issue 29// vol 46 opinions // no. 15 Students should prioritize wellness over education during the pandemic » Health comes first regardless of what some institutions may encourage EG Manilag Staff Writer lobally, the coronavirus is still a pressing issue and vaccine formulation is still in progress. During this unprecedented situation, people are encouraged to stay in the safety of their homes. Schools have been shutdown as well and have been transferred to an unchartered dimension: the internet. This means that school and some flexible jobs will ultimately be done from home. But is this a good thing for students? And having this situation in mind, should students concentrate more on building wellness or continuing education? According to CBC News, mental health issues and other concerns have increased due to coronavirus. In an online survey from the Angus Reid Institute, 44 percent of Canadians describe their mental health with the term worried. Others say they are anxious (41 percent),and some say they are grateful (34 percent). The rest describe their emotional state with bored, optimistic, depressed, normal, untroubled, numb, and pessimistic. Most of this has to do with self-isolation and social distancing. For students, studying at home is likely to bea struggle rather than smooth sailing. A commentator in the New York Times’ student opinion blog stated, “although we do have online school now, it is not the same. Working from home is worse as I don't care to admit, my work habits from For whom the bill tolls » Are millennials the crises generation? Matthew Fraser Opinions Editor hey called those born between 1901 and 1927 the greatest generation. They were renowned for their bravery, innovation, and nation-building ambition; they fought the wars that made modern life possible, they begot the creations that would lead to our current technological state, and they laid the foundations that our modern arts and philosophies arose from. Years have become decades and we are now in the midst of the millennial comeuppance. All around the world those born between 1981 and 1997 are slowly and steadily rising to the tops of governmental and corporate hierarchies. Yet, that which we have seen on our way to the top has been markedly different than our parents; we have experienced a global recession, a rare global pandemic, and we will probably live through a second global recession. We were privy to the dual terrors of mass violence and climate change and now, while mired in bad habits, face an internal sickness of faulty mind states. If the greatest generation has come and gone, we may be the crises generation. The 2008 financial crisis buckled America and shattered the veneer of prosperity that covered globalization. Banks went under, stock markets crashed and people watched their lifetime savings vanish into thin air; for many between the ages of 1 and 18 (in 2008) these were times of adult panic that didn’t make sense. How could a bank fail and it drag the rest of the world into such a perilous position? Eleven years later the internet was teeming with bat soup and sickness memes, but when Italy and Spain began to see their daily deaths counts exceed 500 all jokes had to stop. Though we are not yet out of the virus’ insidious grip, economists predict a second global recession to follow the frightening human loss. Around the world countries have slowed considerably or stopped, while here in Canada we can watch our government hemorrhage money to keep the country afloat. It will come as a shock to many a millennial when the bill comes as we plan for homeownership and meagre retirements; all that was promised to old age has vanished for the youth today. The greatest generation faced war but we have watched the world crumble thrice before our very eyes. Violence has been the ordering factor of our generation. Not the violence of war or revolution (though both of those are prevalent) but the violence of heartless terror. Millennials came as Columbine imprinted itself on the North American world. Thereafter, 9/1 was our Berlin Wall; the day after which nothing could be the same. Certainly, there has been war but few, if any, could have predicted fighting home are not the best. I am easily able to procrastinate at home and having class in bed is not the best idea. Plus, I can no longer get the one on one help teachers provide if needed.” The same is true for workers. Geeta Malhotra, a techie based in Bengaluru, believes that this situation has not only made her home a stressful place, it has also made her restless: “I am eating whenever I want. Sometimes two meals a day, sometimes four times a day. The little walking I used to do has also stopped. I have put on four kgs of weight since the lockdown and I am having trouble sleeping at night so much that I have been sleeping for less than four hours,” she said. Another thing to keep in mind is the notion that a weakened immune system allows for easy infection. We know that students are one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of experiencing high levels of stress. There is no doubt that stress increases the chances of being sick— emotionally, mentally, or physically. Nevertheless, there is still this idea that education requires total attention from its students, with or without the pandemic. This is especially true for students who are graduating or preparing to take board and licensure exams— studying is still key. Although exams and other academic endeavours are important, we should consider the present NV in a war that is as old or older than them. Then we watched the slow-rolling doom of global warming and its promise of species- existential obliteration, if not all. Forests became grazing lands and oceans became plastic fields and oil slicks, all while we struggled with calculus and high-school drama—aware of the news cycle but oblivious to the actual day this world would become ours. There has been much debate regarding the prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst millennials. Some say it’s the lack of religiosity and the increased expectance towards sin, while others say that these feelings are not new but have been present and unspoken in every previous generation. Nonetheless it has been coupled with an unceasing rage to change and reimagine the world; yet in my eyes, this struggle for change is poorly thought-out and often irrational after further inspection. The future leaders who a FAW scenario. This semester should not see a prioritization of grades—the focus should be on the wellness of students. Although maintaining a healthy lifestyle is our individual responsibility, there are people, places, and rules that make our health better or worse. Everyone faces a different situation in life—some have it worse and some have it better. In this unprecedented situation, | think it’s best to be utilitarian and think about the greatest good for the greatest number. In the Philippines, a “mass promotion” policy has been implemented for students amid the pandemic, and according to the country’s higher education agency—Commission on Higher Education (CHED)—it’s up to the universities and colleges to decide whether to pass all students or not. Some parts of the global south are active in their adaptation. Having said that, if poorer countries have made utilitarian acts to lessen the impact of coronavirus, then maybe countries in the global north can do more with these ideas. Ideas like reducing the list of requirements in the course syllabus and being flexible in grading and making schedules. As long as this pandemic is around, I will always argue that it is generally reasonable to have bad marks. I can't stress this enough: it’s better to have good health and bad marks than bad health and good marks. ol fran surround us and appear in the media shout for a change that they cannot articulate. Worse still, the rush for change disappears when they must implement it amongst themselves. Ours is a generation that rightly sees problems while attempting only the facsimile and shoddy fixes. Occupy Wall street slipped into nothing 10 years before Greta Thunberg would demand change while obstinately declaring she was not there to provide answers. Soon, if not already, the crises generation will become the stewards of the world at large. We will shape governance and global relations, we will preside over the workings of every corporation, and we will be both the victims and beneficiaries of the history that preceded us. We can only hope that history has engrained temperance and inner strength while pandemics and recessions have made the necessities of prudence clear.