UST TomasinoWeb Issue: Admin Gets Flak for "Censorship" Over Funny Post

(SPOT.ph) The University of Santo Tomas is receiving flak after a digital student media organization was asked to take down a humor post—an act that certainly shows the more than 400-year-old institution's age.

TomasinoWeb posted a picture of UST students entering a convenience store, with the crew and said students having similar-looking uniforms on. They were told this post caused "public ridicule" and so took it down. Now, the school organization's advisor has stepped down, effectively halting operations on social media, while cries of censorship have come from journalistic bodies, student leaders, and more. 

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What happened with the UST TomasinoWeb issue?

The photo posted by TomasinoWeb on February 15 showed two students from the College of Information and Computing Sciences wearing their "Type B" uniforms entering the 7-Eleven at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. 

TomasinoWeb released an official statement on February 16 explaining that they took down the post after members of the university administration told them the picture is a "source of public ridicule towards CICS students, their College, and the University as a whole." This "public ridicule" stems from the post associating the school uniform with that of the convenience store crew. 

"While we believe being a convenience store worker is honest work, we acknowledge that the photograph still caused a stir online, and for that we sincerely apologize," said their statement. 

Journalism instructor Leo Laparan II, resigned from his post as the organization's adviser on Monday, February 19. "For self-preservation ‘yung ginawa ko—to keep my dignity and pride as a journalist na natapakan, I decided to resign…I don’t want to work in a setting like that," he told The Varsitarian. "The recent turn of events has rendered my position in the student organization immaterial and insignificant moving forward," said the Philippine Star desk editor in his resignation letter to OSA Director Maria Cecilia Tio Cuison.

His resignation meant that TomasinoWeb has halted posting on their social media platforms, following protocol. A look at the TomasinoWeb site shows that their last stories were published on February 18.

According to The Varsitarian, the post came at the usual time when CICS students shift to wearing their breezier Type B uniforms for the summer. This specific school uniform is known for being similar to the convenience store's official outfit, says The Varsitarian, with many "jokes and memes" having been made about it through the years. Still, it seems this particular post struck a nerve among the higher ups.

TomasinoWeb is an organization under the Office for Student Affairs, which is the same administrative body that ordered the takedown of the post, reports The Varsitarian. 

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UST Admin called out for censorship over TomasinoWeb issue

"The censorship of student journalists is a throwback to bygone eras of colonial rule and martial law repression and has no place in UST," said the UST Journalism Society in a statement on February 21. "That such a harmless photo became the source of vexation within certain quarters on campus speaks volumes about official culture in the university. As public reaction to the issue has shown, this is not the way to protect or even burnish the image of the university."

They also called the taken down photo "nothing but a witty and humorous take on the ‘Type B’ uniform."

"Any imposed takedown, especially over an imagined slight and not because of a factual or ethical lapse, erodes press freedom and the independence of the press," wrote the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines in a statement. "Unfortunately, this instance of censorship is just the latest and most high profile in the campus press, which has faced intimidation, repression and lack of financial support in campuses across the Philippines."

NUJP also called the reaction of administration to "a harmless photograph" a clear marker of their "elitist stance."

President of the Central Student Council Ierathel Tabuno also posted a statement on their personal X (formerly Twitter) account defending Thomasian press freedom. According to them, this incident "has brought to the light the ongoing student organization censorship and repression in the University." This "hasty act of censorship is not an isolated incident." The statement condemns this act as the latest in a systemic pattern of restriction, one that "actively limits and controls the Thomasians' rights to freedom of expression and right to academic freedom."

This statement did not bear the logo of the council. OSA Director Cuison is also currently the adviser of the Members of the Executive Board of the Central Student Council.

Thomasians gathered by the P.Noval gate of UST on February 19 in solidarity with TomasinoWeb. No word yet from the OSA regarding the flak they're receiving after the post's takedown.

What does the UST TomasinoWeb issue say about the university?

It is clear from the reactions of Thomasians that this act is just the latest of many, a possible string of restrictions from their administration. Many folks online have also joined in on the conversation. Adding to the callouts of censorship and those defending journalistic principle, others have asked a simple question about why admin has deemed the picture a source of "public ridicule." What's so insulting about being compared to a convenience store worker? 

That an administration believes they can tell a media body what they can and cannot post on a public platform is alarming enough. That a single photo showing the humorous side of a student's experience is what caught the ire of what should be leadership figures, ones that deemed a takedown necessary, shows two things: first, that they still adhere to centuries' old thinking regarding press freedom and class, and second, that they really should learn to laugh every once in a while.