Four Political Science classes which require face-to-face components “subject to approval” are recently offered in the computerized registration system (CRS), generating discussions among political science majors.
Among the classes that are offered are POLSC 199, a thesis proposal course for seniors; POLSC 110, a methods class; and two classes for POLSC 130, an introductory course on comparative politics.
According to the Political Science Department, the courses are still “exploratory,” hence face-to-face classes will not be conducted for a whole semester as in the pre-pandemic set-up.
Majors have raised concerns that they are not in Manila or would not be permitted by their parents to travel amid the pandemic.
However, political science department representative Marco Terrado assured that “the department is trying its best to accommodate these different contexts and needs of our students.”
As Metro Manila reverts to Alert Level 3 status due to record-breaking infection cases, conduct of face-to-face classes have been cancelled even though UP has been authorized by the Commission on Higher Education to hold such classes.
[Editor’s Note: Upon request of a certain party, we have decided to revise this article to omit sensitive information that could endanger our fellow students and pre-empt on-going discussions within the department. We remain supportive of the calls and actions for the safe return to schools. We apologize for this oversight and promise to continue upholding the ethics of journalism in our reportage.]