Remember when a celebrity said, in a now-infamous line, “Sa classroom bawal lumabas?” Scrap that. These young student organizations, in their concerted efforts, are going out of their way to make a dent int the country’s growing need for support and aid.

With the pandemic paralyzing life as we know it, it is interesting to see and know that amid the anxiety and the cloud of uncertainty, many are still asking, what can I do to help? And it becomes all the more inspiring because many of these initiatives are coming from the youth.

In the past months or so, beginning with the government-imposed lockdown measures, we have seen students and young minds come to the fore, hailing from different universities, finding purpose in this moment of crisis, and creating a ripple of change for others to do the same.

Here are the four universities who are leading the COVID-19 response:

#SALAMATUP

Contrary to how a certain government official paints the country’s top university as an enemy to keep scores with, following a remarkable initiative to develop a new rapid test kit for COVID-19, the University of the Philippines (UP) continues to provide aid in the people’s fight against the disease. In support of the UP Manila University Student Council, the UP Medicine Student Council and the Organizations, Fraternities, and Sororities of the UP College of Medicine are calling for donations of N95 masks and alcohol for the PGH interns to help protect them, along with the growing number of patients from the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19.

Photo credit to UP Medicine Student Council.

LA SALLE CROWDFUNDING FOR THE VALIDATION OF COVID-19 TEST KITS

Together with Alyansang Tapat Sa Lasallista, Akbayan Party is calling on the public to support and financially contribute via the U.P. Medical Foundation, Inc. for the validation of the test kits developed by UP National Institutes of Health scientists—a significant step towards augmenting the obviously-scarce resources of the government to test more persons that may be infected by the unseen enemy,

Photo credit to Akbayan Party

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY DISASTER RESPOSNE AND MANAGEMENT

The Ateneo de Manila University Disaster Response and Management (Dream) Team, alongside Tanging Yaman Foundation, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, and Manila Observatory, have mobilized a campaign to call for cash donations to produce and alleviate the depleting supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of health workers.

Photo credit to Ateneo De Manila University

PAULINIAN RESPONSE TO THE COVID CRISIS

St. Paul University Manila has been extending assistance to the Philippine General Hospital frontliners in the fight against the virus. This is done by providing housing facilities for them during this quarantine. Other PGH personnel who are not frontliners but have difficulties in reporting for work because of the community quarantine have also been accommodated—an impressive feat that helps the displaced in this time of need.

Photo credit to St. Paul University Manila

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, students went beyond the campus gates to disseminate information, support fellow students, and confront problems of the nation with verve and determination.

The mentioned student organizations/groups contributed their time and effort to volunteer and go through protocols themselves, from coordinating with the Local Government Units and Non-Government Organizations to help with their on-going projects.

Aside from that, these young minds became the voice of the country to cause political, environmental, economic or social change during this pandemic. As they say, youth championed peace and equality among every one. Students are using social media as an outlet for their concerns and needs. Some even held peaceful rallies to awaken the government with the wrong doings of some government officials even in the center of this crisis.