Keep Trollin'

“Classes suspended.”

Such sweet words. Words that practically every student dream of. Yes, the past two days have been nothing but bliss, bed weather and all. Just perfect. Well, it’s not that students don’t want to go to school. It is just that there is a certain, indescribable satisfaction that classes being suspended bring. And us law students are not exempt from craving for that satisfaction. Honestly, we too are elated whenever we get this good news. It’s a welcome break from all the stress that law school brings. However, it is not easy for law school classes to be suspended.

According to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) “Automatic Suspension Guideline,” areas with Signal No. 1, classes are called off for kindergarten students and for Signal No. 2, classes are immediately called off for kindergarten, elementary and secondary levels. In the case of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), to which law schools belong, CHEd Memorandum Order No. 34 series of 2010, issued last October 22, 2010, clarified the guidelines for suspension of classes in due to weather disturbances Based on the memorandum, classes at the collegiate level, including graduate school, are automatically suspended in HEIs once public storm warning signal number 3 is raised. However, heads of HEIs have the discretion to cancel classes even if signal number 3 is not yet declared, especially if there are other factors, such as flooding and road damage.

Based on current Student Regent’s Krissy Conti’s Twitter account, the following are the people who have the power to suspend classes in the University of the Philippines: 1) U.P. President; 2) U.P. Chancellor; 3) City Mayor; 4) DND chief via A.O. 196; and the 5) Philippine President. Armed with this knowledge, I decided to follow Chancellor Cesar Saloma’s new Twitter account (@CesarSalomaUPD) for updates regarding the suspension of classes. Everyone in Facebook was saying that the Chancellor will decide by 4am yesterday whether or not to suspend classes. I thought it was pretty cool and convenient that the Chancellor is within reach for the benefit of the students. Or so I thought.

“Oh pano ba yan. Wala na daw classes bukas,” the Chancellor tweeted. I thought it was rather informal of him to comment like that. But I thought that maybe the Chancellor didn’t really bothered with formalities like that, which makes him more relatable to the students. After that tweet, the Chancellor messaged “Finally, naubos load ko sa kakatext eh. Kaya nga gumawa ako twitter.” This made me think, is he really this casual? Maybe he just wants to add a personal touch in his twitter account. Finally, he ended his tweets that night by saying “I had fun UP Students! Until next time! Keep Trollin.” Keep Trollin’? Really?

Later I learned that it was a fake account. Well I should have known better. There is no way that our Chancellor will tweet “Keep Trollin” knowing that U.P. students are following his account. This instance made me realize that while the advancements in Information and Communication Technology makes our lives easier and more convenient, such is not without disadvantages. One of which is identity theft. This incident is a prime example that our identities are not as secured as they are years before. Now, we must be extra cautious in dealing with people, especially online. If not, you might just end up getting “trolled.” Whatever that means.

Entry # 6

Mark Garrido