AMIDST THE worsening COVID-19 crisis, the Sanggunian appealed to University President Roberto Yap, SJ to extend the six-day break between Quarter 3 (Q3) and Quarter 4 (Q4) on April 15. Moreover, they urged the University to initiate dialogue about “initiatives that the Philippine government can enact for the good of the nation.”
The appeal has already received 2,356 signatures from the Loyola Schools (LS) community. The Ateneo Loyola Schools Faculty Association (ALSFA) also released a statement of support to the Sanggunian’s call out of consideration for members of the community who are physically, mentally, and emotionally affected by the current surge of COVID-19 cases. As of writing, the University has not issued a response to the LS community’s appeal.
On April 11, the Sanggunian convened with the Vice President’s Council to negotiate matters on the school calendar, but both the Sanggunian and the administration have not released updates on this.
Timeline of events
During the start of Q3 finals week on April 4, the Sanggunian sent a letter to the Vice President for the Loyola Schools (VPLS) requesting a two-week break between Q3 and Q4. They also proposed a pass-or-fail grading system for students with confirmed and suspected cases. Other academic provisions include continuing their studies to get a numerical grade with possible special arrangements from professors and filing a leave of absence.
To aid students in need of financial support, the Sanggunian also requested the administration to provide Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing subsidies and continued access to the LS Emergency Fund DCB: Tanglawan.
The following day, Interim Sanggunian President Jb Bejarin hosted a Facebook Live to provide updates on their request. He revealed in the livestream that the VPLS rejected their initial proposal because the proposed two-week break will have a “huge repercussion” on the entire academic calendar, including the application of post-graduate studies and faculty employment contracts.
As for the rising COVID-19 cases, the administration advised the affected students’ family members to contact the Office of Health Services, which will then coordinate with the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for necessary arrangements on school requirements. VPLS also claimed that they planned to meet with the Office of Admission and Aid on RT-PCR testing subsidies and students’ access to DCB: Tanglawan.
Despite the Sanggunian’s rejected proposal, the John Gokongwei School of Management, School of Humanities, School of Social Sciences (SOSS), and School of Science and Engineering suspended synchronous and asynchronous requirements for semestral classes from April 8 to 13 to provide academic ease.
However, students remained disappointed with the VPLS’ two-day extension. With this, the Sanggunian released an SMS Constituency Check on April 6 to gauge the students’ need for the extension of the break and the impact of COVID-19 on their households. Out of the 2,734 responses, 2,081 of which expressed that a six-day break is insufficient.
Drawing from the results of the constituency check, the Sanggunian Central Assembly adopted Resolution No. 17 during their 14th Regular Session on April 8. The Resolution detailed short-term policy recommendations to the LS, such as the provision of special academic considerations for students diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19, an extension of the quarterly break, and a whole-of-university COVID-19 response in line with the pandemic’s adverse effects on the country.
On the same day, the Sanggunian released the urgent appeal to Yap and encouraged students, faculty members, and non-teaching professionals to sign the said appeal.
Inadequate University response
During the 14th Regular Session, SOSS Representative TJ Alcantara pushed Yap to lead the conversation on improving the online learning setup and the University’s COVID-19 response. “This is a cry for help. Why can’t Fr. Bobby [Yap] release a whole-of-university statement to condemn [the national response to the pandemic]?” he asked.
League of Independent Organizations Coordinator Tina Batalla stated that the University should still improve its socio-political response despite the Ateneo’s recent efforts against COVID-19. “People who are in power [in the LS administration] are afraid to make strong statements as they have to maintain relationships with those in the government,” she said.
Notably, LS students and activist groups have already released various statements in the past calling on the administration to actively engage with socio-political issues and release statements on these pressing issues.
For example, the initial mass student strike called on the national government to initiate a “proper calamity and pandemic response” on November 14, 2020, but the University administration released a controversial statement claiming that they did not sanction the on-campus rallies concerning the strike. Following this, the Associate Dean for Student Formation Leland Dela Cruz, LS students, and alumni groups co-signed a joint statement that only addressed internal concerns mentioned in the strike’s updated manifesto.
On November 21, 2020, members of the LS community expressed their “utter disappointment” with the University’s response to the student strikers. Eventually, this prompted Yap to call for solidarity, but this received mixed responses from LS students online due to the statement’s lack of concrete initiatives. After a few days, the administration announced the establishment of the School of Education and Learning Design rather than providing updates on the student strikers’ concerns.
On January 26, the One Big Strike organizers also invited the University administration to a public dialogue on the current online learning system and policies and its possible improvements. However, the administration did not respond to the open letter.
Overall, measures that temper heightened tensions within the Ateneo community and a concrete response to these pressing national and campus issues have yet to be seen from the University administration.
