

The feedback from the output (school activities) of the Student Leaders to the students

will depend on whether the Student Leaders are following the ideal process in the

formulation, implementation and evaluation of school activities in their respective

universities.
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Statement of the Problems

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

A. What are the Socio-Demographic-Political Profiles of the Student Leaders of

Ateneo de Davao University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao and

University of Mindanao?

B. What are the experiences of Student Leaders from selected universities in Davao

City in the conduct of School Activities?

a. Before the conduct of School Activities ( Formulation)

b. During the conduct of School Activities (Implementation)

c. After the conduct of School Activities (Evaluation)

C. What are the suggestions by the Student Leaders in the conduct of School

Activities in the three universities?

a. Before the conduct of School Activities ( Formulation)

b. During the conduct of School Activities ( Implementation)

c. After the conduct of School Activities (Evaluation)


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Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following:

School Administration

This was significant to the respective School Administrations as it showed them

the reflected experiences of the Student Leaders in their Universitys Student

Government Body, which collaborates with them the conduct of school activities.

Regardless of the results of this study, the School Administration will now be more

knowledgeable of the concerns and suggestions of the Student Leaders in their Student

Government Body.

Student Leaders

The study helped the Student Leaders, not only of the current set of officers at

the time that this study was conducted, but to the succeeding officers in years to come. It

was supported with the fact that the results of the study can be absorbed and taken into

action by their respective School Administrations for the betterment of their relationship

with the School Administration in the conduct of school activities.

Academe

Another party that benefited with the results of this study is the Academe, the

students and teachers not only of the three Universities, but also of any other University

that may find this relatable or relevant to their situations. All other Colleges and

Universities that may fall to the similar archetype category of the University in the study

may find similar or different results from this studys conclusions, and can consequently

benefit from its varied results.


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Political Science Program

More importantly, the study added more knowledge to people in the Political

Science Program, regarding the important details on both the ideal and real situations in

the conduct of school activities in these schools.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The scope of the study was about political participation of Student leaders from

their experiences the three stages of conduct of school activities in the universities in

Davao City. These three stages were the formulation, implementation and evaluation.

The study was conducted in three different tertiary schools in Davao City. These schools

are Ateneo de Davao University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao.

The study was limited only to student leaders, which are the officers of the

different clubs and organizations or student government of each school. More

importantly, the study is only limited to the formulation, implementation and evaluation

process of conducting school activities.

Operational Definition of Terms

Experiences refer to the organizational experiences of the Student Leaders from their

respective Universities while being part of the Student Government in THE conduct of

school activities. This included recorded or known problems, developments, learnings,

feedbacks encountered by the Student Leaders, and their roles in the formulation,

implementation and evaluation of school activities in their respective schools.


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Conduct of School Activities refers to processes done by the Student Leaders in the

formulation, implementation and evaluation aspects of school activities.

Socio-Demographic-Political Profile refers to the categories of religion, course taken

and year level, current position in their respective Student Government Body, as well as

the nature of involvement in the conduct of school activities, and the duration of

experience of Student Leaders in the Student Government Body in the three universities.

Student Leaders refers to the officers of the SAMAHAN Central Board (SCB) in Ateneo

de Davao University (AdDU), officers of the University Student Council (USC) of the

University of the Philippines-Mindanao (UP-Min), and the officers of the College Council

of Student Governments (CCSG) of the University of Mindanao (UM), and officers of

different clubs of the three Universities that served in the academic year 2013-2014.

School Activities refer to both academic and non-academic activities formulated by the

clubs and student government of the three universities. They refer to extracurricular or

academic activities. Examples of these School Activities are Symposiums, Intramurals,

Club-initiated activities, Student Government-Initiated activities, Traditional Festivities,

Contests, and all other school activities provided by the respective schools either by

practice/tradition, or as calendared activities.


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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The purpose of this chapter is to present a review of past researches and studies that

focuses not only on experiences of student leaders, but also on student participation.

More specifically, this chapter contains reviews of applicable literature in the following

areas: student leaders' experiences in the conduct of school activities and that of the

student government.

I. Student Governments

A. History of Student Governments

Student government associations in a certain university serve as formal structures for

student involvement in decision-making at colleges and universities. Student

governments serve the students and the institution of higher education as a whole

(Laosebikan-Buggs, 2006). Student government provide benefits to the students by

giving them a structure through which they express their voices and opinions. But

before, students were not allowed to participate in the school affairs especially when it

comes to making decisions for the university (Klopf, 1960). Klopf (1960) states that

because the students were oppressed by the scholars they were forced to create guilds

that later developed into student governments. This shows that student governments

were created and established for the security and welfare of the students. The rapid

development of student governments were observed in Italy since it was suitable for the

political situation at the time. There is also a long history of student involvement in

making decisions for colleges and universities, dating to the earliest beginnings of higher

education and the formation of student nations in Bologna (Love and Miller, 2003). The

participation of students in decision-making processes is increasing as time pass by. But


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as they engage more in student participation, students may encounter some difficulties

that can test their leadership.

B. Importance of Student Governments

Morison summarizes all the reasons that can be given for the inclusion of students in the

formal decision making process under four categories (Morison,1970):

Students have a right to such participation because they are citizens of the university in

the same sense that faculty members are.

Students can contribute to better decisions by adding another perspective into the

decision process.

The participation would give them a chance to learn about policy making process and

see the functions and operation of institutions in a community.

For students, university is a place of learning and personal growth during the most

critical years of their lives.

This shows how student involvement and participation important and useful.

Student leaders aim to protect and secure the welfare of the students while they are in

their universities. Student leaders participate in decision-making process in order to

ensure that decisions made by the administration would not violate the rights of the

students.

C. How a Student Government Works

Even though students know what the aims of their student government are, there are still

some facts that they need to know on how a student government really works. There are

certain things to consider in achieving a successful and more meaningful student

participation in the student government. A valuable participation occurs through an active


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sharing by students in decisions of education policies and implementation of educational

practices (Holdsworth, 1996). Active sharing implies that participation must meet

genuine needs, have an impact on matters in and outside classroom, and be challenging

to participants (Holdsworth, 1996). The administrators who have a deep commitment to

the concept can educate the other administrators or faculty members and also the

students. There must at least be a basic belief in everybody concerned that student not

only has a right but also real contribution to make in the development of policy and

programs. If the administrators do not have a deep respect for the students and their

contribution, students may choose to express their opinions in other forms than the

authority granted to them, such as riots or demonstrations. Students cannot be

automatically given the responsibility to make decisions and contribute to administration

since this will not result in educating experiences for them. According to Klopf (1960),

students need help in attaining the values that are necessary to work more efficiently in

their groups. They need some professional assistance, which should be the

responsibility of the faculty and the administration. Student government can function

properly only in collaboration with the administration and under the administrations

pedagogical supervision (Portnykh, 2001). This supervision must also provide help to

apply the functions of student government through ways like recommending relevant

literature or organizing training sessions.

D. Types of Student Government

It is also important for students and student leaders to deeply understand the

different types of student governments in order for the students to effectively supervise

the student social activities. There are three forms of student governing groups found in

literature, although in real practice this number can be a lot higher since every institution
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adopts their own most suitable form according to the situation on its campus. The first is

called Community Government by Klopf (1960), which is the closest of all forms, to the

practical idea of democracy. This type gives the greatest number of direct share in the

formation of policy because it is composed of representatives from each group on the

campus: administration, faculty, students and sometimes clerical and maintenance staff.

In this type of governance, there are committees of all aspects of university life; such as

orientation committee, scholarship committee, curriculum committee, housing

committee, etc. Klopf (1960) believes that students should be represented in all of these

committees. Next is the Student Council, which is the representative of the student body

as a whole. Each member of this council is elected by all the students, and responsible

to all of them. This system is good according to Klopf (1960), as student representatives

can have a broader and more objective point of view in their work. However, it might also

mean that each representative is removed from the individual student because he is

responsible to a large group. Organizational Council (Klopf, 1960, p. 52) is made up of

the representatives of all student organizations or groups on the campus. Usually these

groups are student clubs or societies. This system is a result of a natural election and

representation system, that of student clubs; however, this means not each and every

student is represented on the organizational council. Another student group that comes

together to form the organizational council is academic groups. This means all first year

students make up a group, and so on. In addition, the council may be based on

geographical areas where students live. What Klopf (1960) suggests as the best type of

organizational councils is a combined system of council on which students are

represented both as classes, living groups, clubs, and by representatives elected by the

whole student group.


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A. Related Studies regarding the Participation of Student Leaders and their

roles in Student Governments

A. Macro-Level Related Study from a Student Government in North America

The next related literature is the dissertation of Michael Lenard Sanseviro entitled

Student Government Presidents' Perceptions of their Role in Institutional Decision-

Making at a Two-Year Public College (2007). In his article Sanseviro (2007) tackled

about his experiences on decision-making with student leader and he stated that I

believe that while various policies and procedures exist to incorporate student input,

administrative efforts may also exist to circumvent policy and procedure that diminish or

even silence the students' voices. This shows that even though there are efforts to

strengthen the voices of the student leaders in decision-making, there are still some

processes that would violate the rights of the student leaders. The purpose of Sanseviro

argued that student participation in institution decision-making is necessary because the

perpetuation of a democratic society demands educated and engaged citizens capable

of civil discourse that results in informed action for the benefit of the community in which

the citizens are engaged.

B. National and Micro-Level Related Issues from Student Governments in the

Philippines

Moreover, even universities within the Philippines have encountered such

problems. One good example was the issue about the cancellation of senatorial

candidates forum on health, population and development a day before it was supposed

to be held at the University of Santo Tomas' College of Medicine Auditorium (Casauay,

2013). This senatorial candidates forum was cancelled because of the decision of the
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university's administration. One of the organizers, the Student Council Alliance of the

Philippines (SCAP) said that the Secretary General of the university's office decided to

stop the event because they fear that the Reproductive Health Law will be discussed in

the said forum (Casauay, 2013). The problem escalated due to the reactions of the

members of the Student Council Alliance where in SCAP's chairperson for NCR, Heart

Dio, cried foul over the "blatant disregard of "students' academic freedom". The Student

Council Alliance believed that the said forum was about "young people's health in its

entirety, and not on reproductive health alone, and there was no reason for the

university's administration to cancel the forum. Even the vice president of the UST's

Central Student Council said that We feel that this is a loss for the Thomasians, being

deprived of their opportunity to discern the 2013 senatorial candidates, (Casauay,

2013). This showed that even the university student government didnt have the chance

to decide whether to continue the forum or to cancel it. Even there were lots of efforts to

improve the participation of student leaders in the decision-making there were still

instances that there right to participate are being violated.

Another example was the issue in Ateneo de Manila. The issue was about the

complaint of students and students leaders in the different divisions in ADMU because

of the alleged bias for the School of Management (SOM) during the annual APO Job

Fair. A dialogue between the administrators and concerned students was conducted in

order to solve the issue (Francisco, 2012). The issue began when the president of

Ateneo Debate Society, posted in the Facebook group of Sanngu Bantay Halalan that

there was a lack of options for non-management students, noting that most of the fair

participants were multinational corporations. The main pressing problem here was that

the administration created an activity that was not fair to all students. The decision-
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making were not participated by all students and including the different department

leaders that was why they were complaining on why the annual APO Job Fair focused

on giving opportunities to the students of School of Management. The problem did not

only lie in the participation of the student leaders but as well as the implementation.

In the local level specifically in Ateneo de Davao University the researchers

obtained a personal account from a former Ateneo First Year Orientation Program

(AFYOP) Facilitator (2013), that the selection of AFYOP Facilitators before, being part of

the AFYOP activity, was at the discretion of both the SAMAHAN Central Board and the

Office of Student Affairs Director. The AFYOP, being a calendared activity and program

to orient First Year students, was under the SCBs list of the annually-shared decision-

making with the OSA Director. However, during the duration of the previous OSA

Directors tenure, the SCB was most often left out of the selection process of the

facilitators for the program. This showed that there were existing problems in instances

where student leaders were not involve in the conduct of school activities. In another

Atenews article (Aquino, 2009), there was a heated argument between the Office of

Student Affairs Director (OSA) against the Engineering and Architecture Division and the

SAMAHAN Central Board (SCB). This was regarding the BM versus EA Volleyball game

during the 2009 Intramurals, where the EA team was sanctioned by the OSA Director

with no time-outs during their game. This decision, according to the SCB President at

that time was not what the OSA Director and the SCB agreed upon and these show that

there are lapses in the conduct of school activities.

In an article from Himati (UP-Min Official Publication) by Doreen Alolod (2011), she

stated the UP-Min. University Student Council was not consulted by the College

Business Manager in the planning for the design of the Student Center. According to
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Alolod (2011), the commercialization of the food and services stalls in the Kalimudan

Student Center by the Office of Student Affairs was not supported by the UP-Min.

University Student Council, through its Chairperson, Krista Melgarejo. Melgarejo

complained about the additional expenses that they would pay for these private services,

because these stalls would now implement higher prices for their commodities to pay up

for their rent to the Schools facilities. And also according to a personal interview from a

Communication Arts major from University of Philippines- Mindanao, a forum organized

by the UP College of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council about the Human

Rights Violation under the Aquino Administration was delayed by the School

Administration. The forum, which was planned to be held on the 28 th of November, 2012,

at the Lorenzo Hall, was denied of its venue and time slot by the upper brasses.

According to Molinos (2013), At first, the forum was already approved. But at the actual

time of the event, the School Administration put the activity into hold without an

explanation. They eventually rescheduled it on a later date, yet still did not explain to

the UP College of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council on why they didnt

follow the implementation of the said activity.

Supporting the real situations that differed from the ideal situations in both the

Ateneo de Davao University and the University of the Philippines-Mindanao, there were

also instances in the University of Mindanao wherein some parts of the decision-making

process of formulating school activities were not followed as usual. In an article by EVO

(School Publication), the College of Architecture administrators did not consult the CSG

of the College of Architecture regarding their plan to transfer computer facilities in

preparation for the upcoming accreditation by the Philippine Association of Colleges and

Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA). According to the College of


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Architecture CSG Representative, they were neither even aware nor informed of the

transfer, as all their laboratories are in the Bolton Campus. In another article EVO

(School Publication), by Claire Arranguez, another problem was exemplified regarding

the implementation of the RTB-Embassy flyover. In this issue, the RTB-Embassy flyover

plan was initiated by the outgoing CCSG President President Franklin Alipan, and

submitted it to the School Administration. So far, after repeated pleas, he got no

response from the School Administration regarding this matter. If not only through the

efforts of the Incoming CCSG President, Allan Magsipoc, who followed-up the proposal

to the City Council, that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte agreed with the proposal for its part of

his commitment to the city.

III. Synthesis

These related literatures and issues were chosen by the researchers since it

supports the idea of studying the different experiences of Student Leaders and their

participation in the conduct of school activities. In the first part of the review and related

literature, the researchers showed the history of student governments wherein the

researchers established that a student government was created in order for the students

to engage in decision-making processes, but it was not easy from the start. As time

passed by, student participation developed and increased because students became

more aware of their rights and their capability to lead. They have understood their roles

and responsibilities as they were chosen to be part of the student government. In order

to fully understand the importance of the involvement of students in decision-making, the

researchers showed the different reasons why students should be included in decision-

making (Morison, 1970). The main point of these reason stated by Morison is that

students have the right to have a say on what policies and activities that the university
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would do for them and also it is a good training for students to be engage in decision-

making in their universities in order for them to be ready to lead in their community or in

their country. The study conducted in Georgia University by Michael L. Sanseviro on the

Student Government Presidents' Perceptions of their Role in Institutional Decision-

Making at a Two-Year Public College is also very important to include in this review and

related literature because this enables the researchers and the readers to know the

different kinds and forms of student participation outside the Philippines. This shows that

the awareness on how students participate on the decision-making process is valued not

only in the Philippines but even around the world. Lastly the inclusion of the pressing

issues in ADMU and UST for the national level, and the past issues in the local level

specifically in ADDU, UP-MIN and UM shows how active the Student Leaders are in

proving their rights and maintaining their part in the conduct of activities in their

respective universities. It is very important for students and student leaders to

understand what are their appropriate roles in the decision-making body of the

university; and one factor on understanding these roles and responsibilities is by

identifying their different experiences in the conduct of school activities.


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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This Chapter described how the study will be conducted, based on the principles

of a Research Study.

Research Design

This study utilized a descriptive-qualitative research design. This descriptive-

qualitative research design was intended to examine and describe real-life situations

through the experiences of the Student Leaders regarding the conduct of school

activities in the three Universities.

Locale of the Study

This study was conducted on three universities in Davao City. These schools

were Ateneo De Davao University, University of Philippines- Mindanao and the

University of Mindanao.

Unit of Analysis

The respondents of this study were the individual Student Leaders from each of

the three universities. Student leaders who were:

- From a recognized club of their specific university or from the student government.

- Have at least 1 year experience as a Student Leader

- Currently enrolled on one of the selected university ( Ateneo de Davao University,

University of the Philippines-Mindanao and University of Mindanao and a current

officer in an organization/club or a student government body.


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Sampling Procedure

This study utilized a purposive sampling procedure. In which the researchers

have chosen Student Leaders as respondent for the assumption that Student Leaders

have best knowledge on the processes of conducting an activity.

Variables and Measures

Table 1

Variables Measures
Socio-Demographic-Political Profile:

Sex Male or female


Age Actual Age
Religion Actual Religion
Student Government or Club Nature of Organization
Current Position as an Officer Actual present position
Duration as a Student leader Year(s) or Month(s) as a Student
Leader
Experiences of Student Leader in the
conduct of school activities

Formulation - Budget for School


- Requirements set by the Office of
the Student Affairs
- Planning of the Activities
- Committees

Implementation - Committees

- Participation

- Dissemination of Information
Evaluation
- Lack of evaluation process

Suggestions of Student Leaders in the


Conduct of School Activities

Formulation

Implementation

Evaluation
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Data Collection Procedure

The first step that the researchers took was to ask permission to the OSA to

conduct the data collection in their vicinity through a letter. The researchers also

acquired the number of recognized club in each university. Next step was to hand the

letter of consent and approval to the possible respondent and with it was the socio-

demographic-political profile. The researchers selected their respondents according to

the responses of all officers of the SAMAHAN Central Board (ADDU), University Student

Council (UP-Min), College Council of Student Governments (UM) and selected officers

of the different clubs organizations of the three Universities through the Socio-

Demographic-Political Profile. After the utilization of the Socio-Demographic-Political

Profile, the researchers identified the respondents who served at least 1 year as a

Student Leader through a quota of 15 respondents for each university, as well as the

position held as an officer. This means that there were a total of 15 respondents (Student

Government Body officers or club/organization officers alike) for the Focus Group

Discussions, in which it was separated into 2 Focus Group Discussions per school, with

the exception of the University of Mindanao. Since there were only 8 available

respondents that qualified for having served at least 1 year as a Student Leader in the

University of Mindanao, therefore there was only one Focus Group Discussion that was

initiated. That brings a total of 5 Focus Group Discussions overall for the 38

respondents. Originally, the 2 Focus Group Discussions per school was supposed to be

divided in between male and female respondents. However, due to the unequal number

of male and female participants in each school, particularly in UP-Min, wherein 12 out of

15 respondents were female, the said original plan was not followed. It is supported with

the fact that only 8 respondents qualified for the University of Mindanao, and thus it will
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only suffice for one Focus Group Discussion. Only the respondents of AdDU had an

almost equal number of male and female respondents, with 8 male and 7 female

respondents respectively. For uniformity, the researchers decided to conduct the Focus

Group Discussion by groups of student government respondents and that of club/

organization respondents, again with the exception of the University of Mindanao Focus

Group Discussion. Next, for the In-Depth Interview, 3 respondents from each school

were chosen based on the most substantial outputs that they gave during the FGDs.

That brings to a total of 9 overall respondents for the In-Depth Interview.

Data Analysis

In following the data collection method as guided by objectives of the study,

the researchers used a thematic analysis in classifying the socio-demographic-political

profile of the respondents, as well as their verbatim responses regarding their

experiences, and suggestions in the conduct of school activities.

Ethical Consideration

The researchers considered certain factors in determining that the rights and reserved

respect for the privacy of the respondents are met. Availability and informed consent was

a factor in choosing student leader correspondents. The names of the respondents did

not count as a variable for the study, and as such was omitted along with the anonymity

requests of some of the respondents. The answers of the respondents, either in written,

recorded or any other form, were be preserved, or cited accordingly, depending on the

consent of the respondents. An approved parental consent from the parents or

guardians of the respondents that are not of legal age was also followed.
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Chapter 4

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter presents the experiences of student leaders from Ateneo de Davao

University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao, and the University of Mindanao in the

conduct of school activities in their respective schools. The chapter will include the

Socio-Demographic-Political Profile of the respondents, their experiences in the different

aspects of the conduct of school activities, and their suggestions.

I. Socio-Demographic-Political Profile

A. Socio-Demographic Profile

This category describes the socio-demographic profile of student leaders, their

gender, age and religion.

Age. Half of the researcher's respondents from the three schools are 19 years of

age. University of the Philippines-Mindanao has the most number of student leaders who

are 19 years old. The only and the oldest student leader, who is 29 years old is from

University of Mindanao.

Sex.More than half of the respondents from the three selected schools in Davao

City are Females. There were 21 female respondents among the 38 respondents from

the three schools. University of the Philippines-Mindanao has the most number of female

student leaders among the selected schools.


24

Religion.More than half of the respondents from the three selected schools in

Davao City are Roman Catholic. There were 29 Roman Catholic respondents among 38

respondents from the three schools. Ateneo de Davao University had the most number

of Roman Catholic respondents among the selected schools.

Table 2

Socio-Demographic Profile

Socio- Ateneo de University of University of Total


Demographic- Davao the Philippines- Mindanao
Profile University Mindanao
Age:
17 0 1 0 1
18 1 1 1 3
19 7 8 4 19
20 3 4 1 8
21 4 1 1 6
Over 21 0 0 1 1
Sex:
Male 8 4 5 17
Female 7 11 3 21
Religion:
Roman Catholic 11 10 8 29
Islam 2 4 0 6
Protestant 1 1 0 2
Hindu 1 0 0 1

B. Socio-Political Profile

This category describes and analyzes the socio-political profile of student

leaders, if they are part of a Student Government or a Club or Organization, their Current

Position as a Student Leader and the number of Years they have been a Student Leader

in College.
25

Part of the Student Government/ Club or Organization

More than half of the respondents are part of a Club or Organization, having 21

out of the total 38 respondents. Ateneo de Davao University has the most number of

respondents who belonged to a Club or Organization. The researchers believe that there

were more respondents coming from a Club or Organization because Student leaders

from Clubs or Organization have more experiences regarding to the conduct of activities.

Nevertheless, the difference between the number of respondents from a Club and from

the Student government is only minimal. The researcher believed that Student leaders

from Clubs or Organizations responded better to the research because they experienced

more problems than the Student Government. Even though Student Government

Leaders have broader scope of responsibilities, Clubs and Organization experience

directly relationship with the students and know what the problems are when it comes to

the conduct of school activities.

Current Position as an officer in the Student Government/ Club or Organization

Almost 66 percent of the respondents were Presidents of their Club or the

Student Government. 25 respondents were presidents among the 38 total respondents.

University of the Philippines-Mindanao had the most number of presidents among the

selected schools. Although some positions like chancellor and chairperson was also

categorized as president because it is also the highest ranking position in the hierarchy

of the officers. The researchers also merged the category for representative and

councilor because in Ateneo De Davao University it is called representative while in the


26

University of the Philippines-Mindanao it is called councilor. Both pertain to a certain

College or Cluster of courses student government head and the nature of their

responsibility is almost the same. The researchers first plan was only to have

respondents that are presidents but during the actual data collection not all presidents

responded to the researchers and some presidents were not able to pass the criteria of

having at least 1 year experience as a student leader. There was a problem encountered

in the data collection in the University of Mindanao because only 8 student leaders

passed to the criteria of having at least 1 year experience of being a student leader. The

problem was because not all student leaders actually responded to the data collection.

The researchers believe that this is because students in University of Mindanao have

limited opportunities in terms of being a part in the student government. This will be

discussed in the Experiences of the 8 students from University of Mindanao who

qualified to be a respondent in this research.

Year(s) of experience as a Student Leader in College

37 percent of the total respondents have an experience of at least 1 year as a

student leader, either as an officer from the student government or the clubs and

organizations of their respective universities. Most of these said student leaders having

only at least a year of experience are coming from the University of the Philippines-

Mindanao. This is coupled with the fact that the student government and organizations of

the said university elects their officers internally, either by organization or by College

(cluster of courses).
27

Table 3

Socio-Political Profile

Socio-Political Profile Ateneo de University of University of TOTAL


Davao the Mindanao
University Philippines-
Mindanao

Student Government 7 8 2 17

Club/Organization 8 7 6 21

Current Position as an
Officer:
President 9 10 6 25
Vice-President 2 0 2 4
Secretary 2 1 0 3
Treasurer 0 1 0 1
Auditor 0 1 0 1
Representative 2 2 0 4

Number of Years as a
Student Leader:
1 year 5 8 1 14
2 years 3 4 4 11
3 years 6 3 2 11
4 years 1 0 1 2

II. Experiences of Student Leaders in the Conduct of School Activities

In this part of the said chapter, these themes shall be identified by first stating the

experiences of student leaders for each school. The researchers clustered these said

experiences into the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of school activities.

respondents:

A. Formulation of School Activities


28

In Ateneo de Davao University, clubs and organizations are under the Campus

Clubs & Organizations (CCO), upon which all of their activities must be submitted to the

Office of Student Affairs (OSA), and be approved. For most parts, the student leader

respondents from these said clubs and organizations testified that they all undergo the

same type of complying process for all clubs and organizations. For the Student

Government, their activities come from either their own initiative or that from external

institutions.

In the University of Philippines-Mindanao (UP-Min), their organizations, which are

either course or program-based and that of fraternities/sororities, are all subjected to

evaluations in terms of making activities from their OSA. The same goes with that of the

UP-Min student government, upon which their activities are either student government-

initiated or in partnership or support of activities initiated by other organizations both

inside and outside the school.

The same can also be said with that of the University of Mindanao (UM), wherein

each College Student Government or club is subject to the requirements set by their

Office of Student Affairs, and with the supervision of their Vice President for Operations.

1) Budget for School Activities

In most parts, the student government and the clubs from the said Universities

have their own methods in terms of budget proposals and allocation.

Sa start ng sem, may carry-over budget kasi kami from


last year, and after yan ma liquidate, magagamit naming
yan for this schoolyear. But since kunti lang sya, we ask
for a membership fee for all club members, kahit old
members nga eh. Para maglaki budget namin and it
serves as the funds for our activities.
In the start of the semester, there is a carry-over budget
29

coming from last years after it has been liquidated, and


we can use it for this school-year. But since the amount is
not sufficient, we ask for a membership fee for all club
members, even for old members too. This is for the
purpose of increasing the budget and serve as the source
of funds for our activities. (Respondent ADDU E, 2013)

The said statement was delivered by one of the club student leaders of the said

school. He affirmed the statement that is generally coming from all the club student

leaders in Ateneo de Davao that shared the same response in terms of their budget

system for initiating school activities.

The same can be said for the student government of AdDU, upon which the

respondents coming from the said body had a uniform statement in terms of the

budgeting system of AdDU, albeit minor differences from that of most of the clubs

budget system.

Yang system kasi although masali ang remaining funds


na di na use for example last year, magagamit yan for next
year. What happens is actually, may additional pa yan. Sa
start ng sem, sa enrollment natin, nasa tution na yang 80
pesos per student for SAMAHAN. So after Finance, after
Sir . releases the budget for this year, ang Treasurer
thru Office of Treasury, sila mag budget actually and mag
release ng funds for activities and also allocation sa offices
ng SCB.

In our system, the remaining funds that werent used up


from last year can actually be used for the next year. What
happens is actually there will be additional funds. At the
start of the semester, during enrollment, there is an
allocationcoming from the tution of each student for
SAMAHAN budget, which is 80 Php. So after the Finance
Officer (administration) releases the budget for this year,
the Treasurer through the Office of the Treasury allocates
the budget and release of the funds for activities and also
for the offices of the SCB. (Respondent ADDU L, 2013).

For the organizations coming from the UP-Min, there are similarities to that of the

experiences of student leaders from AdDU.


30

In our org we ensure first our budget, so before


conducting our activities we get our budget from the
registration of the new members and budget from the
previous officers. It is important to know right from the start
of each semester, on whether we are financially capable of
launching such activities before we actually make
activities. (Respondent UP C, 2013)

It was also supported by another statement of another UP-Min organization

officer, which is generally acknowledged by the other organization officer respondents.

I think most clubs here in UP have their own budget. But


sometimes if we need to have more budget for funding an
activity we do solicitations from different companies or
NGO that supports our organization (Respondent UP M,
2013)

In terms of budget, the responses from most student leaders of UM differed

greatly from that of the responses from AdDU and UP-Mindanao. The statement of the

few interviewed student government leaders from UM confirmed the said difference.

We dont collect any student government fee at the start


of every enrollment which is not supposed to happen.
What happens is that if we can ever think of an activity,
what we usually do is to ask for the admin (school
administration) to fund our activities. (Respondent UM E,
2013)

In comparing the budget aspect of clubs from UM, it is still important to note that

it rather differs from the budget system of AdDU and UP-Mindanao, as stated by most of

their club student leaders that were interviewed.

Ang main thing kasi sa aming club is that we have


monthly dues. Sa start ng sem, medyo mahirap yan I
implement kay dugay2 pa mi maka oath-taking, and mga
mid-term name maka start jud. So sa start we usually have
no budget pa jud. Factor pa din dyan ang membership
naming, maliit lang kasi ang club namin. So limited nalang
din activities naming, kaya importante ang monthly dues.

The main thing for our club is that we have monthly dues.
At the start of the semester, it is quite hard to implement it
because our oath-taking is rater late, and that we can start
31

at mid-term. So at the start, we usually have no budget.


The membership is also a factor, since we are only a small
club. That results in having limited activities, which is why
monthly dues are important. (Respondent UM G, 2013)

2) Requirements set by the Office of Student Affairs

Most club officer respondents inferred that there is a protocol in which all clubs

must comply with, before an activity must be implemented, and that it is to be submitted

and determined by the Office of Student Affairs.

There has been a consistently uniform kind of system in


making school activities. OSA kasi tsaka CCO ang naga
regulate nya. First is mag release sila ng notice kung sino2
na clubs ang probi or regular. For us, since bago lang na
lift ang probi status namin, easier na magpa approve ng
concept paper. Yan kasi talaga first step eh, paperworks
and formalities. Before mo ma implement, submit ka muna
concept paper. Pag ma approved na yan ni mam
depende na yan sa club naming kung may changes pa ba,
as long as ang rationale ng activity ma achieve ayus
naman yan

There has been a consistently uniform kind of system I


making school activities. OSA and CCO regulate that. First
is that they will release a notice upon which clubs are
under probation or are regular clubs. For us, since our
clubs status had just been lifted from being under
probation, it is easier for our concept paper to be
approved. Thats always the first step, paperwork and
formalities. Before you can implement activities, you must
first submit a concept paper. If Maam approves it, it now
depends upon the club on whether there would be
changes, as long as the rationale of the activity is
achieved, and then it will be fine. (Respondent ADDU A,
2013)

For UP-Min, there was a general consensus in terms of experiences by both student

leaders from organizations and also the student government in terms of the

requirements set by their OSA in making activities.

Ang most important thing sa formulation is ung pag pass


32

ng requirements sa OSA para I allow kami mag conduct


ng activities. Mahirap din kac may plan ka nga di naman I
accept kaya gna ensure talaga namin yan. Noon, samok
masyado itong pag submit kasi di sa ibat ibang office
kailangan pa magpa sign ng authorization. Now na sa
OSA nlng talaga, we make sure na yang polished na
talaga ang concept paper, dira lang man gud magdaug.
Tapos after nyan, discretion naman ng org naming kung I
follow talaga lahat ng nakalagay or what

The most important thing in formulation is to pass the


requirements set by the OSA before we conduct activities.
It is rather hard to plan when it wont even be accepted,
thats why we always ensure it. Before, it is rather tedious
to submit requirements because we have to go to different
offices before the authorization can be signed. Now, the
OSA does it. Thats why we make sure that the concept
paper itself is very polished because that is the key thing.
After that, its under the discretion of our organization if we
will really follow everything that we stated in the concept
paper or not. (Respondent UP, 2013)

Again, for UM, although there are certain similarities that their student

government and clubs have in terms of passing requirements to OSA with that from the

responses coming from AdDU and UP-Min, there are rather intriguing minor differences.

One student government officers response best described that of UMs student

government process regarding this theme.

The same as other schools, if not all schools, we do pass


concept papers of the activities that we would like to
implement. In the system, it automatically goes to the Vice
President (VP) for Operations. Actually the OSA does not
have the power to decide on it, although supposedly it
should have, just like every school. And even though they
(OSA) are in favor of it, it can be overruled by the VP for
Operations, so its a waste. So even our OSA, it has now a
kind of diluted function. (Respondent UM E, 2013)

In support of that statement, there are similar concerns coming from the

responses of the club officers of UM. It is best encapsulated in of the club officers of UM:

If you are good in making a concept paper, plus if they like


33

your activity, then thats the trend of accepting it.


Sometimes, if they dont like your club, then the trend is
that youll have lesser number of activities that theyll
accept, when you compare it to other clubs. Just like our
club, thats always a difficult thing for us when even at the
first step, we are problematized. (Respondent UM H,
2013)

3) Planning for Activities

In planning for school activities, there were many similar ways that each club and

even the student government shared in their responses. Most of them pointed out to a

Long-Range Planning (LRP) mechanism, which implies a long-term lay-outing of their

scheduled proposed activities.

We do LRPs (Long-Range Planning) each summer,


right after the start of our term talaga. Parang kick-off na
yan sa amin as new officers. It serves as team building na
nga rin eh, sort of. Kasi dyan naming I lay-out ang
activities for the 1st sem. Most importantly,
pinaghahandaan talaga naming ang 1st activity naming,
which is yang back-to-school na program sa 1st day of
class. Also meron din sa sembreak, for next sem naman
yan siya na plans.
We do LRPs (Long-Range Planning) each summer,
right at the start of our term. Its like a kick-off for us new
officers. It even serves as sort of team building because
that is where we lay-out activities for the 1 st Semester.
Most importantly, we really prepare for the 1 st activitity,
which was a Back-to-school program for the 1st day of
class. Also, we conduct the same (LRP) during the
semestral break, and that is for the activities to be planned
for the next semester. (Respondent ADDU K, 2013)

Respondent ADDU D, who is a club president, said that their club is actually

lively in making activities, because even if we already had a set of activities made

through our LRP (Long-Range Planning), we also have abrupt ones. These abrupt

ones, he said, are either suggested by the Environmental Unit of their student council,

by NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) or by certain faculty members of the


34

school.

A similar concept of an LRP aroused from the responses of student leaders from UP-

Min. As best described by one of its organization officers, and the same generally

applies to the majority of the organizations and that of the student government.

We arranged first the traditional activities. These are


activities that we annually do from the past years. Thats
the focus of our first meetings. For the other activities, we
just usually call upon meetings to prepare for it along the
way. (Respondent UP D, 2013)

Another additional insight regarding LRP comes from that of another club officer.

Actually yung sinasabi naming na traditional activities.


Ginagawa naming yan through Long-Range Plannings.
Kasi gina ensure naming na dapat before mag start ang
sem ready na lahat para mag mag gawa nan g
requirements for OSA madali nalng. As a president yan
ang gna remind ko sa kanila kasi isa yan sa mga factor na
mag affect sa success n gaming mga activities

Actually that is what we do for traditional activities. We do


it through Long-Range Plannings. That is to ensure that
even before the start of the semester, everything is ready
and it would be easier to comply with requirements by the
OSA. As a president, I always remind them that it is an
important factor that affects the success of our activities
(Respondent UP I, 2013)

For UM, although their student government and clubs have traditional activities,

just like AdDU and UP-Min, there is still yet another major difference in terms of their

planning for school activities. In this statement by a UM club officer, the difference is

obviously in display.

I dont know about LRPs, but we have ganito kasi, UM-


exclusive activities that are annually done. We have
Intrams, Mutya ng UM, Teachers Day, Foundation Day,
etc. These are already scheduled, yan kasing activities na
35

originally ang new CCSG ang mag plan, it depends kasi


kailangan pa i pa consult kay VP.

I dont know about LRPs, but we have these UM-


exclusive activities that are annually done. We have
Intramurals, Mutya ng UM, Teachers Day, Foundation Day
and etc. These are already scheduled because those are
activities that the CCSG originally plans. It really dependes
upon the VP (For Operations) because we still have to
consult for it. (Respondent UM F, 2013)

In addition to the statement, there is one similar response that is rather felt by the

rest of the UM respondents was that of the problems in terms of planning for school

activities.

Sometimes nga eh you put so much effort in planning for


an activity and medyo sakit sa buot na wala jud maski
katititing na sense of support from the admin. Thats the
challenge, and sabi ko nga, medyo weird ang situation sa
UM

Sometimes it is rather painful when you put so much effort


in planning for an activity, and yet there is no such
semblance of a sense of support from the admin. Thats
the challenge, and like what I said, the situation in UM is
rather weird. (Respondent UM E, 2013)

4) Committees

Another trend from the responses of the student leaders from has something to

do with Committees. Most clubs and the student government officers had similar

responses that they have this sort of division of labor that they allocate to their officers,

and club members alike.

For AdDU, the general concept of having committees is shared by most clubs,

and is also a part of the student governments structure. One particular club of AdDU

best describes this certain kind of division of labor in formulating activities.

We have different committees composed of officers as the


36

heads, and we have some club members who are


members of those committees. There is a creative
committee, which will make posters and promotional things
for the activity; there is a registration committee, which will
take charge of the registration for club members in all
activities so that we can submit them to CCO.
(Respondent ADDU G, 2013)

In addition to that, a student government officer stated these Committees as

being an integral part in the planning of their activities.

. In making activities, we assign officers to head such activities, and sometimes

even ad hoc committees. You know in Samahan, theres the Creative Team, which

is a committee that makes all video presentations, posters, ads, and everything for

the activity to get the attention of students. That Committee I think is the most

important out of the 9 (committees). Thats the key, if you get the attention of

students especially in the social sites, then you are surely going to have many

participants. (Respondent ADDU K, 2013)

B. Implementation of School Activities

1) Committees

For the implementation of school activities, respondent ADDU G said that the

committees that we had in the making of the activities are carried over in the actual

activity. Since their club has a consistent set of committees, they know their roles in

whichever activity is implemented. Its automatic, the registration (committee) officers

start off with attendance, and the program (committee members) are the MCs (Master of

Ceremonies) and they conduct the prayers and all., respondent ADDU G added. For

him, since he assigned these committees based on their skills, they actually know what
37

to do in such activities. But even their activities are not without problems.

It was our first (activity) for the (academic) year. There


was a problem in preparations, thats why during the
event; a lot of things went wrong. Its supposed to be the
G.A. (General Assembly), but it was badly represented.
The mics (microphones) were out of sync, we werent able
to notify our teachers, and most of the performers werent
prepared. Its mostly because of problems in preparations,
that the case. I think, thats always the case. Same
reasons why you start late, its because you have
problems in preparations and you have to adjust
everything on the spot. (Respondent ADDU G, 2013)

At the activity, since almost all of our activities are outdoors, we always start

late, started respondent ADDU D. This is because their types of activities, as an

Environmental club, are often done in coasts, mangrove areas, sanctuaries and the

likes. Most of their club members who participate in these activities that paid prior to an

activity often come late, and since they embark on their destination at a specified time,

the club officers are forced to wait for them. Its a common thing, to wait for them.

Because we paid in advance for jeepney drivers to take us for example, to plant trees in

Matina Pangi or Maa, therefore, we have to wait for them. This Filipino time, its a

problem both to members and even officers., exclaimed respondent ADDU D.

There is this one time in one of our activities in Samal. We


were prepared and all packed, since we are supposed to
stay there almost the entire day for our activity. Of all
people that are supposed to be late, it was those people
assigned to take care and bring the food. It cost us almost
half a day for our activity time just waiting for them.
(Respondent ADDU D, 2013)

Another club president, respondent ADDU H, described how they implement their

activity as a club. We never won the outstanding club because we were just an ordinary

club, she started. The same as other clubs, they also have committees upon which they
38

carry out their duties from the formulation and into the actual activity itself. The main

difference, according to him, is that they are a political club/party. I think its part of

tradition, that we take pride in everything that we do. We have great officers and even

members, they know their tasks, respondent ADDU H boasted. At the actual time of

activity, mostly for leadership and political forums, not only do they have many active

members, but that they do their individual or group tasks very well, for most of the time.

We are only one of a few clubs that are also political


parties. I think that helps in challenging us to do well in all
our activities. Its not that we are trying to one-up each
other (as political parties), but I think we just want to prove
that we are different. The problem, in fact, is that we
compete with the other political parties (clubs) in almost all
aspects that we end up having the same kinds of activities.
We also react to almost all the same issues, whether in
school or nationally. Its a trend that we now issue
statements, not as a response to each issue, but as a
response to rival the other clubs statement. But I think its
just a friendly competition. (Respondent ADDU H, 2013)

We are I guess the biggest SEC (Student Executive Council), so we normally

have many talented and hard-working members that makes it easier for activities, said

Respondent ADDU O, who is a Division Representative of her school. In terms of

manpower for implementing activities, the SEC of Respondent H has many people to

assign tasks to. Most of the problems that they encounter are student participation,

wherein it becomes a waste of effort for their activities when only a few people would

attend it.

Aside from the courses in our division, we have strict


retention policies. Also, we have very studious students,
and that most of them are apathetic to non-academic
activities. I understand that part, but these activities are
something that they will miss in their college life. And as
their SEC, we made these activities for them. Its just a
waste to prepare (for activities) sometimes. (Respondent
39

ADDU O, 2013)

With this, the themes that are most commonly stated in the implementation of

school activities are: committees functioning with different tasks, the problems in

activities starting late, and also student apathy.

2) Participation

When it comes to implementation of school activities in the University of the

Philippines-Mindanao the main problem is the participation of the students. Student

leaders were very disappointed in their activities if there were few students attended the

activity because they encountered different difficulties on the formulation of activity and

passing all the requirement and in the end only few attended the activity.

For me importante ang commitment kay naa may uban


gud nga muadto lng sa first activity tapos sa sunod wala
na. So far okay ang OSA karun pero dapat wise
gihapon ang mga presidents and other leader sa pag
gamit sa ilang time kay ma drag ghapon among acads
kung puro activities nalang.

For me it is important to have a commitment because


there are students or officers that will go to the first
activity but will be absent at the next activity. So far,
OSA is doing a good job but student leaders should be
wise on managing their time because doing extra-
curricular activities will surely drag down their academics
(Respondent UP K, 2013)

This statement of a student leader pertains to the commitment of the members to

participate to the activity. The researcher looked at all angles on the problem about the

commitment of these students or member to participate on the activities by their

organization and again the researcher identified one factor and that is again because of

the high standards of the University. The student leader cannot always mandate all the

members of the club to attend to their activities because these students have their
40

academics to attend to. And again they will not prejudice their academic standing by

participating school activities. Also one factor of that the researcher identified was the

schedule of the activities because there activities that are scheduled near exam week.

Even though its not on the actual exam week but some professors move their exam and

that will affect the students. They will rather choose to study than to attend activities.

Actually, the problem in the participation of the members


kay ma blame nako sa amo. As student leaders dapat mas
maging interactive mi sa among members. Usually man
good once a month lng mi naga meeting so dili jud ma
enganyo among mga members

Actually, the problem in the participation of the members


can be blamed on us. As student leaders we should be
more interactive with our members. Because usually we
just conduct meeting once a month and that will not
encourage our members to participate. (Respondent UP
D, 2013)

This statement was given by a respondent in our Focus Group discussion and

most of the participants agreed on this. Yes, they cannot force the members of to

participate but if the student leaders were more interactive it will keep the interest of their

members and they will tend to participate. The researchers analyzed that on this

situation the problem again was on the Student Leader and their capability to become

more interactive with their member. Again we can trace this to the number of years as a

student leader. Most of our respondents in the University of the Philippines-Mindanao

have been student leader at least one year and it is a factor how they keep their interest

of their members. Student leaders should be able to provide what the members wants

and what the administration approves.

Dissemination of Information about the Activity

Another theme that was common in the focus group discussion and interviews in

the University of the Philippines-Mindanao was their problem in the dissemination of


41

information about the up-coming activities. Student leaders pointed it out because they

have a difficulty on disseminating information about the activity this result to fewer

number of participant in their activity. This theme is related to the first theme about the

participation of the members and other students to the activities. And all of these

scenarios happened in the implementation of activity. Although this might also be part of

the formulation of activity this can be also categorized as implementation because most

of the respondents experienced this problem on the day of the implementation of the

activity.

One problem talaga is pag bago pa lng nag start ang


activity hindi lahat ng tao alam ang kanilang gagawin
so I always need to inform them on what to do. Also in sa
dissemination of information kasi sometimes hindi natin
maiwas kasi busy tayo lahat hindi ma disseminate ang
info. Kaya kunti lng ang may alam.

One problem in the implementation is when the activity


starts most of the members don't know what they should
do so I always need to inform them on their
responsibilties. Also in the dissemination of information,
sometines we cannot really rely on our members to
disseminate the information because they are busy that is
why only few people knows about the activity
(Respondent UP J, 2013)

In this statement two problems were identified by the student leader of University

of the Philippines-Mindanao. First is the dissemination of the responsibilities of the

members and other officers in the day of the implementation and the second one is the

dissemination of information to others students so that they will know that there is an

activity. It was stated that the president (UP) always remind her members and other

officers on what to do. This is part of the role of the president unlike in the formulation

that he/she only approves and sign in the implementation the president needs to

manage the whole activity. He/she should know whats happening on the different

committee but this doesn't mean that all members and other officers would just rely on
42

their president. The researcher traced the problem on the commitment of the members

and other officers to participate in the activity and they don't just participate but they also

facilitate. As member of an organization you should be able to adopt your responsibilities

and perform it for the success of the activity, members should not always really on the

presidents because all members of the club plays their role. Again the researcher traced

the reason on why do these members and other officers cannot do their responsibilities

well and its because they cannot manage their time for the academics and extra-

curricular activities. Now in the context of dissemination of information to the other

students, one factor lies on the venue of the activity.

Ang Up malalayo ung building so usually kung sino yung


available sa place na yan sila lang talaga mag punta. Pero
may one time na wala talgang tao. For example last year
na ang activity sa Kalimudan so kailangan pa namin
hakutin yung mga tao papuntang Kalimudan which is
troublesome for our part.

Buildings in UP are far from each other, now when we


conduct our activity in a certain building only those
students who are available in that bulding will attend the
activity. For example last year's activity was conducted in
Kalimudan so we need to fetch those people who wants to
attend to go to Kalimudan which is troublesome for our
part.( Respondent UP J, 2013)

One factor that contributed to the lack of dissemination of information and the

reason of why only few participants go to the activities is because of the venues.

Although the student leaders can't do anything about the location of the building they

should have planned it in the formulation. The researchers believed that these problems

about the location of the buildings are solvable. The officers should have planned this

ahead before the implementation day so that the participants will know where to go and

how will they go there. But again they cannot force the students to participate to their

activities because these students are busy for their academics.


43

The administration also played an integral part in the implementation of the

activities because they are in charge in the regulating events and activities but

sometimes they are having lapses because some student leaders said that they cannot

feel the presence of the administration during the implementation of the activity.

Although naga hatag silag regulation sa


pag implement ug school activity, actually dili nako ma feel
na naa jud sila sa venue. Siguro naga hulat lng silag report
gikan sa amo or something. Ambot lang kung same na sa
ubang activities sa ubang club. Based lng na siya sa
akong experience.

Although the Administration (OSA) gives regulation for the


implementation of school activity, I actually don't feel their
presence in the venue. Maybe they are just waiting for
reports from us or from others. Im not sure if its the same
case on other activities of other clubs thats just based on
what i have experienced. ( Respondent UP I, 2013)

Even though this statement was not agreed by most participants in our focus

group discussion with the student leaders, the researchers have decided to include it

here in the analysis because even though most of them say that the administration is

very supportive but not all of the club officers experienced that way therefore they are

still lapses that the administration needs to improve. Yes they give rules and regulation

but they should regulate it in the day of administration. These are only students if

something happened they are not capable of doing all the things needed to be done the

administration should be there to help them. In the implementation aspect of the conduct

of school activities it is very important that the students and the administration should

work hand-in-hand so that activities will be more successful and enjoyable.

Although the student leaders identified some lapses from the OSA we can still

conclude that in the implementation of the school activity open-systems theory is still

present. There is always an interaction between the school administration and the

student leaders in order to conduct a successful school activity. There is still room for
44

improvements for the administration as well as for the student leaders. In relation to our

review and related literature the researchers would like to point out that nobody is

perfect and even systems are not perfect. There will come a point that one or both of the

systems will have lapses but after these lapses they will have a chance to improve what

they did wrong. It is normal to commit mistakes as long as you accept that it is wrong

and you will find ways to make it right. So even in some point, administration or the

student leaders creates mistake that would affect the school activities there are still time

to make it right.

For the University of Mindanao, the function of the university student

government, dubbed the Cluster of College Student Governments, is purely of an

implementation body in terms of conducting school activities, according to respondent

UM E. They only give ideas for an activity, and if the school administration likes it, then

they would possibly fund it and approve it. But even if the whole studentry wants it, and

the school administration doesnt, then it does not push through at all.

We once had an IGP (Income-Generating Project) that


are counter-intuitive for the admin. Blue Book, although
not literally blue, that was the project. Its a 3-page loose
print guide for all exams. Its only for 10 pesos, but
everybody knows that its not really worth as much as it
should be. We make this kind of activities because we
dont have (CCSG) money for the Intrams, thats why we
raised the price level (Respondent UM E, 2013)

If the activity is accepted, then it will be implemented. According to Respondent UM F

(2013), there is an economic chokehold of the school administration because they are

in control of the finances. Thats the big difference. Although the activity already has a

go signal, it still has to be tweaked in favor of whatever changes the school

administration wants to make before you can actualize it.


45

Another additional problem came out in terms of the venue for the

implementation of activity. Most of these problems were generally experienced by the

other UM student leaders that were interviewed.

You cant just use the venue for your activity, even if it
was already reserved. The admin can always take that
away from you, anytime they want. Like for example, when
we had an Intervarsity Debate Competition recently. We
invited students, even from your school, locally, and we
were almost finishing the event. During break time, the
admin just told us to pack up and leave because they are
going to use the event. What?! We reserved this even a
month ago, and then this is what will happen. They didnt
even offer an explanation, and we were embarrassed in
front of our guests. (Respondent UM F, 2013)

As having one of the most numbers of members in any club in their school, respondent

UM C inferred that even their teachers are supportive of their activities. Still, it was

always a challenge for their club in implementing activities. Although an officer of a

prominent club in their school, respondent UM C has his fair share of problems in

implementing school activities. As of late, they cannot conduct most activities during

weekdays, especially forums and discussions. Unlike in Ateneo de Davao, their

University doesnt have an activity period. Its all academics, he said. From the 1st class

in the morning until the last class in the evening, there are no breaks to accommodate

club activities.

These are the themes that are present in the implementation of school activities

in the University of Mindanao: the school administration interfering in the implementation

of activities, the financial woes of clubs and even the student council, and also a lack of

venue.

C.) Evaluation of School Activities


46

1) Lack of Evaluation Process

Most, if not all student leaders stated that their clubs or organizations usually

dont have an evaluation of school activities. This is one of the main themes of this part

of conducting school activities. One of the respondents, however, stood out as his

student council actually is doing this part in conducting school activities.

According to respondent ADDU K, their student council actually does an

evaluation of almost all their activities every after the said activity is conducted. When

well have our first meeting after an activity, we critique it., said respondent ADDU K. For

the student council, this is a very helpful exercise to learn upon for future references on

other similar activities.

Basically what we do is that the evaluation


will be the first agenda for our next meeting. We have a
traditional way of doing that. First is we divide the
evaluation into what went wrong, and what went right. In
the what went wrong part, we honestly say the areas of
concern. Sometimes its from our own observation of our
lapses, and sometimes its from our friends or other
peoples critique. In the what went right part, its where we
discuss the things that went well for the activity. Just like
what we did during our first activity this (academic year). It
was a back-to-school kind of thing, to welcome students
for a new school year. It was not that good, actually. We
had too many problems. But since its the first activity, I
think its forgivable. (Respondent ADDU K, 2013)

This sole response of respondent ADDU K, out of all student leader respondents

from the said school, signifies that this is the one and only big difference in terms of their

assessment in the conduct of school activities.


47

For the University of the Philippines-Mindanao, there is an absence of a formal

evaluation of school activities in most organizations and even the student government.

One respondent from UP-Min best describes the overall lack of a formal evaluation of

activities.

Akong gnabuhat gyud kay although dili siya formal


evaluation. Gna gather ghapon nako ang different
committees and ask them unsa ang problems or unsa ang
ipadaun buhaton. But i guess its better kung mag karoon
ug formal evaluation noh? Para atleast naa miy ipasa sa
OSA on what happened in the activity.
What I do is although it is not a formal evaluation, I gather
all the different committees and ask them what are the
problems, and what should we continue to do. But I guess
is it really better to have a formal evulation? At least that
way we can submit to OSA what really happened for that
activity. (Respondent UP, 2013)

Regarding UM, almost all respondents never had a consistent experience of

conducting evaluations for every activity that they conducted. Most argued that they

usually just move on to the next activity, because most of these are short-term activities.

One of the best responses from the said aspect of conducting school activities was given

by a student government leader.

What is there to evaluate? Haha. I guess the thing here is


that as a student council, we always want to go beyond
this. Beyond what is given, beyond what has always been
done. Although these traditional activities make sense, its
a part of the UM experience. But when we talk about the
higher role of the academe in society, its purely for the fun
of it. One Mutya ng UM event budget appropriation could
have been used for what, 10 symposiums of important and
specific issues that are way relevant! And thats hard to
achieve, because they would only approve of an activity
other than these traditional activities if they get the benefit
out of it! If the name of the university gets promoted, in
some sort. (Respondnt UM E, 2013).

Suggestions of Student Leaders


48

Most of the respondents from AdDU delivered suggestions not only directed to

the school administration, but also to future student leaders of their respective clubs and

also that of the student government. One such Ateneo club student leader expressed his

suggestion to future student leaders.

This political party talaga, instead na mag push against


each other, sana in achieving the same goals nalang dapat
magtulungan sila. What usually happens kasi is we are
pulling each other down, like sa start pa lang sa semester,
mag inakusahay na ug kinawatay ug members. It shouldnt
be that way kasi. Kung may criticisms man, dapat
constructive bitaw, not yang maka setback and offensive
sa other political parties diyan. Kasi at the end of the day,
yang for the betterment of the club as a whole nalang ang
atupagin sana, wala nang pakialaman. I know we all aim
man din for magis, kahit iba iba kami. (Respondent AdDU
H, 2013)

This political party, instead of pushing each other, I hope


they will instead help each other in achieving the same
goals. What usualy happens is that we are pulling each
other down. Like the start of the semester, we are
accusing each other of stealing the others members. It
shouldnt be that way. If there are criticisms, it should be
constructive, not something that will be a setback and is
offensive to the other political parties. Because at the end
of the day, their focus should be the betterment of the club
as a whole, nevermind the others. I know we all aim for
magis, although we are varied. (Respondent AdDU H,
2013.

In addition, for the side of the student government of AdDU, there is a vastly

overwhelming response regarding one particular matter that was common in terms of

their suggestion. One of the key respondents, which was also the most experienced

student leader, summarized their points.

Mayroon na kasi tayong very supportive na admin eh.


They are just there, nag aantay lang yan sila actually ng
consultations, and always pa nga mangyayari is naga
agree lang sila sa aming proposals. We are blessed here
49

in Ateneo for having an open admin. I think sa part ng


suggestions, I address ito sa amin talaga. May ma improve
pa man. Siguro yang bagong consti diba ng (student
government), parang pet project na yan ng every student
council every year, ha. Sana ma push na talaga natin yan
this year. Im sure the changes will benefit lahat ng
ateneans and maka reach out ito sa mga apathetic
people. (Respondent AdDU M, 2013)

We already have a very supportive administration. They


are just there, actually just waiting for consultations. And
what always happens is that they would often agree to our
proposals. We are blessed here in Ateneo for having an
open administration. I think for the part of the suggestions,
It should be addressed to us. There is still something to
improve. Maybe that new constitution for the student
government, its like a pet projet for every student council
every year. I hope we can push that through this year
already. Im sure the changes will benefit all Ateneans, and
that it can reach out to apathetic people. (Respondent
AdDU M, 2013)

In UP-Mindanao, majority of their organizations had varied suggestions with

regards to their experiences as student leaders. They have stated that unlike the years

before them, there is actually an improvement in terms of the freedom in conducting

activities in their school, as set by their school administration. However, one particular

experienced student leader defined the most important thing that should improve in the

conduct of activities in their school.

I would say that OSA have done a great job of making


requirements and is more student friendly than before. I
think the most important thing to do is to strengthen the
structure of the student government and organizations.
What I mean here is to create standards for electing
student leaders so that we will expect that they can do
their responsibilities effectively. What we currently have is
a very open to all system in elections, there should be a
filtering system. (Respondent UP J, 2013)

Regarding the suggestions in implementing school activities, most student

leaders said that improvements should be made within their certain organizations first.
50

But one particular suggestion of an organization student leader from UP was addressed

to the schools Office of Student Affairs.

Gusto ko sanang I suggest na dapat sa activity jud ba na i


ensure ng OSA na may representative sila sa area to help
the students in the activity. Kasi minsan there are things na
hindi talaga namin ma control and I think help from osa
would solve this kinds of problems. (Respondent UP H,
2013)

I want to suggest that during an activitiy, the OSA should


ensure that they have an are representative to help
students in conducting the activity. This is because
sometimes there are things that we just cant control and I
think OSA would solve these kinds of problems.
(Respondent UP H, 2013)

Of all the schools in the said study, the respondents from UM had the most

suggestions in terms of the conduct of school activities. Most of these were addressed to

their school administrations, as has been the general theme coming from the said

school. One of UMs seasoned student leader spoke of the direction of the school

administration towards the student government.

I always envy other schools kasi. Imagine, UM man dapat


ang open university. What happens is the actual opposite
jud. Kami man dapat ang walay entrance exam, kami ang
pinakadako ug student population, maski sa Matina
(campus) lang ha. Sa una, other schools sa city they tried
jud to collaborate with us in inter-school activities, ang
Ateneo ug UIC always na sila. Ma discourage lang jud sila
sa admin, kay ultimo pag send ug letter sa CCSG, mudaan
pa intawn sa among admin. Ang mahitabo ana di nalang
jud sila mang invite, as if wala mi ga exist ba.
(Respondent UM F, 2013)

I always envy other schools. UM is supposed to be an


open university. What happens is the actual opposite. We
dont have entrance exams; we have the largest student
population, at least in Matina (Campus) alone. Before,
other schools in the city tried to collaborate with us in inter-
school activities, mostly Ateneo and UIC. They will just get
discouraged by our admin, because even sending mere
letters to the CCSG, it has to pass through the admin.
51

What would happen is that they wont invite at all, as if we


dont exist. ( Respondent UM F, 2013)

In support to his statement, another student government officer stated a similar

suggestion, which generally serves as the best and common statement from almost all

respondents from UM.

I would reiterate that yes; at least we still have a student


government. We are fortunate enough to exist at least,
because I know for a fact that there are still some schools
in the nation that has no student representation. So you
see, we are still rather optimistic. What I do want to
strongly manifest is that we shouldnt be a for the sake of
meeting the requirements of accrediting bodies kind of
student government. I know madam VP has done a lot to
glorify UM in his time, but I think he has to at least
decentralize us, in a way. So we can serve the students
freely. (Respondent UM E, 2013)

Through all the general themes gathered from all the categories of the conduct of

school activities coming from all schools, there are rather outputs that are in strong

connection to the studys Theoretical Framework.

The Open Systems Theory, which is the framework used in this study, assumes

that all organizations are comprised of multiple subsystems, each of which receives

inputs from other subsystems and turns them into outputs for use by other subsystems.

The subsystems are not necessarily represented by departments in an organization, but

might instead resemble patterns of activity. (Bertalanffy, 1971)

In connection to the data presented and the themes that were generated through

the analysis, there is actually a subsystem in most student governments, clubs or

organizations from the said schools. These subsystems are in the form of Committees,
52

which are purposely organized within the student government, club or organization, and

is an integral part in carrying out specific functions to conduct school activities. The

output of these Committees are not only essential, but through all accumulated tasks

that they specifically perform, it determines the success or failure of such activities.

Also, in this theory, organizations are interacting with each other, and that there

is a regular input and output of ideas in the system, all of which determines the feedback

of the course of action taken. At the processing stage the organization creates a new

product, process materials, trains people, or provides a service. Something is done to

the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The cycle

is eventually renewed and the process begins again. (Bertalanffy, 1971).

With regards to the statement and the presented and analyzed data, most

organizations or clubs and student governments from all schools interact with each other

and produce a regular input and output of ideas. For example, all schools clubs,

organizations and student governments interact with their respective Office of Student

Affairs (OSA). They submit requirements, propose budget, all of which will determine

whether their planned activities will take effect, or be considered. With this interaction in

between the organization and their OSA, the student leaders are trained to formulate

activities, allocate budgets, in which it will help in the conduct of their activities. This is

done in a regular matter, for all schools, as each activity undergoes this kind of cycle.

Also during the implementation phase in conducting school activities, it provides

an avenue for students to be engaged in whatever activities that the clubs or student

governments implement. This supports the idea of the theory that At the processing

stage the organization creates a new product, process materials, trains people, or

provides a service. It does not only provide an avenue for the student leaders to serve,

but only to train themselves in the process of implementing an activity.


53

During the evaluation phase, the input from the students regarding their reactions

or reccomendations to the implemented activities are then processed by the student

leaders. This in turn, Is a clear relation to the theorys concept that Something is done

to the input. The output is then exported (with value added) to the environment. The

cycle is eventually renewed and the process begins again. Once an evaluation is done

from the recommendations or reactions of students after an activity, the student leaders

can eventually learn something from it and in turn it will serve as a basis to improve their

next set of activities.

In relation to one of the related literatures in this study, there different types of

student governments in order for the students to effectively supervise the student social

activities. Based on the output from the student leaders in this study, the researchers

have determined that according to Klopf (1960), there are three forms of student

governing groups found in literature, thus they have classified the student governments

from AdDU, UP-Mindanao and UM based on this related literature.

According to Klopf (1960), these three student governing groups are the

Community Government, Student Council, and Organizational Council. The student

government of AdDU, in accordance to Klopfs categorization, is a Community

Government. This is because according to Klopf (1960), this type gives the greatest

number of direct share in the formation of policy because it is composed of

representatives from each group on the campus: administration, faculty, students and

sometimes clerical and maintenance staff, and that students should be represented in all

of these committees. With all the responses coming from AdDU in this study, it is safe to

say that although they name their student government as a Student Council, they

actually fall in Klopfs category as a Community Government. This is because the AdDU

student government is actually democratic, as given to them by the campus


54

administration. The students have representative to the different committees in the

administration, and that their interest is very well represented also.

In the other hand, the student government of the University of the Philippines-

Mindanao (UP-Min) is classified as a Student Council. Based on Klopf (1960), each

member of this council is elected by all the students, and responsible to all of them. This

system is good according to Klopf (1960), as student representatives can have a

broader and more objective point of view in their work. However, it might also mean that

each representative is removed from the individual student because he is responsible to

a large group. This is true for UP-Min, as their USC (University Student Council) officers

are elected at large by students, each representing a certain College (cluster of courses)

in their university. And although they represent their different Colleges, they dont put the

interest of their respective Colleges at play, but rather that of the whole studentry in

general.

Lastly, the University of Mindanao student government, although limited, can still

be classified under Klopfs categorization. UMs student government, based on the data

by the respondents, can be classified as an Organizational Council. Under Klopfs

(1960) idea, Organizational Council is made up of the representatives of all student

organizations or groups on the campus. Usually these groups are student clubs or

societies. This system is a result of a natural election and representation system, that of

student clubs; however, this means not each and every student is represented on the

organizational council. This bodes true for UMs CCSG (Cluster of College Student

Governments), as their CSG (College Student Government) officers, which are the

members of the CCSG, are elected class/section officers. They are not elected at large

by the UM studentry, and do not represent all students in the student government as a

whole.
55

Chapter V

Summary/Findings and Recommendation

This chapter contains the conclusion on the Socio-Demographic and Political

Profile, Experiences of Student leaders and their suggestions on the conduct of school

activities. The Socio-Demographic profile is categorized in three concepts and these are

Age, Sex and Religion. The Socio-Political Profile is also categorized in three concepts

and these are Part of Student Government and Club or Organization, Current Position

as a Sudent Leader and Number of years as a Student Leader in college. In the

Experiences and Suggestions of Student Leaders in the conduct of school activities the

conclusion is divided in three parts which are in the formulation, implementation and

evaluation.

Socio-Demographic Profile

More than half of the respondents are 19 years old and this is same in the three

schools. The researcher's concluded that most student leaders are in either 3 rd or 4th

year and this is because in this age student are more responsible and capable on

handling situations in the school activities. The researchers also saw the importance on

the policy of the Ateneo de Davao City on deciding that their first year students cannot

enter organization. The importance of this is that first year students dont have much

experience to handle or join an organization and also the university wants the first year

students to establish first their academic status before joining extra-curricular activities.

This policy is not practiced in the University of the Philippines-Mindanao and University
56

of Mindanao thats is why first year have chances to become and officer even though

they dont have experience of being a student leader.

Throughout the study more females are involved in school activities and being a

student leader. Although this is only present in the University of the Philippines-

Mindanao this shows that females are more capable of handling a position in a student

government or a club. However in Ateneo de Davao University eight out of fifteen

respondents were males and the researchers concluded that in Ateneo de Dvao

University sex distribution is balance. Males and Females can both handle the

responsibilities of being a student leader.

Throughout the study the religions that arise in the data collection is Roman

Catholicism. This is evident because Ateneo De Davao University is a Jesuit university

therefore it is expected that most students are Catholic and other Christian religion. This

is also evident in the University of Philippines-Mindanao and University of Mindanao

since 80 percent of the religion in Davao City is Roman Catholic.

Socio-Political Profile

More than half of the respondents are part of the Club. The researcher concluded

that even though Club Leaders have more experience and have more diret relationship

with the students it is still not a guarantee that they have the best qualifications to

become an effective leader. And even student government is the highest student

government body in a university it is not also corresponds that they are fit to be called an

effective leader. Throughout the study both experienced various problems that can be

trace to the weakness of the structure of their student government and club.

The next category is the current position of the student leader. Most of our
57

respondents are a president of their Club or Student Government. The researcher

concluded that although president is the highest ranking position it doesn't guarantee

that they have the vast experience in the conduct of school activities. Presidents

manage the school activities however it doesn't mean that they dont need help form the

other officers. The researcher encountered lower positioned Student leader that have

vaster experiences when it comes to the conduct of school activities than a president.

The number of years as a student leader is very important in the study. It

somehow determines how a respondent can respond to the problems encountered in

the conduct of school activities. Most of the respondents have one year experience and

some of them are well experienced enough but also some of them have difficulty coping

with their extra-curricular responsibilities and academic responsibilities. The researchers

concluded that they cannot generalized and say that having one year experience as a

student leader will qualify or not qualify you to become an effective student leader. Since

this will also depend to the personality of the student if he or she can handle the

pressure and responsibility of being a student leader.

Experiences of Student Leaders:

In the experiences of student leaders, there were themes that were generated

out of their responses. These said themes were present in either two out of the three

schools' student government or clubs and organizations, while some themes were

present in all three of them. As stated in the previous chapter, these themes were

present in either the formulation, implementation, or assessment in the conduct of

school activities.

Formulation

First, in the formulation of school activities, there were common experiences by


58

student leaders from the Ateneo de Davao University and the University of the

Philippines-Mindanao, at least for their clubs or organizations. First is that most of the

respondents stated that their club has a Long-Range Planning (LRP) of activities even

before they conduct a single activity for the school year. Also, their respective Office of

Student Affairs (OSA) has a clear and uniform basis of the requirements for each club or

organizations before they can conduct any activity. The passing of a concept paper,

budget proposal and reservation of venues and materials are all present and available

for the clubs and organizations of the two said schools. Also, most of the respondents

from AdDU and UP-Mindanao also experienced internal problems in terms of complying

with these said requirements. Sometimes their club or organization cannot conduct the

said activity in time because they fail to meet the deadlines set for the requirements by

their respective OSA, and that these are purely because of a failure in coordination or

actions between officers. Meanwhile, the same cannot be said for the respondents from

the University of Mindanao, as their clubs are often times limited, both in budget and in

opportunities to conduct activities.

Implementation

In the implementation of school activities, all three schools' respondents have a

similar problem. This problem is in the form of student participation, or the lack thereof.

In all three universities, the student leaders said that sometimes their efforts to conduct

specific activities for the benefit of students are put to waste when there is not much

attendance, or genuine participation from them. This can be contributed to the venue

availability, wherein the student leaders from AdDU and UP-Mindanao observed that the

availability of the venues, as well as the distance in between buildings are sometimes

detrimental to student participation. The same can also be said to the problems

encountered by the student leaders of University of Mindanao. Most of their respondents


59

pointed out that even if they have reserved venues for the event, there is no actual

assurance that they can use that venue in the time that they are conducting an activity.

Also, the interference of the school administration in some activities conducted by the

University of Mindanao student leaders is something that is unique in that school, and is

not present in the two other universities.

Evaluation/Assesment

Lastly, in the assessment of school activities, there is one common theme that is

strongly present in either clubs or organizations and student governments of all said

schools. This lack of evaluation of school activities is something that the student leaders

suggested for future and upcoming officers. They understood that it is important to have

an evaluation to know and learn the mistakes and areas for improvement for their next

activities. Only the student government of AdDU and a few of the school's clubs have an

evaluation process of most of their activities.

Suggestions

Throughout the study student leaders of the three selected university have

encountered difficulties in the conduct of school activities. Not all of the respondents

have actually stated their suggestions in the three aspects of the school activities.

Student Leaders from Ateneo de Davao University and University of the Philippines-

Mindanao complemented the work of their administration since they have done a great

job to help the Student leaders in the aspect of Formulation. However this was not

follow in the University of Mindanao because student leaders accounted that there are

really problems in the formulation of school activities between them and their

administration. In the implementation, the common difficulties that Ateneo De Davao,

University of the Philippines-Mindanao and University of Mindanao shared was the


60

student participation and availability of venues that is why most of the respondents

suggested the improvement of organization and the presence of administration or OSA

on every activity of the Student Government and Organizations. In the evaluation there

was no really direct suggestion that was given by the respodents however the

researchers observed that most Student leader does not conduct formal evaluation after

their activity. Some of the respondents actually realize the importance of the evaluation

after we conducted the data gathering and some of them suggested that Student

leaders should have a formal evaluation so that the student leader would know what

they did right and wrong in the previous activity.

The study used the Open Systems Theory in order to describe and analyze the

relationship of the Student Leaders and the Administration, and Organization and their

committees. Open Systems theory assumes that all organizations are comprised of

multiple subsystems, each of which receives inputs from other subsystems and turns

them into outputs for use by other subsystems. The subsystems are not necessarily

represented by departments in an organization, but might instead resemble patterns of

activity. (Bertalanffy, 1971) and the study shows that the inputs and outputs are present

in the three schools. Although Ateneo de Davao and University of the Philippines-

Mindanao have great ties with the administration there are still problems identified.

However the researchers found out that in the University of Mindanao ties with the

Administration is not strong and in they always encounter problems in the conduct of

school activities.

In relation to the related literature, the researchers found out that the three

schools have different type of student government according to the definition of Klopf.

Ateneo De Davao University has a Community government, University if the Philippines-

Mindanao has Student Council and University of Mindanao has a Organizational


61

Council type of student government. Although the three schools have different type of

student government they still have similarities and that can be traced to their

experiences.

Recommendation

After the researchers have conducted the study they have gained knowledge and

information that can help different entities in the university. The following are the

recommendations of the researchers:

B.) For the School Administration, the researchers recommend that they should be

more open to the suggestions of the student leaders in order for them to have

healthy relationship. It is important that these two entities works together properly

so that they can deliver their services to the students in the university

C.) For the Student leaders, the researchers recommend that before they enter a

student government or a club as an officer they should be sure that they can take

the responsibility and that they can manage their time as a student leader and a

student with academic responsibilities

D.) For the Academe, the researchers recommend that they should become more

aware of the relationship of the different governing bodies in their university and

also that they should be more participative to the activities because this is their

chance to express what they want.

- For the Political Science Program, the researchers recommend that the program

should encourage the conduct an additional researches that would improve the

political structure of the said Student government and Clubs.


62

REFERENCES

Alolod, D. (2011, March). And along came Kalimudan.Himati.

Bertalanffy (1971) 1975, Perspectives on General Systems Theory. Scientific-


Philosophical Studies.New York: George Braziller,

Casauay, A. (2013). UST cancels senatorial forum over RH issue. Retrieved from:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/19503-ust-cancels-senatorial-forum-due-to-
presence-of-pro-rh-bets. March 24, 2013.

Francisco, K. D. (2012). Students, admin dialogue over job fair issue. Retrieved from:
http://www.theguidon.com/2012/02/students-admin-dialogue-over-job-fair-
issue/. March 24, 2013.
Holdsworth, R. (1996). What do we mean by student participation? Youth Studies
Australia, 15(1), 26-27.

Klopf, G. (1960). College student government. New York: Harper& Brothers.

Laosebikan-Buggs, M. O. (2006). The role of student government: Perceptions and


expectations. In Miller and Nadler (Eds.), Student governance and
institutional policy: Formation and implementation (pp. 1-8). Information
Age Publishing:

Greenwich, CT. Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/College-


Student Journal/259679616.html, Febraury 14, 2013

Love, R., Miller, M. (2003). Increasing student participation in self governance: A


comparison of graduate and graduate perceptions. College Student
Journal, 37(4), 532-545. Retrieved fromhttp://www.freepatent
online.com/article/College- Student- Journal/259679616.html. February
14, 2013

Morison, S. (1970). Students and decision making. Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs
Press.

Portnykh, W. (2001). On the self government of the student collective. Russian


education and society, 43(5), 54-60.

Sanseviro, Michael Lenard, "Student Government Presidents' Perceptions of their


Role in Institutional Decision-Making at a Two-Year Public College"
(2007). Educational Policy Studies Dissertations. Paper 7.
63

(2004, September). B & M Students fuss on shirt, attendance card.Atenews.

(2009, August). Collision! OSA vs EA, SAMAHAN.Atenews.

Appendix A
Letter of Approval and Consent to the Respondents

Dear Sir/Madam:

Greetings!

We, the students of Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science from the Ateneo
de Davao University, are currently doing our undergraduate thesis entitled
EXPERIENCES OF STUDENT LEADERS IN THE CONDUCT OF SCHOOL
ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN DAVAO CITY. Our study intends to look into
student involvement in institutional processes in the tertiary level, such as that of
conducting school activities in specific universities in Davao City. The student leaders
experiences regarding the processes of formulation, implementation, and evaluation of
school activities in their specific student government body, club, or organization, as well
suggestions for the improvement of the conduct of these activities are essential to the
fulfillment of this study. Specifically, we have determined the students of your university
as respondents because of their current positions as officers to your universitys student
government body, clubs, or organizations, as well as your schools relevance to the
study at hand.

With this, we would like to ask for your permission to interview your students
inside the premise of your university, and also with their consent, regarding the said
study, and for it to be included as data in our study. This study would help the both of us,
as it would benefit us in fulfilling our course requirement, and it would also help your
students student government body, clubs, or organizations if our conclusions are
satisfactorily met through your hopeful cooperation.

Please do confirm whether or not you are willing to allow us to enter the premise
of your university, by texting this number 09437021876, or through email in this address,
mikoyarra@yahoo.com, as soon as you are able. Rest assured that if you allow us to
interview your students inside your institution, we will follow the rules and regulations of
your school.
Your kind reply would be very much appreciated.

Sincerely yours, Noted by:

Delabahan, Cel Lord P. Dr. Christine S. Diaz


Researcher Research Professor

Michael Ervin Yarra Ms. Tetchie Aquino


Researcher Research Mentor
64

Magandam, Jevan Paul


Researcher

Appendix B

Self-Administered Questionnaire (Socio-Demographic-Political Profile)

Name: __________________________________________________________

School: __________________________________________________________

Name of Student Government Body:___________________________________

Current Student Government Body Position: _____________________________

Year Level and Course: _____________________________________________

Gender: _ Age: Religion: __________________

Duration as a Student Leader (Years/ Months) ___________________________

Past Position(s) held as a Student Leader in the University :________________


65

Appendix C

Focus Group Discussions Guide

I. What is your basis in conducting your school activities in this aspects:

A. Formulation/Planning

B. Implementation

C. Evaluation/Evaluation

III. What are your roles in the process of conducting school activities in this
aspects:

A. Formulation/Planning

B. Implementation

C. Evaluation/Evaluation
66

Appendix D

In-Depth Interview Guide

I. Based on the Student Body/ Club/ Organization Constitution, by-laws, Code of


Internal Procedures, Protocols or any traditional basis of function, what are your
experiences in the conduct of school activities in these aspects:

A. Formulation/Planning

B. Implementation

C. Evaluation/Evaluation

II. Based on your roles specified as a student leader, what are your experiences in
conduct of school activities in this aspects:

A. Formulation/Planning

B. Implementation

C. Evaluation/Evaluation

III. Based on your experiences as a student leader, what are your suggestions in the
conduct of school activities in these aspects:

A. Formulation/Planning

B. Implementation

C. Evaluation/Evaluation
67

Appendix E

SDSC Chart

Objectives Data Needed Source(s) of Data Data


Data Collection Analysis
Procedure
I.Socio- -Sex, Age and Student Self- Thematic
Demographic- Religion Leaders of Administered Analysis
Political Profile -Year-Level and the three Questionnaire
Course Universities
-Duration as a
Student Leader
-Current and
other past
positions

II. Experiences Positive and Student Focus Group Thematic


encountered by negative Leaders of Discussion and Analysis
the Student experiences the three In-Depth
Leaders encountered, Universities Interview
a. Planning usual/traditional
b. Implementation processes in the
c. Evaluation conduct of school
activities in their
University
III. Suggestions Suggested ways Student In-Depth Thematic
by the Student to improve the Leaders of Interview Analysis
Leaders processes in the the three
a. Planning conduct of school Universities
b. b. Implementation activities in their
68

c. c. Evaluation University

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