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Mind and matter

BY MARGARITA C. GONZALEZ

9 OF THE many causes that have been given attention during the batch’s stay in Ateneo, mental health awareness is among the most prominent. Driven by the advocacy to remove the stigma on mental health, members of Batch 2020 have done much to encourage self-care and mental wellness and push for more accessible mental healthcare. Creating a kinder world The Sanggunian’s decision to form their Commission on Mental Health (CMH) in 2017 was a significant move towards promoting mental wellness in the University. The CMH advocates for mental health awareness and serves as an avenue to communicate students’ feedback about the Loyola Schools Office of Guidance and Counseling’s (LSOGC) services. Today, the CMH promotes mental health awareness in partnership with other student organizations through various projects. In fact, the Sanggunian and its partners promoted Mental Health Awareness Week as early as 2016 to encourage mental health discourse through activities, events, and online information campaigns. Now rebranded as Mental Health Awareness + Action Week, the event is organized yearly by the school’s Mental Health Coalition, which consists of the CMH, Ateneo Psyche, and Ateneo Peers. A slew of organizations, such as APair and the Ateneo Special Education Society, has also partnered with the coalition to help organize the event. The school has also made efforts to promote mental wellness through the LSOGC’s annual Wellness Week, which involves art activities, talks, and events that aim to encourage self-care. In July 2017, the LSOGC introduced animal assisted therapy sessions with dogs from their partner organization, Communitails. To further prompt students to care for their mental and physical Mental health health, the office also put up Blue Snooze, a nap room that was made available in the Social Sciences building in November 2018. No one left behind Despite the existence of programs that encourage self-care among members of the Loyola Schools, there have still been calls for the school to provide assistance for students who cannot afford psychiatric services and medication. Though the LSOGC offers free counseling services, students with mental health diagnoses must turn to other professionals for psychiatric consultations. Though the school has a fund that caters to this need, it has many limitations. The Office of the Vice President for the Loyola Schools already provided a mental health medication subsidy to students beginning in 2015. The fund had a cap of Php 10,000 for medication, hospital fees, and consultations with mental health professionals and Php 20,000 for emergency confinement in hospitals per student. However, unless students were incapable of affording these fees, those who availed of the subsidy eventually had to reimburse the school for using this fund since it was not part of the University’s official budget. Though the fund is still available today, its limitations emphasize how more could be done for those with limited access to psychiatric services and medication. After gaining the student body’s approval through a plebiscite, the Sanggunian took it upon themselves to create a Php 1 million investment fund for mental health services this school year. As the fund is still newly formed, the Sanggunian’s CMH plans to grow it in the coming years and use its annual interest of Php 30,000 to 40,000 for mental health subsidies. Though the Sanggunian’s fund is a step in the right direction, many students will still require assistance for attaining mental healthcare services in the meantime. Aside from addressing the stigma against mental health, both the school and students alike should keep working toward providing those in need with more access to mental healthcare.

The call for justice

BY MARGARITA C. GONZALEZ

WE HAVE heard whispers of sexual harassment cases that involve professors ever since our first year in the University. It was an open secret—one that was primarily discussed through anonymous social media platforms like Reddit and ADMU Freedom Wall.

For a long time, it seemed like these secrets would always remain in the dark. Every time these accusations were posted online, the administration would respond in a tight-lipped manner, releasing as little information as possible. Even though the anonymous accusations went viral, with students expressing their anger and disappointment towards the administration, the discussion would eventually die down—at least until the next case would come to light.

After four long years of this pattern, viral accusations, band aid statements from the school, and silence in between cases, the administration finally issued more specific and direct responses to the existence of these cases in 2019—but only after the October 15 protest against sexual misconduct and impunity, which saw students and professors alike rally against the University’s underwhelming response to cases of sexual harassment.

Push and pull Prior to 2017, the school did not have a centralized body solely tasked with handling sexual harassment cases. This was addressed when the University created the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) in compliance with the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995. However, the majority of the LS community was not privy to the composition of the committee, save for its chair at that time.

The CODI was far from perfect. In fact, there are survivors who have criticized CODI’s processes and demanded for more sensitive and efficient handling of sexual harassment cases. These survivors felt that the committee was intimidating during their hearings and that the school could have provided more aftercare and support for those who came forward.

10 The same demands would only grow louder and more urgent in the years to come. In 2017, the school was rocked by a rise in the number of sexual harassment complaints that were received by the Sanggunian. Then, 2018 saw shocking sexual harassment allegations against professors go viral on social media. Members of the student body took to various platforms to express their disappointment and anger with the administration, particularly with the school’s lack of transparency on the matter.

Thankfully, the Sanggunian took it upon themselves to respond to the situation. In the same year, the student government created the Commission on AntiSexual Misconduct and Violence (CASMV), which was composed of students, faculty, and administrators.

The committee would go on to counsel survivors, promote safe spaces, and assist students in filing sexual misconduct complaints. This was also the year when the administration committed to “building a gender-inclusive, gender-responsive, and gender-safe Community” through a policy statement that the Sanggunian had lobbied for.

The school made concrete progress towards this commitment in August 2019 through the institution of the LS Gender Hub, which was tasked with offering counseling services for sexual misconduct survivors and providing case companions for those who intend to file complaints.

Patching the gaps Though platforms like CASMV and the Gender Hub provide survivors with much-needed support and guidance, many continue to assert the need for stronger structural reforms in the handling of sexual misconduct cases.

The community’s patience finally wore thin after another sexual harassment accusation against a faculty member came to light in October 2019. The now-deleted viral social media post about the case led to the historic October 15 protest against sexual misconduct and impunity. During the protest, which gained national media coverage, students and teachers alike expressed their outrage with the administration’s lackluster solutions over the years. Days later, members of the Ateneo community formed Time’s Up Ateneo, a group that advocates for reforms in the school’s processes and approach for sexual misconduct cases.

After the October 15 protest, the school announced that it would initiate an external audit to get a clearer perspective on how to revise the existing processes for handling sexual harassment complaints. The administration also began the process of crafting an anti-sexual harassment manual, which would consolidate all the school’s processes for handling sexual misconduct. The document hopes to address the primary concerns that were raised by the community, such as transparency, efficiency, and clarity in the processes for filing complaints. Though the manual was originally slated for release at the end of 2019, it is currently still undergoing revisions as of writing.

Aside from this, University President Jett Villarin, SJ, also formed a women-led Interim CODI in December 2019, which was tasked to investigate sexual misconduct cases, promote discussions on sexual offenses, and foster safe spaces until May 31, 2020. To set a precedent for the succeeding CODI, the full list of members of the Interim CODI was publicly released.

It is important to acknowledge that this is the school’s most transparent response to the issue of sexual harassment to date. In fact, Villarin himself acknowledged the school’s shortcomings in handling sexual misconduct through a memo.

However, there is still much to improve on in terms of the school’s transparency with these cases. An investigative report by The GUIDON would later reveal a misleading technicality in another statement released by Villarin on October 23. The statement said that CODI had not received any formal complaints against a certain Philosophy professor, but it failed to acknowledge that there were at least two formal complaints filed against him in 2016, prior to the creation of CODI in 2017.

Two steps forward, one step back The University has made strides in reforming its processes for sexual harassment complaints since 2016, but it still lacks in terms of transparency. Though the historic October 15 protest helped erase the stigma and taboo about sexual harassment cases that involve professors, the administration must still do their part in participating and encouraging this kind of discourse.

It should not take another four—or perhaps more— years of silence before important details about such cases are brought to light. Moving forward, the University should maximize this period of growth to better address the needs of survivors, who continue to hope that the school will be more sensitive and provide them with the support they need. Currently, all eyes are on the University administration to deliver its promises to improve its systems and stand against sexual misconduct more openly in the years to come.

Expanding perspectives

BY MARGARITA C. GONZALEZ

KNOWN AS the Alternative Class Program when it was discontinued in 2009, the Talakayang Alay Sa Bayan (TALAB) program has followed Batch 2020 since its revival in February 2017.

Loyola Schools students are required to attend TALAB events annually so that they can experience opportunities to reflect on culture, history, and the sociopolitical issues that concern the country. Throughout the past years, external partners and student organizations have used the program as a platform to host presentations, workshops, film viewings, and tours that aim to encourage action and discourse in response to the state of the nation.

To achieve this, TALAB events have frequently tackled topics such as environmentalism, gender equality, human rights, and art as a means to process and digest sensitive matters. These events have also allowed the plight of different groups in Philippine society to shine through. In the past, various TALAB talks have highlighted the perspectives of sectors such as laborers, communities in poverty, and indigenous peoples.

In its first year, TALAB featured the following standout talks by prominent speakers: “Social Justice, Human Rights, and the 1987 Constitution: An Alternative Law Practitioner’s Appraisal” by Vice President Leni Robredo and Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal Executive Director Attorney Hazel Lavitoria and “#NoPlaceForHate: Social Media and Democracy” by the head of Rappler’s Investigative Desk Chay Hofileña and Rappler reporter Pia Ranada.

And in their last year in Ateneo, seniors were able to learn more about current events and pressing issues that they could help resolve after they leave the University. Some of the notable TALAB talks in 2019 include: “Bawal na ang Bastos” a talk on the Bawal Bastos law by panelists Senator Risa Hontiveros, former Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles and former Sanggunian School of Social Sciences Representative Dasha Uy; and “What Is To Be Done: Labor Activism in the Front Line” by Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) President Attorney Luke Espiritu and BMP member Rafael La Viña.

used the program to recruit participants for their EconTours and host KamalAEAn, a conference that tackles socioeconomic issues like tax reform.