After Holy Angel University (HAU) released the recent enrollment and opening timeline, Rappler, one of the widely known online news website in the Philippines sympathized with the HAU’s twitter trend #HAUyokoNa as it issues an article amplifying the call of the Angelites to heed the 7-point demands, a petition filed to the administration.
The trended hashtag, #HAUyokoNa has been escalated rapidly online as the university is much in a rush of the enrollment period and opening of classes amidst Coronavirus (COVID-19), compromising the essential needs of the students – to be financially stable and ensure the health and safety in this time of pandemic.
With a total of 12.3k tweets, making it trending at number 2 nationwide, and “Holy Angel University” to be on the trending slot in the latter, memes, personal sentiments, and call to actions have been circulating in the media from the various ‘tweeters’, even those outside from the university showed condemnation to the inconsiderate and anti-poor policies of the university.
Initiated by The Angelite, University Student Council, Anakbayan HAU, and HAU Speak Now in alliance with college student councils and student publications, the 7-point demands include (1) moving the opening of classes in accordance to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), (2) no to online classes, (3) Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI) freeze, (4) present a clear and definite breakdown of the fees, (5) deduct the payment from the unused services, (6) ensure the income of all the employees, and (7) retract the payment from the summer classes; provide student discounts not loans.
This online protest asks for an accessible quality education as this is the university’s long-life mission in navigating the Angelites towards their greater future. It also seeks for leniency and sensible consideration to the students as the virus has colossal plight to deal with, either in mental state of perplexity or in social dilemma.
Punto Central Luzon, iOrbit News Online, and Kodao Productions have also published news articles online, highlighting the tweets of the Angelites in a call for attention to heed the students’ demands with the administration.
To date 9,372 people have signed in one with the Angelite 7-point demands along with comments of support and sentiments both from parents and students.
Photo from Rappler