“Violence has no place in UP.”
This was what the longest-existing LGBTQI student organization in the University of the Philippines said in response to a circulating list of dares for another student org’s annual “committee wars.”
UP Babaylan on Monday, October 16 denounced the UP Junior Marketing Association (JMA) for having a list of tasks for its members that were “meant to humiliate and malign others.”
The LGBTQI org also noted that some tasks targeted UP jeepney drivers, the members’ own grandparents and fellow members.
“Whether or not the members consented, violent activities like these SHOULD NOT exist in the first place — most especially for an organization that champions safe spaces,” UP Babaylan said in a statement.
“Despite the shared history we have with UP JMA in the promotion of safe spaces, we are disappointed to see these accounts. As such, we strongly condemn the culture of violence they have created within their organization,” it added.
“No spaces are safe if the people who claim to work toward it do not abide by the principles it entails. We demand that UP JMA exercise accountability to the highest degree. DO BETTER,” UP Babaylan continued.
It also included the hashtags “#SafeSpacesNOW” and “#EndImpunity.”
The statement came after some social media users posted lists of the tasks that some UP JMA members were supposed to do for its “annual CommWars every anniv [anniversary] celebration,” according to a user in the X (formerly Twitter) platform.
CommWars refer to Committee Wars.
X user @iskolarspeakss said that “second semester applicants are randomly assigned to committees.”
“There will be pressure on their part to ‘ambag’ and help the mems [members] win for their comms with these stupid dares. This has been going on for YEARS,” the user added.
It also shared screengrabs found in a now-inexistent X account which showed some “dares” for the CommWars.
Yes, it's true. It's for the org's annual "Comm Wars" every anniv celebration.
2nd Sem apps are randomly assigned to committees, so there will be pressure on their part to "ambag" and help the mems win for their comms with these stupid dares.
This has been going on for YEARS. https://t.co/3TYFYBICo2 pic.twitter.com/5a4OFVfECZ
— One JMA (@iskolarspeakss) October 16, 2023
User @iskolarspeakss’ post was in response to another post of a different user who shared screengrabs from a subreddit for the UP community.
The screengrabs were found in the discussion thread of the subreddit post.
The document listed it as “dare games,” which consisted of activities such as (in verbatim):
- [VIDEO] Run around in a public place with just your underwear for 10 seconds
- [VIDEO] Have 2 members and 2 alumni dip their big toes in fishball sauce then have them suck each other’s toes for 65 seconds.
- [VIDEO] Get 3 people to do the following: Person A transfers kulangot from Person B’s nose to Person C’s nose
- [VIDEO] Draw a phallic object across your parent’s face. Must be cheek-to-cheek
Other dares were listed in the discussion thread of another post which had activities like (in verbatim):
- [PHOTO] Back Hugh your grandmother/mother then grab her boobs from behind.
- [VIDEO] Video yourself reaching an orgasm for 10 seconds.
- [VIDEO] Call your parents and seriously confess that you are pregnant or impregnated someone. Record the entire duration of the call.
The UP JMA has not yet addressed the circulating list of “dare games.”
The student org calls itself the “premier student-run marketing organization” based in UP Diliman’s College of Business Administration.
It said that it is “an eleven-time winner of the Agora Youth Award for Best Student Marketing Organization.”
The UP JMA added that it had pioneered events with over 15,000 attendees, online events with over 3,000 viewers and campaigns with over 16,000 engagements.
