Tag: April 15, 2009

UST placed No. 144th in a new ranking of Asia’s top 200 universities, with three other Philippine schools making it to the list.

The University of the Philippines, backed by billions in state subsidies, ranked No. 63, way ahead of other Philippine universities in the 2009 QS.com Asian University Rankings.

The new Asian rankings employed a different methodology from the yearly THE-QS World University Rankings, whose 2008 edition saw Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University overtaking UP at No. 254. UP ranked 276th in the 2008 global listing. De La Salle University and UST were on the list of universities ranked No. 401 to 500.

In the 2009 Asian University Rankings, however, De La Salle ranked higher than Ateneo at No. 76. Ateneo stood at 84th.

Hong Kong, Japanese, and South Korean universities dominated the list, with the University of Hong Kong emerging as Asia’s top university.

THE ENDS have met.

The lines have crossed

and the curves are now bent

into perfect contours.

Rough drafts then, faced

the sternness of an eraser.

Uneven strokes were leveled,

monotonous lines broken.

Once void of ‘images,’

the paper bore solid lines

of base and structure

lasting four years

or more.

Pencils down.

Smears of lead etched

on the parchment-scape

of some master plan.

As echoes of trying years

sing for me this future

up-and-coming;

waltzing in this fraction

of a moment I grace—

The ballroom of victory.

Notes split and strike high, beam

at tasseled hats parading the sky.

Laughter-pose: trapped inaudible

in photographs untouched

by time. I take center stage

resounding the query:

“Why the hoopla:

for goodbye, or hello?”

Edilyn Ruth U. Yu

WHAT awaits the Thomasian graduate at this time of global economic crisis?

The prospects of employment may be bleak but graduates like Rhovee Vistan of Engineering are banking on their skills, optimism, and a bit of good luck to land jobs here or abroad.

Vistan, 21, will take the board exams in April. While other members of his batch will wait until November, the Chemical Engineering major knows that time is of the essence, especially if he wants to get ahead of other graduates.

Habang nagpapalit ng damit pantulog, nakita ko ang college diploma ko na nakatago sa kabinet kasama ng mga damit. Hindi ko muna ito isinabit sa pader dahil kapag nakita ito ni Tatay, baka magalit na naman siya sa akin. Pinapaalala kasi nito ang pagsuway ko sa kagustuhan niya. Kinuha ko ito at saka pinagmasdan.

Natapos ko naman ang kursong gusto ko pero bakit nag-aalangan akong pumunta sa interbyu bukas?

***

SA PANAHON kung kailan ang umiiral na krisis pampinansyal ay nagdudulot ng kawalan ng trabaho sa buong mundo, sinasabi na nakalalamang ang mga taong maraming alam gawin bukod sa kanilang natapos na espesyalidad.

Sa isang kabanata ng programang Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho noong Peb. 7, ipinalabas dito ang mga taong nagtratrabaho sa mga call center kahit na wala itong kaugnay sa kanilang natapos na kurso. Ang kanila lamang pagkakaparehas ay ang kakayahang magsalita ng ikatlong lenggwahe bukod sa Filipino at Ingles. Isa na rito ang wikang Espanyol.

WHILE hearing an anticipated Mass two months ago, I heard FJ, my section editor, declaring that he was close to sighting 50 backpacks with the exact design after seeing another one among the throng of churchgoers. Earning a curious look from me, he explained that it was a personal challenge to find 50 bags and then make a wish after that.

For its third year, Cinevita, the Varsitarian’s festival of films that celebrate “meaningful expressions of life,” paid tribute to the cinema of Brillante Mendoza with a festival of his key oeuvre, including Serbis, the first Filipino film to break into the the Cannes Film Festival in more than a quarter of a century, last February 26 and 27 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium.

THE COLLEGE of Tourism and Hospitality Management (CTHM) and the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) melded aesthetics and hospitality in the exhibit “Fyu-Jon: A Fusion Festival of Food, Arts and Businesses.”

Held last March 3 to 5 at the Plaza Mayor of UST, the event was a collaboration of third- and fourth-year students of CTHM, as well as Interior Design students from CFAD.

“KABUGAN,” the title of Teatro Tomasino’s twinbill production this school year, means ruckus. But two plays, “Kulay Rosas ang Dapit-hapon Minsan sa Isang Taon” and “Anino,” had little connection with the title.