Tag: May 14, 2012

NEARLY one of four Architecture sophomores will not be admitted in June following a stricter grade cut-off as well as a “no failure” policy.

A total of 130 students out of 525 were debarred from the College of Architecture after failing to meet a general weighted average (GWA) of 2.32. As a result, 12 sections will be cut to eight.

“There are students who already failed their general education and major subjects during the first semester, and there are those who just did not meet the cut-off,” College secretary Warren Maneja said in an interview. “Some of the students even dropped their courses despite good grades.”

STUDENTS at the Conservatory of Music have ratified a constitution allowing “overstaying” students to run for the student council.

This is the first charter to be ratified in the Conservatory’s 65-year history, Music Student Council President Sherry Ann Cantor said.

“The main purpose [of the constitution] is to modify the rules on candidacy because we [had qualification] provisions that required a specific number of enrolled units,” Cantor said in an interview.

The new constitution allows students to run for office even if enrolled for less than 15 units. Students with a maximum of five units of failed subjects will also be allowed to run.

THE THOMASIAN Bishop-Prelate of Batanes celebrated his silver episcopal ordination anniversary with a Thanksgiving Mass at the Santisimo Rosario Parish last April 16.

In a message last February, Pope Benedict XVI described Bishop Camilo Gregorio as “relentless” in his “pastoral zeal for the spiritual growth of the faithful and skilled in explaining the teaching of the Church Magisterium.”

Gregorio has served as a priest for 48 years since 1963. The bishop marked his episcopal anniversary last March 29.

THE LEGAL fight is not over.

Three dismissed instructors at the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) have filed a motion for reconsideration before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) following a March 26 ruling in favor of the UST administration.

“The CFAD professors said they will push through [up to] the Supreme Court, because it’s the right thing [to do]. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the Labor Law were violated by UST [officials],” Reynaldo Reyes, UST Faculty Union vice president for grievance and complaints, said.

WORKS of a Thomasian alumna were featured in an art exhibit in the United Kingdom that ran mid-April until the 30th.

Among the collections featured in PAC:K: Philippine Art Collective were that of Advertising Arts graduate Yveese Belen, which featured human figures with faceless oblong heads and thin, straight arms and legs, wearing loose and colorful clothes.

The works of another Filipino artist, Malcolm Mendones, were also showcased in the exhibit organized by London-based Filipino artists.

As a student, Belen received the Benavides Award for excellence in visual arts in 2001. She won the grand prize in the Art Petron national student art competition the same year.

UST Hospital obtained anew the coveted International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification last April 18 for establishing a “quality management system.”

The ISO 9001:2000 accreditation, which will be effective for three years, pertains to an organization’s ability to meet customer needs.

It was granted by TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific, an outfit that handles product testing, inspection, and certification services, according to the hospital’s office for planning and quality management.

An ISO certification ensures customers of improved product quality and brand image, and provides an organization a competitive edge by offering access to worldwide markets.

GOOD things come to those who take care of their human capital.

Data from an HSBC-commissioned report titled “The World in 2050” revealed that “emerging economies will collectively be bigger than developed economies” and that 19 of the 30 largest economies in 2050 will come from developing countries, even overtaking current economic superpowers.

The multinational firm’s study also showed that nations with small populations, as in the well-developed economies in Europe, will “find themselves slipping rapidly down” in the next few decades.

These forecasts directly belie Reproductive Health (RH) bill advocates’ claims that controlling the population will address and eradicate the country’s inter-generational poverty.

THE COUNTRY’S educational system may imbue one all the necessary technical knowledge and competence for one’s chosen field, but knowledge can only get you so far as there are other major factors that influence one’s success: Connections, morals, and health.

It is through connections that we get referrals to 85 percent of unadvertised jobs and projects, and depending on our performance and likability, we can build a steady clientele and be referred by our previous clients or employers if we did well.

DEATH would always be associated with a person’s expiry date—an end to a person’s human sufferings. But I relate it to a fresh start.

Two years ago, my plan of applying for the Varsitarian was too unnerving that I hid it from my grandfather. I never shared to him my plans because I didn’twant him to be expecting too much from me since Senator Kit Tatad, a former ‘V’ editor, is his cousin. Each ‘V’ exam that I passed remained a secret because I wanted everything to be a surprise. Weeks before my panel interview, my grandfather succumbed to stroke.

Last January, after my three-day stay at the ‘V’ office for our monthly presswork, I was informed that my Mamu (grandmother) had only three to six months to live. She died March 29—a day before my graduation.

“LIVE life as if you’re eating an ice cream; you should enjoy it before it melts.”

These were the words of Fr. Senen Ecleo, O.P. when I told him about my dad’s ambivalence to attend a reunion in his hometown.

Father Ecleo’s words made me think about the way I am living my life today. My life is not as sweet and as pleasurable as an ice cream; it is bitter yet tolerable. Each task is difficult to handle but with every challenge comes a promise of a better life.

Here in the Varsitarian, I realized that nothing’s impossible if you love what you’re doing. For more than a year, I was able to juggle being a ‘V’ staff and a Nursing student.