Tag: Vol. LXXXVI

EVER since I was a little boy, all I wanted was to be older. Growing up, I was often teased for being the youngest in the classroom and this fueled my desire to mature as fast as I could.

I used to think that reaching adulthood would be “the best thing in the whole world.” To my childish eyes, grown-ups fought the monsters under the bed, stayed up late watching TV specials, bought their own stuff and most important, knew the answers to all of life’s questions—a certainty that all adults seem to possess.

AS GRADUATES, we are about to start another journey in our lives.

We all dream of being successful one day, making plans for our future, and doing something for ourselves. We have heard countless advices and speeches and have read a lot of inspirational books about life to hopefully reinforce our confidence. But are we really prepared for what will happen? Will it not be futile to prepare for what is ahead?

If I did not push through to UST, I would have studied at De La Salle University, taking up civil engineering, or at San Beda College, taking up accountancy, because I failed in the UST entrance exam and was not even on the waiting list. In short, I applied for reconsideration.

BIODIVERSITY, improved healthcare, and the exploration of the relationship between the environment and diseases were the focus of some of the best undergraduate scientific theses for the academic year 2014 to 2015.

Although the Philippines can be considered a hotspot for new species, Biology students Raphael Hizon, Joseph Lopez, Nicole Nucom and Jolo Panaligan noticed that new species often face extinction before getting popular attention.

Panaligan said this was what brought them to conduct their study in the hope of identifying new species collected from Mt. Natib in Bataan and evaluate their components and possible medicinal potential.

HAILED as the Most Outstanding Pharmacist in Pharmacy Education, Aristea Bayquen, Ph.D. has nurtured hundreds, if not thousands, of Thomasian professionals.

At 64, the professor from the Faculty of Pharmacy was recognized by the Philippine Pharmacist Association (PPhA) during its national convention in Talisay, Cebu last April.

Despite being in the teaching profession since she was 22, Bayquen admitted that much like the students she molded, deadlines give her the drive to pursue excellence. These mostly involved joining competitions a day before the deadline of the entry or researches being crammed just to make it in time.

TO PREVENT widespread purge of shrimp farms caused by a virus found in crustaceans, a group of UST researchers teamed up with the Department of Science and Technology in developing an early detection kit.

Marybeth Maningas, a resident of the UST Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, led there search on the development of the Juan Amplification Detection Kit (JAmp), a diagnostic tool for the detection of the White Spot Syndrome virus in shrimps.

Citing Timothy William Flegel and his group, Maningas said the virus has gravely affected the global shrimp industry, with production losses at an estimated one billion dollars from the virus alone. Besides shrimps, the marine virus also infects other crustaceans like crabs, lobsters, and barnacles.

TAKING effective care of God’s creation goes hand in hand with the protection of human dignity and morality.

This was the message of Pope Francis in his 184-page encyclical titled “Laudato Si,” which was released last June 18.

The Pope said protecting the environment went beyond solving problems like climate change, pollution, and global warming, which are deemed major ecological problems.

According to Pope Francis, the word “creation” has a broader meaning than nature, since it also deals with God’s plan, in which “every creature has its own value and significance.”

UNTIL his last days, love for writing preoccupied the late Fr. Edgardo “Edd” Lleva of the Diocese of Malolos, staying true to his vocation of spreading the Word of God.

Lleva, who passed away at 65 last May 24 due to cardiac arrest, served as the Varsitarian’s Filipino editor in 1974. He studied theology at the Ecclesiastical Faculties from 1971 to 1975.

His monthly column for the Varsitarian, titled “Psst...atbp.” tackled university issues and student concerns written in a comical and conversational manner. The articles, which had numbers as titles, occasionally involved philosophical musings and biblical terms.

IN PREPARATION for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2016, the Archdiocese of Cebu is set to launch mobile applications that will keep participants informed on one of the Church’s most important international events.

Called “IEC2016 Guide”, the official application of the IEC is being developed by InnoPub Media, a Cebu-based new media publishing company.

Max Limpag, one of the co-founders of InnoPub Media, said the IEC2016 Guide would feature a comprehensive guide on places to visit in Cebu.

THE FULL foulness of East Bay weather was on display, as globs of rainwater struck the window pane of Adrian Velasco’s quarters at the St. Patrick’s Senior Home, and autumn leaves and broken oak twigs swirl like whirlpool.

A flash of lightning through the faded canary yellow drapes revealed Adrian’s modest lodging: a fuzzy, eggshell white carpeted floor flanked by walls with patches of dark brown where the paint had chipped off; a steel-framed, military style bed pushed to the side.

"Adrian. Adrian! Please. Come here, boy!" yelled the old man in the adjacent room, a strong American accent accompanying the gasping tone of his voice.

THOMASIAN writers are among 68 of the country’s finest creative writers included in Fast Food Fiction Delivery, an anthology of flash fiction published by Anvil Publishing and edited by fictionist Noelle De Jesus and poet Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta.