By Kate Giordan Flores
After the Board of Trustees (BOT) refused to grant a non-voting student seat, Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) President Gryle Adrian Malala called for better student representation and avenues for communication with the policy-making body.
Malala raised the concern during the Rappler townhall public forum last Feb. 5 at Silliman Hall, stating that they do not have “sufficient avenues” to reach the BOT aside from sending letters.
“The BOT in Silliman University is really unreachable. We don’t have the avenue and platform to reach them, where we can have that conversation with them,” he said.
Malala explained that their efforts are limited since there are some issues that only the BOT handles and makes decisions on, most of which are student-centered.
Some of the issues he pointed out include the university tuition and miscellaneous fees, which recent implementation saw a lack of consultation with the student-body.
“When the students are actually the stakeholders of the university, I cannot comprehend how we pay for our tuition and can’t have a say on things that they will do to us at the university that we are in,” he said.
According to Malala, they need a face-to-face avenue to air students grievances and assurance that the body has read their letters.
“The request has been there, and I don’t know if it’s been reviewed, if it has been read by the BOT, but it’s been there for the longest time, and until now, we’re still waiting for it,” he furthered.
Recent appeal
The SUSG previously sent a letter addressed to SU President Betty Cernol-McCann last Oct. 6, 2025, inviting the administration to become “active partners in shaping policies that affect students” through a non-voting membership.
It also called for a meeting with the BOT to share the struggles of students and discuss steps they can take to “truly support and uplift the student community.”
After four months, BOT Chair Ricardo Balbido Jr. responded to the request, stating that “non-members of the Board cannot be present” during their meetings as discussions are deemed “confidential, privileged, and sensitive in nature.”
It mentioned, however, that “the Board may, on a case-to-case, invite a representative of the Student Government as a resource person or as an observer to a meeting of a committee of the Board.”
Daryl Robinsion, former SUSG president, was involved in BOT sub-committees and meetings as a non-voting student representative during his term from 2018 to 2019.
The SUSG also released an official statement last Feb. 2, urging the body to review and reconsider its appeal for student representation.
“I think we won’t stop. We won’t stop sending letters, we won’t stop emailing, we won’t stop communicating to these heads,” Malala posed during the forum.
It cited that the SUSG centers its role under the SU Student Manual, particularly its mission to secure platforms for representation and fostering relations with the SU administration.
As of writing, Malala said the BOT has not reached out to the SUSG following their statement.
