UST HAS unveiled a new logo, but many Thomasians are not exactly excited about it.

The new design encloses the University seal in a circle set in yellow. An outer black ring contains the words “UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS” and “MANILA 1611” in white font. The old shield-like seal is retained and placed at the center.

According to a memorandum issued by Secretary General Fr. Florentino Bolo, Jr., O.P. last June 21, the Council of Regents approved the revised design in a meeting that same day.

But the logo soon became a hot trending topic on social networking sites soon after “UST QUADRI,” the Facebook page maintained by the Office of the Secretary General, uploaded a digital copy.

In less than two hours came a Facebook page called “No to UST’s new university seal.” As of press time, more than 12,800 Facebook users “liked” the page.

Here are some of the comments:

“There’s too much going on the logo, a lot of yellow, black, and white—it’s too disturbing,” said alumnus Ian Anderson Rabino. “Stick to the principle ‘less is more’ and be tactful and regal in designing our beloved UST’s logo.”

“The previous seal makes Thomasians more proud because there is elegance in its simplicity and uniqueness,” said senior Psychology student Sharlynn Miranda Tamayo. “All Thomasians must have a say on this issue since we all make up the University.”

But alumnus Denz Villanueva said the incorporation of UST’s name on the seal would make it easier to identify.

“Hindi puwedeng seal lang, dapat talaga may description kung ano yun. Parang produkto ‘yan eh, dapat may branding para makilala at bumenta,” he said.

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The University seal—the 13th design since 1619—is a light blue shield with gold frame quartered by the black-and-white Dominican Cross on which the sun of St. Thomas Aquinas is superimposed.

On its quadrants are the four gold symbols—the Papal Tiara, the lion derived from Spain’s seal, the sea lion from Manila City’s old seal, and the rose. They represent UST’s pontificate, royal patronage of Spain, belongingness of the University to the Republic of the Philippines, and the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, respectively.

With much criticism given to the new logo, Bolo said the Council of Regents is set to meet again to discuss the public’s feedback.

“The council is aware of these comments and will be considering them,” he said.

According to Bolo, opposite to what people claim, the change was not drastic as the Council of Regents had several deliberations before agreeing to the new logo design.

“This was not [decided in an] instant. It took the council a series of meetings and revisions before they approved it,” he said.

He added that the new design was an incorporation of all the suggestions raised by each regent.

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Bolo said the council decided to include UST’s name in the logo so it could be identified more easily.

He added that there is a tendency that the round text is removed, particularly during UAAP games, making it undeterminable when it is being lined up with other schools’ logos in which their names are indicated.

“Although some claim that our logo [being nameless] is something unique for UST. I think it only applies here in the Philippines,” said Bolo.

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He said that the titles “Pontifical” and “Royal” were dropped in the new design because they are not included in the official name of University, and that UST only uses the name “University of Santo Tomas” in its records, official documents, and legal documents.

“Actually, the suggestion came from the Curia in Rome,” he said. “It said that there should be a consistency on the name of the University and on the title to be placed in the logo; that is why we have to take out the titles.”

Bolo also said he had informed Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector of the University, on the criticisms against the new logo. De la Rosa is currently in an official trip to attend the annual reunion of the UST Medical Alumni Association based in the United States.

Meanwhile, Central Student Council president Lorraine Taguiam said that they would wait for the result of the next Council of Regents meeting before taking any action.

“We have seen how people violently reacted on this issue and the number of people reacting on Facebook is substantially enough to consider [their concerns],” she said. “As of the moment, we would stick to the status quo and wait for the result of the next council meeting.”

Amid the negative feedback, Bolo reminded Thomasians to maintain a sense of respect and maturity in the comments they post in social media websites.

“Let us be charitable and level-headed about this [issue]. We understand the emotions, but the Thomasian values should not be forgotten,” he said. Rafael L. Antonio

7 COMMENTS

  1. I guess the admin’s just trolling. They always love to piss off some students. How typical of the admin led by the rectal father.

  2. Competence. Compassion. Commitment. Lumabas lang ang 3Cs ng mga Thomasians when reacting to the new university seal. Haluan mo pa ng pagiging witty, just like any Filipino, kaya naging ganun ang comments ng students and alumni.

    I just don’t get it. The regents made their own suggestions, so it appears like they solely decided on the matter, which is just to include the name of the school. Pero naging drastic ang change because of the yellow field enclosed in a black ring. Yun ang ayaw ng students/alumni.

  3. I don’t think the admin is trolling, its just that some students are over acting when it comes to their opposition regarding the “new” logo.

    Your comment only shows how narrow minded you are.

  4. The council therefore has poor taste or just lack the sense of artistry. A logo alone can easily be more identifiable with a certain product. Take for example the swoosh logo of Nike, the triple stripes of Adidas, the double capital A of American Airlines to name a few. These logos are easily identifiable even without the names attached to it. The new logo has lost its class, prestige and there is no more sense of being a royal and pontifical. The curia of Rome wanted consistency, because in the first place they are aware that UST itself is inconsistent with the use of their seal. How many times do they have to change their logo? How many times did Harvard or Cambridge changed theirs? The council of regents should revert back to the old logo and should use it consistently in its official records so that they can have the success of the logos of Harvard, Cambridge, Nike, Adidas or American Airlines.

    • You must remember that even before Nike and Adidas can now be easily associated with just a “Check” or “Three Stripes”, they used to put their brand names on their logos as well. They now have every right to drop their brand names from their logos simply because they earned their global reputations already. Is it the same case with UST? I don’t think so.

      Everyone should hope that this logo makeover would be the last though.

  5. I think it looks pretty good, although the font should be a little more classic/traditional. most colleges and universities worldwide incorporate their name and founding year on their logos so i don’t see what the big deal is.

  6. Personally I don’t think changing the logo is a good idea. Just because all of the other universities have their names on their logos means that we have to do so too. Competence is not about having to shout our names to the world. Compassion is not about how we must imbue to others who we are. Commitment is not about having to carry on the name of the university with us everywhere, instead it is about bearing every value of being a Thomasian.

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