(Photo from feu.edu.ph)
In a letter sent by the FEU Central Student Organization (FEU-CSO) to the university admin, the students sought the suspension of synchronous activities to give students more time to focus on their own health and families.
“”[H]ospital rooms are now congested, and family providers have been left disenfranchised with little to no government assistance. This has caused legitimate fear and anxiety to every Filipino’s current living situation, regardless of social status,” the letter read.
“Unfortunately, the members of this very institution were not spared from these adversities. Students and teachers alike suffer from uncontrollable circumstances that impair their ability to adhere to expectations and deadlines that demand them to provide excellent quality learning. Workloads have been piling up and circumstantial problems remain unaddressed and yet students and teachers continue to suffer under the pressure of achieving excellence rather than safet
(Photo from FEU CSO Facebook page)
The crackdown came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte told state forces to “kill” and “finish off” communist rebels in an encounter.
In a statement Sunday, March 7, FEU Central Student Organization decried the existing red-tagging and “inhumane treatment” of the critics of the government.
“We strongly condemn such attacks against activists, human rights defenders, and progressives. Activists were questionably arrested from their homes in this state sponsored crackdown in difference places in Southern Tagalog,” its statement read.
“This government has heartlessly desensitized not just human rights but also human lives. Instead of targeting the root causes of the systemic problems in the country. they have chosen to terrorize anyone who goes against their oppressive practices,” it further read.