QCSHS MALCONTENTS

Here we go again. Students from QCSHS spoke out against what they perceived as the stupidity and inefficiency of those who are in power because they are older than them. Those in authority, because they are in authority deemed that these "kids" cannot speak out because they are too young to know what they are talking about and proceeded to suspend them for ten-days. Huzzah! For freedom of speech! Huzzah! For truth from the mouth of babes! Huzzah! For democracy!

This little issue right smacks the side of my heart having been ejected from Miriam College coming to fourteen years to the day now. Funny how fourteen years later history has come back to rear it's ugly head. Since the law, the Campus Journalism Act, that was supposed to protect student journalists like myself then is as effective as a gauze condom, I found myself having had to begin my career in Professional Journalism a year and a half earlier than expected. For that I would sincerely like to thank those who penned this "mighty law" that will protect the "right to free speech" of young journalists. Please note the dripping sarcasm in my tone if you missed it.

So forward fourteen years later where in a blog, a personal one at that, these student journalists wrote their opinion of a person. True, it was on the social networking site of Multiply.Com which makes it as private as a Wall Urinal. So in short it skirts the issues of libel and slander. Again we are faced with a dilemma. Is posting in a blog considered public? Is posting in a blog considered personal? As far as the law is concerned, and this does not apply to electronic forms of media, because the law is still sadly trying to keep pace with the speed of technology here: libel is printing something false about a person or organization that is available for public viewing. Slander is saying something false about a person or organization.

The thing here is, what if it is the opinion of the person? Well according to our favorite lawyer, it does not excuse you from libel or slander. You should really keep your opinions to yourself, unless you can defend yourself by skirting the law on libel and slander which are very specific, and if even one of the "aspects" of the law is not fulfilled, libel and slander do not count.

Now I am not about to preach about law here, I am not a lawyer, I am a journalist, or so I believe, so I will expound on the truth. The truth here is that students have voiced their mounting dissatisfaction about the knowledge and treatment that they receive at their learning institution. They were dismissed for speaking out their dissent about said service rendered by their teachers and administrators. The question is, are they not allowed to voice their discontent on a service that they have paid for? Is that not the way to go about it, voice your discontent and hopefully, the place will do its best to improve itself. But instead of going the positive way, the establishment considered the critics as malcontents and did away with them in a draconian fashion. Is this what we wish to teach our children when someday they become the ones in charge?

Unfortunately, what was true fourteen years ago is still true until now. Those who complain in this country usually are branded rebels and are summarily exiled or worse. Malcontents are not welcome in the Philippines.