The Center for Nationalist Studies (CNS) is an organization formed by students to advance and promote alternative education—one that’s beyond the four walls of our academic institution. The Center has provided the machinery for sustained education programs and information campaigns—the cornerstone of its devotion to developing nationalist consciousness and action among the youth. It thoroughly stu
dies Philippine society and the Filipino people’s struggle for liberation. It applies the principle of praxis—transforming theory into concrete social practice. As such, CNS actively leads and participates in direct action that challenges the status quo toward genuine social change. It struggles alongside the toiling masses to topple the current power dynamics in which our country is under the control of global superpowers—the United States and China, for instance—and the Philippine state is acting in the economic, political, and cultural interest of its foreign masters. It believes that genuine democracy can only be achieved through advancing the interest and collective aspiration of the majority of Filipinos—farmers, workers, and the middle class. As long as they are silenced, oppressed, and made to succumb to systemic poverty by the ruling few, the Filipino masses will rise. Lastly, CNS stands for collective action. It is a mass organization. As such, it is open to all the students of UP Diliman. CNS believes in the potency of militant activism and AOM work—the painstaking process of arousing, organizing, and mobilizing fellow students toward a common goal. History is not made by the few. Instead, it is born from the Filipino people’s struggle against the old, moribund system.
