Sample Documented Essay

Hashtag Awareness: The #BracketAKaNa Trend and Its Implications on the

Socialized Tuition System
Dianna Limpin

(1) Following the release of the University of the Philippines' (UP) Socialized Tuition
System (STS) results last June 30, 2014, social media platforms – Twitter, in
particular – were bombarded with complaints and objections from frustrated
students who believed that they were not granted the tuition brackets befitting
their financial capacities. Among these complaints surfaced a worldwide twitter
trend under the tag #BracketAKaNa (translated, this means "You are now in
Bracket A"). Bracket A-sometimes referred to as the "millionaire's bracket" - is the
highest-paying tuition bracket under the STS; the households of students under
this classification are supposed to have annual net incomes above 1.3 million
pesos.

(2) The tweets under the tag #BracketAkaNa became very popular in a relatively
short amount of time, leaving the Twitter realm to appear on other social media
sites such as Facebook and YouTube, and ultimately, becoming a running joke
among UP students. This hype and instant popularity may be attributed to the
tweets' largely humorous and satirical nature. For instance, tweets pertaining to
the presence of a flush in one's toilet were especially popular due to their
amusing and mocking tone.
However, the #BracketAkaNa trend goes beyond humorous appeal; its popularity
has more substantial implications with regard to the overall effectiveness of the socialized tuition
scheme and the students' perception of the newly implemented
STS.

(3) In academic year 2014-2015, the 24-year Socialized Tuition and Financial
Assistance Program (STFAP) was replaced by the Socialized Tuition System
(STS). In an official announcement on the UP website, it was stated that "UP
President Alfredo E. Pascual spearheaded this reform effort when he assumed
office believing that the old tuition system is no longer responsive to the needs of
UP students." Among the implemented reforms were a simplified application
process, adjusted income brackets, and increased stipend for those in the lower
non-paying tuition bracket ("UP Unveils"). Pascual added that this new scheme
was "expected to have a fair reading of the students' socio-economic standing"
(quoted in Serafica).

(4) Under the popular hashtag, however, "students from different UP units reported
cases of alleged 'misbracketing' " (Bautista 4). The questionable nature of the
STS was even more clearly exemplified in extreme cases such as that of sisters
Erra Faye and Erra Mae Zabat. Despite having declared the same assets and
liabilities, they were assigned different tuition brackets; the former was classified
under Bracket C whereas her older sister had been in Bracket E2 for four
consecutive years (Barawid). Another indication of the "misbracketing" that had
occurred was the overwhelming number of "rebracketing" demands from UP
students. In UP Diliman (UPD) alone, 1,251 appeals were sent to the Diliman
Committee on Scholarships and Financial Assistance six days into the 3-week
period for appeals. UP Student Regent Neill Macuha argued that "if students still
need to appeal to get a more affordable UP education, it means there is
something wrong in the tuition system itself" (quoted in Bato and Bautista).

(5) Often attributed to the "misbracketing" that had occurred is the inaccurate,
unreliable, and at times, even demeaning nature of the questions asked in the
STS application forms. Aside from the annual family income, the socialized
tuition scheme "uses an income function to predict the capacity of a family to
pay," taking into account the characteristics and assets declared by a certain
family (Martin 4). Unfortunately, a study group convened by UP President
Pascual himself claimed that the varying multiplier coefficients applied to the
assets are "superfluous' and 'unscientific'...inflat[ing] the income of poor families,
[and] making them appear capable of paying" (Martin 4). Philippine Collegian
correspondent Hans Martin noted that "a higher multiplier coefficient is given to
television sets and motor bikes compared to airconditioning units and cars" (4).
This somewhat illogical characteristic of the scheme was also reflected in the
#BracketAkaNa tweets. Dr. Giovanni Tapang, an associate professor in the
National Institute of Physics in UPD and a writer for The Manila Times, writes
that one uses the hashtag as "a sarcastic reference to [his/her] 'extra' capacity that many feel would
cause the STS system to categorize [him/her] as Bracket
A". This "extra capacity" is not limited to luxurious items; tweets such as the ones
featured in Figure 1 reveal that even the possession of basic necessities was
assessed and considered an indicator of wealth by the STS.

(6) Moreover, during the first semester of the STS's implementation, UPD hit an
eight-year high in the number of Bracket A students, with "more than 7,000 out of
18,000 undergraduate students [paying] the full tuition rate" (Bautista and
Enriquez 3). It is also worth noting that only 2,807 of those placed under Bracket
A actually opted to pay the full tuition rate; the rest were denied tuition discounts
or failed to apply for the STS and thus, were put in the default Bracket A. This
incident - gaining much infamy for both the STS and Bracket A-may have
contributed to the popularity of the #BracketAkaNa tweets, which imply that,
nowadays, anyone can fall under the highest-paying bracket. Dr. Tapang added
that the students' "frustration stems from the basic assumption of the program
that [they] are of a higher bracket (#BracketAkaNa) unless [they] can prove that
[they] really don't have the capacity to pay the full tuition rates". In Macuha's
words, "you are presumed rich until proven poor (quoted in Barawid).

(7) During its first semester of implementation alone, numerous flaws have been
identified within the "new STFAP". The #BracketAKaNa trend served as the
students' response to the implementation of what the study group regarded as
yet another "anti-poor" mechanism (Bato 3). Benedict Opinion, the College of
Mass Communication representative to the University Student Council and a
member of the UPD student-run political party STAND UP, said that the hashtag
"made known to outsiders the skyrocketing cost of tuition in UP as well as its
declining state subsidy as it generates income from its students to make itself
self-sufficient". This seemingly trivial hashtag has, therefore, helped raise
awareness on the injustices brought about by the socialized tuition scheme and
the absurdity of a bracketing system in a university that is known to cater to "the
poorest yet brightest students in the country" (Bautista 3).

(8) Works Cited

Barawid, Rachel. "Rich until Proven Poor." Manila Bulletin 18 July 2014. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.

Bato, Julian. "No Schedule yet for Implementing 'New STFAP'." Philippine Collegian 26 Feb. 2014: 3.
Print.

Bato, Julian, and Ronn Bautista. "3 in 100 UPD Students under STS to Receive Free Tuition." Philippine
Collegian 9 July 2014. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.

Bautista, Ronn. "UPCAT, Socialized Tuition Hinder Enrolment of Poor Students." Philippine Collegian 7
Nov. 2014: 3, 4. Print.

Bautista, Students Ronn, in and UPD Pocholo Hit 8-year Enriquez. High under "Number STS." Philippineof
Bracket A Collegian 9 Oct. 2014: 3. Print.

Chan, Dan (chadaaan). "May flush ba ang inidoro niyo? # BracketAKaNa." 1 July 2014. Tweet.

Malenab, Daniel (dannylore). "May flush toilet niyo?

#BracketAKaNa." 30 June 2014. Tweet.

Martin, Hans. "Socialized Tuition is Undemocratic - Study Group." Philippine Collegian 14 Feb. 2014: 4.
Print.

Serafica, Raisa. "#BracketAKaNa: UP Students Rage over STS." Rappler.com. Rappler, 1 July 2014. Web.
21 Feb. 2015.
Shaila (zupshai). "May flush yung kubeta niyo? aba #BracketAKaNa.? 30 June 2014. Tweet.

Tapang, Giovanni. "#BracketAKaNa." The Manila Times Online. The Manila Times, 2 July 2014. Web. 21
Feb. 2015.
"UP Unveils New Socialized Tuition System." University of the Philippines System Website. University of
the Philippines, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.