Conflicting statements from the De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) administration and the Student Government (SG) caused confusion among incoming first year students as they were held by security from entering the gates due to the sudden cancellation of the Froshies’ Orientation, Aug. 13.
According to the Director for Student Services (DSS), Wilmer Adajar, he ordered the cancellation of the program at around 6:45 a.m. through the Institutional Safety, Security and Emergency Services Office (ISSESO) due to the inclement weather early in the morning.
“Actually, I decided na ‘wag na ituloy yung Froshies’ Orientation early morning pa kasi hindi maganda ang panahon. Then meron namang announcement from the city government na cancelled na ang classes,” Adajar said.
On the other hand, the Student Government (SG) Executive President, Christine Perez, said that despite the rainy weather, the SG did not intend to cancel the scheduled orientation.
“Wala naman kaming nilalabas [na announcement]. Tiningnan ko kasi yung post ni [Lipa City] Mayor Sabili. Highschool lang [ang suspended] so sabi namin tuloy,” Perez said.
Perez also said that SG was not informed of the sudden postponement in spite of the official announcement released by the institution through its social media accounts stating the cancellation of classes for elementary and secondary levels only.
“Wala pang announcement ang La Salle, nag-cancel na agad. Sana ay dumaan muna sa amin kasi kami ang organizer,” Perez said.
Council of Student Organizations (CSO) Chairperson, Angel Marquez, also noted, “In the first place ang kinancel lang naman, high school. Pangalawa, based din kasi sa weather forecast, aalis na yun [ang ulan]. Sa umaga lang siya… Hindi para i-cancel pa ‘yung sa college classes for today.”
Perez also said that they tried to have the decision by the DSS reversed, considering that the weather seemed to have improved. However, despite eventually securing permission to proceed, according to SG, ISESSO declined to allow students from entering campus citing safety concerns, at which time majority of the freshmen had also already gone home.
As of press time, ISESSO could not be reached for a comment.
Other students also pointed out that there was no reason to cancel the orientation since aside from a little wind, there was hardly any rain to prevent students from attending.
The new schedule of the Froshies Orientation for CITE, CIHTM and CON is set on Wednesday, Aug. 15.
