Mindanao State University, known as “The Melting Pot of the South” it is where people of different origin, ethnicity, and religion converge. That means regardless of what culture and race you belong to, you are welcome to visit and relax in this wonderful place. MSU is also known as the most affordable university in the Philippines, that is why parents who can’t afford sending their beloved children in famous universities or colleges, end up sending them here. The university also offers standard education, so they say, so that people who want to attain a degree of quality education can have their studies in an affordable university. Even foreigners from different parts of the globe want to study here because of the standard education that this university offers. But in spite of these wonderful attributes of the university, there are still demons that haunts and prowls along the premises of this institution. By demons, I am not referring to supernatural entities or ghosts, but to the things that we do not expect to be happening in such a beautiful institution.
Last Monday, December 8, 2014 MSUans were alarmed at what happened to a student. Crish Lanne Masancay was just a freshman student who was on his way to buying food for his lunch was shot in the head. This awful incident happened just inside the premises of the campus. Annie (not her real name), who claims to have witnessed the horrible incident says, “We were just going to buy some foods in the store and there was a couple arguing, they were speaking in M’ranao that’s why we can’t understand them. I and Crish happened to watch the noontime show ‘Its Showtime’ and the show was funny so Crish laughed. The couple who was arguing overheard Crish's laugh and the man asked him if he was a M’ranao. Crish answered that he is a Christian, the man took a gun and he shot him. He hit Crish on the shoulder.” Annie was trembling when she said this. “We ran but then he chased us and he shot Crish once again, this time he hit him in the head and Crish fell down dead.” She exclaimed.
Basing on Annie’s testimony, a person would not have a normal mind if he kills somebody just because he laughs at a noontime show. Another angle that we can also observe is religio-cultural, when the man asked Crish if he was a M’ranao, Crish honestly purported that he is a Christian. In my view of this, it’s racism. Just because the man knew that they have different beliefs doesn’t mean that he should kill him. Another is misinterpretation, Crish laughed because he watched Its Showtime but the man interprets him to be laughing at them while they were arguing. Whatever the reason is, shallow as it may seem, should not be the reason of a person to take another man’s life.
As I’ve said lately, this university is the Melting Pot of the South, that doesn’t only mean that people of different origins just meeting here. It also means having a bond with each other. This university was created to be an abode of peace and unity, not to train people to be warlike! There are many recorded incidents that happened in this university, not just Crish's murder. Another incident also happened last June during the enrollment period, Samuel Go, also a student was shot dead, for many vague reasons. These two incidents are just portions of all the horrible reports of murders and killings inside the university. The hard part is; are we doing something to prevent these happenings? Is the administration strict enough to be implementing tight security in the campus? Does the Division of Student Affairs acting something to orient students of different beliefs to be aware of the dangers that resonates in this institution? But let us not play the blame-game here. There’s no one to blame if we ourselves are not careful to observe our limitations. That’s the real problem. How do we prevent these demons that haunt us as we walk along the streets of MSU? The kind of demon that taunts us that we’re not safe as we walk in broad daylight in the campus. I think that the answer to this lies in us. Not just the Non-M’ranao occupants living in this campus, but every one of us. MSU is our home, our abode of unity; let’s make that happen through reaching-out with each other. As our home, we must feel secure here. In order to attain that security, we must be united in such a cause that not even the strongest demon can trample it. Love.
