ILOILO CITY – The University of San Agustin (USA) marked a significant milestone in its commitment to student welfare with the blessing and launching of the USA Safe Corner on October 6, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in the USA Chapel Lobby.
The Safe Corner, a mental health advocacy project spearheaded by the Guidance Services and Testing Center (GSTC) and the university’s Peer Facilitators’ Organization, offers a dedicated space where students can find respite, support, and validation amid the pressures of academic life.
In her Remarks of Circumstance, Charie Joan Diaz, RGC, GSTC Director, shared the inspiration behind the initiative. “The GSTC would like to have an advocacy project mainly focusing on the promotion of mental health,” she said, emphasizing the pressing need for mental health support in the university community.
Diaz highlighted the simple yet profound purpose of the Safe Corner: “Sometimes all we need is actually just a safe corner to breathe out.” The facility, located in the Campus Ministry Office, is designed to be an inclusive space particularly beneficial for students with special needs, helping them enhance their emotional, mental, and physical well-being.
“This is again a space, a corner for students, especially students with special needs, who can just come so that they will be able to be helped to enhance their emotional, their mental and their physical aspects of their well-being in general,” Diaz explained.
She further elaborated on the vision: “It’s about really creating a safe space for everyone in which you can really feel validated and you just can relax and you know, just gather your thoughts and eventually come back to move on, move forward with everything that’s happening around us.”
The GSTC Director emphasized that meaningful change begins with modest initiatives. “We could always start from something small which would create really a huge impact to start off among our Augustinian community,” she noted.
Coinciding with Mental Health Month, Diaz issued a call to action for the entire university: “As we celebrate the mental health month, let us turn awareness into action as we, as one Augustinian community, help each other offer this safe space, especially for those who are in need of our help.”
The launching ceremony featured a ribbon-cutting led by Rev. Fr. Jonas M. Mejares, OSA, Vice President for Augustinian Formation and Mission; Dr. Regina Aileen May V. Vergara, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Academic Heads; and GSTC personnel, symbolizing the university administration’s full support for the mental health initiative.
Rev. Fr. Jonas M. Mejares, OSA, then blessed the Safe Corner, invoking divine guidance for the facility and all who will seek refuge within its walls.
The ceremony concluded with a fellowship, with Sir Joseph Angelo Duran and Ma’am Robeeh Ramos serving as Masters of Ceremonies.
The USA Safe Corner represents more than just a physical space—it embodies the university’s holistic approach to education, recognizing that academic excellence flourishes when students’ mental and emotional needs are addressed. As the Augustinian community embraces this new resource, the Safe Corner stands as a testament to the university’s commitment to nurturing not just minds, but hearts and spirits as well.
Students seeking support, a moment of calm, or simply a place to regroup can now visit the Safe Corner at the Campus Ministry Office, where compassion and understanding await.
The Safe Corner Advocacy Project has been made possible through the collaboration of the Peer Facilitators’ Organization, the Student Government represented by Mr. James Mariano, and with the invaluable support of the University Administration. (oco)
