Recognizing the extreme challenges of remote learning in the middle of a pandemic, made worse by the recent typhoons, UP has announced additional flexible academic measures for the remainder of the first semester of AY 2020-2021. This includes the extension of the deadline for the submission of grades and a policy of no failing grades to be given to students this semester.

We plead guilty to the charge that the University of the Philippines is a breeding ground for activists. We accept that activism is not only a big part of what we are as an institution but is also its leading edge. Activism is a refusal to keep to established ways because we are convinced that something better lies just beyond our field of vision. We cannot see into the future, but we feel it gnawing at our insides. Activists are people driven by such an impulse. They are hopelessly hopeful --- throwing caution into the wind, risking their own welfare because they believe they are helping build a better future.