By Mark Vincent A. Durano

As Araullo University Central Student Council (AUCSC) vowed to make amendments after several posts pointing out similarities between their logos, Far Eastern University Central Student Organization (FEUCSO) responded by closely monitoring and communicating with the council.

The issue erupted when AUCSC’s post reached public attention with FEU students sharing the logo on Facebook.

As an initial response, AUCSC released a statement addressing the issue, declaring that they will “introduce a new logo next year,” in observance of their constitution and by-laws (CBL).

The logo can only be revised in 2025, three years after implementing their revised CBL.

Moreover, the Nueva Ecija-based council clarified that no incumbent executive committee members were involved in implementing their logo during S.Y. 2022-2023. 

AUCSC also said they were not aware of the said resemblance.

“At the time of its adoption this year, even during the last term (academic year 2023), we were unaware of any resemblance to the FEU CSO logo. The design was chosen in good faith, with no intention of mirroring or imitating any other organization’s emblem,” the statement read.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, FEUCSO Press Relations Officer (P.R.O.) Rico Angeles shared they are working with AUCSC until their logo is updated.

“We are actively engaging with the organization and are firmly urging them to update their logo. The FEUCSO will maintain communication with the AUCSC until their new logo has been finalized and implemented,” he said.

Angeles added that they emphasized including a specific timeline with AUCSC’s statement regarding the logo changes. However, it was only stipulated that the logo would be changed next year.

According to the FEUCSO P.R.O., the organization first became aware of the issue through social media, also noticing the “hate” thrown at AUCSC.

“The matter was brought to our attention promptly after it gained traction online, so we were quick to assess the situation,” Angeles expressed.

As of press time, the post had already received at least 750 ‘laughing’ reactions, most of which were from FEU students.

In light of this, Angeles urges social media users to not spread hostility towards the council.

“As the P.R.O., it was necessary for me to address this by urging an end to the spread of hostility, as such behavior is not something we as an organization do not support or condone,” he stated.

Additionally, FEUCSO directly messaged AUCSC’s Facebook page, citing to avoid any forms of negative actions.

The FEUCSO P.R.O. regarded the FEU community’s familiarity with their logo which he claimed can be part of the green-and-gold culture. 

“I am somewhat appreciative that the FEU community’s familiarity with our logo allowed it to be easily recognized even in the context of another university organization’s logo. I believe that this shows importance as it can be considered as the FEU community’s culture,” Angeles added.

FEUCSO’s current logo, revised in 2017, was adopted as a variation of a new logo introduced in 2012 which was first used as a design for their organization’s t-shirt.

_{In photo, (L) FEUCSO’s logo before being changed to a new version (R) which was used for their organization t-shirt in 2012.}

They added their founding year, 1935, FEU’s Baybayin-inspired font, and logo star symbols of FEU’s eight institutes in both the Manila and Makati campuses.

FEU Advocate tried to reach out to AUCSC for further clarification but has yet to receive a response.

(Photos courtesy of FEUCSO and AUCSC Facebook pages)