The Varsitarian

THE NATIONAL Museum has declared the 82-year-old UST Main Building, the Central Seminary, the Arch of the Centuries, and UST’s open spaces as “National Cultural Treasures” ahead of the University’s Quadricentennial in 2011.

This is the first time for an educational institution to join the roster of National Cultural Treasures, with the majority of such structures being churches, and the rest being terrestrial landmarks, intangible cultural property, and movable objects.

The January 25 declaration followed the unveiling of the nearly century-old painting “The Foundation of the University of Santo Tomas by Archbishop Benavides,” restored through the Museum of Arts and Sciences’ Heritage Conservation Fund. read more »

TWO TOP officials of the UST Faculty Union are in hot water for allegedly lending millions in union funds to a property developer in 2006 without the approval of the membership.

Nine union officers are demanding accountability from union president Gil Gamilla and vice president Gil Garcia for P9.5 million in union funds disbursed without the knowledge of other union officers.

The Arts and Letters Faculty Association has lodged a petition calling for the resignation or impeachment of Gamilla, while 15 faculty association presidents of different colleges and faculties have called for an independent examination of the union’s “financial matters, restriction on release of funds, and limitation of access of the union’s documents.” read more »

WHO’S afraid of the Ampatuans?

Not these two Thomasians who are at the forefront of the legal battle against members of the clan, the prime suspects in the gruesome mass murder of at least 57 people in Maguindanao last November 23.

In fact, Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes doesn’t feel the need of bodyguards even if she’s presiding over a celebrated case involving one of the most powerful political clans in the country.

Senior State prosecutor Roseanne Balauag, on the other hand, leads the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s preliminary investigation against the Ampatuans. Solis-Reyes and Balauag were graduates of the Faculty of Civil Law in 1986 and 1988, respectively. read more »

ONE IN three Thomasian grade-schoolers is obese or overweight, the latest findings of the UST lifestyle development program “Hit Obesity through Preventive Education” (HOPE) showed.

The program found that 33.7 percent of elementary pupils were obese for their age, while 66.3 percent had normal weight.

HOPE recorded 39.1 percent of the participants as obese in 2008. read more »

EMBATTLED faculty union chief Dr. Gil Gamilla, who is facing calls to resign or be removed, himself took over the union leadership 14 years ago by unseating his predecessor, lawyer Eduardo Mariño.

Gamilla became union president in 1996 amid distrust over Mariño’s leadership, and the tacit approval of UST officials.

Before two decades of industrial peace, however, UST was rocked by a faculty strike in 1989 that led to the dismissal of union officials, including Mariño. Mariño’s group sued and was ordered reinstated by the courts. read more »

THE CENTRAL Student Council (CSC) submitted for final approval the revised UST Students’ Code, formerly known as Magna Carta of Students Rights, to Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. last November 13.

CSC president Jeanne Luz Castillo said they incorporated more “Thomasian feel” to the code after it was submitted to different college heads and administration officials for comment during the school year 2007-2008.

“Probably, [the students’ code] was not placed on top of the administration’s priority list because the students are generally happy in the University,” Castillo said, noting the five-year delay of the approval.  read more »

THE OFFICE for Admissions has “temporarily” stopped requiring high school grades from most Thomasian hopefuls, saying that they are “not fair bases” for accepting college applicants.

“A student’s grade of 85 can be considered high in other schools, while it can only be an average or a poor rating in other schools with higher standards,” said admissions director Mecheline Zonia Manalastas.

As stated in the student handbook, UST entrance examination (Ustet) takers are graded based on the score in the test (80 percent) and high school averages in Mathematics, Science and English (20 percent) from first year to third year. read more »

THE CATHOLIC Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has launched a website that aims to “bring the Gospel to where the youth really is.”

With the principle “Winning the World through the Word,” the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth, together with the CBCP Office on Mass Media, launched the Youth Pinoy website (www.youthpinoy.com) last January 16 at the Plaza Mayor in an effort to reach to the younger generation, which the Church recognizes as major player in propagating the word of God.

“We have recognized the major role of the digital world. Those young people who are familiar with [the Internet], as well as with the Church, can better reach out to [other] people [as well],” said Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, commission chairman. read more »

THOMASIANS will represent the Philippines in the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 10, along with students from Don Bosco Technical College and Mapua Institute of Technology.

The three schools will each build a prototype vehicle, designed to travel the longest distance using the least amount of fuel possible.

The UST eco-marathon team will race against 107 participants from other educational institutions across Asia. They are led by Faculty of Engineering professor Raymundo Melegrito, and mechanical engineering senior Tim Orille.  read more »

A HISTORIAN has called attention to some historical innacuracies on the UST website.

Jose Victor Torres, a former professor at the Faculty of Arts and Letters, said the link titled “Landmarks” in www.ust.edu.ph interpreted the plaques located at the Main Building “erroneously.”

“Last night, I was scanning through the UST website and read through the site that said ‘landmarks.’ Imagine to my surprise and horror when I read this entry on the Main Building,” Torres said in an e-mail to the Varsitarian.

Torres took notice of how the website described the bronze plaques at the Main Building: read more »