The Varsitarian

THE BATTLE is far from over for the Faculty Association of the College of Nursing (Facon) as it filed a petition last Nov. 2 asking the Supreme Court (SC) to order a retake of the June nursing licensure exams.  read more »

INSTITUTE of Religion Director Fr. Clarence Victor Marquez, O.P. has been appointed by UST Rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P., as the new vice-rector for finance last Nov.2, replacing Fr. Melchor Saria, O.P. Marquez will hold the two positions concurrently.  read more »

THE UNIVERSITY dominated the professional licensure examinations for teachers, certified public accountants (CPAs), and interior designers last October, but figured dismally in the Electrical Engineering board examinations last September.  read more »

FORMER Varsitarian editor in chief Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera, Jr. received the Southeast Asian Writer (SEA Write) Award last Oct. 9 at the Oriental Bangkok Hotel in Thailand. The award is given yearly by the Kingdom of Thailand to one writer each from the Southeast Asian countries for lifetime achievement in letters.  read more »

PARENTS should not worry much about their teenage children becoming too liberated, because adolescents nowadays are actually more conservative than their elders.

A survey presented by the McCann Worldgroup Philippines, a group of advertising companies, last Oct. 14 at the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) audio-visual room reported that respondents in the 12 to 19 age bracket had become more conservative than their older counterparts and had developed more profound values on family and education.  read more »

A SEMESTER proved well worth the wait for the much-delayed installation of the “quadricentennial” and 94th Rector of the University, Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P., who vowed to pursue and realize the 400th year anniversary vision of UST toward “academic and moral excellence.”  read more »

LAST but not the least?

The University of Santo Tomas occupied the last spot in a global survey of 500 leading universities topped by Harvard University of Boston.

UST, the oldest university in Asia, was fourth among Philippine schools that were included in the annual survey began in 2003 by the Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS).

The University of the Philippines ranked 299, De La Salle University 392, and Ateneo de Manila University 494, according to official results released by the two private firms last month.  read more »

TWO CONGRESS bills are seeking to restore the mandatory nature of the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) only four years after Republic Act (RA) 9163 made it optional in order to check the excesses and abuses of a compulsory ROTC.

Senate Bill 2224 (SB 2224) by Sen. Alfredo Lim seeks to make ROTC mandatory for male and female students while House Bill 5460 (HB 5460) by Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas seeks to make ROTC mandatory for males but optional for females.  read more »

THE SACRED Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See has confirmed the appointment of Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O. P. as rector of the University of Santo Tomas, the Varsitarian has learned.

Father Arceo, the rector of the UST Central Seminary and former prior provincial of the Philippine Dominican Province, will replace Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O. P. who finished his term last April.

UST is a pontifical university and the Vatican confirms the election of the UST rector.

“CELLAR-dwellers,” “unpredictable,” “toothless Tigers.”

These were the words used to describe the UST Growling Tigers at the start of Season 69 of the UAAP basketball wars.

But last Oct. 2, the Tigers were christened different names: brave-hearts, never-say-die heroes, and finally, champions.

In a tough season in which they were initially dismissed as perennial non-contenders, the Tigers became champions at the expense of the league’s top-billed squad.  read more »