By Aliya Janeo

“Your advocacy is a mosaic of the history of experiences you encounter.”

CSC (Council of Student Committees) Vice President Anastasha Montoya states, echoing a quote from an alumni of the council; which just so happens to encompass the event that was Ilaya: CSC Advocacy Week 2024. The sun shone on the CSC and all nine Sandigans of the senior high school, emphasizing the theme’s event of appreciating the underrated beauty and meaning of flowers and nature, and allowing a variety of advocacies to bloom into booths that told unique stories.

It takes a village to organize a passion project such as Ilaya, yet in the end, the event blossomed into an experience that made all the council’s hard work pay off. As students flocked to the first floor foyer to buy advocacy-catered merch, donate goods for an even better cause, and to watch their favorite teachers and peers shave their heads to donate their hair— the spirit and individuality of each advocacy came to life in each member of the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) community. 

According to Montoya, advocacy is built on the preface of personal experiences that drives someone to spark a passion for something. Still, taking an up close and personal look at the CSC, we highlight not only the seeds that were sown to create Ilaya, but also the faces of those that helped this event grow into one that was filled with love, and gave a voice to those who need it most. 

The Edelweiss: CSC

Embodying a flower of devotion and toughness is the whole of the CSC and its core who brought Ilaya to the success it has achieved. On the daily, the CSC is a council that personifies what it means to be dedicated— voicing out the stories of different communities and individuals, and sharing them with the senior high school. In Montoya’s eyes, the CSC is the bridge between the student body and service, which empowers students to both feel seen and heard, and at the same time stand up for what they believe in and are passionate about. 

To the CSC Core’s, Ilaya is the legacy left by their seniors, the CSC’s mark in the history of the senior high school, and a symbol of how far having an advocacy can take you. A Visayan term which means ‘from the lowlands to the highlands,’ Ilaya was the CSC Core’s eureka moment when thinking about the ‘language of the flowers,’ theme for CSC week. To Montoya and her core members, this was the perfect reminder of the passion their service is rooted in, and the why’s that ground them to keep pushing amidst droughts and storms. 

Picking up where their seniors left off, the CSC Core shaped Ilaya in a way that was both near and dear to each member of the CSC Core and every individual of the senior high school. In Montoya’s words: “Ilaya as the advocacy week for this year was rooted from the idea of wanting every person in the ASHS to create their own definition of what advocacy was in their own lives,” words which especially resonated with her and her own ideas for CSC week. 

Montoya expressed her joy in having a core that supported her idea of a Hair Donation Drive, a project very personal to her— giving students both a chance to be spontaneous and at the same time learn what kind of impact they can make just by having a haircut. Heading the CSC is a pressing task, but for Montoya who has always been drawn to service related activities since a young age, she has risen to the occasion; to her, representing the CSC as its vice president has been her way of giving back to those who have welcomed her to service and to keep the fire of advocacy bright in the ASHS.

All of the service-oriented projects Montoya and her core have been involved in and have created has led them to Ilaya. Showcasing the true love for passion and determination to keep pushing, the CSC Core with Ilaya have bloomed into an Edelweiss that will forever remain in the ASHS’ field of history. 

The Thyme: Mayari

A flower of strength, bravery and courage blossoms in the CSC garden, one that strives to share the stories of victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and give these individuals justice. Mayari is a symbol of strength in the ASHS, providing support to survivors of SGBV and serving as a medium of information and education for the student body— all of which in hopes of fulfilling the organization vision of a community that does not tolerate SGBV inside and outside the senior high school.

Mayari was a ray of sunshine during Ilaya, exhibiting artworks of survivors of SGBV and becoming a safe space and platform of warmth. Mayari’s project for Ilaya, Munting Sining did not just showcase works from the student body, but also partner organizations such as Spaces for Women’s Art and Narratives, and Tahanan Sta. Luisa; giving a voice to more than just individuals inside the walls of Ateneo. Besides Munting Sining, Mayari also gave out purple ribbons as part of a National 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women and Children for members of the ASHS to show their support for the campaign. 

“Everyone is entitled to a safe space,” Overall Head of Mayari, Fionna Zaballero states, emphasizing the importance of Mayari to the senior high school community. Mayari makes the ASHS a safer place through providing the utmost attention and care to SGBV cases, and nurturing a sense of empathy and sensitivity within the ASHS community. According to Zaballero, the sandigan challenges the patriarchal status quo that hinders victims from speaking up and seeking help, ensuring that the community develops into one more open and emotionally aware. In Zaballero’s own words to encompass Mayari’s value and goal:  “It is by Mayari, through and through, that lights the way for relentless strength—and unwavering healing.”

It’s a challenging feat for any SGBV survivor to voice out their own story in a patriarchal and potentially judgemental society, and that is why Zaballero and her members strive to be the soil that nurtures safer spaces and fosters informative conversations. Zaballero, a transferee from an all-girls school was quickly hit by the culture shock that was Ateneo— completely caught off-guard by several instances of SGBV prevalence in the senior high school, Zaballero first joined Mayari in hopes of spreading awareness and developing her advocacy. 

As one of the only few safe spaces she could seek comfort in, Zaballero sought a core position out of a sense of urgency regarding the severity of SGBV in the ASHS, with the goal of making many others feel the same comfort she has in Mayari. “I wanted to actively support survivors of SGBV by becoming a first-responder, and I wanted to contribute to creating meaningful projects to spread awareness. I wanted to help in laying the groundwork so that one day the entirety of the ASHS, not just Mayari, may be the safe and zero-tolerance space for all,” 

Zaballero expresses, showcasing her own advocacy and passion, and at the same time voicing the same sentiments of many in the sandigan who have helped Mayari flower into a Thyme— the emblem of strength in the CSC garden. 

The Iris: Lakambini

Another flower resides in the CSC garden— one named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, a sign of hope and wisdom through active promotion of SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics) equality and gender sensitivity. Lakambini is a blooming symbol of hope that there is a bright future beyond the gender inequality and exclusivity in our society today. The sandigan serves as a voice for the gender minority inside and outside the senior high school, and ensures that every individual, no matter their SOGIESC, is seen for their talents and abilities and not just how one presents themselves or identifies as. 

Lakambini flourished as a source of information during Ilaya, creating an informative booth named Lights On that educated the ASHS about reproductive health, contraceptives, and STI’s (sexually transmitted infections); which destigmatized perceptions on reproductive health and the teaching of sex education. Besides this, Lakambini also conducted a donation drive for menstrual pads for a future project named Pads for Progress, abolishing the taboo of discussing menstrual health and hygiene.

For Officer-in-Charge Riean Yambao, she sought an opportunity to actively participate in the fight for gender equality and serve as one of the ASHS’ main voices for this. Yambao expresses her own ambitions when it came to joining Lakambini, and then applying for a core position stating: “I wanted to play an active role in fighting for gender equality, wanting to serve as one of the primary voices for the student body against the fight of prejudice and discrimination.”

Lakambini is an organization that strives to promote a safe space and the value of justice and equality across the whole senior high school, showcasing this through offering engagement and interactions that allow members of the ASHS community to form their own opinions and ideas. 

Yambao alongside her core members display what it means to them to have an advocacy— hope for change backed up with commitment. “Advocacies for me are more of being able to act on the inequalities faced by varying sectors and having the passion and courage to seek ways to make a difference for the cause you believe in. Rather than merely promoting a certain belief, advocacies are one’s commitment to using their own voice to make an impact on an issue otherwise considered by many as the norm in our society—it is an own act of deviance against the status quo,”  

Yambao shares, discussing how advocacies are much more than promotions and words on paper, but rather a call to action designed to make an impact. Lakambini blooms into an Iris in the CSC garden; serving as an educational safe space that envisions and strives for an environment where everyone can express their individuality in their own way

The Forget-Me-Not: Idiyanale

Blossoming in the CSC garden is a flower of remembrance and love, embodying these values through advocating for inclusivity for persons with disabilities (PWD) and the appreciation for the elderly. Idiyanale creates an environment that’s filled with nothing but love; educating the ASHS on issues surrounding the elderly and PWD, to become their voice and fulfil the vision of a place where everyone can be themselves.

During Ilaya, Idiyanale was more than just a budding source of fun and light with their interactive braille game that served to be both informative and enjoyable; their booth Tagpo was also a chance to reach out to the lolas of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly (LSAE) through written letters, and at the same time support them through pins and stickers the sandigan sold for a fundraiser for LSAE. 

To fight for an advocacy that requires you to be a megaphone for a certain community comes with several demands and expectations. “While to some, advocacy work may seem frivolous, it’s in the small wins that we can begin to see the change in society. These small wins would eventually snowball into bigger wins, causing a good change for the community around us,” Overall Head of Idiyanale, Jade Chuasiaokong shares, encompassing the value of providing a medium where muted voices can be heard. 

What was once but a Grade 11 requirement for Chuasiaokong turned into a spark for a passion and advocacy he’s always had but never had the chance to fully develop. After being rejected by his first choice organizations, Chuasiaokong sought assistance from his mother to pick an organization to join; out of a random list, Idiyanale stuck out to her, knowing that the sandigan would allow Chuasiaokong to ignite a passion that has been waiting to burst. “As someone who grew up in a school environment where saying slurs such as the ‘r-word,’ was common, I had always felt a sense of justice that needed to be served as I knew the harm words like those can actually cause,” 

Chuasiaokong remarks about fate pulling him towards Idiyanale’s mission to provide visibility and vision to nurture a more considerate environment. In the CSC’s garden, Idiyanale blossoms as a Forget-Me-Not— clearing the blurry lenses of the ASHS and making sure that the elderly and PWD aren’t simply an afterthought. 

Past Ilaya, the sandigans of the ASHS serve as a guiding light for the members of the senior high school; giving students the opportunity to foster their own advocacies in an environment with healthy discourse. Although sometimes a daunting task to promote, an advocacy of someone has the potential to turn into a movement for everyone.“Advocacy can sometimes be a very intimidating word and we wanted to concretely show that it’s nothing to be scared of, but rather something to invite,” Montoya concludes, summarizing the process of conceptualizing Ilaya. No matter your advocacy, everyone’s path toward passion is different— just because some paths are rougher than the rest should not hinder one to continue striving for positive change. 

If there is a seedling of advocacy in your heart that’s just waiting to flourish, don’t be afraid to let it grow. Who knows? It may burgeon into a forest of abundance and positivity that will change the world, one leaf at a time.