THE UNIVERSITY has transferred UST athletes to the GMG Active Dormitory Inc. from the Isabel Building last June 18 to prepare the erstwhile Thomasian players’ residence for renovations.
“We still do not know whether this will be permanent. All we know is that the University has plans for Isabel Building,” said Assistant to the Rector for Student Affairs Cristina Castro-Cabral.
The Varsitarian tried to seek comment from officials of the Office for Planning and Development and the Office for Administration to get details on the redevelopment plans for the Dominican-owned seven-story building located just across the University on España Boulevard.
The Active Dormitory located at España corner Eloisa Street now houses 178 Thomasian athletes.
“The negotiation between Active Dormitory and UST started a month ago before the athletes transferred here,” said Active Dormitory administrator Josephine Danganan.
The student athletes are occupying a total of 16 rooms at the second, third, and fifth floors of the dormitory.
However, Danganan said the management was having a hard time implementing rules to monitor the athletes.
“There are some who will wake up 9 a.m. and would still ask the person in charge of the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them. There are also some who will just leave during weekends without presenting a leave pass,” said Danganan.
Standard operating procedure requires an athlete to fill out a leave pass signed by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), which they have to present to the dormitory management before going home. The dormitory management submits weekly reports to OSA.
The University is paying the dormitory P6,000 per athlete, inclusive of board and lodging. The athlete’s water and electric consumptions are paid separately.
However, if an athlete decides to be billeted in an air-conditioned room, he has to shell out an extra P3,000 a month, P150 for a television set, P100 for an electric fan, and P150 for a laptop computer.
“The good thing now is that the food here is not limited. Some of us used to share meals before. There are few who even skip meals,” said Lady Judoka Trixy Mae Llamas, a third year Communication Arts student. Aura Marie P. Dagcutan
