UP freshmen ‘taken for a ride’ as classes open in Diliman

‘ISKOLAR NG BAYAN’ ON WHEELS Freshmen students are taken on a familiarization tour of the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City using the battery-powered Segway vehicles on the first day of classes. LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines–As classes opened on Thursday at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City, some freshmen were taken for a ride—literally—and in batches.

For about 30 minutes, new students of the state university were given a guided tour of the campus from aboard two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transports known as the Segway.

“The objective was to provide an innovative tour as we welcomed the freshmen to the university,” Mico Pangalangan, a member of the University Student Council and Alpha Sigma fraternity, told the Inquirer.

Joanne de Leon, a broadcast communication freshman who was among those who donned a helmet and elbow and knee pads for safety, described her first-time on a Segway as “kind of shaky at first.”

BETTER THAN “UP IKOT” JEEPNEYS? UP Diliman freshmen are given a familiarization tour of the sprawling campus on Segways, a two-wheeled personal transporter. The UP Segway Tour was organized by student groups on the first day of classes at the state university. LYN RILLON

But in no time, she and the other riders were cruising like pros along the Academic Oval, accompanied by members of the UP Travel Society who conducted the tour.

“You just have to lean forward to move and lean back to stop,” another first-timer, economics freshman Christian John Zabala, told the Inquirer afterward. “It was fun.”

Zabala said that during the tour, they learned some trivia about the different places and buildings on the campus, including the fact that the Sunken Garden sinks by 1.2 centimeters a year.

Linda Lee, marketing and sales officer of Segway Philippines, said the company was promoting the two-wheeler for the use of students as well as university security personnel.

“Aside from patrolling, it can be used for logistical purposes and easier navigation,” she added.

The UP Segway Tour was organized by Alpha Sigma in coordination with the World Wildlife Fund and university organizations, including UP Pre-Med Society, UP Saver, UP Circuit, UP Mixed Martial Arts Society and UP Travel Society.

“In organizing the event, we encountered certain stigma against fraternities,” Pangalangan said, adding that they were asked questions ranging from “Why are you doing this?” to “Are you recruiting freshmen?”  He added: “I don’t think we should stop our services to the people just because of that.”

Fraternities have recently been taking a lot of flak after a neophyte from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde died due to injuries he sustained during hazing rites.

“We really condemn physical initiation. We think it’s not socially relevant and it’s senseless,” said Tobie Reynes, another Alpha Sigma member. “Why would you want to hurt young men whom you want to be part of your brotherhood? You don’t hurt your biological brother to welcome him into your family.”

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