Diverson.-student-activism-motivationfinal.docx

Student Activism: Motivation of Student who are Engaged in Mobilizations Allan M. Diverson Rizal Technological University – Pasig Campus, Maybunga, Pasig City [email protected] ABSTRACT This study looked into the lives and motivation of the student who are participating the protest actions focusing on their involvement to the four domains. The study used Thematic Analysis through the interview of six (6) student activist from 2 Universities. Analysis of data generated four themes such as “My motivation in joining the mobilizations is the urgency and the feeling that you are affected so that you will voice-out the concern.” (Emotional Involvement), “It affected me in a way that your personal life is already attached in the political issues of the Philippines.” (Social involvement), “It shows strength and drive of the people at the bottom of what they need” (Mental Involvement) and “It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold your lifestyle.”(Physical Involvement). The emotional involvement of the student activists is bounded by motivation. The social involvement is bounded by the condition of the society. The mental involvement is bounded by the self-benefit and satisfaction. Lastly, the physical involvement is bounded by the physical activities. The motivation of the students is translated into their emotional, social, mental and physical involvement to participate in the mobilization. Student activists desctibed their lives in this study as attached to the activism that's why they had hard time in focusing in their academic responsibility and their emotional involvement translated into their drive to join the protest. Their social involvement also showed their drive to protest because of the unprvileged society. Their mental involvement also appeared to have a factor to motivate them to intiaite a protest action. Lastly, their physical involvement that stating that their lifestyle is affected both negatively and positively. Keywords - motivation, student activist, activism, protest march. INTRODUCTION Student activism is a is work done by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Modern student activist movements vary widely in subject, size, and success, with all kinds of students in all kinds of educational settings participating, including public and private school students; elementary, middle, senior, undergraduate, and graduate students; and all races, socio-economic backgrounds, and political perspectives. The involvement of Students in the activism can be traced back to the colonization of Spaniards around the 19th Century, when educated Filipinos from Europe brought back the idea of freedom and led to the revolution for Philippine Independence[ CITATION Pal13 \l 1033 ].The political value of student activists was only recognized by the Americans during their occupation of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946, and it expanded during the presidency and

dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos under his declaration of Martial Law. The Marcos era was marked by the several cases of human rights violation and the suppression of freedom of speech that led the students of the Philippines to form many different activist groups.[ CITATION Abi12 \l 1033 ] In the Philippines, some people are criticizing the student activists and other activist who are participating in the mobilization against the government telling them that they should be in their classroom studying instead of joining in the mobilization. Some people are criticizing them without knowing the real purpose and motivation of the actions of the activists. This study will help the people to fully understand why there is a protest action and what are the motivations of the student activist why they are being engaged in this kind of activity.

Motivation is the general term for all the problems that involved in initiating, directing, and maintaining the physical and psychological activities. The motivation includes emotions, a special class of motives that are usually aroused by external situations of special important to us[ CITATION Zim09 \l 1033 ]. The motivations of the student activist drive them to initiate a protest action produced by their own organization. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objective of this research study is to inform the society why students are engaging themselves in the mobilizations. Tis research study concentrated on the motivations of student activist. Research Questions: What are the motivations of students why they’re engaged in the mobilizations? Interview Questions 1. What are your motivations why you’re joining in the protest march? 2. What are the benefits of joining in the protest march? 3. Are you satisfied with the result of the protest march? 4. How the protest march affects your way of living? 5. Is your family aware that you’re an activist?

motivations and lives of student who are being engaged in the mobilizations. The research study was conducted in two different University in the Philippines: University of the Philippines Diliman and Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa. The researchers contacted the Organizations of each University that are actively participating in the mobilizations for referral of participants. When the participants agreed to the invitation. Each participant was given an informed consent stating that the data that will be gather are kept confidential. The researcher also explained the purpose and the objective of the study. The interview was set in their University Campuses. Using the purposive sampling, a total of six participants participated in the study, three from University of the Philippines and three from Polytechnic University of the Philippines. All of them are college students. Two of them are from the Alay Sining- Eduk Organization, one from Alay Sining Univesity Wide, one is from the League of Filipino Students – PUP, another one is from Anakbayan PUP, and the other one is from Kabataan Partylist, with the total of six participants from different organization.

MATERIALS AND METHOD The study used Qualitative Phenomenological Approach to describe the

Table 1. Profile of the Student Activist PARTICIPANTS GENDER COURSE Matet Female Education (Special Education) Selya Female Education (Not Specified)

ORGANIZATION Alay Sining -Eduk

SCHOOL University Of The Philippines Diliman

Alay Sining -Eduk

University Of The Philippines Diliman

Caylie

Male

Maria

Female

Business Course (Not Specified) BSPsychology

Ryan

Male

Political Science

Gon

Male

Mechanical Engineering

The profile of student activists is shown in Table 2. Before the interview session, the researcher introduced himself to the participants and he also explained the purpose of the study. He also built the rapport to the participants to make them comfortable during the interview. He gave them the researcher’s made informed consent stating that the information that the researcher will gather will be kept and stored confidential. He also explained to the participants that they are allowed to withdraw from the interview when they feel uncomfortable with the session. The researcher asked the participants to sign the informed

Alay Sining -University Wide League Of Filipino Students – Pup Anakbayan – Pup Kabataan Partylist - Pup

University Of The Philippines Diliman Polytechnic University Of The Philippines Polytechnic University Of The Philippines Polytechnic University Of The Philippines

consent form to proceed to the interview session. A researcher’s made semi-structured questionnaire was used in the interview session to allow the researcher to give follow-up questions. All interviews were audio-recorded by the researcher’s phone and transcribed verbatim. During the transcriptions of the response of the participants, the researcher changed the real name of the participants to their given nickname to conceal their identity and to protect them from any possible harm. Any other identifying information from given from the participants were also excluded from this study.

CODES The urgency and the feeling that you are affected so that you will voice-out the concern. It is a duty and responsibility as a student To make a change Facism (one-party dictatorship) that causes inferior capitalism To the 99% that composed of farmers, workers, youth and women that are being neglected (by the government) To the mass For the freedom of our country and the condition of our citizen that are suffering To show the strength of countrymen To widen your perspective To widen the issues that we are fighting for It showed awareness Understanding on what are we fighting for It shows strength and drive of the people at the bottom of what they need To translate into practice I’m satisfied There’s always a satisfaction every after protest We show to them what are we fighting for The satisfaction is the effect of your plan. The results are great.

THEMES Emotional involvement Social involvement Social involvement Physical involvement Social involvement Social involvement Social involvement Emotional involvement Mental involvement Social involvement Mental involvement Mental involvement Mental involvement Physical involvement Mental involvement Mental involvement Physical involvement Mental involvement

The issues that we are facing are being raised For me, not satisfied It shaped my self-confidence to talk in front my class I can now organize myself. I can manage the time. I’m improving. It improves your analysis, awareness, and critical thinking It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold you lifestyle. It is on your everyday life. It affected me in a way that your personal life is already attached in the political issues of the Philippines. It affected my studies. My family knew that I’m an activist. But they didn’t accept it They are aware(that I’m an activist). But they don’t support me. At first, they didn’t know. But they knew it eventually. They didn’t accept that I’m an activist. They are against to it.. It was structured into step by step management There’s no requirement. Only personal discussion There’s an educational discussion. They will get your personal information. They will set a date for discussion. They will orient you about the organization. They will discuss to you the issue. There’s no formal process but there’s a number one requirement which is the decision and your readiness to join in the organization. There’s no process

Physical involvement Mental involvement Mental involvement Physical involvement Mental involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement Social involvement Physical involvement Social involvement Social involvement Social involvement Social involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement Physical involvement

Table 3. Themes A. “My motivation in joining the mobilizations is the urgency and the feeling that you are affected so that you will voice-out the concern.” (Emotional Involvement) referring to the motivation of student activists to join in the protest march. B. “It affected me in a way that your personal life is already attached in the political issues of the Philippines.” (Social involvement) shows their social involvement in the protest march that affects their everyday way of living. C. “It shows strength and drive of the people at the bottom of what they need” (Mental Involvement) shows the benefits of the protest march to the society D. “It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold your lifestyle.”(Physical Involvement) it describes that being an activist doesn’t end in joining the rally and protest but it is trying to mold the lifestyle of an individual. Results and Discussion

The result of the study are summed up in this figure. It shows four themes that produced from the interview session. These are the following involvement: “My motivation in joining the mobilizations in the urgency and the feeling that you are affected so that you will voice-out the concern.” (Emotional Involvement), “It affected me in a way that your personal life is already attached in the political issues of the Philippines.” (Social involvement), “To widen the issues that we are fighting for” (Mental Involvement) and “It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold you lifestyle.”(Physical Involvement). These dimensions of involvement come at varying extent. Theme no.1: “My motivation in joining the mobilizations is the urgency and the feeling that you are affected so that you will voice-out the concern.” The theme emotional involvement that consists of the emotional feeling of the students who are participating in the protest march is one of the primary domain why student activists are urged to attend and participate in the protest march. Being an activists involved activities that includes protest actions, collective mobilization, tireless persuasion to recruit for their organization and helping the mass. The study conducted by Palvic (2018) argue that financial grievances generated by the neoliberal education policies are major causes of student protest participation in Chile. For this theme, subthemes generated. (a)Satisfied describes the satisfaction of the protest action, (b)Motivated states the motivation of joining the protest actions, (c)Agitated relates to the feeling of being affected in the situation (d)Mad describes the mad feeling towards the unlawful actions of the government and (e)Not affected by criticism relates to the responses of the respondents to the criticism Satisfied. Almost all of the respondents are being satisfied with the result of their actions

despite of sacrificing their time, money just to join in the protest march. In fact, one of the respondents emphasized her satisfaction every after their protest action. Matet emphasized: “Due to our protest actions, we awaken the government to make a statement against the issue that we are fighting for. That level of satisfaction is what you’re going to feel when there are statements that are being stated. We’re satisfied.” Motivated. Matet stated his motivations in joining student activist and participating in the protest march. “Gusto mo sumali sa isang protest action na alam mong makakagawa ng pagbabago sa lipunan, ‘yong alam mong makakaapekto sa status ko na umiiral, o kung ‘yong status ko na sinasabi natin yung tipong edukasyon na commercialized, colonial at pasitstang edukasyon. Gusto natin mabago ‘yon into national scientific and mass oriented education. Agitated. Protest march is also a form of Collective Action that unite the activist to fight for the errors and deficiency of the government that affected the people of the country. Selya also shared her motivation on why she is actively participating in the protest march “syempre ‘yong urgency at yung pakiramdam ko na apektado ako so kailangan kong i-voice yung concern ko, at isa syang duty at syang responsibility bilang estudyante, bilang eduk, builang future teacher. At nung naorganise naman, syempre sino yung mangunguna sa mga mobs kundi kami lang din. Iyon yung motivation naming ipatagos yung panawagan sa masa”. A study conducted by Stekelenburg (2011) suggests that instrumental and the identity motives along with group-based anger and ideology affects the people’s intentions to participate in the protest. Caylie, from the Organization of AlaySining University Wide also shared his motivation and experiences in joining the protest march. “So makikita natin na habang sinasamantalahan yung kanilang type of schools

kailangan makiisa rin tayo sa laban nila para first and foremost mapakita na strong yung paninindigan natin sa ganoong type of educational system” referring to poor quality educational system provided by the government. He also said that due to protest, they can see the people that are suffering because of the issues of the government. Mad. Student activists are known for opposing the unlawful actions of the government such as corruption, injustice, tyranny and neglecting the unprivileged community. These unlawful actions of the government made the student activist to perform and participate into the protest actions despite of having many criticisms for their own actions like they are being paid to do the protest actions. Ryan described the government: “The executioner that affects the thousand communities for the sake of the ruling fools.” Not affected by criticism. Student activist that are participating in the protest march are being paid by the opposition of the government to do the protest actions against the current administration according to the critics that you will see in any social media platforms that shows activists that are rallying. Caylie said in the interview: “If they’re saying that we are being paid for these actions, I wish! And the fund that we are using to buy megaphones, we fund raise for few months just to purchase one.” Selya also said that the workers that they are helping are the ones who were buying them a food to eat every after their protest actions. Gon said in the interview that if they are being paid to do the protest action, they should have not studying in the State University and he also added that the if they are being paid why the students from the Biggest University in the country are also joining in the rally protest. Theme No. 2: “It affected me in a way that your personal life is already attached in the political issues of the Philippines.” This theme is consistsing of the life and experiences of the respondents that is related to

their participation in the protest march and activism. Their involvement to this kind of activity affected their way of living in any aspects, it is either positive or negative. Student activist sacrificed their time and money just to persuade their own belief and to participate in the protest. But these activities required their tireless sacrifice, time, money and commitment. The study conducted by Tol (2017) indicated that student activists were quite time poor with the average student spending more hours per week working than studying. Being a student also requires you to focus on the task that is given to you by the professor. Selya stated what is a real essence of being a student activist “It is a duty and responsibility as a student” The motivation of student activist is not just for the benefit of themselves but also for the benefit of the society. They perform a protest against and about the different issues that are happening in the government. Gon, stated his motivations in joining the protest march: “To the 99% that composed of farmers, workers, youth and women that are being neglected (by the government)” If the government is committing any unlawful actions, the underprivileged society will be affected by it. There were different issues that are happening in our society but not everyone in the society are aware about the issues that the activists are fighting for. Caylie stated the societal benefit of the protest march: “To widen the issues that we are fighting for” He meant that if the issues were raised through the collective actions or protest, the issues are going to spread all over the country and there’s a possibility that some people will support it. According to Palvic (2018), financial grivances and weak organizational linkages with the ruling political parties increases the possibility of mobilization. The social involvement also includes the involvement of the family. Being an activist can be a risky duty and responsibility due to the possible death threats that can be given to you,

that’s why they cannot avoid their family to be against to them. Maria stated her situation with her family regarding to her being a student activist: “My family knew that I’m an activist. “They are aware (that I’m an activist). But they don’t support me.” The result of this theme confirms that the social involvement into protest march has a role in giving a student activist a motivation to do and participate into the protest actions. This study showed that student activists are more likely to participate to the protest march if the issues are about conditions of the society. This also shows that protest march is an instrument to widen the issues that are being raised by the student activists. Lastly, it shows that the family of the activists are aware that they are an activist but it appeared that their family is not supporting them. Theme No.3: “It shows strength and drive of the people at the bottom of what they need” The theme mental involvement includes the different mentality of the student activist when it comes into protest march. It also shows the benefit and effect of participating in the protest march in the mental aspect. Maria stated the benefit of participating in the mobilizations: “Understanding on what are we fighting for” a study conducted in the Universities in the South Africa appeared that student activists have more complex theoretical understandings about the topic from which they derive from the educational discussion.[ CITATION Kee17 \l 1033 ] Findings indicated students identify their activist involvement as highly meaningful, especially with regards to what they feel they learn in college. Similarly, findings indicated administrators found their experience with student activists to be highly consequential in terms of both career satisfaction and dissatisfaction. [ CITATION Har17 \l 1033 ] Caylie stated how he is satisfied with result of the protest: “There’s always a satisfaction every

after protest”. It shows that every protest march, there is a specific goal that is needed to be achieved and the satisfaction from it is depends on the achieved goal of the protest. Protest actions and activism doesn’t only benefit the society that they are fighting for, but it can also benefit them in their mental aspect. Ryan, a political science student stated how activism benefited his mental aspect: “It shaped my self confidence to talk in front of your class” and Maria added some information of how the protest action benefited his mental capacity: “It improves your analysis, awareness, and critical thinking.” The theme indicated that being an activist is somewhat beneficial not just to the society but also to them because it gives them an awareness and deep understanding about the issue that they are fighting for. It also appeared that these understanding and knowledge about the issue came from the educational discussion conducted by the member of the organization that recruited their members to join them. Being an activist can also build your self-confidence and improve your mental capacity. Lastly, it is found that there is always a satisfaction every after protest. Theme No.4: “It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold your lifestyle.” This theme is consisting of how activism affects the lifestyle of the respondents, the process of joining into the protest march or activist group/organization. Caylie described how activism affected his way of living: “It is carved into your lifestyle, it really doesn’t in march protest, making a statement but it’s actually trying to mold your lifestyle.” He described that his life as an student activist is not only in the protest march and mobilization but it is also in his everyday life. Ryan also stated how his participation in the activist group affects his way of living:” I can now organize myself. I can manage the time. I’m improving.”. Subsequently,

there are responses that includes negatives effect like the response of Ryan when he is asked about how the protest march affects their way of living, he answered: “It affected my studies.” The respondents also explained the process of joining in their organization. Maria, the member of League of Filipino Students – PUP stated the simple process of joining them: “There’s no requirement. Only personal discussion”. On the other hand, Selya, the member of Alay Sining – Eduk stated the most detailed process of joining in the organization “There’s an educational discussion. They will get your personal information. They will set a date for discussion. They will orient you about the organization”. Selya, whose an active member of her organization mentioned that they are going into every room of their Campus to persuade tirelessly to the students of their University, that is their way of recruiting for the new member of their organization. Caylie also explained that individual who are willing to participate in the protest can just walk-in in the protest to join them without having any procedure and requirements. Gon said that there is no seniority in the members of the activists’ group and it is okay to them if you only join them once or twice a year into the protest action. It shows that the activists don’t require anyone to join them continuously. The theme consisting of the physical things and activities like being an activist can both affect their life positively and negatively. It also gives them an opportunity to improve their lifestyle despite of the fact that is affected their studies as a student. The theme also showed the processes of joining in the organization and it also appeared that the student activists are tirelessly persuading the students of their Campus to recruit them to their organization. And the theme also explained the enthusiasm of the different member of the organization to welcome the new member freely. And lastly, the theme also showed the unauthoritative management of the activists’ group.

CONCLUSION The motivation of the students that drives them to participate into the mobilization is summed up in four different dimension such as the following: a) Emotional Involvement referring to the motivation of student activists to join in the protest march; b)Social involvement shows their social involvement in the protest march that affects their everyday way of living; c) Mental Involvement shows the benefits of the protest march to the society and d) Physical Involvement it describes that being an activist doesn’t end in joining the rally and protest but it is trying to mold the lifestyle of an individual. While the student activists are actively and continuously participating in the protest march, their motivation across the four domains is limited by a number of their responses. The responses given by the student activist are supported by the literatures that are included in this study. This study clearly answers its question. The emotional involvement of the student activists are bounded by motivation. The social involvement is bounded by the condition of the society. The mental involvement is bounded by the self-benefit and satisfaction. Lastly, the physical involvement is bounded by the physical activities. The motivation of the students is translated into their emotional, social, mental and physical involvement to participate in the mobilization. This research established that the participation of the students in the protest march has a relevance to our society, their sacrifices made us live with our rights that we are enjoying right now. Their sacrifices made an impact to awaken the society to see the unlawful actions of the government that are continuously abusing the unprivileged people. Lastly, this study focused on the Filipino Student Activists using the Thematic Analysis. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author wishes to acknowledge the student activists from University of the Philippines Diliman and Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa that participated in this study. Also, his research Professor, Prof. Agnes F. Montalbo for her advises and constructive criticism to finish this study. REFERENCES Abinales, P. N. (2012). The Philippines: Students, Activists, and Communists in Movement Politics. In Student Activism In Asia: Between Protests nd Powerlessness. Fletcher, A. (2006). Washington Youth Voice Handbook Archived. Wayback Machine Olympia,. Harrison, L., & Mather, P. (2017). Making Meaning of Student Activism: Student Activist and Administrator Perspectives. 117-135. Keet, A., & Nel, W. (2017). Etreating Rights: Human Rights, Pre-Theoretical Praxes And Student Activism In South African Universities. outh African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 31 Issue 6, 79-95. Lee, A. R. (1997). Exploration of the Sources of Student Activism: The Case of South Korea. International Journal of Public Opinion Research Volume 9, 48-65. Palafox, Q. J. (2013). The role of student activism in the Philippine Independence. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. . Palvic, R. D. (2018). Sentenced to Debt: Explaining Student Mobilization in Chile. Latin American Research Review. 2018, Vol. 53 Issue 3, 448-465. 91-104. Stekelenburg, J. V. (2011). Combining motivations and emotion: The motivational dynamics of protest participation. Revista de Psicologia Social, , 91-104. Tol, J. V. (2017). Student activism: An Exploration of Pre-Service Teacher Engagement Vol. 59, 3-5. Zimbardo, P. G., Johnson, R. L., & McCann, V. (2009). Psychology Core Concepts 6th Editions. Boston: Pearson Educ. Inc.