UERMMMC Class 71 Rebels With A Cause
Historians have characterized the 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging “generation gap.”
In the Philippines during the late 1960s and early 70s there was a surge of student activism. We the young people of that time began to question the status quo. A significant increase in student activism took place towards the end of 1969 and the beginning of 1970s. Student organizations joined forces and established coalitions with other reformists and radical faction of the working class. Some members of our medical school class volunteered as part of the medical support team attending to victims that sustained injuries during these demonstrations which many times turned violent.
Since the UERMMMC College of Medicine first batch of graduates in 1961 till our 1971 class, before medical students were awarded their diplomas, they were required to complete a rotating internship at the Medical Center and after that pass a Comprehensive Examination just a few days before graduation day.
Our class agreed that this was not fair, after passing all the academic requirements in our fourth year and completing one internship and take pass and exam we would not be able to receive our diploma’s and take the national board examinations if we failed the examination. In contrast students in other medical schools were awarded their diplomas after their fourth academic year. We also did not want to disappoint our parents and others who supported us should some of us not pass the examination, when they may have already made arrangements to come for our graduation. That would be very traumatic on their part after all the years of sacrifice they gave to keep us in school. The president of our class Vincent Casibang decided the we would boycott the comprehensive examination after almost all members of our class agreed to do it.
Vincent had been a consistent class leader since our freshman year. He was articulate and not afraid to speak out his mind for what he thought was right. He later elected president of the UERMMMC Medical Alumni Association of America from 1996-1999. In Baltimore, Maryland Prince County George’s Hospital he worked as a surgeon for 30+ years, and served as the head of the Trauma Department till he passed away in 2014.
After we agreed to boycott the examination, one of our classmate (Shirley Sanchez) consulted her mother, a veteran educator. She advised Shirley that our class should go to the National Department of Education and consult with their legal affairs department for advice. She then conveyed the suggestion to Vincent. He agreed, so he, Shirley, and Lucy Solidum went right away to the office of the Philippine Department of Education. After Vincent presented our case to the legal affairs department representative, they were told, “It is statistically improbable that student passing rate would be less that 20%, because if that happens it would be considered a failure of the school, as long as your class remains united, you will win. The legal adviser arrange for our class representatives to meet right away with then Secretary of the Department of Education, Dr. Onofre D. Corpus.
The three were ushered into the office of Dr. Corpus. After being seated and a few pleasantries, Vincent explained the problem of our class. He stated, it was in only about two weeks before the deadline to submit applications to take the national medical board examination. We could not send our applications because we still did not know if we will able to graduate, because we still had to take the required comprehensive examination few days before graduation in spite of fact that we had already fulfilled all the academic requirements and complete our internship. Graduation is few days away and we could not send invitations for our graduation because we are don’t know if we would be able to graduate or not. Secretary Corpus was surprised to know of the dilemma of our class. So he told his secretary to write a letter addressed our Dean Gonzalo Austria. In the letter he asked for an explanation to justify the current requirements of having to require us to pass the comprehensive exam as a requisite for graduation.
He gave the sealed letter to Vincent to personally hand deliver it to Dr. Austria. Vincent went immediately to the office of Dean Austria and handed him the letter. Setting in his desk he opened the envelope, and there was moment of silence as he read the letter. He then looked to Vincent and expressed his utter surprised that our problem had reached the office of the Department of Education. Dr. Austria then added that the administration had decided for the class still have to take the examination and not to worry because all will be assured to pass it.
Vincent relayed the decision of the school administration to our class. The consensus among classmates was still unchanged, to boycott the examination, we did not want to take part in a meaningless exercise. On the day of examination, the class gathered around the venue and when the doors were opened 122 members of our class entered venue and then walked out except for 2 classmates who took the examination.
As a result, everyone in our class who completed the internship were granted our diplomas on May 29, 1971 graduation day, and it was celebration with our parents, relatives and friends. As of this writing, it has been 52 years since these events occurred and most of us are now retired, and some gone to their rest. For those class members who are still around, these events are etched in our memories and know that we contributed in a way to a lasting change in our medical school. In 1973 UERM had two sets of graduates classes 73 A and 73B. The class 73B did not have to do compulsory medical internship before graduation and take the comprehensive examination like 73 A who were required to do so.
