Tag: December 15, 2010

GUINNESS may have snubbed it, but the “Living Rosary” formed by 24,000 Thomasians last December 8 was still a feat worthy of the books as far as UST is concerned.

The Thomasian community joined hands to mount what is said to be world’s largest human rosary in the UST campus, one of the flurry of Quadricentennial activities this month.

Students, faculty members, and support staff occupied major roads of the University during the ceremony, which was covered by early evening television newcasts. Those assigned to form the cross were required to wear blue shirts while those designated as rosary beads were in yellow. Those who acted as chains wore white.

THE CIVIL Engineering department has maintained last year’s board exam performance while Electronics Engineering plunged to a “surprising” 11-percent passing rate this year.

UST recorded an 83.96-percent passing rate in the recent licensure exam for civil engineers, a little higher than last year’s 82.56 percent. Because of this, the University’s Civil Engineering program emerged as the second top-performing school in the country.

The national passing rate, meanwhile, dropped to 40.57 percent from last year’s 43.70 percent.

MARITIME businessman and Commerce alumnus Carlos Salinas is the new Philippine ambassador to Spain after a speedy confirmation by the Commission on Appointments last November 17.

Salinas, who was nominated to the post by President Benigno Aquino III last November, obtained his bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University in 1955.

Salinas heads Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc., said to be one of the largest crew management companies in the Philippines. It deploys thousands of seafarers annually.

In his visit to the University last December 6, Salinas bared plans to tap Spain’s tourism industry as a model for the Philippines, expand trade, and promote the Spanish language as part of the country’s cultural heritage.

THE COLLEGE of Science has trimmed the number of school days to four in a week in a bid to address classroom shortage.

Science Assistant Dean John Donnie Ramos said the new four-day schedule was introduced in the second semester under a pilot test to accommodate the large number of students.

Ramos said there were three reasons why the college switched to a four-day schedule from the previous five-day scheme.

“First, we lack classrooms because the Faculty of Civil Law took one of our classrooms; second, we now use laboratories as lecture rooms; and third, the biology department added another section this school year,” Ramos said.

UST’s Biology program has seven sections in the first year.

SOME 20 Thomasian students lost their belongings when fire razed a two-storey apartment at the corner of Antonio and Dapitan streets in the morning of December 5, authorities said.

The Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire, which started at 4:55 a.m., reached the fifth alarm, damaging P2 million worth of assets.

Manila Fire Department officer Felixberto Abrenica said fire easily spread because the structure was made of light materials.

“Mabuti at gising na ang mga tao kasi mag-uumaga na nu’ng mangyari ang sunog,” Abrenica said.

One of the victims was Faculty of Arts and Letters Student Council President Vincent Cifra, who lost important documents of the council along with P20,000 worth of belongings.

CHRISTMAS is filled with the sounds and sights of life. We see people having parties, reunions, and fellowships; colorful lanterns drive away the dark and make the nights merry and bright; people shop for gifts for their loved ones and friends; and it’s almost obligatory for all persons and groups to give donations to the poor and visit orphanages and homes for the aged and infirm to spread the Christmas cheer.

All of these sights and sounds of life stand in stark contrast to the calls, left and right, for the passage of such measures such as the Reproductive Health bill that primarily aim at curtailing the proliferation of life.

THAT second night of December was definitely not like any other monotonous nights I spent inside my alma mater for the past four years that I’ve been here. Seeing yellow lights and lanterns adorn the Plaza Mayor, the Main Building, and the Arch of the Centuries made me feel awe and nostalgia, partly because it was my last year, but mostly because I felt that the moment was priceless.

A song may deem it the ‘season to be jolly’, to some, the ‘season of giving’, but for some people like American novelist and playwright Edna Ferber, Christmas is a ‘feeling’, rather than a time-constrained feast.

SO MANY things to do, so little time.  And although Plato said that time is but a moving symbol of a motionless eternity, I feel that, as I chase time, it continues to run out. And with all the responsibilities I have yet to do, I do not know where to begin; I just know I want things done. Thesis, editing, thesis, paying bills, thesis, extra-editorial activities, and yes, thesis. With all these in mind, I almost dared not come to our college retreat last November 17 to 19 at the Dominican-run Calaruega Retreat House in Nasugbu, Batangas.

WEARING my smudgy make-up and French curls from the 26th Gawad Ustetika awards night, I packed my luggage and went on a sudden nine-hour trip to a place known as the destination of adventurers—Sagada—without knowing what lay ahead. Banaue’s frost greeted us after the long bus ride. It would be almost impossible to survive without the aid of a thick coat, a winter cap, knitted gloves, and a scarf (at least for tourists like us who are used to the tropical climate of the metropolis). But the breathtaking scenery of the rice terraces alone would make one doubt if he was actually awake or dreaming. From then on, I equated Sagada with Seventh Heaven.

NOBYEMBRE ng taong ito nang gulatin ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ang sambayanan sa tumataginting na P741 milyong premyo sa Grand Lotto 6/55. Marami ang nagbakasakali, umaasang makamit ang premyong 86 na beses na walang nakakuha. Pero hindi ako tumaya.