Frequently Asked Questions about the Blue Movement

What is the Blue Movement?
It is a student community organizing effort in the block level guided by the following principles:

1. Civic engagement – organizes students around issues and causes through advocacy campaigns and elicits collective action.
2. Student Empowerment – provide tools and channel that enables active participation in student governance, educational quality check on the students’ perspective, and vigilance in the state of our community.
3. Atenean Values – provide materials and discussions that reinforce Atenean culture and values; create a culture of responsibility.

What is the purpose of the movement?

The purpose is to build and develop an informed and active Atenean constituency motivated to engage issues and concerns and intent in transforming the community.

What motivated the inception of the movement?

For so many years, the methods of governance in the student body have been conceived from the bottom down and no structured connection from the constituency. We believe that this resulted to the deepening of apathy, wide disconnect, and relative distrust to the governance system by the student community. The recent years, we have seen a growing gap between the leaders and student body fuelled by a seemingly deteriorating culture of engagement among the students where the passion for Atenean activism has slowly degenerated into a craving for raw entrainment. This is a response to start transforming that drift and organize the student body towards a direction of creative student centered -governance.

What does the movement do?

The movement provides education sessions, , student caucus on issues, leadership and organizing seminars, small campus projects, student mobilization on advocacy campaigns and relevant information.

How can I join?

Ever bona fide students of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan are welcome to join. Just submit your application form through hand or email (thebluemovement@yahoo.com).

What are the members’ responsibilities?

Recruit other members

Participate in the activities and campaigns of the movement in varying degrees of commitment ,action, and capacities

What is the structure?

4 member students in one block can form a block chapter. Among themselves, they choose their block leader. 4 block leaders of the same year level can form the year level council. Among themselves, they choose their college representative. The college representative will represent the core group.

Minimum backbone number of members: 4 members x 4 blocks x 4 year levels x 7 colleges = 448 members

Change Politics Meeting

This is my first time to fly to Manila alone. I am here in CODE-NGO Headquarters in front of the Ateneo attending a meeting of the regional point-persons of the Change Politics Movement. I am the only one below 20 years old so at least I know how to situate myself. In this meeting, I reported what happened in Cagayan de Oro regarding the initial activities of the movement. Scanning the presence in the room, I saw the need to present a different perceptive from the usual sharing so I filled it in with my report on the youth’s perspective and actions in this part of Mindanao. I reported to them the use of social networking to boost up awareness among the youth in the area. Though not the ultimate organizing weapon, the internet can be used to boost up presence in this movement. Furthermore, I also created an image that we are treating the expansion and implementation of this movement as war; organizing ground troops, mapping out the fronts, scanning the airwaves, and setting up camps. These are all geared up to create a strong presence of the movement in Cagayan de Oro city especially in the youth sector. Now the battle has begun. Join the grand army for change! I will be going to ateneo after the meeting! Amdg!

A FACELESS ILL IN OUR GENERATION

A FACELESS ILL IN OUR GENERATION

We are deeply saddened by the recent suicides of two of our brothers. Though the reasons of the acts are isolated and respectfully confidential, these are signs of a growing faceless ill that is encroaching in the lives of our generation. Depressing and alarming as it is, our entire community should seriously pause in reflection on the trends, actions, and events that may have fuelled and triggered these unfortunate acts.

We call on our formators, counselors, and teachers to give greater emphasis on formation that teaches resiliency in the midst of personal challenges, foster a greater environment of trust and open communication and to be more vigilant in probing students with ill signs and act upon it with utmost personal care and professional guidance.

We call on our fellow students to be more sensitive and loving with one another, building real and rooted relationships that bring out the best in each and everyone. We also call on our fellow students to break the growing wall of isolation and build strong bridges of care and love to those who most need it.

We call on our parents to constantly and caringly communicate with their children and assist them in processing their life experiences.

These unfortunate events are a wake up call for all of us. It is very sad that this faceless ill has to take two young lives for us to realize the urgency of confronting and preventing it from striking again.

We should face this crucial chapter in our lives with deeply rooted faith, a resilient and caring spirit, and unyielding hope for the challenges to come.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones affected by this very unfortunate event.