THE Faculty of Civil Law has placed members of the Aegis Juris Fraternity on “preventive suspension” following the death of a freshman in hazing rites.
Members of Aegis Juris will not be allowed to enter the campus or attend classes starting today, Sept. 18 until the suspension is lifted, Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said in a memorandum.
Civil Law said it ordered the suspension to ensure an “unobstructed investigation” into the death of 22-year-old Horacio Castillo III.
READ: Dumped on a sidewalk in Tondo: UST law freshman dead after hazing rites
Aegis Juris is a law school-based fraternity founded in 1979.
The Office for Student Affairs has clarified that the fraternity is still in the process of seeking its annual accreditation.
According to Civil Law’s official website, Aegis Juris adheres to “five deeply rooted principles of academic excellence, equality, godliness, integrity and service.”
In a statement released on Monday, the University administration said it condemns hazing “in no uncertain terms,” and offered its condolences to the family of Horacio Tomas Castillo III, whose body was found on a sidewalk in Tondo, Manila on Sunday.
READ: ‘We will leave no stone unturned’: UST vows justice for law freshman killed in hazing rites
“No words can describe our sadness for this unfortunate incident. We express our profound sympathy and offer our prayers to his family for their pain and anguish–a pain that we share seeing that the life of our very own student, with all of its aspirations and potentials, [was] taken away because of a senseless act,” the statement said.
“Investigation is on-going to ferret out the truth, determine liability and institute the necessary legal actions. We take this opportunity to reiterate the Christian values and ideals that hold us together and reject anything contrary to them,” the statement added.
A prayer vigil to be led by the Civil Law Student Council will be held at 6 p.m. at the Quadricentennial Park to call for justice for the slain law freshman. With reports from Christian de Lano M. Deiparine
Suspension? Is that all? The responsible parties should be expelled and put in jail!
Shame, shame, shame. Blood in your hands.