Can’t believe it, but here we are, down to the last couple of months this year. We know what you’re thinking, and we get it. You can’t wait to get into the holiday spirit after this whole mess of a year, but there’s something more pressing we gotta talk about.

If we’re down to our last two months of the year, it also means finals season for many people. If you’re flashing back to days (or even weeks) of stress, piles of schoolwork and deadline after deadline, imagine the pressure on everyone in the academe right now, with this pandemic that doesn’t seem to end.

The hashtag #FEUHSKalma trended yesterday after several students from Far Eastern University High School (FEUHS) voiced their concerns on social media over the workload and deadlines immediately succeeding the Undas break.

“Matapang lamang ang administrasyon sa represyon, ngunit hindi sa pagdinig ng panawagan at pagbibigay ng konsiderasyon!”

Opisyal na pahayag ng Anakbayan Morayta hinggil sa #FEUHSKalma at panawagan para sa academic break.#BreakTam #WalangIwananFEU #PushFor4TamarawDemands pic.twitter.com/CB9hOnuA1Q

— Anakbayan – Far Eastern University (@AnakbayanFEU_) November 10, 2020

As of this writing, classes in FEUHS are suspended today because of the incoming typhoon but the hashtag is still alive with student concerns.

And it’s not just FEUHS. Students from other schools have also called on their respective administrators to adjust guidelines for online classes, or at least consider student grievances.

#DoBetterUP trended when students called on administrators of the University of the Philippines to consider the students’ mental health and concerns over remote learning, especially at the height and in the aftermath of Typhoon Rolly.

As the reading break comes to an end and as areas affected by the typhoons continue to recover, we strongly echo the calls of UP students to extend the suspension of classes, including deadlines and submissions.#DoBetterUP #WalangIwananUP pic.twitter.com/zVgaHiHeIp

— UP Office of the Student Regent (@uposr) November 6, 2020

Even general hashtags on online classes like #NoStudentLeftBehind and #WalangIwanan still pop up among trending topics occasionally, which shows up the state of the country’s education system, and questions the “victory” that the Department of Education secretary declared roughly a month ago.

If schools truly want to make sure that their students are “resilient, healthy and happy,” they should at least listen to and address their concerns. Using the resilience card forever isn’t gonna cut it, not when the system has already failed them.

Art by Jan Cardasto