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Seeds of change

BY ANNICKA B. KOTEH

THROUGHOUT COLLEGE, both the school and its students have undertaken efforts that reflected a rising awareness of environmental issues inside and outside of the campus—from climate change to pollution to resource conservation and more. These issues have demanded stronger institutional and individual responses that consider our impact on nature. In this light, the Loyola Schools (LS) community has grown ever louder in demanding sustainable action from the University and society.

Taking root

As we entered college, Ateneo also ushered in new sustainability frameworks to cement its green commitments. 2016 saw the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability launch its Sustainability Policies and Specific Guidelines, which touched on ecological awareness, materials and energy conservation, food sustainability, as well as disaster risk reduction. In the same year, urban planning firm PGAA Creative

Design finished the University masterplan, which outlined campus improvements with the environment in mind. By 2017, Ateneo finally published its second Sustainability Report under Global Reporting Initiative standards. The report, covering 2014 to 2016, discussed programs for student formation and the environment, with some highlights being better waste segregation and water conservation systems.

Aside from these guidelines, the University had smaller-scale initiatives to move students towards environmentalism. The Ateneo Walang Aberyang Yayanig sa Biyaheng Ateneo (WAY) shuttle service, later called the Ateneo P2P+, was likewise piloted in 2016 to reduce traffic congestion on campus. Moreover, students themselves have worked on building fuel-efficient cars through Ateneo’s participation in the Shell Eco-marathon since 2017, and the new Greenpark behind SEC-A gave Ateneans an eco-friendly hangout spot—with wooden tables built from trees felled by typhoons.

However, these initiatives have suffered from a lack of strong information campaigns. The school has yet to release a new sustainability report nor periodic updates on the PGAA masterplan. The Ateneo P2P+ shuttle experienced low ridership and resorted to fare impositions before being discontinued with little explanation. Blue Biyahe, a similar service led by the Sanggunian and the Office of the Associate Dean for Student and Administrative Services, ran for eight weeks from late October to December 2019, but more as a stopgap response to the LRT-2 shutdown than an environmental undertaking. The Shell Eco-Marathon, as well as the significance behind developments like the Greenpark have seldom been discussed on social

Making waves

If our first two years of college went by quietly with regard to the environment, the last two years would prove the opposite. We saw students, faculty, and staff speak out for their visions of sustainability, starting with 2018’s The Ateneo Wild: A social media project documenting campus flora and fauna. The initiative was founded by Biology Instructor Trinket Canlas and Environmental Science Instructor Abigail Favis. Though Canlas and Favis still manage the project, The Ateneo Wild crowdsources content: Its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages have presented a collaborative way to learn about Ateneo’s biodiversity.

But our defense of campus wildlife would be tested in April 2018. This marked the controversial New Rizal Library road extension proposal, a two-way road to the John Gokongwei Student Enterprise Center and Moro Lorenzo Field that would have cut through the School of Management Forest. Just 13 days after the project’s announcement, concerned LS faculty and staff circulated a joint statement, which eventually gathered 268 signatories against the road extension. The petitioners called for an alternative mobility solution that would preserve the tranquil School of Management Forest as the “most accessible green area on campus” still “insulated from vehicular traffic.”

The school administration was then pressured to postpone construction and hold a Special School Forum, where the Sanggunian also reported that 82.6% of student survey respondents opposed the project. At the forum, University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, admitted being “remiss” on consultations and community updates. The public outrage and the resulting discourse led to the cancellation of the road extension.

More recently, we have not only raised our voices with the LS community, but with other young activists as Ateneans mobilized for the Global Climate Strike last September 20, 2019. Different youth groups from and beyond Ateneo, as well as Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Chito Gascon, spoke of the most vulnerable sectors–such as workers, farmers, the poor–affected by environmental destruction.

These efforts show Ateneans’ capacity to raise our voices for a greener world. Still, there is always more to discuss and do when it comes to the University’s promises of sustainability. As we leave the Loyola Schools, it is now on us to heed nature’s call and sow change in a bigger field.