Stayin’ Alive! Stayin’ Alive!

Philip

If not boogeying to the disco and salsa tunes with the 70’s strobe lights or mimicking the moves of John Travolta, a lot of Vrods and Sis “below” (Aggie Chapter) were very busy building the booth for the yearly February Fair, in addition to excelling at their studies. Quiz contests also abounded everywhere to test our mettle (Paramihan ng Alam, anyone?). Or how about the Math and Chemistry Quiz contests? Inter-org sport competitions were also popular, especially volleyball, with Sis Dix B. serving up some of the best spikes this side of the Asian Games. Of course some of the less refined UPLB denizens would tend to indulge themselves in those “barbaric” frat rumbles but not us Varrons, no matter how provoked we were. Intellectual pursuits were more challenging for us so to speak, and we’d rather excel as leaders – whether as student editors, student council leaders or student counselors, or as we were – academic students.

Alive we were in the UPLB campus in the 70’s, though others were less lucky. With student demonstrations at Mendiola in 1970 and the Plaza Miranda bombing in August 1971 heightened student activism in student campuses all over Manila and Diliman campuses was brought forth. Issues revolved around graft and corruption of government officials, the presence of US military base, increased militarization and abuses of the Marcos military, as well as evident subservience of the Marcos administration to US interest and policies (with the Vietnam War still looming in Asia).

With the increasing economic poverty in the country New People’s Army – a pro-communist group supposedly – started gathering more sympathy and supposedly increased their violent approach. To counter such encroachment the Marcos government (and incognito cronies) staged some bombings around Manila to sabotage any growing support to the so-called “Communists” and other leftist elements. This led to the infamous Plaza Miranda bombings which the Marcos government blamed on these Communist subversives. Then in September 1972 fearing the nearing end of his term (the Philippine constitution mandated a term limit on the Presidency), Marcos declared Martial Law on the pretext of saving the Republic. This augured the beginning of Marcos dictatorship (“constitutional authoritarianism” was the Marcos semantics take on it).

Against such a backdrop was set the Aggie and Forestry’s famed Dome Booth in 1978 – with a photo exhibit/collage of the socio-political realities around us – a blatant tirade against the political status quo, reinforcing our unending quest for the primacy of humane life. Winning the Booth of the Year in 1978 with the “Dome” designed by Doc Bonita – a very inspired collaboration with our Forestry vrods and sis – it was probably the culmination of the Varrons’ belief of service to society through an enlightened populace.