Tag: June 23, 2006

BECAUSE they wear clinical-white uniforms, students of science-oriented colleges and faculties like Pharmacy, Science and even Commerce are hard to distinguish. Here is a guide to clear the confusion.

Pharmacy women wear a blouse with sport’s collar, plus a simple A-line skirt. Science women also wear a white blouse but with a pleated skirt.

Meanwhile, the skirts of Commerce women bear only one pleat.

WITH new schools come new uniforms. Such is the case with the newly-instituted Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy and Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (ITHM).

Accountancy girls wear a white linen blouse with red linings accessorized with brown cloth belt. They have the option of wearing either skirt or pants.

The boys wear an off-white polo barong shirt with red linings at the corners and black straight pants.

ASIDE from their academic excellence, UST students stand out because of their uniforms. While other universities don’t require their students to wear uniforms, the University has always followed the homogenizing ideal of the habit-donning Dominicans.

Tagged as the most visible element of a school, uniforms serve as a “reflection” of the standards of a certain institution. Thomasian uniforms not only manifest the students’ discipline, they also embody the principles and rich traditions of the institution.

THE SPATE of killings of journalists in the country—40 casualties and counting during the present administration—indicates that press freedom in the once freest press hub of Asia has turned dangerous, too dangerous in fact that the Philippines is now tagged as the second most dangerous place for journalists after Iraq.

The killer quake that hit Yogkarata in Java, Indonesia last month has revived serious fears of a similar worst-case scenario in the Philippines. Like Indonesia, the country lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of volcanoes and fault lines, making the Philippines prone to earthquakes.

I WONDER how people with color-vision deficiency go through the rest of their lives not knowing the true shades and colors of things. As a child, I remember being fascinated by the colors and shapes constantly revolving around a mobile hung on my crib. I remember my crib clearly. The headboard was made of wood, it was white, and the bars were painted blue. I was wrapped with a red blanket with yellow flowers printed all over. I had a large brown teddy bear with a sparkling red ribbon around its neck, and I have loved colorful and artful things since a child.

THESE past years, I have read a lot about the government’s alleged “sins” to the Filipinos, such as corruption and mismanagement, yet I have never let those issues affect me in any way. It was only when I started my medical technology internship last April at a government hospital, the Philippine Orthopedic Center that I saw a manifestation of these “sins”.

ENTERING college is almost a luxury now, especially in private schools with high tuition. To many parents and students, enrollment means months or even years of toil and expenses.

This makes it imperative for students to get straight to what they need from their four or five years stay in the University. Often, parents and students ask the rationale for certain general education, minor and major subjects being required for students to take, which may seem remote or unnecessary to the given specializations.

MORNING rush hour. I was in an FX headed to Ortigas when an old man in his sixties joined the ride.

Along the way, the sexagenarian began to feel uncomfortable as he perspired profusely due to the FX’s poor air-conditioning unit, which spewed lukewarm air. Just like me, he must have had no choice but to stay inside and keep his cool. He must have been on a rush like the rest of us FX passengers perspiring and seeking anything on hand to use for a fan.

TWO THOMASIAN artists offer a guided tour of their personal sanctuary—their art.

Displayed at the second floor of Big Sky Mind in E. Rodriguez Street, Jelo Submarine features the works of Thomasian artists Buen Calubayan and Jaime Pacena II, instructors at the UST College of Fine Arts and Design and members of the Young Thomasian Artist Circle.

For their first “two-man” show, they opened a vein of memories and let their feelings, thoughts, and experiences flow into the canvases and other works that stood as visual representations of the intangible.