Tag: November 24, 2005

UST RESERVED Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadet officers have started handling and firing real guns.

They joined the First Shootfest Competition and Fellowship at the Marikina Sports Complex last Oct. 17, Corps Commander C/Maj. Theresa Altamirano told the Varsitarian.

“This is a good practice for us who will be joining the annual shooting competition and a good experience for the other officers who tried shooting for the first time,” said Altamirano, who has been participating in the annual ROTC shootfest for two years.

A THOMASIAN was hailed fifth best speaker in the Seventh National Debate Championship: Sandurot Cup held in Dumaguete City last Oct. 22 to 28.

Faculty of Civil Law sophomore John Reily Baluyot bested 208 other debaters in the tournament.

UST HONORED three retiring non-academic employees in a farewell program last Nov. 18 at the Elementary audio-visual room.

Jose Matancio of the Registrar’s Office, Buildings and Grounds head painter Ernesto Nagorite, and Faculty of Medicine and Surgery office clerk Juliana Silverio reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 years old.

Silverio was also given a Loyalty award in 2000 for 40 years of service.

FACULTY of Civil Law Student Council president Samantha Camitan said the student council is conducting a survey to determine whether the students want a student constitution.

The council could draft a constitution will start in January if survey showed a majority wanted a charter Camitan said.

With a constitution, there would be a standard list of qualifications for candidates to the student council, which Civil Law administrators dictate, Camitan said.

UST will soon have its own drama series with an all-Thomasian cast.

The Office of the Secretary General, together with the Central Student Council (CSC) and the Student Organizations Coordinating Council (SOCC), launched the First Tomasinovela Writing Contest and Thomasian Star Search this month.

According to CSC secretary Airis Pastoral, the projects are in line with the ideals of the USTV Awards.

THE THOMASIAN community’s loss in last year’s Paskuhan celebration is the gain of the Agta community of Gen. Nakar, Quezon. The Agtas were able to rebuild their community through the funds earlier earmarked for the fireworks display that were instead given to the Thomasian Relief Operation for the disaster-stricken province.

With the help of Tribal Center for Development (TCD), UST volunteers, headed by the UST Office for Community Development (OCD), built houses for the 20 Agta families residing in Sitio Ulalikan, through cash donations totalling P360,000.

Philanthropist, business tycoon, and Manila Bulletin publisher, Dr. Emilio Yap, received his first foreign honorary degree from the University of Santo Tomas de Chile (UST-Chile) at the UST Museum last Nov. 10.

DEPARTMENT of Bioethics chair Dr. Victoria Edna Monzon of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery discourages the use of contraceptives since it “dehumanizes” human life and sexuality.

Monzon explained in a bioethics seminar at the Medicine Auditorium last Nov. 15 that several contraceptives are in fact abortifacients, like birth-control pills which make the ovum hostile to the implantation of a fertilized egg cell.

FORMER UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa called upon the members of the Dominican Network of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (Domnet) to reach out to other schools to contribute to the network’s growth.

De la Rosa, Domnet’s founding president, stressed the importance of unity and the concern for every member in the growing network during the celebration of its 10th anniversary last week.

“Intensify the sense of belongingness for every member,” he said.

A THOMASIAN placed second in the Shell Epson National Students Art Competition last month.

Advertising senior Jan Olympus Delacruz bagged the second prize of the Digital Fine Art Category of the competition, while Bernaby Jhon Magat and Mark Gil Apelin, also Advertising seniors, were honorable mentions.

Delacruz said that he attended the awarding, held at the SM Megamall Activity Center last Oct. 24, without expecting to win.

“Basta ang alam ko lang isa ako sa mga finalist,” he said.