Tag: July 1, 2009

THE UNIVERSITY has modified the annual Thomasian freshmen orientation as cases of A(H1N1) virus in the campus continue to rise.

The traditional Thomasian walk was also subject to approval of the Secretary General.

Public Affairs director Giovanna Fontanilla said the orientation was moved from auditorium to classrooms to avoid congregation of student crowds in an enclosed venue.

THE COLLEGE of Tourism and Hospitality Management welcomed the new academic year with a curriculum revamp that scrapped Spanish and Japanese subjects in the first year level and renamed its B.S. Tourism course to B.S. Travel Management.

The new curriculum will have a combination of Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) subjects so that the students could apply for managerial positions, Acting Dean Ma. Cecilia Tio Cuison said.

It will also offer four additional subjects namely Tourism and Hospitality English, Tourism and Hospitality Ethics, Professional Cookery, and Hotel Operations and Administration.

Tio Cuison said the additional English subject would be beneficial for students when they deal with foreign clients in the future.

“We already coordinated with Dr. Madrunio of the Department of Languages about the specialized English subject for Travel Management students,” Tio Cuison said.

ACTING Civil Law Dean Roberto Abad has been included in the shortlist of candidates to fill up two vacant seats at the Supreme Court

Abad, a practicing lawyer, was first nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to replace Associate Justice Ruben Reyes last January, but failed to make it to the shortlist. Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and Civil Law professor Diosdado Peralta replaced Reyes on February.

This time, Abad is vying for one of the two vacant seats in the 15-man high tribunal left by Associate Justices Dante Tiñga and Alicia Austria-Martinez.

Abad said five other nominees submitted by the JBC were all “very competent.” Asked who were his toughest rivals for the post, Abad pointed to Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz and Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Josefina Guevarra Salonga, describing the two as among the “most outstanding lawmen” of the land.

TWO RESIDENT Thomasian researchers were named “research fellows” by the society of researchers in the Philippines during its 20th anniversary last May 19 at the Centro Escolar University in Manila.

Emily Tan and Allan De Guzman were named “research fellows” — the highest distinction given by Philippine Society for Educational Research and Evaluation — as a tribute to their significant contributions for the advancement of educational research frontiers through numerous publications.

In fact, one of Tan’s works titled “Research Experiences of Undergraduate Students of a Compulsive University” was published in the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education last year.

Tan said the study was intended to provide information on the experiences of undergraduate students.

ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-2010 opened Monday, June 15 amid a call for unity and collaboration ahead of UST’s quadricentennial, in opening ceremonies marked by a departure from centuries of tradition due to the swine flu pandemic.

Fr. Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., O.P., head of the Filipino Dominican province and University vice chancellor, called for “unity amid diversity” among administrators, faculty members, and students in his homily for the Misa de Apertura or opening mass.

“Work together for peace, justice and unity,” Pedregosa told the crowd at the Santissimo Rosario Parish Church, adding that he looks forward to "joyous" festivities for UST's 400th year in 2011.

He encouraged the Thomasian community to work for the common good and “allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us to reign.”

The opening of classes in UST was moved to June 15 as a precautionary measure following the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus in the Philippines.

HINDI lubos akalain ni Anne Celine Marquez, ikalawang taon sa kursong B.S. Chemistry, na mapapasakamay pa niyang muli ang nawalang mp3 player na nagkakahalaga ng P25,000 nang ipatawag siya ng UST Security Office upang kumpirmahin kung pag-aari niya ang nakuha sa isang pinaghihinalaang magnanakaw.

Sinampahan ng kasong pandurukot si David Notarte, 34, residente ng Sta. Cruz, Maynila sa Manila Police District (MPD). Kapag napatunayang nagkasala, ikalawang beses nang makukulong si Notarte sa parehong kaso.

Sa sinumpaang salaysay ni Marquez sa sa istasyon ng pulis noong Hunyo 17, araw kung kailan nawala ang kanyang mp3 player, nasa baggage counter siya noon ng isang bookstore sa Dapitan nang mapansin niyang bukas ang kanyang bag, ngunit pinagsawalang-bahala lamang niya ito.

“Pero nung manghiram sa akin `yung kaklase ko, at hindi ko na makita (ang mp3 player), doon ko na nalaman na nawawala na pala,” ani Marquez.

A JOURNALISM senior is the Varsitarian’s new editor in chief, leading a diverse staff on the 82nd year of the country’s premier and most respected Catholic campus paper.

This marks the first time in 10 years that a journalism student was named the paper’s chief editor, after Journalism junior Christian Esguerra in 1999.

Emil Karlo de la Cruz is joined in the editorial board by Managing Editor Prinz Magtulis, also a Journalism senior. De la Cruz and Magtulis are formerly Circle Section editor and news reporter, respectively.

Journalism seniors Mark Andrew Francisco and Sarah Jane Pauyo were named editors of the Filipino and Features sections, respectively. Danielle Clara Dandan is acting News editor, while junior Jeremy Perey was named acting Sports editor.

Jonathan Eli Libut of Asian Studies and Alphonsus Luigi Alfonso of Legal Management were named Circle and Special Reports editors, respectively.