PUP chides students involved in chair-burning protest vs tuition hikes

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines on Tuesday chided some of its students for using violence to protest hikes in tuition, reminding them they have no right to burn taxpayers' money. On its Facebook page, PUP posted a photo of Monday's chair-burning at its campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila by students opposing tuition hikes. "This is how outsiders see us. Let us discourage 'destructive activism' and lean towards 'constructive engagement' of our institutions," it said. It also cited a saying of Mahatma Gandhi that "You must be the change you want to see in the world." The photo also had a message that read, "Those chairs are bought using taxpayers' money ... You have no right to burn it." A similar message against "destructive activism" was posted on the university's Twitter account. On Monday, some PUP students burned chairs and facilities to protest hikes in tuition, some reportedly in sympathy for the death of a University of the Philippines freshman who took her own life allegedly because she could not afford tuition. An earlier report on dzBB radio said that while the UP student's father said he is thankful for the show of sympathy, he appealed to them not to resort to violence. - VVP, GMA News