In about three weeks, UP Diliman students will head to the polls to pick the next set of student leaders.

That should be exciting. I have heard tales of mudslinging, heated debates and the political parties’ passionate exposition of their plans for the student body if governed. I have also read in the Collegian archives of the sharp—but well-meaning—difference in the stances over serious topics such as armed struggle, land reform, fraternity-related violence, and gender equality.

But I think one must temper their expectations. The thing is, my seniors in the department are saying that campus politics have really gotten relatively muted and “peaceful” over the past years. But maybe this is simply a foregone conclusion, with the youth movement still in the middle of recalibration and rectification amid instances of mishandled sexual harassment cases.

Inside institutions, though, these woes are felt more. Last issue, Xean reported the struggles of the incumbent University Student Council (USC) in grappling with a shortage of elected officers and lack of funding from the university. Vyan also reported that a major political party—STAND UP—is in the process of rebuilding itself, and they still have a long way to go.

Here in the College of Arts and Letters, at least, there used to be a bitter rivalry between the blue and the red parties. Right now, it remains unclear if STAND UP will field candidates at the university level. I’m not even sure if they were able to pick someone from my department to run as a representative to the college student council

Given the myriad challenges facing both UP and the nation, being a student leader these days is even more difficult. Sure, perhaps being a student and a leader is a selfless offering of oneself to the community—these leaders are people, too. It becomes worrying and unsurprising, then, that more and more have become discouraged to step up and bear the cross of being a student leader in these times of discontent.

Stepping up to lead is a difficult decision to make, but it is an imperative. Indeed, there exists a contradiction between the personal and political. Such is a contradiction that one can only resolve by integrating oneself to the sectors whom they pledge to serve; by embarking on an endless interrogation and analysis of our society.

We can draw strength and hope from one of UP’s student leaders, Lean Alejandro, who famously said, “The line of fire is always a place of honor.” ●