College students in Baguio City, Northern Luzon’s academic center, via their student governments are requesting city officials to approve a city-wide academic break amid unconfirmed suicides of at least 10 students already.
To give the students space to breath and rejuvinate, the student councils of Saint Louis University (SLU), University of the Cordillera (UC), University of Baguio (UB) and University of the Philippines together with the National Union of Students in the Philippines in a manifesto said, students are so much affected by the ongoing crisis and the recent calamities. Because of these, they claimed, the mental health of the students suffer while they are struggling with their academic requirements.
“Students’ mental health is affected when they study for long periods without taking breaks and will compromise their work,” the students stressed.
The manifesto has been sent to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Baguio Congressman Mark Go and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President Lloyd Orcales.
Still unconfirmed reports of at least 10 students in Saint Louis University had reportedly committed suicides.
The SLU administration however calmed down the students’ uproar and vowed to look into the situation while denying such gravity of suicide incidents among their students.
The NUSP though denounced the SLU administration’s response calling out the sectarian institution’s “lack of accountability and urgency regarding their students’ mental health.”
Students stress that during and after the onslaught of typhoon “Maring” where strong rains and winds soaked and destroyed properties, the students and faculty members were pressured to pursue academic workloads eventhough many are still recovering from the weather disturbance. They said it added to the already stressed out minds of both teachers and students.
They also complained that there are academic workloads given out on Sundays, “the only days wherein students and even teachers can rest and have quality times with their families and themselves.”
