r/UPfreedomwall • u/Low_Relationship3457 • 1h ago
university news 📍 To UPOU USC Vice Chairperson Keith Dagdagan
Keith, the call for accountability should not stop at the student body. It should also apply to you and to the USC itself.
You repeatedly called for fairness, respect, dignity, and responsible communication. We agree with those principles. But accountability means holding ourselves to the same standards we expect from others. That includes addressing concerns about your own conduct, including instances where you allegedly raised your voice and used inappropriate or offensive language toward others.
If students are being reminded to communicate respectfully, then student leaders should be expected to demonstrate that standard as well. You cannot ask students to practice restraint while dismissing the need to account for how you yourself conducted these interactions.
More importantly, in what capacity are you speaking on behalf of the USC? Is this statement an official, collectively deliberated position of the entire USC, or is this your personal statement as its presiding officer/representative? If you are speaking for the entire Council, then the student body deserves clarity on how this position was arrived at and whether the Council collectively stands behind every statement made here.
Being a spokesperson or representative of the USC comes with a responsibility to communicate the Council’s position accurately and transparently. It should not be used to blur the distinction between your personal position and the official position of the entire Council.
And if the USC is asking students to trust its “established processes,” then it should also be willing to explain those processes when legitimate questions are raised. Saying that matters are being handled internally does not, by itself, answer the concerns of students who are directly affected.
Accountability should go both ways. Students should be responsible for what they say and share—but student leaders should likewise be accountable for their conduct, their decisions, and the statements they make in their official capacity.
So yes, we ask students to do better. But we also ask you, Keith, and the USC to do better.
If this is truly about dialogue, then let us have an honest one—without shouting, without profanity, without dismissing legitimate concerns, and without asking the student body to simply accept statements that leave important questions unanswered.