The Bedan spirit in the heart

It was June 1997. San Beda was holding its annual pep rally before the start of college basketball season. The Indian Yell, my school’s most favored cheer, suddenly played. It was one among some original college cheers that still uses a full brass band and drums for greater effect. It was inspired by the music from old western flicks during battle scenes between the American Indians and cowboys. It is my school’s war chant, very effective in swelling school pride and intimidating rivals during collegiate games. We had a school mascot, the Indian Tribal Chief, to lead the cheers.

For an apathetic and naïve freshman student from the suburbs of southern Metro, it was an entirely new experience. Hearing it for the first time, especially with the beating of the deafening drums and energetic crowd, gave me goose bumps. It was my first dose of Bedan culture.

The atmosphere was never like this in my grade school and high school years in San Beda’s sister campus, Benedictine Abbey School, now officially known as San Beda Alabang. It was, in fact, somewhat the opposite. We grew up not really having much of a school culture. The general feeling among the students was apathy. Any form of school loyalty was considered cheesy, even baduy.

After classes were over for the day, and the moment we stepped out of the gate past the guard, off went our IDs like they were some sort of disease. And if we forgot to take it off, our faces turned red with embarrassment. Unlike in the main campus at Mendiola in Manila, where one can see students wearing San Beda shirts written in big bold letters with pride.

Standing under the 7 a.m. sun during the flag ceremonies, we sometimes had to stay scorched in the assembly area a little longer because we did not sing the Bedan Hymn loud enough. The hymn was written by the late Senator Raul Roco, but we were not aware of this then. "Again," shouted the prefect of students, but this time with raised fists. Much annoyed, we would mutter "colorful" words. We felt like we were being forced fed "school loyalty." Our arms were lifeless. We wished we were holding something to throw at the prefect.

Technically we were identified as Bedans, but we never considered ourselves such. We just regarded ourselves as taga-Bene. Inside the school we were fine. Outside the classroom however, there was nothing. In the Bedan community, we were like lost sheep, not knowing what we were. There is not much camaraderie between the batches, even among classmates, even towards some of our teachers (that’s Alabang brattiness for you). There was an absence of fraternal bond. That is why it was easy for us to turn green, blue or maroon, perhaps even pink for some of the Bedans when we reached college.

It seems hard to believe that sister schools can be such cultural opposites. It is perhaps because we in Alabang, for 30 years or so, were not getting the full Benedictine treatment. Benedictine Abbey was being run more as a secular school.

But all of this is changing now. Thanks to San Beda’s new leadership, the Benedictine monks are now taking a direct hand in inculcating the proper Benedictine values. In a sense bringing us back to the fold. The first step was officially changing the name of the Alabang campus to San Beda Alabang.

What is in the name?

"A name carries a lot of things," said Fr. Ed Africa, OSB, one of San Beda’s spiritual directors, who has been a great inspiration for a lot of people, especially in the Bedan community. "A name is not just a title. A name personifies what something really stands for. The name San Beda has been around for 104 years. Immediately, because of that name, one is able also to get the history and tradition of the original school."

But is old-fashioned school tradition still relevant today? The answer is yes. Fr. Africa said, "Academic excellence is merely the development of the mind. School culture is the total formation of the individual; it is the ultimate transmission of values."

Not just the mind, he added but most of all, the heart. "Christian values with emphasis on the Benedictine ideals of prayer, work and community. When we say community, there is much respect for the individual, for the importance of each person – that is why we become family," he said.

This is probably the reason the culture of the two Benedictine schools has been different from each other. In the main campus at Mendiola, even if the students do not see the monks, the students sensed this mystical presence.

This is what the monks and the Bedan community as a whole were trying to achieve for San Beda Alabang. "Instead of being isolated from one another," Fr. Africa added, "Now there is a sharing of resources between the campuses. So we really form one family, sharing the same kind of values, the same kind of vision, and the same identity."

And as the sunset draws near for San Beda’s grade school and high school in the main campus of Mendiola, all eyes are focused on San Beda Alabang and the new campus in Taytay, Rizal, to continue with San Beda’s tradition that has been cultivated for over a century.

The Benedictines, unlike other religious orders, would rather keep their schools to a size manageable so as to maintain the kind of community spirit which they highly value. The unification of the three campuses thus is a concrete testament to that. This is definitely a huge step in achieving university status.

A few years back some taga-Bene wanted the Alabang campus to break away from Mendiola and form a culture of their own. In hindsight, it’s good they failed. But much still needs to be done. Still I think San Beda is on the right path.

It will take some time for a new school spirit to sink in, for cold hearts to thaw. I would not be surprised if the students become oblivious with what’s happening. I know the feeling. But at least they have something now that the previous generations, including mine were not able to experience. I say this not as a Bedan from Mendiola but a Bedan from Alabang.

We finally know who we are.

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E-mail the author at ketsupluis@yahoo.com.

Calling all Bedans, please check the site www.bedista.com and see how you can do your share in helping out our school.