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“Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful one; The Lord will hear me when I call upon Him.” – Psalm 4:4

ALMOST everyday, I have to ride an FX taxi at 6:30 in the morning to arrive just in time for my 8:30 class. I would bargain with God to help me get a cab and I do it everytime I’m desperate.

Since I was a child, I have always considered Him as my superhero who saves the day. I believe that His little miracles will sustain me, and in exchange for the deals, — I would promise to be good.

SOON to rise is a Thomasian Village built by hard work and good heart in Bulacan.

A busload of students and faculty members from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, instead of resting on their weekend, didn’t mind getting their shirts soiled with paint and sweat in a housing mission at a steep relocation site in Bulacan.

The Faculty’s campaign in Tower Village, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan last Feb.12 provided shelter for the families that the Couples for Christ (CFC) Gawad Kalinga housing project relocated from squatter’s areas in Manila.

Board exams establish a kind of fear and frenzy among new graduates. As a crucial point in deciding one’s future, thousands of examinees push themselves to the limit in preparation for that fateful day. Others try even harder in order to climb atop the heap. It was the same story for two Thomasians who, after many sleepless review sessions and caffeine-laced study groups, bested the rest of hopefuls, ranking number one in their respective licensure exams. Physical therapist Katherine Uy and Architect John Patrick Buensalido share with the Varsitarian their recipe for success.

Desperate for a cure, the couple carry their paraplegic five-year-old son to the Lourdes grotto. Suffering from meningo-encephalitis for two years already, the boy, Guy Leydet, has paralyzed arms and legs, a damaged brain, and frequent convulsions. The child can’t even recognize his parents who have tried all forms of treatment, to no avail. Until the nurses help dip Guy’s fragile body into the springs, and the mute boy opens his eyes and cries, “Mama!”.

KABILANG si Tomasinong Isabelo de los Reyes, historyador ng rebolusyon at tagapagtanggol ng mga manggagawang Pilipino, sa linya ng mga kilalang manunulat na sina Jose Rizal at Marcelo del Pilar na umukit ng pangalan sa kasaysayan ng bansa at nagbigay-daan sa kalayaan gamit ang pamamahayag.

Nakilala sa kanyang mga panunuligsa, binansagang “Ama ng Philippine Folklore” si Delos Reyes o “Don Belong” na nagtapos ng kursong abugasya at paleography sa UST.

FACULTY of Medicine and Surgery (Medicine) professor Dr. Gil Gamilla assured the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) members of the “continuing advancement” of the faculty benefits and programs after his reelection as union president for another five years.

“If possible, we’ll improve all their salary and medical benefits,” said Gamilla, who is already on his third term as president.

Gamilla added that the USTFU is considering, with the help of a developer, a housing project for its members, which he hopes to achieve during his term.

AFTER topping the 2004 medical board exams, Dr. Elmer Reyes Jacinto decided to become a nurse, joining the thousands of Filipino doctors migrating to other countries as nurses. “(The reason) is economic,” he said in the 2004 Oct. 4 issue of Newsweek. But who would be left to take care of the Filipino people when they fall ill?

Stress can break hearts.

Other than obesity and unhealthy lifestyle, researchers say that stressful conditions increase incidences of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the number one killer disease in the country today.

A Finnish study published last year in the British Medical Journal claims that stress significantly damages the heart. Researcher Mika Kivimaki of the Finnish Institute of Occupa-tional Health says that “those in work units who receive the most downsizing suffered twice the death rate from heart attack.”

DUE TO difficulty in finding employment after graduation, the UST Graduate School Alumni Association (GSAA) is set this March to help graduate students find jobs by granting them memberships even before they graduate.

According to GSAA’s newly elected president Dr. Mercedes Leuterio, the association, which currently assists students through scholarship programs and subsidies for theses and dissertations, also aims to strengthen links with other organizations, and provide services to members, especially possible job placements and opportunities.

HUMAN Rights Commissioner Dominador Calamba III deplored the bloody dispersal of striking workers of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita last Nov. 16.

“Hindi maganda ang handling ng case (Hacienda Luisita massacre), so much so that the rights of the laborers were violated,” Calamba said in the forum,”Hacienda Luisita Massacre: What is the Way to Peace?” last Feb. 4 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex seminar room.

Calamba encouraged the hacienda workers to be aware of their labor rights and to stand up for them.