AFTER GATHERING community preferences through the Sanggunian’s focus group discussions, individual consultations, and surveys, the Loyola Schools (LS) administration granted an academic break from November 2 to 5. This break entailed the suspension of asynchronous and synchronous classes for its duration to give the LS community “breathing room.”

Notably, Sanggunian President Kara Angan said that the academic break is merely a “band-aid” solution while more long-term policies are underway. According to her, the Sanggunian is consolidating proposals to re-evaluate the curriculum and academic policies, but is faced with “competing interests.”

“We, by our mandate, really represent student interests but when it comes to compromises, we also have to care and be compassionate as well to the other sectors whether it’s in terms of wages or workload or anything in between,” she said.

After the onslaught

This marks the second year in a row that the administration granted an academic break that the Sanggunian requested. However, in November 2020, it had instead been a mass student strike that prompted the Sanggunian to formalize that request.

Angan noted that the 2020 academic strike illustrated how students have always cared for on-campus issues but did not have the avenues to communicate their concerns. “I think [One Big Strike] was really a turning point for Sanggu and the sectors last year when it came to re-evaluating people having a seat at the table,” she said.

In relation to this, One Big Strike (OBS) petitioner Elise Ofilada said that OBS worked closely with the Sanggunian to reach out to administrators and organizations, especially for getting signatories in their open letter requesting a town hall meeting with the administration.

While OBS has not been active this semester, Ofilda said that its members continue to release statements in line with OBS’ original call for compassion in their other organizations. “I think Ateneo’s very sheltered culture was shaken by what we did, and it really challenged people to think not just of themselves or for themselves as Ateneans [but] to be people for others,” she added.

A question of progress

That said, academic breaks have not been the only results of LS-wide calls for compassion and discourse. This is partly due to how the Sanggunian has continued to open lines of communication with the LS community amid times of crisis.

In 2019, the Sanggunian also met with Time’s Up Ateneo (TUA) after the on-campus protest against sexual misconduct and impunity to help the administration write the Code of Decorum and Administrative Rules on Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct, and Inappropriate Behavior (Code and Rules).

Nowadays, the Sanggunian Commission on Anti-Sexual Misconduct and Violence (CASMV) collaborates with TUA to discuss how to approach sexual harassment issues and forward survivors’ interests, according to CASMV Co-Commissioners Louise Sanchez and Michelle Go.

TUA member Dasha Uy noted that TUA provides an outside perspective in meetings with CASMV and the LS administration. “We’re not tied down in the same way that the Sanggunian might be, and we’re not tied down in the same way that the administration might be. We are a bit more critical about the way that we […] see sexual harassment issues in Ateneo, [and] that’s what we bring to the table,” she added.

However, Uy said that TUA’s engagement with the administration “hasn’t really been formalized” beyond the Code and Rules. “We think it’s important to emphasize the crucial role that advocates within the community have in conversing with the administration for these policies,” Sanchez and Go added.

Charter for growth

In a more inclusive step towards progress, Angan said the best way to tap into the LS community’s issues was through forming systemic multi-sectoral committees to allow more students to be involved in the Sanggunian’s overall decision-making process. She also cited the Sanggunian’s previous collaboration with the User Experience Society to increase the rate of course and faculty evaluations from the students.

According to her, the Sanggunian is also testing a new safe space policy in recognition of the “power dynamics” within the student government. Since this year’s recruitment week, all the Sanggunian’s members and its applicants must declare that they have not committed—and will not commit—sexual and gender-based violence during their terms. Sanchez and Go added that CASMV has launched campaigns to inform the community about the University’s support services, debunk harmful misconceptions surrounding survivors, and encourage empathy. They also cited their talks with the LS administration to organize safe space training for student organizations and human resource departments as part of their long-term projects.