June 23, 9:33 p.m. – THE ANNUAL Thomasian Welcome Walk was postponed about an hour before the program after typhoon “Falcon” brought heavy rains to Manila today.
The Office for Students Affairs, Students’ Welfare Development Board, Central Student Council (CSC), and local council officers earlier called for an emergency meeting to decide on whether the activity should be postponed. At around 3:30 p.m., Secretary General Fr. Florentino Bolo, O.P., announced the postponement as well as the cancellation of classes 4 p.m. onwards.
CSC vice president Peter Carlo David said the annual “welcoming rites” for freshmen were postponed to prioritize the “students’ welfare.”
“What was on the [earlier] announcement was ‘rain or shine,’ the [welcome] walk will push through. But this is a different case because the government is already cancelling classes,” David said.
David also said the “muddy and flooded” grandstand, the venue of the program, was also a reason for the postponement.
But the “Freshmen Walk” won’t likely be held next week.
“[The Rector] will be out of the country next week. We will also check on weather conditions,” David said.
Rjay Yu, press relations officer of the council, said the postponement of the activity was also in line with Bolo’s suspension of classes from 4 p.m. onwards.
For the yearly activity, freshmen were supposed to pass through the Arch of the Centuries, then proceed to the grandstand for the Mass and concert. Reden D. Madrid
