Tag: No. 10

ENVIRONMENTAL, architecture, and heritage conservation experts are defending UST after President Benigno Aquino III implied in his final State of the Nation Address (Sona) that the University was to blame for flooding in Manila.

The proposed flood “catchment area,” which the President claimed was opposed by a “big university,” would place UST’s heritage buildings in danger, and there was also no guarantee that it would work, experts told the Varsitarian.

SPECIAL term classes at the Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) and the College of Commerce and Business Administration were moved to two other buildings after the fire that broke out at St. Raymund de Peñafort Building last July 5.

Commerce held classes at the Main Building and Artlets at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building, amid reconstruction and clean-up operations at St. Raymund’s are being conducted.

The Commerce Dean’s Office was moved temporarily to the second floor of the Tan Yan Kee Students’ Center, while the Artlets Dean’s Office was transferred to the General Education Office at the Main Building.

UST BOOSTED its international profile in academic year 2014-2015, strengthening its ties with universities abroad that resulted in symposia and research partnerships, among others, a report from the Office of International Relations and Programs showed.

Twenty new bilateral agreements with international universities were forged while 93 memorandums of understanding (MOU) were inked, 13 of which were for review and renewal, and six in progress.

University students and faculty members interacted with international faculty from 20 different countries from Asia, Australia and Oceania, United States, and Europe who visited the University throughout the year.

THE FACULTY of Civil Law plans to tighten its debarment rules to maintain its status as a premier law school and improve its performance in the bar exams.

Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said stricter standards would be implemented, for instance, any law student regardless of year level would be debarred if he or she did not meet the standards.

Under the proposal, third-year students will not be allowed to proceed to the fourth year unless they pass the mock bar exams, but exemptions will be given to those who will have an average grade of above 86.

PERHAPS because I am only 20, I have always convinced myself that I have no regrets. But during the annual tribute night to outgoing staffers and editors in the recent Varsitarian summer staff development, the outgoing Filipino editor remarked that we would not be able to appreciate how much we might have missed out or neglected things if our membership in the publication were forever. The limits of temporality should bring to the fore the significance of things; they make us value what we have done and regret our sins of commission and omission.

After being part of the Varsitarian for three summers and two academic years, I regret the things I failed to do in the last six months of my stay.

I BELIEVE that there will always be great endings as long as people are aware that their future is in their own hands.

Just like any other kid, I was asked a hundred times what I want to become in the future, and I always had an answer.

Back then, I told myself that I wanted to become a doctor. By the time that I graduated in grade school, I wanted to be a writer. When I graduated in high school, I decided to take up Journalism. But when I finally finished my degree, I had a bigger dream of becoming a lawyer.

My answers may have changed many times as I grew up, but my desire to become someone great in the future was always there.

Born in a simple family, I learned that if I want something, I have to work hard for it.

EVER since I was a little boy, all I wanted was to be older. Growing up, I was often teased for being the youngest in the classroom and this fueled my desire to mature as fast as I could.

I used to think that reaching adulthood would be “the best thing in the whole world.” To my childish eyes, grown-ups fought the monsters under the bed, stayed up late watching TV specials, bought their own stuff and most important, knew the answers to all of life’s questions—a certainty that all adults seem to possess.

AS GRADUATES, we are about to start another journey in our lives.

We all dream of being successful one day, making plans for our future, and doing something for ourselves. We have heard countless advices and speeches and have read a lot of inspirational books about life to hopefully reinforce our confidence. But are we really prepared for what will happen? Will it not be futile to prepare for what is ahead?

If I did not push through to UST, I would have studied at De La Salle University, taking up civil engineering, or at San Beda College, taking up accountancy, because I failed in the UST entrance exam and was not even on the waiting list. In short, I applied for reconsideration.

BIODIVERSITY, improved healthcare, and the exploration of the relationship between the environment and diseases were the focus of some of the best undergraduate scientific theses for the academic year 2014 to 2015.

Although the Philippines can be considered a hotspot for new species, Biology students Raphael Hizon, Joseph Lopez, Nicole Nucom and Jolo Panaligan noticed that new species often face extinction before getting popular attention.

Panaligan said this was what brought them to conduct their study in the hope of identifying new species collected from Mt. Natib in Bataan and evaluate their components and possible medicinal potential.

HAILED as the Most Outstanding Pharmacist in Pharmacy Education, Aristea Bayquen, Ph.D. has nurtured hundreds, if not thousands, of Thomasian professionals.

At 64, the professor from the Faculty of Pharmacy was recognized by the Philippine Pharmacist Association (PPhA) during its national convention in Talisay, Cebu last April.

Despite being in the teaching profession since she was 22, Bayquen admitted that much like the students she molded, deadlines give her the drive to pursue excellence. These mostly involved joining competitions a day before the deadline of the entry or researches being crammed just to make it in time.