The reporter in me was what kept me going back to the university, and Nick welcomed me back with his friendly smile and unexpected openness. “I’m the same Nick,” he said. ”My orientation is still nationalistic. You see, I’ve always been for a Philippines free of foreign interference. A struggle it has been. More than Mao that has been what has motivated me. Back in Central Luzon (how many years ago was that?), well, almost everyone was pulling for the Huks. My father was one of the originals. I have simply followed him. It was logical for me to go to China, and it’s just as logical for me to be here at this time. Once you put the pieces together, you can see I’m where I’m suppose to be.”
I asked if he ever thought of teaching somewhere else.
“No, but it’s not so much where I teach that matters; it’s my contact with young minds that I relish. Take what’s happening here. Now, that’s a good sign that in the future our country will be in good hands; that there are leaders, that leaders exist. But if you pare this unrest down to its essence, you can do away with ideology. About the unrest…the thing to remember most is that it is nationalistic. One doesn’t have to be anything else. We welcome all stripes. With me, it doesn’t matter, and now you know what I mean by nationalistic. To be a Communist, for example, just isn’t earth shattering. I suppose there are those who say I’m a Maoist…I can see where they get that. But they could be wrong. No one has ever asked me directly; maybe they feel they know without asking. I ask, ‘Why?’ ‘Because Nick has a Chinese flag hanging on his wall.’” Nick chucked. “Maybe I have it hanging up there as sign of rebellion. It was also, incidentally, a souvenir from my trip. Maybe I don’t know myself. After China, I came home all fired up and now say, ‘Tell me, tell me why not?’ I said, ‘Given my background, wasn’t it logical…given my father was a Huk?’ I came here to the university; for me it was a stretch; and when I was encouraged, imagine being told, ‘Nick, you should be a professor.” I had only been here one semester. So I became a professor. When they gave me my Ph.D., I was more than excited. It means less to me now. At the time I was the youngest member of the faculty. I was really a hotshot. You know how fierce the competition is; to this day I outshine them. Bring them on. I’ve worked hard to secure a position. And you know, as a student, I went to China, and they knew that too and knew I was all fired up; that was when I had to be very clear with them. I was a Philippine nationalist, and based on that I have become more and more militant, just as the students have. I have stopped placating the administration. I have moved beyond them. Academia has become so trivial. I don’t like most of the bullshit. Don’t like it. They can’t stop us now. Don’t think they’d try though. Instead they’ll make a case for academic freedom. Anyhow, you have to admit that I could be a pain. I shouldn’t have to worry, but then, on the other hand, I know to be careful. As a professor with tenure, I just have to be careful and not embarrass them. They would certainly embarrass themselves if they tried to censure me, and I’m still admired and very popular with students. Once, they tried something…nothing big or significant…but you ought to have heard the uproar it caused. Well, all of the deans have written letters of support for me and it was a little amusing, but it was a good thing because it showed the support I have. College campuses should be like this. I have respect for our president here: from time to time I give him information; and I think he’ll defend us against Marcos.
Randy Ford
