AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTIES, AND STUDENT

COUNCILS OF CEBU NORMAL UNIVERSITY

Dear Administrators, Professors, and fellow Students,

​A call for a just, humane, and compassionate decision to the academic community in
response to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic

It has been over a month now since the suspension of classes was declared in Cebu City.
No one was expecting that this pandemic will develop drastically right from the outset. It has
become a serious threat to all of us, regardless of rank, age, and status. However, as the news
sparked that the virus has already reached our community, Cebu City, and is rampantly infecting
the urban barangays, we are compelled by our own fear, anxiety, and distress to call for your
holistic and compassionate consideration to our demands.

Our beloved Cebu Normal University (CNU) stands by the motto, “​QUALITY WITH
INTEGRITY​.” In dire times as today, this great motto has become our reminder to demand a
just, humane, and compassionate decision to the academic community in response to the
worsening COVID-19 global pandemic.

We sincerely appreciate the release of the Memorandum Orders No. 24 and 25 s. 2020,
respectively, last 18 & 23 March 2020, a pro-student action made by the student councils and the
administrators of the university to be more lenient to the students and suspend online classes. It
has provided evidence that most of the students are hardly challenged to fully participate in those
learning alternatives due to socio-economic constraints: a) stable internet connection b) financial
sustainability c) conducive learning environment d) access to mobile devices and/or computer e)
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) curfew.

However, the pandemic seems stronger recently and it is not showing any sign of
stopping for the past few days. It adds burden not only to us, the students, but mainly to our
families. As Dr. Eva Marie Gacasan, Chair from the Psychology Department, said, “Most
students are undergoing adjustments in recent events. Some are dealing with stress and anxiety
over the uncertainty of things. Some have families that have been heavily impacted by the
COVID outbreak where their livelihood and day-to-day subsistence are a problem.” Therefore,
there is a need to take into account the various situations that are not suitable in this health crisis.
Furthermore, the ECQ has imposed restrictions and has impacted the health, well-being, and
economic stability, not only of the students but also of the parents, teachers, and employees.
 Now, we are still waiting for the formal decision of the administration on whether or not
to resume the classes once the ECQ is lifted by the Local Government Unit of Cebu City. We,
the concerned students, have collectively crafted suggestions, proposals, and contingencies, in
the hopes that these will be considered by the university administrators, faculties, and student
councils as they formulate a just, humane, and compassionate decision amid this global
pandemic with the following main points:

a). ​Ending the Semester and Mass Promotion. Both answer the demands of time and
our situation amid the pandemic.

b). ​Cancel all Activities, Assignments, and Tasks. To help the students and faculties
prioritize their families, health, and entire well-being as we are hardly experiencing
unprecedented challenges amid this global pandemic.

c). ​Revising the syllabi and readjusting the academic calendar. This will ensure a
safety net for students and faculty alike to cover all the missed subjects and prerequisites from
the previous semester.

d). ​Academic Freedom. A professor’s academic freedom, if coupled with sensitivity and
empathy, is a useful means to promote the students’ well-being.

e). Ensuring the Financial stability of the faculty and non-teaching staff​. This is in
compliance with and reverence for labor laws through continued pay and assistance.

f). Providing Aid for the students who were not able to return to their homes and
are currently stranded in the City. ​This will defer any unnecessary risk posed by going out of
their present staying spaces. More so, it will add solace to their isolated condition away from
their families.

g). ​Scholarship Grants. ​This ​must be retained as some students are highly dependent on
these grants for their education.

Here are the seven points discussed further:

End the Semester and Mass Promotion

1​. We call for the consideration of the #EndTheSem and #MassPromotion campaign
lobbied, presented, and supported by various student organizations throughout the country.
 The call for ending the semester and mass promotion of students stimulated from
the present condition that the social isolation brought by the ECQ is not the same for
everyone, especially in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). One of the appeals in
attending a SUC is the “no-tuition-fee” policy. Thus, it is expected that not everyone
attending this institution is financially able. That said, there are students who: 1) are
working students who stopped going to work, 2) have parents that are laid off from their
jobs and 3) have small businesses being closed in compliance to the ongoing ECQ, which
has curtailed their source of income necessary to support their education.

In addition, the current situation necessitates the longer extension of the

community lockdown as it continues to worsen. We call for the consideration of the
administrators, faculties, and student councils to consider the detrimental effects of this
global pandemic to the psychological, social, and economic well-being of the students,
faculties and staff, and their families.

Mass promotion entails a request to pass the students at ALL levels: elementary,
junior high school, college, and graduate studies of Cebu Normal University for the
second semester A.Y. 2019-2020. No failing grades shall be given, instead, the student
shall be given a non-numerical “P” mark to indicate PASS. The “P” mark will not be
included in the overall GWA computation as it holds no numerical value. This means that
the students at all levels will be promoted to the next semester regardless of the status of
the first semester of the academic year up until the midterm of the second semester.

Hence, it is just, humane, and compassionate to end the semester and mass
promote the students this A.Y. 2019-2020.

Cancel all of the Activities, Assignments, and Tasks

2​. We respectfully request the university administration to cancel all of the activities,
assignments, and tasks given by our professors.

Resources inequality is the primary reason why there was a call to put an end
to online classes as mandated earlier by the administration. However, it was stated in
the Memorandum Orders No. 24 and 25, s. 2020, that tasks that do not need a
connection to the internet are to be continued and that submissions of the said tasks
will be a month after classes resume. This directive assumes the best-case scenario for
the students, teachers, and their families that they are in a position to fully perform
 the given tasks after the pandemic ends. The school should consider the post-trauma
and economic repercussions caused by the existing crisis to everyone.

Another concern is that many students have left their materials (e.g. books,
reading materials, notes, reviewers, and etc.) in their respective boarding houses as a
result of the sudden suspension of classes. Since the provinces and towns have now
imposed heightened boundary and transportation restrictions, the students will have
difficulties, if not impossible, to procure the necessary materials in fulfilling the given
activities while being rigorously isolated in their respective hometowns.

Hence, it is reasonable and humane to cancel all of the activities, assignments, and
tasks given by our professors.

Revision of the Course Syllabi and Readjustment of School Calendar

3​. In order to not compromise the quality education sought by the students in the institution,
we also request the administration to make necessary revisions of the course syllabi and
readjustment of the school calendar for the upcoming academic year.

It is acknowledged by the students that there will be missed lessons, prerequisite

skills, and concepts necessary for the higher units. Thus, to mitigate this, we humbly
request that the course syllabi of all degrees be revised to necessarily fill in the gaps of
knowledge and to adjust the school calendar for the next academic year that there will be
time for refresher courses and a transition period for the missed topics of the semester.

In addition, board exams and post-graduate studies require a specific number of

units to be taken up at the undergraduate level for the student to be admitted. Thus, the
proposed transition period would also serve as a compensatory mechanism for the
number of units not completed during the suspension of classes.

Professors’ Academic Freedom

4​. We humbly ask our compassionate professors to insist on their Academic Freedom to
unconditionally pass their students amid this crisis.

As the ones who greatly understand the plight of the students, we humbly ask our
professors with their academic freedom, to promote their students’ welfare amid this
worsening global pandemic. This just, humane, and compassionate action is already done
by other universities such as that on the different campuses of the University of the
Philippines (UP). It is clear that continuing the semester will not only affect the students
 but also the professors who will conduct classes immediately after the lifting of the ECQ.
That said, the faculty and staff will similarly experience the anxiety and stress brought
about by the pandemic and such mental stressors will undeniably inhibit their ability to
fully teach the lessons. Our humble request for an unconditional passing of the students
would lessen the burden of both the students and educators and give them time for
genuine mental, emotional, and economic recovery.

Ensure the salaries and benefits of the faculty and non-teaching staff

5​. The salaries of both the faculty and non-teaching staff (regular and contractual) must also be
ensured that they are able to help them fulfill all their needs in the midst of this crisis.

While the pandemic may have halted classes and the means for face-to-face
learning, it does not halt the expenses and bills of every household such as electricity,
water, rent, and food expenses. Thus, we include in our letter that the salaries amongst
faculty and staff are insured as working in the institution was their means of livelihood
before the pandemic struck in the first place. We ask that the administration will
compassionately adhere to labor laws and respect the labor rights of faculty and
non-teaching staff alike.

Aid for stranded students

6. Following the declaration of the initial ECQ, which was only intended to last for a week,
many students did not return to their provinces. CNU has already addressed the stranded students
through iCARE, but we still call for:

a. Aid for immediate supplies and necessities. Amid this worsening pandemic, it is still
uncertain when the Local Government will lift the ECQ. This will surely affect those
students who are stranded in the City as they will be running out of supplies and
necessities soon. In the midst of this crisis, most parents or guardians will have a hard
time in providing their children with the necessary support from them either because of
the “no work, no pay” policy or of inaccessible money-transfer centers. Thus, we are
asking the administration to provide necessary help for these stranded students, such as
food, water, and toiletries.
b. Transportation Assistance​. In these dire times, students need to be reunited with their
families for support and for their own security. In line with this, we are humbly asking
the University to provide funding and/or assistance for the transport of the students to
their provinces in partnership with their respective Local Government Units.
Student Scholarship

7. Scholarships are vital for continuing education, especially for people in the lower echelon
of financial status. Hence, it is for this very reason that we assert the administration to support its
scholars.

It comes as no surprise that students enrolled in HEIs also rely on different means
to finance their studies. The most common one being educational scholarships.
Scholarships offer a wide range of assistance for students who are extending even beyond
academic necessities.

As such, many of the students at CNU are scholars of either the government or
through private grants. We request that the institution as a whole support its students in
writing letters of appeal, recommendation, and consideration for scholarship grantors to
still offer the same benefits to the students as they already have before the pandemic has
started. Being a scholar of any entity, public or private, is no easy feat as one carries the
name and responsibility of the grantor throughout their academic career. Any success the
student may have, a part of the credit will always be of its supporters. From DOST
Scholars, CHED Scholars, Working Scholars, Church Scholars- for as long as a student is
receiving any sort of aid in academics in their journey as a Normalite, may the institution
offer them support they need for them to retain such benefits of the scholarship.

We are honored and privileged as students to foster our development and knowledge in
Cebu Normal University. The Academe, however, is not solely for knowledge generation only,
but also for the inculcation of values to the students. The COVID-19 pandemic became a test, not
only to our healthcare system, but also to our individual morality, of genuine leadership and
service, and of upholding the university’s Vision and Mission in committing to build a strong
and progressive nation. The excellence, integrity, and compassion which CNU is long known for
are again needed amid these needy times.

We are greatly hopeful that our demands for a just, humane, and compassionate decision
to the administrators, faculties, and student councils of our beloved Cebu Normal University will
be heeded and be considered as helpful in the formulation of a holistic solution.

As one, we will outlast this pandemic with Quality and Integrity!

For the welfare and interest of the students,

Signatories:

Cebu Normal University- Council of Liberal Arts and Sciences Students

Students’ Democratic Party

Students’ Republican Party

Polikratos

Math Circle

Statistical Society

Tourism Society

Council of Special Educator

DOST-CNU

English Fellows

Biological Society

Communicators' Club

Outer Realms Infinite Observers and Navigators (ORION)

Statistical Society Tourism Society

I-Mind Psychology Society

Kabataang Pilipino sa Larangang Akademiko (KAPILAK)

Generalistang Normalites Organization

Homemakers Club

SoSociety

Science Bond
Junior Broadcaster’s Association

CineU

Hugpong LGBT