trying to make sense of a tragedy

Bad news in the headlines lately. A 16-year old Behavioral Studies freshman from the University of the Philippines Manila named Kristel Tejada took her own life after being forced to take a leave of absence because she couldn't pay her tuition fee. She was the eldest of five kids. Her father is a taxi driver and her mother is a homemaker. She was young and she had a future ahead of her. She was studying in one of the premier schools in the country. It's a tragedy that this happened because she didn't deserve this. Nor her parents. 

Presently, the students of UP are outraged and it's easy to see why. UP is supposed to be a public school subsidized by the government. UP is supposed to be offering educational opportunities to those who deserve it but are not financially capable of doing so. UP is supposed to stand for the idea that education is a right and not a privilege. Right now, UP isn't doing a good job of being UP. And they're practically being burned at the stake for it. I wish I could say that they didn't deserve it. 

Meanwhile, opinions about another issue closely entwined with this issue are swirling around social media. That is, the validity of the suicide, which is a completely different issue from the main one. Some people opine that suicide wasn't an answer and that she shouldn't have given up that easily. There are other solutions, they say. She could've taken the LOA and found a job and saved money. She could have gotten a scholarship. There are other solutions. I agree. But then again, personal strength comes in different amounts for everyone. And I can't absolutely say anything for certain because I've not walked a mile in her shoes. 

Which leads me to something that's bothering me about this whole thing. People's reactions towards this issue is understandably violent. But what gets me is that the suicide issue (which is a topic of debate all on its own) can't be separated from the main issue. Some people are throwing stones at those who say that there are other ways to deal with problem other than suicide. Their reply to that is somewhere along the lines of calling others ignorant and burgis, disregarding their opinions altogether (which also bothers me because if their opinions are wrong, shouldn't you try to educate them instead of call them names?). Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Either way, this debate about the suicide distracts from the real questions: why is UP acting like a private school? What happened to education as a right? What is wrong with the system? 

Stop fighting people about differing opinions and just focus on what is true and unquestionable: that this happened because the tuition fee is too expensive and a young girl killed herself over it. 

So the fight for justice begins. And Kristel Tejada will always be remembered as the girl who inspired it all.