Danielle Clara P. Dandan

THE THOMASIAN gavel of former Supreme Court associate justice Jose Feria would always echo both in courtroom and classroom, resounding passion and commitment. But it peacefully made its last strike in the morning of May 8 as Feria slumbered to eternal rest. He was 91.

“He is a very religious man and a very brilliant professor,” Faculty of Civil Law secretary Ricardo Magtibay said. “We certainly lost a caliber of law.”

In October 2007, Feria suffered a stroke and doctors at the Makati Medical Center found that his heart was becoming weak.

In February, despite his fragile condition, Feria opted to spend his remaining days at the Caryana Lay Monastic Community, where he had been a member since 1972, and to see his daughter, one of the lay monastics at the Pampanga monastery. He was again rushed to Makati Medical Center after two months because of recurring pneumonia.

UNIVERSITY officials have one fervent wish for the “comeback Rector”: good health so that he would be able to fulfill the demanding job of head of Asia’s oldest university.

Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P. will have his hands full as he assumes the Rectorship anew, with college deans and other administrators proposing an ambitious agenda to keep UST’s place as one of the region’s top institutions of higher learning.

“As I look at Father de la Rosa’s job, it seems to be a gigantic task since there are many expectations from different colleges, so I really wish him good health so he can be able to do his job,” newly installed Alfredo M. Velayo-College of Accountancy Dean Minerva Cruz said.

In a statement to the Varsitarian, College of Education Dean Clotilde Arcangel also wished De la Rosa “continuous good health, peace of mind, and prosperity.”

FOR BEING nowhere during that one week in November dedicated to promoting students’ rights, leaders of student organizations got a mouthful from no less than the “ARSA” or Assistant to the Rector for Student Affairs herself, Cristina Castro-Cabral.

At the twice-a-year dialogue called the “ARSA’s Hour,” Cabral used a 90-minute speech to take student leaders to task for the poor turnout during the much-hyped Student’s Rights and Welfare Week or STRAW, where only eight out of more than 170 accredited University-wide and college-based student organizations were represented.

Cabral also warned student organizations who have been conducting activities without approval, and even threatened to evict those who have not been taking care of their erstwhile spanking-new offices at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center.