JUNVER Toledo’s death should not be blamed on any professor, the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) said, but should instead serve as a call for greater compassion and meaningful academic policy reforms in UST.
In a statement on June 2, USTFU emphasized that mental health crises are complex issues that should not be viewed as singular and linear.
“It is unfair — and potentially harmful — to reduce such a tragic loss to a single academic outcome or to assign direct blame to individual faculty members without the benefit of full context or due process,” read the statement titled “Beyond Blame: Mourning a Loss, Defending Academic Standards, and Fostering Compassion.”
“Let us not allow this moment to be defined by division or blame, but rather by compassion, empathy, and a collective commitment to improve our educational environment,” it added.
Toledo, who was supposed to graduate this June from the UST College of Rehabilitation Sciences, jumped to his death on May 17. He was 22.
Moments before he took his life, he learned from his professor via Zoom call that he had failed the fourth-year Clinical Correlation and Team Approach course for the second time, missing the passing mark by just 1.5%.
While educators are expected to support their students, USTFU stressed that physical therapy professors have a “moral and legal duty” to uphold strict standards, considering the profession is closely concerned with public health.
“We acknowledge that academic standards must be accompanied by systems of support that recognize the mental and emotional struggles students may face,” the union said.
“We respectfully call for thoughtful dialogue that honors both the student’s life and the integrity of our educational mission…We reaffirm our commitment to the well-being of both students and educators,” it added.
USTFU hoped Toledo’s death would lead to a reevaluation and improvement of UST’s mental health support mechanisms, as well as the school’s avenues for communication between students and faculty.
“Let us come together to foster an environment that promotes mental health support and holistic care. This moment calls for us to deepen our commitment to understanding one another’s experiences and challenges, paving the way for constructive conversations that can lead to positive change.”
