24 September 2012, 4:14 p.m. – THE THOMASIAN Welcome Walk finally pushed through at the Quadricentennial Pavilion today, with the first batch of freshmen going through the traditional rite of passage this morning.
The annual walk through the Arch of the Centuries was divided into two batches as the Quadricentennial Pavilion could not accommodate all freshmen students, Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading said.
“We wanted to be sure na mangyayari na talaga s’ya kaya we decided to have it here at the Quadricentennial Pavillion. The space does not allow it; our gym only allows us about 5,000 students and if there are 11,000-plus students hindi s’ya kakasya ng isang [batch] lang,” Cabading told the Varsitarian.
The second batch will have their Welcome Walk this afternoon.
Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. told the first batch of freshmen that they are now part of the University that had produced great men, presidents, heroes, and saints.
“This Thomasian welcome walk does not make you a complete and full-fledged Thomasian,” Dagohoy said in his homily during the Mass for freshmen. “Being a Thomasian is a project and that project has just begun.”
A Thomasian is like a light that enlightens and makes the darkness disappear, he said.
“[Be] a light that shines outwards,” he said. “You will not only be formed to become men and women but people responsive to the needs of others. I hope that you will say when you have reached the pinnacle of your success [that] ‘It’s time to give back.’”
Participating students in this morning’s Welcome Walk were from the faculties of Arts and Letters and Engineering; colleges of Commerce and Business Administration, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Science; the Conservatory of Music; and Education High School.
The Welcome Walk was originally scheduled last June 28 but was moved to Aug. 7 due to inclement weather. Bad weather again forced UST officials to move the event to today.
The Freshmen Welcome Party will follow at 7 p.m. in Plaza Mayor after the second session. Bernadette D. Nicolas and Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
