News

THE UST Graduate School has obtained one of the top recommendations among graduate business schools in the Philippines, an international survey showed. The school got a recommendation rate of 20 per 1,000 business schools, deans who voted online between October 2007 and March 2008 in the EdUniversal survey, which covered top business schools from 151 countries.

The survey, conducted by SMBG, a French consultancy firm, aims to help students in finding the best business school in terms of geographical location and international tie-ups.

A PROFESSOR from the College of Commerce and Business Administration and his companions fell victims to four armed men aboard two motorcycles along Araneta corner Quezon avenues last June 12.

HIS INSTALLATION ceremony was meant to be strictly formal, but UST Rector Fr. Rolando De la Rosa, O.P. injected light-heartedness in the otherwise solemn and stuffy air of the jam-packed Santisimo Rosario Chapel with a couple of witty and funny remarks when he delivered his acceptance speech as the University’s 95th rector.

De la Rosa, no longer new to the rectorship game, served in the position for two terms, from 1990 to 1998.

NATURAL calamities, absurd executive orders, coup threats, holiday economics and school occasions aside, a classmate once asked me: what is the most “convenient” and “effective” student-initiated recourse to prevent a regular class from unfolding at the professor’s expense?

SENATOR Miriam Defensor Santiago has protested a report by abscbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that described her nomination in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as an uphill climb. She accused the network of political blackmail since she is chair of the National Power Commission that is investigating Meralco for the high costs of power distribution. The electricity firm is managed by the Lopez family that also owns the network.

In the report, certain sectors raised questions about Santiago’s chances of making it to the ICJ. Questions were also raised about her qualifications and her close connection with President Macapagal-Arroyo, who has reportedly vowed to put Philippine support behind the nomination.

Network news bosses have denied they were “blackmailing” Santiago. We’rejust doing their job, they said.

UMAANDAR na naman ang ugali nating “ningas-cogon”

Dumaan lamang ang mga buwan ay may mga panibago nang usapin na bumabagabag sa ating bayan. Ito ay sa kabila ng hindi pa pagkaresolba ng mga nauna nang isyu.

Isang halimbawa na lang ng mga isyung ito ay ang ZTE scandal. Kung ating magugunita, naging laman ito ng mga balita noong unang tatlong buwan ng taong ito. Muling dumalas ang mga rally na tumutuligsa sa katiwalian, na naging madalang na mula nang pumutok ang tangkang kudeta noong 2006. Nagpatawag pa ang Senado ng mga hearing upang imbestigahan ang mga detalye ng naunsyaming kontrata sa pagitan ng gibyerno at ng isang kompanyang Tsino.

POLLUTION, allergies, cancers, and board exam leaks are but some of the issues faced, analyzed, and discussed by budding Thomasian researchers in their own group or individual undergraduate theses. Here’s Varsitarian’s rundown of the more notable theses from the natural and health sciences of Batch 2008.

Chemical Engineering: Bitaog as Bio-diesel

Aiming for the alleviation of both economic and environmental global problems such as oil price increase and climate change, Juan Paulo Antonio, Alden Ferdinand Fabros and April Shower Mendiola, coached by their thesis adviser Maria Natalia Dimaano, examined Bitaog, a non-edible but locally available agricultural crop, as a viable substitute for diesel fuel through their thesis titled, “Extraction, Transesterification and Characterization of Calophyllum inophyllum (Bitaog) Seed Oil as Potential Source of Biofuel.”

IMAGINE an encounter with a real shark, a rendezvous with a live stingray, or a date with seahorses and starfishes, right at the heart of the metropolis.

With the opening of the country’s own Ocean Park oceanarium last March, Filipinos can finally get a chance to admire the country’s underwater fauna. Situated behind the Quirino Grandstand by the Manila Bay, the facility boasts of 250 species of different water creatures on display, 95 per cent of which comes from Philippine waters.

The oceanarium is only part of a fusion concept facility that characterizes Manila Ocean Park. One of the first in the world, the facility will include a marine-themed hotel and mall which are both set to be finished within the second quarter of 2009.

The animals are showcased in seven exhibits, named in Filipino to show national pride.

STARTING a new school year means facing new and old daunting school scenarios, which are too often stressful and discouraging. But now, with the help of the latest and most innovative gadgets for your scholastic and recreational needs you may breeze through all the strenuous examinations, school projects, and homework.

With the increasing demand for computer use in academics, bringing bulky laptops to the classroom may exact a heavy burden. But with the arrival of Apple’s MacBook Air, which weighs approximately three pounds including a 13.3-inch widescreen display and a 1280 by 800 screen resolution, carrying a digital notebook will be a piece of cake.

AS POPE Benedict XVI will get nearer to Asia for the 23rd World Youth Day in Australia, hopes are high that he will also visit the “East” soon.

The Catholic Churches of India and the Philippines were the first to express their desire for a papal visit.

According to UST Central Seminary Rector Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, O.P., bishops from both countries requested the Pope to make a short stopover to bless their lands before he goes to Australia. But the Holy See apparently turned down the requests.

But Timoner stressed that the diversity of religion and previous disputes among cultures do not affect the Pope’s pastoral visits–a common misconception after the misunderstood statement of Pope Benedict XVI that was quoted from the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paliaologos, and was only meant to clarify the relationship between faith and reason. But still, the Pope apologized.