BAGUIO CITY – University of Baguio (UB) President Engr. Javier Herminio D. Bautista chatted with UBians in the first “Donuts and Chats with the President,” held last January 24, 2023 at the UB Centennial Hall, hosted by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA).
The event aims to create a bridge of connection between the students and the University of Baguio administration, showing that the university is always open to listen to student concerns.
Selected students from different departments attended the event and president Javi entertained the students’ questions and answered them seriously with a touch of humor and inspiration.
The opening question was thrown by a pupil from the University of Baguio Laboratory Elementary School (LES), asking what kind of superpower pres. Javi wishes to have and he answered to reduce the number of school days. The president also aspires that the university becomes autonomous in deciding this matter but is only hindered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) policy. This answer is also in line with the question of the representative from the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) about the one thing he wants to modify in the educational system and how we would execute it.
“If there’s anything I could change, it’s the days of school,” pres. Javi reiterates.
A representative from the School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts (STELA) asked the president what advice he could give to students experiencing burn-out and the president’s response was related to the learning modality that the university follows. The university follows a blended learning setup, but the president reveals that this is not what he wants as he stated:
“I feel for those students. Let me explain our position. We are trying. We are trying to do true blended learning. How can I ask you to bare with us? We are working hard on it. In fact, the number one sagabal to this is a lack of classrooms… During the pandemic, many schools closed down. UB was a fortunate one to actually grow. Some schools couldn’t even do online [classes].”
With this, the president apologizes to those students who cannot yet go face-to-face and sincerely asks for more of their understanding.
The president was also asked about his coping mechanisms during this pandemic where he reveals his fascination with Netflix series mentioning popular titles such as The Witcher, Hospital Playlist, and Kingdom as among his favorites. He humorously invites those who are not from UB to transfer now because of how dedicated the faculty and staff are, except for the president who only watches Netflix.
The UB Voices serenaded everyone with their rendition of songs from the Disney movie Encanto and left everyone in a lavender haze as the donuts prepared by the students from The School of International, Hospitality, and Tourism Management (SIHTM) satisfied everyone’s sweet tooth cravings.
Article by: Voltaire G. Bitalac Jr. – Editor for Buhay UBiano Student Publication
