VINZONS HALL History, Ownership and Management Dateline 16 August 1956 The University Student Council (USC) appealed

to the UP Administration to recognize the students as the raison detre of the University by granting them a building they can call their OWN. Vinzons Hall was conceived by the USC to be a student center managed and eventually maintained by the students and to be run on a cooperative basis. With this vision, the USC wrote to UP President Virata, earnestly requesting the University authorities to advance the cost for building the 3-storey Student Center. 16 September 1956 The USC passed a Resolution petitioning the UP Board of Regent (BOR) to approve an increase of P1.00 in the student council fee of P0.50 effective the second semester of 1956-1957. The resolution provided that this increase should be used for no other purpose than to finance the construction of the Student Center. 26 September 1956 In its 622nd meeting, the BOR approved the Resolution of the USC, the increase to be collected until the center is fully paid. In order to expedite the construction of the Student Center, the BOR further resolved to approriate P350,000.00 from available unassigned funds of the University, to be repaid in installment from the collection of the extra student council fee. 17 September 1957 The BOR, in its 639th meeting, appropriated an additional amount of P150,000.00 from unappropriated surplus, in order that the construction of the Student Center be commenced and completed in accordance with the original plan. 1958 The construction of Vinzons Hall was completed. The administration of the building was assigned to the Office of Auxilliary Enterprises. 1963 The administration of Vinzos Hall (excluding the cafeteria) was transferred to the Office of the Student Affairs (OSA) by memorandum from the Office of the President. 13 August 1963 The BOR reassigned the P1.00 student council collection for the amortization of the Vinzons Hall to be the budget for the operating expenses of the building effective Fiscal Year 1963-1964. 17 September 1963 The Auditor sent the Budget Director a memorandum asking why the P1.00 student contribution for the amortization of the Vinzons Hall was being used for a

purpose other than that for which it was intended, and whether such reassignment was with the imprimatur of the students. The Auditor also inquired of the status of the USCs obligation to pay the cost of Vinzons Hall. This memorandum was never been answered. 31 May 1968 USC Chair Delfin Lazaro formally requested the transfer of the management of Vinzons Hall from the OSA to the USC. He also demanded that the OSA should pay an annual rental of P10,000.00 for the use of the 8 rooms occupied by it in the 3rd floor of the building, which rental fee would be credited to the Student Council Fund. Dean of Student Affairs Crisolito Pascual wrote to the UP President, saying that the rental proposal was reasonable. 1968 The USC 1968-1969 took over the administration of most of the rooms in Vinzons Hall. All contraccts and lease have been made by and between the USC and the tenants. 4 March 1969 In its 671st meeting, the BOR appropriated P40,000.00 for the painting of the Vinzons Hall. 27 November 1969 The Chief Accountant of the University released a Statement of Unamortized Construction Costs of Vinzons Hall showing a balance of P573,084.73. The Chief Accountant explained that out of the P716,721.03. total cost of the building advanced by the University, the USC was able to amortize P143,636.30 only from 1956-1963, because the student collection from 1964-1968 was used for the operating expenses of the building, as per the resolution of the BOR. 8 February 1970 On the premise that the primary cause for the delay of the transfer of the Vinzons Hall to the USC was the absence of a workable plan for the students management of the building, the USC, led by its Chair Fernando Barican, passed a Resolution creating a University Union Board to handle the management and administration of the Vinzons Hall. 26 May 1970 In its 795th meeting, the BOR approved the proviso that the University should shoulder the administrative and operational expenses of Vinzons Hall to be chargeable to the general funds, and that the P1.00 Student Center fee should be set aside for amortization as originally intended, until such time, but not later than the end of the second semester of SY 1970-1971, that a complete transfer of the management of the Vinzons Hall to the student government shall have been made. 21 September 1970 Pursuant to BORs resolution, Dean of Students Armando Malay and two others were constituted as a Committee to discuss with the representative of the USC the details of the complete turn-over of the management of the Vinzons Hall to the

student government. During this time, the USC started withdrawing recognition from student organizations and ejecting occupants of offices in Vinzons Hall. 7 January 1971 The USC acknowledged that there were additional construction cost aside from the P500,000.00 target arrangement. At the same time, the USC demanded that the collected amount from 1963 -1970 which would sum up to P213,274.80 be included as amortization of the building, to the effect that the studentry has already paid the total amount of P316,911.10 for the Student Center. 4 May 1971 The committee led by Dean Malay reported the failure of talks with the student representatives and proposed that the Committee be dissolved. The frequent absences of the student representatives from the meetings resulted in the stalemate. It was the First Quarter Storm and the Committee felt that the USC, with so many matters on the minds of its leaders, was not in a hurry to take over Vinzons Hall, at least for the moment.