March 19, 7:57 p.m. – UST may be 401 years old, but it remains timeless and relevant as shown by the year-long Quadricentennial festivities.
Drawing parallels between the celebrations of 1911 and 2011, the Rector showed how history repeated itself in the Quadricentennial festivities as he delivered his “end-term” report early today.
Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., who is ending his third term as Rector of Asia’s oldest university, noted that the centerpiece project of the Quadricentennial celebration, “Simbahayan,” was similar to the project initiated by Thomasians for the UST tricentennial in 1911.
“They saw in the Tercentenary celebration an opportunity to help the poor. So they staged a comic play titled ‘El Hijo de la Nieve’ at the Manila Opera House on Dec. 3, 1911 for the purpose of raising funds to be spent during the feast for the poor,” the Rector said during a faculty convocation at the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Simbahayan accomplished 862 community development projects, the Rector said. The project took shape in 2009 when the Rector urged Thomasians to build and help communities across the country.
The cultural and social significance of the Quadricentennial—which was covered by broadsheets, magazines, and other media in the Philippines and other countries—was also a repeat of the recognition received by UST as it celebrated its 300th year in 1911, he said.
“During the third centenary, one journalist wrote in the Manila Times declaring the University of Santo Tomas inexhaustible, a center of splendid culture, the first [in the] orient,” the Rector said.
In 1911, a grand parade of Thomasians and students from other schools in Manila was one of the highlights of the festivities. It was repeated in the Quadricentennial Parade of January 2011, he said.
In 1911, only one memorabilia, a commemorative plate, was released. In 2011, the commemorative items included Swatch watches, stamps that portrayed cultural treasures of the University, and 200-peso bills with the ‘Q’ logo and commemorative coins.
The high regard for the University as a praying community was highlighted in both the tricentennial and the Quadricentennial celebrations, the Rector said. He cited the homily of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas in January’s “Neo-Centennial” Mass and compliments given in 1911 by Bishop Dennis Joseph Dougherty of the Diocese of Jaro.
“Whether in 1911 or 2011, Thomasians have always been considered as unique, classic and timeless and forever timely, so we present-day Thomasians, must also affirm this quality within us,” he said.
The Rector also talked about how UST fared in various licensure examinations during his third term.
There were 28 topnotchers each in Architecture and Medical Technology; 26 in Pharmacy; 25 each in Medicine and Interior Design; 23 in Occupational Therapy; 20 in Physical Therapy; 15 in Nutrition and Dietetics; 13 in Secondary Education; 12 in Civil Engineering; 12 in Industrial Engineering; five in Chemical Engineering; four each in Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Library Science; and two in Electronics Engineering from 2008 to 2012.
De la Rosa is set to step down to pave the way for the election of a new Rector, although he is still eligible for another term. De la Rosa, a former religion editor of the Varsitarian, took over the post in 2007 following an intra-order dispute over the redevelopment UST Hospital.
He had served two terms from 1990 to 1998. De la Rosa was chairman of the Commission on Higher Education from 2004 to 2005.
