The Varsitarian

BEGINNING his second term as the 93rd rector of UST last June 26 at the UST Chapel, Fr. Rector Tamerlane Lana, O.P. set his sights on Vision 2011 and urged all Thomasians, particularly faculty members, to help him realize it.

Vision 2011, an ambitious plan to upgrade the University in time for the quadricentennial of its founding in 2011, seeks to firm up UST’s position as a center of excellence in various programs of instruction, a leader in research in the pure and applied sciences, a leader in community development, and the center of contextual theology in Asia.  read more »

LAST June 27, officers of UST’s various student organizations and student councils officially assumed their positions after being inducted by Dr. Evelyn Songco, assistant to the Rector for Academic Affairs, at the UST Chapel.

UST Campus Ministry director Fr. Dennis de la Cruz, O. P. reminded the officers of UST’s various student organizations and student councils to be wise and virtuous as Thomasian leaders.  read more »

LAST June 29, the first batch of the Cisco Networking Academy Program’s (CNAP) participants graduated at the Engineering audio-visual room.

The 23 graduates are mostly composed of UST Electronics and Communications Engineering students and professors, UST alumni, non-academic personnel and professionals.

Launched in UST in September 2000, the CNAP teaches valuable internet technology skills, including networking, web site design, information technology (IT) essentials, cabling, Java, and Unix, an operating system equivalent to Microsoft’s Windows.  read more »

“I JUST want to live an honest life.“

This was the answer of Father Jay, one of the 12 dispensed priests featured in Fr. Emmanuel Fernandez’s Leaving the Priesthood, A Close Reading of Priestly Departures (Ateneo de Manila University Press), as to why he left the priesthood.

The book narrates the stories of 15 priests who struggled in their efforts to stay or leave the priesthood. Among the 15, 12 left the vocation while the rest remained in their ministry.  read more »

“WE FORCE the priests to become celibates but we don’t force the people to become priests.”

Fr. Raul Go, a priest from the Archdiocese of Cebu, had this to say regarding celibacy. According to him, when one chooses to be a priest, one should consider the obligation that goes with the privilege of becoming one. And one of the consequences of the decision is celibacy.

Celibacy refers to one’s promise to forego the privilege of getting married and having his own children, something accepted by every faithful of the Catholic Church since baptism.  read more »

“I THINK Thomasians are lacking when it comes to their spirituality. There was a low turnout nuong nagkaroon ng Mass for the freshman, but the party was well-attended.”

This was what Marlo Trillana, president of the Marian Evangelistic Community (MEC), said regarding the disheartening reception by the Thomasian community of religious-oriented organizations. The groups are perceived as organizers of retreats, prayer meetings, and bible studies, hardly “fun” fare for young and vibrant students eager for a good time amid the drudgery and pressure of schoolwork.  read more »

NOONG nakaraang taon, hinirang si Fr. Nereo Page Odchimar ng Mahal na Santo Papa bilang pinakabagong obispo ng Diyosesis ng Tandag, lalawigan ng Surigao del Sur.

Ipinanganak si Obispo Odchimar noong Oktubre 16, 1940 sa Bacuag, Surigao del Norte. Tinapos niya ang kursong Philosophy sa Sacred Heart Seminary, Palo, Leyte at Theology sa San Carlos Seminary, Makati. Naordenahan siya sa pagkapari noong Dec. 19, 1964.

Tomasino Siya  read more »

THE UST Men’s Volleyball Team were a game away from a back-to-back championship for the first time last UAAP season, but the De La Salle University Green Spikers stood in their way in the penultimate set of their championship match.

With the score tied at 14-all in the deciding set, the Tiger Spikers surrendered a kill followed by an error to lose the game and the crown to the Green Spikers.  read more »

THE Most Valuable Player (MVP) in last year’s basketball junior version of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines tournament will not play for the UST Growling Tigers in this year’s collegiate cage wars.  read more »

LAST UAAP season, the Thomasian community’s worst fears came true.

The UST Growling Tigers, undoubtedly one of the best teams in the history of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament, failed to enter the Final Four for the first time since the system started in 1994.

Not only that, but UST’s famed “four-peat”, a feat they accomplished from 1993 to 1996 under the tutelage of Januario “Aric” Del Rosario, was likewise duplicated by the De La Salle University Green Archers.  read more »