Tag: March 2, 2002

WITH a 15 percent tuition increase in the offing, Thomasian student leaders are pressing the Administration to justify the increase and to be more transparent.

VJ Topacio, Alliance of Concerned Thomasians (Act-Now) chairperson, said the Administration has failed to inform the students where the last tuition increases went.

Last year, tuition was increased by 10 percent while school fees, such as the library fee, energy fee, and matriculation, went up by as much as 60 percent.

FOR THE first time in the history of the Student Awards, two graduating students received the highest and most prestigious award the University could give its students.

Sem. Noel Vincent Abalajon, Jr., a candidate for magna cum laude of the Faculty of Philosophy, and law student Arlene Maneja, a candidate for cum laude, were vested the Aquinas Award last Feb. 20 at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium.

AFTER a year and half drought, the UST College of Architecture (CA) reclaimed its place among the top Architecture schools in the country as four Thomasians made it ot the top 10 in the Architecture licensure exams last January.

Christine Glory Pascual registered an average of 83 percent to place second and lead the batch of 58 new Thomasian architects. Richard Lee came in at fifth with a grade of 81.60 percent. He was followed by Mark Gregory Pascasio and Patrick Ligeralde with scores of 81.50 percent and 81.80 percent at sixth and seventh.

THREE Thomasians received the 2002 Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Science Award for outstanding research in science and technology in ceremonies last Feb. 8 at the College of Fine Arts and Design Conference Hall.

Faculty of Engineering students Francis Castro and Brian Go, and College of Science student John Paul Lorredo were the top three Thomasian nominees for the award based on their outstanding scholastic achievements, leadership potentials, and researches.

FORMER Secretary of Finance Jesus Estanislao challenged Thomasians to practice the ideals of St. Thomas More to eradicate poverty in the country and to promote good governance.

Estanislao highlighted the importance of faith, fairness, transparency, and accountability in governance during the 34th St. Thomas More Lecture at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex last Feb. 7.

According to him, the number of Filipinos living below poverty line continues to increase at a disturbing rate.

FORMER Pangasinan Gov. Oscar Orbos urged Thomasian students to learn selflessness in community building during the Pope Leo XIII lecture series at the Medicine Auditorium last Feb. 1.

The lecture, titled “Beyond Rerum Novarum,” focused on the importance of brotherhood in society.

In his lecture, Orbos said that being children of God, people should not put each other down and instead look out for each other’s welfare.

FORTY seven undergraduate research works were presented during the Science and Technology Undergraduate Symposium at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex last Feb. 14.

According to Dr. Maribel Nonato, director of the Research Center for Natural Sciences (RCNS), the number of research works presented this year was three times more compared to last year’s.

“The research culture is very much present among faculty members in the University and it is quite evident that they (faculty members) have transmitted this culture to our students,” Nonato said.

THE UNIVERSITY conferred on former Civil Law Dean and retired Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Jose Feria a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, last Feb. 22 at the Medicine Auditorium.

Feria received the honorary degree because of his numerous contributions to law—as a member of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution and as SC associate justice.

No, we are not the chosen few, but we are the few who tried and have been chosen.

***

I always saw myself lucky in many ways to be studying in such a prestigious university such as UST, especially in the College of Architecture, for having a very supportive family, good health, various extra-curricular activities, and of course, being a staff member of this well renowned and highly respected school organ. I guess I have achieved more than have I bargained for.

But, success doesn’t come in overnight.

The uncertainty of the future makes me think of a dark tomorrow and the reality of the present makes me pessimistic of the future.

***

“Let us not dream of inhabiting Mars if we can only make few steps on the moon.”

A dear professor said these words as he related to his literature class his answer to a survey on whether to use multimedia method in teaching or not.

He explained that if an overhead projector is still a luxury for a college, how can he be encouraged to adopt multimedia method of teaching?