Official Statement of The Review towards the call for Second Semester Academic Ease and Health Break for students and teachers.
Consideration is what we begged last time, even just a bit, but it seems like we were not heard enough. Weekends and Holidays were supposed to be days when we can take a break but even these days are being used for activities, performance tasks, and quizzes. The activities being uploaded to the learning management system is non-stop that it seems education is now all about clearing the activities in the calendar instead of learning the lessons in the class.
It has been passed a year since COVID-19 locked us down with the fear of dying and being infected, the struggle to support our daily needs, and paralyze us from doing things like we used to do. Shutting down establishments that help people suffice their financial support, draining our health, locking down areas to contain infections, and narrowing the things we could access while taking away the life full of hopes, enthusiasm, and liberty.
The battle does not end there; it continues in the educational setting. When these heroes are supposed to sharpen their swords to protect their citizens’ rights and well-being, they use them to abuse and threaten these vulnerable beings expecting something from them.
It has been a year, but the system seems to be a lot more suffocating than before. Thumbs up, though, for holding on to the thin thread of fate and optimism, even most students are on the verge of giving up and throwing all their accumulated efforts ever since this pandemic started.
It is taking a toll on our health. We have our eyes severely strained, but we will never turn a blind eye for such unjust situations, such as providing stacks of assignments on a day that the class was not even scheduled. We have been receiving unsolicited workloads on time we are supposed to rest, especially on holidays. We understand, though, it is the calling. They are struggling too as much as we do. However,…it is not a bit too much?
Our backs are hurt, but it will not hinder us from standing up to our rights as students and as human beings are known to be the vulnerable ones. We will not be able to move a limb if you would just cut us half with your insincere empathy towards us. Again, we understand that you too…barely survive the challenge. Nevertheless,… were not you supposed to understand and guide us? Were not you suppose the first one to help us walk through when we could barely make a step towards success?
We are not just about the rants and the dramas. We are starting to get sick physically with the slavery we are going through and started to get sick with the system that grasps our souls out of our bodies.
We are counting on you to be the one who can understand us the most when people around us could not. After all, we share the same pain, don’t we? We respect you with all of our hearts; we look up to you as someone who could save us from drowning in the challenges brought by the global health crisis. Don’t we deserve a good night’s rest without thinking about the deadlines? Don’t we deserve a day free from stress and fatigue? Don’t we deserve a break from everything that makes us feel rotten on the inside?
We are respectfully calling the attention of the University Officials to take necessary action in implementing Academic Ease for the Second Semester, AY 2020-2021. Also, a Health Break for students and instructors are necessary to recuperate in order to overcome the challenges of the “New Normal” education.
