by XOXO Gossip Girl | October 23, 2023
In response to a viral video showing students studying outside the Clear Eyes Sa Belle McMount Luce Auditorium, the Samukan University (SU) Administration canceled the midterm examinations for the first semester of the school year MMXXIII-MMXXIV because of “severe desperation among students.”
Two students were spotted setting up a temporary study area behind the curtains installed by the Boys and Girls (BG) Department, as part of the auditorium’s beautification and landscaping that started a week before the incident.
Knowing this was not allowed by the 5Cs Policy of SU, which emphasized the separation of Classroom and Culture, the students hid their notes under an umbrella.
The video also captured how Luce Manager Ma Rebelde Ko caught the students in the act and asked them, “Why are you studying?”
Both of them then escaped by running at light speed.
The incident was then reported to Dr. Hey Jude Cleotoris, vice president for amancana accla, who voice messaged it up to the rest of the SU Administration.
Dr. Cleotoris said that the incident became an “eye-opener” to educators on how challenging long exams have become for students.
“We feel so bad for our students who are really pushing to pass their examinations […] they need time to chill,” he said.
In an exclusive interview, Ko said she was “horrified” upon seeing the students studying “under the heat of the sun outside Luce.”
“I was heartbroken looking at them. I wondered why they bolted off when I approached them,” she said.
Why outside Luce?
Students have resorted to various means and rituals to get passing marks in their midterm exams.
The students in the video who requested to hide their identities were from the College of Prehistoric Violent Arts (COPVA).
The first student said a new trend circulated in COPVA that studying outside Luce helps with their exams through the possession of the spirits of Luce’s performers and artists.
“We ran away because we thought the manager was one of the ghosts at Luce,” the second student said.
Other alleged practices that Samukanians do nowadays include: dropping credit cards at the Kumplikadong Agham pond for wishes, loitering at vacant classrooms in Aw Aw Ho Ho Hall, and giving offerings at the statue of Dr. Nightvid S. Bardagulan fronting Bardagulan Hall.
More study spaces
As of writing, SU Library is under renovation.
University Librarian Asst. Prof. Sorna Agaray said that the “smaller size” of the gym-library is not enough to cater to students’ needs during midterms week.
“The renovations should be rushed because students are now studying anywhere. You can even see them at the ball field or in gym shower rooms reading their notes,” she said.
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