The curtain is drawn, what was once hidden is now out in the open. Angelites among students from other schools, resorted to Twitter to share stories that once held them captive. Grave narratives of alleged sexual harrasment perpetuated by professors emerged and like a domino, one by one the victims told their stories. Mainly from the Basic Education Department, predators began with flirty messages, then sexual innuendos, and even to the point of molestation.
As the nightmare that clenched many victims have seen daylight, a critical question stands, “What’s next?” Behind these abuses are a deeper story for each victim, the trauma, mental strain, and confusion they were put under. While many showered them with support, there were those who saw the situation through narrow lenses and blamed the victims. Providing space for people who take these serious issues lightly makes it difficult for victims to speak up about their experiences. Turning traumatic experiences into jokes, tolerate sexual abuse. It is pivotal to heighten the discourse, the victims must be given a support system and professional help.
All student leaders must collectively unite to go beyond the stereotype of typical ‘event organizers’, and stand up for the rights of every student. Elected leaders, organizations, and publications, must fulfill their mandate and become a bastion of hope and justice in the community.
The pandemic has indeed exposed the worst among the worst, this time calls for the Holy Angel community to stand by its core values of Christ-centeredness, integrity, excellence, community, and most notably societal responsibility. We call for the university to shed light on these matters and hold liable those found guilty of their actions.
The Angelite will always be on guard to guarantee that both the student leaders and the university administration will do their duty and unless justice prevails we will continue to demand ACCOUNTABILITY and RECOGNITION.
Despite the atrocious political climate we are under, The Angelite hopes that truth and justice will prevail inside the walls of Holy Angel University.
#HoldThemHAUccountable
#LabananAngAbuso
Artwork by Rodz Mysong
