SUDDENLY, it was easy to see what schools most of my friends came from: My Facebook and Twitter feeds were full of updates on relief drives in various schools and links to their websites.

For instance, Ateneans were all over the place, posting status updates such as, ?Ateneo Task Force Ondoy needs more water bottles and rice -- spread the word. Visit www.ateneotaskforceondoy.misa.org.ph,? and ?From the Ateneo LS Covered Courts as of 12:47 p.m. Oct 1 ?09. They need more of everything right now: Canned goods, noodles, water, and clothes. Time to donate more! Repost please!?

La Salle was also a formidable online presence, with shoutouts like ?More donations are needed at the relief operations center at La Salle Greenhills. There are so many requests for help but we are running out of food and water to distribute. Donations may be brought to Gate 2 of La Salle Greenhills along Ortigas Ave. in Mandaluyong City.?

Many of the University of the Philippines Iskolar ng Bayan were also heavily affected, but it didn?t stop them -- or their classmates, at least -- from running relief drives in the school. Benefit concerts and other fundraising drives were immediately planned, and the UP Sagip Isko project went full throttle.

Enderun Colleges whipped up thousands of hot meals (up to 16,000 in one day) and lent transportation so volunteers could bring food and other supplies to affected areas, to the point of cleaning out their kitchens for the flood victims. Although Enderun was not yet given permission to conduct classes, reports said that they opened their doors as a 24-hour soup kitchen.

Other schools, despite being heavily flooded as well -- such as the University of Santo Tomas -- also implemented their own relief drives for the flood victims.

Schools such as Miriam, Xavier, CSB, Assumption, ICA, UA&P and San Beda, among many others, opened their doors as distribution centers for ?Ondoy? victims. At times, students (and not school administrators) took the initiative to start soup kitchens and relief drives in different venues.

Unfortunately, many schools are not in a position to help flood victims, as they were heavily affected themselves. But it doesn?t mean you can?t do anything to help if your school doesn?t do anything to initiate assistance for flood victims.

Remember that in times of crisis, there should be no such thing as school rivalry. A friend, decked out in a La Salle jacke -- her alma mater -- helped pack relief goods at Ateneo, and no one paid heed.

Even the UAAP took a backseat as students used the one-week break to volunteer; typical gimik places were unusually empty, a reflection of the sober mood of the country. The usual school wars took an online break as differences were put aside in light of the situation.

So if you?re still hesitant about volunteering because you don?t have friends who are, or because your school doesn?t have a relief drive, don?t be. Just head to the nearest relief drive center and help out, regardless of where your loyalties lie.

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com.