Yesterday, Twitter user Ferdinand Jomilla Jr. tweeted a copy of a document he said is the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) “Enrollment Conforme,” a document that students must sign before they can enroll in the school. The document specifically prohibits engaging in cohabitation, premarital sex, or relationships deemed contrary to the teachings of the school and the Catholic faith.
The tweet has been retweeted more than 3,000 times as of this article’s posting.
In a message to Coconuts Manila, Jomilla said the document in question was sent to him by students and that he posted it because he knows that “students are unable to call it out, for fear of repercussions.”
Coconuts also spoke with two incoming UST freshmen via Facebook messenger, who both confirmed the document’s authenticity.
https://twitter.com/AngryFerds/status/1018750219914055680
Founded in 1611, UST is the oldest existing university in Asia and is affiliated with the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church.
According to the document, students will be punished with “non-readmission, exclusion, or expulsion” should they be discovered to be engaging in “cohabiting without the benefit of marriage, or engaging in a relationship contrary to the principles adhered to by the University and the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Jomilla interpreted the rule as also being a prohibition against LGBT+ relationships, a fair conclusion given that the Church has called homosexual acts as “an intrinsic moral evil.”
But it doesn’t stop there.
The document goes on to state that students will be punished by “suspension, non-readmission, or exclusion” if they were discovered to have committed “acts of indecency in the use of electronic media (e.g. facebook, tweeter (sic), instragram (sic), blogs, etc.) which may include the use of indecent words, uploading of indecent picture(s) or image(s), or those reflecting unchristian behavior of himself or of any other person(s).”
Finally, the document prohibits students from joining or organizing “boycotts, assemblies, parades, or marches,” or any activities that will create “unnecessary noise and/or disturbance.”
That would seemingly stand in direct contradiction to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which states that “no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”
Rules like these are not uncommon in private schools owned by the Catholic Church, of which there are many in the Philippines. They have also been part of UST’s handbook for some time, based on this freshmen orientation presentation from 2014.
Still, the waiver posted by Jomilla shocked plenty of netizens, with many taking to Twitter to criticize the university.
Robby Rosales wrote that a “student does not shed his Constitutionally protected rights at the school gate.”
“The student does not shed his Constitutionally protected rights at the school gate.” Magana vs. Mabini Colleges, Inc. (G. R. No. 89317, 20 May 1990),Villar vs. TIP (G.R. No. 69198, 17 April 1985), Guzman Vs. National University (G.R. No. 68288 11 July 1986) https://t.co/sTgcPqS5Nc
— Robby Rosales (@ronnrobby) July 16, 2018
Another user sarcastically wrote: “Guys, don’t write anti-UST senti[ments], or join rallies, or post thirst trap pics, or have relationships for that matter. Let’s just beat up other people, anyway, the sanction is just community service.”
The user is alluding to the case of a UST student who allegedly beat up his girlfriend, then allegedly asked by the school to peform community service.
Guys, wag na maglabas ng anti-ust senti, or maki-join sa rallies, or magpost ng pa-thirst trap pics, or makipag relasyon for that matter. Mambugbog na lang kayo, tutal community service lang naman yung sanction. Chz
— You may rely on it (@iamjohnjacinto) July 16, 2018
Another dubbed UST’s policy “mini martial law.”
When did UST wanted to act like a mini martial law state?
— Ishinama Sa Hoe Kai (@ishinamalenin) July 16, 2018
Coconuts Manila spoke with a current UST student who recalled signing a conforme document when he was a freshman in 2015. He said he has seen the new conforme document, which the school sent to him via his university account last week.
Another student who said she hasn’t seen a copy of the conforme document posted on Twitter asserted that the controversial provisions are not new, just new to the netizens who are now reacting to them.
“From what I know, they [the controversial provisions] have always been in the handbook,” she said. “I don’t think [that it’s common knowledge] because they’re [other students] so surprised about them.”
Coconuts Manila also spoke with two incoming UST freshmen who confirmed receiving the document. One of the freshmen said he hadn’t been given enough time by UST’s staff to think about the repercussions of signing the document.
“At first, I didn’t really think that there was anything wrong with the document because I thought signing it would just be for formality purposes,” he said. “But looking back on it now, when the man told me to sign it, I was only given a few seconds to read through all 3-4 pages before I could sign it in front of him so he could process my enrollment.”
It took the online controversy to make him re-read the document.
“[Y]esterday I saw a Twitter thread about the exact enrollment paper and so I re-read my copy and realized what I actually signed up for,” he said.
The student said he actually doesn’t have anything against the other rules, but what bothers him the most is the that the document’s reference to relationships “contrary to the teachings of … the Catholic Church” might, in effect, make an LGBT+ relationship an expellable offense.
“I personally feel it’s unnecessary for them to include LGBT relationships in their list of offenses because in all honesty, it’s the person’s choice if they want to involve themselves in same-sex relationships,” he said.
“I understand that they stand with the church’s teachings because UST is a Catholic university, but for them to specifically target LGBT students and giving them sanctions for a personal business such as their relationship status—then that is where [I] think they kind of crossed the line.”
He said that in spite of the rules, he still thinks that studying in UST is worth it.
“UST is one of the top schools in the country. Even if they have a problematic administration, it can’t really take away the fact that UST excels in conducting lessons and producing successful people,” he said.
He added that UST’s academic reputation is the reason why they can impose any rule they like and get away with it.
“I think this is why the administration of UST can get away with their sketchy rules,” he said. “It’s because they know that at the end of the day, they still consider themselves as a world-class-type of university, and they would still have thousands of students enrolling every single year no matter what.”
Apart from this viral tweet, UST has also been the subject of other controversies recently. These include the death of a UST law freshman due to a fraternity hazing and the awarding of controversial Duterte supporter Mocha Uson a UST alumni award.
Coconuts Manila has called UST’s public affairs office but the university remains unreachable as of this article’s posting.
*All current and incoming UST students interviewed requested to stay anonymous.
