STEM students should care about politics

By: Canterbury Chocolate

Cartoon by: Axillez

STEM majors should care more about politics. In Mapúa, this can’t be any more compelling than today. 

The Mapúa University Student Government recently conducted a mock election for the upcoming midterm senatorial election which, while resulting to a promising lineup of officials, yielded only 304 votes or less than approximately 5% of enrolled Mapúans. In a crucial turning point for Philippine politics, where the opposition is significantly outnumbered across all branches of government, it is vital for politicians with the right platforms to acquire seats of power. This lack of participation in the Mapúan student body in matters of national concern is both disappointing and alarming.  

Many view STEM as an objective field. Science, after all, is often fact-based and guided by scientific methods and processes that are standardized and precise. However, it must be reinforced that STEM does not take place in a void. It will always be bound and influenced by politics—whether one acknowledges this truth or not won’t make it any less true.  

While it is understandable that life when in Mapúa is difficult to juggle, this does not change the fact that Mapúans are not exempted from politics. It is indeed easy to feel overwhelmed and burnout with our rigorous academic workload but to become functioning and well-adjusted members of society, it is imperative that we participate in politics. We should wield our education as a weapon to prevent undeserving candidates from taking seats of power.  

Mapúans have had a history of disinterest in political matters. In the last Mapúa University Student Government elections, only 2,291 students from the qualified 14,343 participated, yielding a 15.97% voter turnout. This marked an improvement from the previous school year’s voter turnout, which yielded a disappointing 12.36% or just 1,910 students out of the eligible 15,451 voters. 

While this doesn’t necessarily translate to the Mapúan community’s participation in national politics, it is alarming nonetheless that many choose to step away from participating in democratic processes that would inevitably influence their stay in MU. If this is how Mapúans behave within the confines of the institution, what safeguards do we have to ensure that this does not also translate to political participation outside? There is a need for a wakeup call to encourage more Mapúans to take part in matters of national concern. After all, we are Filipinos first before we are students.  

Many of the contemporary issues the Philippines is facing can be addressed with STEM-backed approach. Issues like disaster preparedness, public health, and transport, among others have solutions that are readily available, as suggested by experts from respective fields, to mitigate its adverse effects on the daily life of the common Filipino. However, the politics that diminish projects such as the discontinuation of Project NOAH or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards in 2017, the failure of the initial COVID-19 response, and the growing networks of expressways over improvement of public transport have led to the regress of the country because the promulgated policies are ill-informed. Research and studies are crucial to ensuring that laws address people’s needs. Without justification, the rule of law is useless in protecting the interest of the Filipinos.   

Mapúans, who often pride themselves in excellence in STEM, should take part in national matters like this because the sciences and the knowledge acquired should not be confined in the four corners of a book but rather applied to improve our lived realities. STEM is crucial in compelling lawmakers to make evidence-based policies. 

Our realities are intricate. Politics and STEM intertwine in ways that may not be obvious to many. Excellence is negated when indifference persists alongside it.