THE UNIVERSITY joined Earth Hour 2026 on March 28 with a campus-wide lights-off activity organized by EARTH-UST in collaboration with the “ALERTOMAS” cluster of the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office.
The annual observance, launched by the World Wildlife Fund in 2007 in Australia, calls on individuals and institutions to switch off non-essential lights for one hour to promote environmental awareness.
At UST, Thomasians gathered at Plaza Mayor at 8 p.m. for the symbolic observance, with campus lights turned off at exactly 8:25 p.m.
A pre-event lecture on fire extinguisher use was held at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center lobby.
The ALERTOMAS cluster composed of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Graduate School, College of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, College of Science, and the UST National Service Training Program spearheaded the event.
Several student organizations participated: Earth UST, the Artlets Economic Society, UST Chorus of Arts and Letters, BA Dauncén, UST Literary Society, and the AB Red Cross Youth Council.
“We are reminded that caring for the environment is not only a civic duty but also a moral and spiritual commitment—an expression of our love for God, for one another, and for future generations,” the Office of the Secretary General said in a circular.
This year’s theme, “Switch on Habits for Earth,” highlights the role of daily practices in sustaining energy conservation efforts.
“It starts within us, and I’m sure that Thomasians could start by doing other things other than offsetting energy consumption, such as segregating waste properly within the campus,” said Karlo Robiños Jr., secretary of Earth UST.
Robiños said about 200 participants joined the observance, including 100 from ALERTOMAS and partner communities and 50 from Earth UST. With reports from Amador Denzel M. Teston
