STUDENTS of Miriam College are free to participate in political programs as part of their academic freedom, the school said on Friday.

It issued the statement after its alumna Celine Pialago, assistant secretary of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, said that she used to join rallies in college to get additional grades.

Pialago made the remark last Monday when she attended the “Kabataan Party-List Decoded: A virtual forum on genuine youth representation” in her concurrent capacity as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict spokesperson on public affairs and youth concerns.

“Miriam College students are not cookie-cutter academic products given the various opportunities offered to study the body politic. Empowered to participate in political affairs and various development programs and not to remain bystanders nor fence-sitters, they become engaged citizens committed to building a just and peaceful society,” MC said.

The school pointed out that students can use their intellectual discernment in assessing what is being taught or required of them.

The school said that its students also learn to appreciate dissent “as part of a healthy democracy.”

“In pursuing truth in their academic work, MC students are also taught to apply what they learn by working for peace, social and economic justice, gender equality, and the preservation of the integrity of creation,” it added.

It expressed hope that its students and graduates will always seek and stand for the truth.

“The new logo will emphasize the motto: Veritas or Truth. Since its founding in 1926, Miriam College has emphasized going beyond course requirements in search of Truth as the primary goal of education. Veritas is more than facts, and the word Truth or Veritas is capitalized to signify its transcendence,” it said.