The School of Engineering and Architecture-College Student Council (CSC-SEA) returns Aguman Sanduk with the theme, “Aguman 2023: Ang Pagbabalik ni Mariang Sinukuan” as an event on the upcoming SEA Days on November 4 despite it raising discontent last year.
According to Events Rules and Regulations (ERR) of the event, the event organizers’ primary objective is “to promote women empowerment”. Furthermore, the event comprises “skill-building workshops, and cultivates a supportive network.”
In an interview with The Angelite, Holy Angel University-University Student Council (HAU-USC) Senator and Associate Director for Gender Development James Gabriel Oraye shared his statement regarding the continuation of Aguman Sanduk, magnifying that the CSC-SEA should provide “further proficiency” regarding the matter.
“The narrative Minalin upholds [is] far from what the School of Engineering and Architecture conducts. For the past years, the Lions have always been loud and extravagant but not so genuine and sensitive in commemorating the purpose of the said celebration,” Oraye stated.
“We must not allow those who cannot sincerely acknowledge the struggle of women and society. More so, tolerate straight men to indecently parade women’s clothes merely for entertainment. This is a growing concern,” He continued.
More so, Oraye expressed his concerns regarding the relevance of the event to its culture and as a departmentalized tradition of SEA.
“There is no space for incongruous humor to be disguised as departmentalize festivity. This is not only with respect to the culture but also to the whole Angelite community,” Oraye said.
“Is this celebration a matter of acknowledging the people of Minalin or reviving the lost SEA tradition?” He further questioned.
According to Oraye, the HAU-USC has yet to see the conclusion of the event but condemns any type of discrimination or misconduct against women and the LGBTQ+ community.
With the provided ERR of Aguman Sanduk, the participant must be a bonafide student of Holy Angel University (HAU) under the SEA department, straight male student, and member of their respective organization. More so, the event includes an opening parade where each participant would wear a “daster”, introduction, a talent portion with the theme “Filipino Moms: Taylor’s Version”, and a question and answer portion.
Aguman Sanduk has been a long-standing tradition of the SEA department for years, featuring straight male students parading and crossdressing in women’s clothing.
As of writing this, the CSC-SEA has not yet responded regarding the matter.
