The Varsitarian

It’s that time of the year again when the best and the brightest in UST slug it out in the annual “Pautakan” contest.

The competition on February 24 gets even more interesting with the return of traditional heavyweights, the faculties of Medicine and Surgery. and Civil Law.

The question is whether they can return from a long hiatus, and pose a legitimate threat to the Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets), the defending champions and holder of the coveted revolving Pautakan trophy. Here’s now an overview of the competition, how tough the field is, and who will likely emerge as the winner.

AMV-Accountancy read more »

FOR A man who was a “terror teacher,” Diosdado M. Lorenzo (1906-1984) is held dear by his students who, though coming from different batches, came together to view the opening of the exhibit, “Dading The Painter, Enchong The Master: Life and Works of Diosdado Magno Lorenzo, a project by the Research Cluster for Culture, Education and Social Issues, and the College of Fine Arts and Design. It opened last February 9 at the Museum of Arts and Sciences. It is now mounted until February 22 at the Miguel de Benavides Central Library.

Emcee Rhoda Recto, an artist and fine arts faculty, fondly recalled how stingy Lorenzo was at giving grades.

“We were so afraid of failing because the highest grade he would give was 2.25!” Recto said. read more »

UST’S very own philosopher, “Venerable Master” Alfredo Co, has reached another milestone—he’s the first scholar on campus to receive a tribute in the rare form of a “festschrift.”

A collection of writings by different authors in his honor, the seven-volume compilation titled “Across the Philosophical Silk Road: A Festschrift in Honor of Alfredo P. Co” was launched last December 10 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.

“The [festschrift given to the honoree] is an embodiment of an intellectual journey, solid scholarship, passionate study, and a voice to the Asian question,” said Joyce Arriola, chair of the department of Humanities. read more »

LAST year may have been wrought with challenges but the year 2010 brings the promise of change for Filipinos, especially with the first automated national elections. Along with this, Thomasians have also come up with their own “declaration of change” in the form of New Year’s resolutions, which will hopefully last up until the end of the year of the tiger. The Varsitarian has compiled a rundown of the more uncommon things Thomasians want to change or improve this year.

What is your New Year resolution?

“I would eat breakfast from now on and focus more on my studies.” – Chauvin Totanes, second-year Tourism and Hospitality Manangement read more »

JAN. 28, 1920—Philippine fashion almost lost a prolific daughter when fashion designer Salvacion Lim Higgins nearly died at birth. She was, in fact, pronounced dead minutes afterward.

But thanks to a Chinese relative, Salvacion was saved and was to live 70 more fruitful years, most of which were dedicated to the superb craftsmanship and sophistication of the Philippine vogue.

“Slim,” as Salvacion would later be known, was the founder in 1960 of Slim’s Fashion & Arts School, the first and oldest fashion school in the country. read more »

ERLINDA Uy-Koe is wearing a pair of jeans and a blue shirt that says “an angel for Autism.” She doesn’t sport a pair of wings or wear a halo to echo her cause, but part of Koe’s mission—helping autistic kids—is nothing short of angelic.

Koe is the president of the Autism Society Philippines (ASP), a non-government organization dedicated to persons with autism. The mental disorder is characterized by poor social interaction and communication skills with restrictive and repetitive behavior. One out of 150 children has autism, and 67 children are diagnosed every day.

“When your child has autism, the whole family is affected, add to that the social stigma that they feel,” she said. “When someone sees a blind man, he’ll sympathize. But when he sees a child with autism, he’ll probably say the kid is spoiled, or the parents don’t know how to raise him. So just imagine what the family goes through.”  read more »

THE FIRST thing one would probably notice upon entering the gates of the Maria Lena Buhay Memorial Foundation, Inc. would be the unmistakable sound of children’s laughter.

But the foundation is no ordinary school—it is a special place where hearing-impaired kids are given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to talk and be heard.

Established in 1987, the 22-year-old oral school located at Blueridge-B, Quezon City is the first of its kind in the country. It teaches kids who have hearing problems to develop the communication skills they need in a normal environment, while at the same time nursing their intellectual, social and spiritual growth.

Through the years, the foundation has helped dozens of kids to talk, all thanks to the vision of one Thomasian miracle worker, Leticia Buhay.

Start of a dream read more »

IT WAS a nostalgic trip with a simple but tempting premise: step into the shoes of a genius writer.

Last August 15 to September 15, a month-long exhibit titled “The World of Nick Joaquin” was held at the Cubao Expo in Quezon City to pay homage to the life of the National Artist for Literature.Various photos, portraits, and notes about the late literati—most of which were gifts from different artists—were mounted. There, too, were Joaquin’s personal articles that once graced the pages of various publications during the heydays of his journalistic career.

“It’s been five years since his death and I didn’t want his memory to just fade away, said Bing Villegas, Joaquin’s nephew in law and curator of the exhibit.

“I wanted to focus some attention to him, on his word, his works and his world read more »

LEGAL management sophomore Carlos Arriero returned to school a week after the storm a different man.

Having spent a night marooned on the roof of his family’s house—surrounded by floodwaters amid a raging storm—in Provident Village in Marikina, he was just happy to be alive.

So was Maria Kristina Vallo, an accountancy senior, whose family was forced by tropical storm “Ondoy” into the second floor of their house in Pasig City .

Like many others in Metro Manila, they survived the great flood of September 26, mainly on divine providence and the kindness of strangers.

To help him get back on his feet, Carlos, 18, got P500 from a professor for his school supplies. Friends lent him fresh clothes, just enough for him to resume his schooling.

Carlos knows that if not for another person’s selfless act, his family would not have made through the storm.

‘Wowowee’ read more »

THOMASIAN artist Sunshine Plata, 29, loves coffee for entirely different reasons –she paints with it.

“I’m a tea addict, as a matter of fact. I don’t drink coffee because I love to sleep. If I ever drank coffee, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, and it’s through my sleep wherein I get my ideas and my dreams and my paintings from,” she said in an interview with Reuters.

Her “brewed” images, which were designed to last longer than 75 years, were showcased in an exhibit titled “Manila Mirrors” at the Manila Art Gallery, Powerplant Mall last month. These sepia-toned paintings include “Guitar Man” that featured a man playing the guitar while rising out of the coffee vapor from a cup, and “Protectress of the Unborn,” a deity-like portrayal of a pregnant woman. read more »