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Editor: Alhex Adrea M. Peralta
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016
UST hosts bar exams for 6th consecutive year
THE UNIVERSITY will host the 2016 Bar Examinations for the sixth consecutive year after getting positive feedback from the Supreme Court. UST has been the host of the Bar Examinations since 2011, after the University signed a contract with the Supreme Court. The contract is renewed annually. Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said the Supreme Court Justices were “very happy” with UST as venue of the Bar Exams. “They decided to renew the contract with UST. [UST] will be the venue [of the Bar Exams] for many more years,” Divina said in an interview with the Varsitarian. However, the Faculty of Civil Law is not supposed to be involved in the preparations because Thomasians also take the Bar Examinations, Divina said. The 2016 Bar Examinations is scheduled on all four Sundays of November. A liquor ban will be implemented around the campus. The selling of beer and other alcoholic products between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. will be prohibited during examination days. Last year, there were no major incidents reported during the Bar Examinations. The Manila Police District, however, banned party poppers due to a minor disturbance on the last day of the tests. Supt. Mannan Maurip of the Sampaloc Police Station said the 2015 Bar Exams were “generally peaceful.” Improved passing rates Aside from campus preparations, UST aims to improve its Bar passing rate as well as to
JUSTICE. Student activists march on España Boulevard and stage a candle-lighting ceremony in honor of the victims of the recent Davao City blast. BASILIO H. SEPE
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UST dominates electrical, psychometrics, medtech boards THE UNIVERSITY emerged as the top-performing school in the recent electrical engineering licensure examinations, and placed second in the psychometrician exams. Two Thomasians also entered the top 10 in the medical technology exams. UST recorded a 98.48-percent passing rate in the September 2016 electrical engineering exams, with 65 passing out of 66 examinees, results from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) showed. Last year’s passing rate was slightly higher at 98.61 percent, with 71 passing the test out of 72 examinees from UST. Leading the new batch of Thomasian electrical engineers was Zedisteo Vivo Jr., who placed 10th overall with a score of 89.10 percent. The national passing rate rose to 68.46 percent, with 2,817 passing the test out of 4,115 examinees, from last year’s 63.01 percent (2,536 out of 3,772 examinees). A lone examinee from UST meanwhile passed the master electrician licensure exam. Psychometricians, psychologists The University was named the second top-performing school in the 2016 licensure examinations for psychometricians, with six Thomasians landing in the top 10. UST registered a 91.86-percent passing rate with 158 Thomasians out of 172 making the cut. This was higher than last year’s 89.25-percent passing rate in which 166 passed out of 186 Thomasian examinees. Leading the new batch of Thomasian psychometricians was Kathleen Kaye Medriano, who placed fourth with a score of 84.80. She shared the spot with Ian Timothy Sarmiento of Adamson University, and Arielle Gem Soneja and Kristina Angelica Usita of Far Eastern University (FEU). UST’s Rose Anne Silva placed seventh, along with Audrey Antonio, Miguel Francisco and Janine Ong Co Sy of Ateneo de Manila, Jacqueline Roanne Chua of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, Raimiel Dionido and Miguel Silan of University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, Marjorie Marzan of Adamson, and Allen James Aguilar Temena of FEU. All got a score of 84.20 percent. At eighth place was Princess Debbie Cootauco with a score of 84 percent. She tied with Merillie Grace Alberto of Manila Tytana Colleges, Patricia Eloise Amelda of Ateneo de Zamboanga, Lorraine Bagol of Holy Name University, Krsytell Pearl Boac of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University–Agoo, Camille Gabiana of Cebu Boards PAGE 5
Grad School to offer specialized programs in 2018 THE UST Graduate School will soon offer “highly specialized and joint programs” in preparation for vertical articulation, a system that places undergraduate, master’s and doctorate programs in the same field under the different colleges and faculties. Graduate School Dean Marilu Madrunio said some of the highly specialized programs to be offered are global affairs; international development and economics; policy, organization and leadership studies; and Philippine studies. Joint programs will include master’s in education and business administration, master’s and juris doctor in law and education, master’s in public policy and education, and master’s in business administration and global relations. The Graduate School is targeting to offer the new programs by 2018. Madrunio said the new
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programs would help the Graduate School in implementing vertical articulation in the University. The Varsitarian previously reported that for undergraduate programs declared as Centers of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education, the corresponding graduate programs could be transferred to the respective colleges and faculties from the Graduate School to achieve vertical articulation, which is a global practice. In August 2015, seven general education subjects, namely philosophy, literature, English, history, foreign languages, political science and economics, which were formerly under the Office for Academic Affairs, were transferred to the Faculty of Arts and Letters as part of vertical articulation. “Vertical articulation would take its full swing so we would take out some of the programs that are COEs. What will happen
to the Graduate School? We have to innovate,” Madrunio said in an interview with the Varsitarian. Madrunio also said the new programs would put the Graduate School up-to-date. “Other schools have very highly specialized programs. Ours are very generic programs,” she said. Some programs cannot stand on their own, requiring “inter-disciplinarity” or the merging of two or more academic disciplines into a single program, Madrunio added. “We’re gearing towards inter-disciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity,” she said. The University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila are already offering highly specialized and joint programs, mostly specializing in management. The UST Graduate School
has a total of 55 programs. Online certificate courses The Graduate School is also conceptualizing online certificate courses, a first in the University, in partnership with the UST Educational Technology Center (EdTech). EdTech operates Blackboard Learn, known in the University as the E-learning Access Program or eLeAP, where students and instructors can hold virtual classes. Madrunio said the introduction of online certificate courses would be a step closer to her vision of making the Graduate School an “open university.” The UST Center for Continuing Professional Education and Development is coming up with online certificate courses for cultural heritage studies and investment management.ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA
Kampanyang ‘Bantay Estudyante’ ng ROTC
HINDI lamang mga guwardiya ang nagbabantay sa bawat sulok ng Unibersidad upang tiyakin ang kaligtasan ng mga Tomasino noon. Taong 1994 nang magpatupad KAPAKANAN ng mga mag-aaral ang unang ng bagong patakaran ang Reserved dahilan ng pagtatayo ng mga bagong gusali Officers Training Corps (ROTC) sa Unibersidad. hinggil sa paghihigpit ng seguridad “Taun-taon nagkakaroon ng forum sa Unibersidad bilang sagot sa kabiang [Central] Student Council (CSC) at ang kabilang kaso ng nakawan at iba pang administrators,” ani Enrique Sta. Maria, mga krimen na naitala sa loob ng in-house architect ng Unibersidad. “The kampus. CSC serves as the student’s echo and these Nagpasya ang ROTC na italaga concerns serve as great factors that affect ang mga kadete nito sa mga pasukan at project proposals.” labasan sa paaralan upang magmatyag Aniya, anumang proyektong nakasentro at siguraduhin ang kaligtasan ng mga sa pag-unlad at pagsulong ng kapakanan ng kapuwa nila mag-aaral. mga mag-aaral ay 90 porsiyento at mabilis Tinawag nila ang proyektong ito na sinasang-ayunan ng mga administrador. na “Bantay Estudyante” na siyang Samantala, ang mga pagpapaayos ng mga pinasinayaan noong Setyembre ng opisina ng mga dekano at mga guro ay nasabing taon. tumatagal mula lima hanggang 10 na taon. Ayon sa patakaran, kinakailangang Halimbawa ng pangyayaring ito ang kumpletuhin ng mga kadete ang apat na naunang paggiba ng Rizal Conference Hall oras o higit pang pagbabantay sa mga sa gusaling St. Raymund Peñafort upang lugar kung saan sila nakadestino. Halos gawing mga silid-aralan na sinundan naman kapareho ng sa mga guwardiya ang ng paglipat ng faculty room mula sa una uri ng kanilang paninilbihan. Bilang tungong ikalawang palapag. kapalit, maaari na silang lumiban sa Ang kasalukuyang suliranin sa kawalan lingguhang Citizen’s Military Training ng sapat na silid-aralan ay maaaring
na bahagi ng kanilang pagsasanay. Naging malaking tulong ang naturang hakbang sa mga kadete sapagkat nabawasan ng isang araw ang kailangan nilang gugulin sa pagpasok magkaroon na ng solusyon sa inaasahang sa paaralan maliban sa kanilang mga pagtatapos ngayong taon ng itinatayong klase. Alumni Center. “Ang pasok ko [ay] tuwing Ang Alumni Center ay sinimulang itayo Lunes hanggang Sabado,” ani Hector noong 2011, kasunod sa paggiba ng UST Garingalao, isa sa mga kadete, sa isang Gymnasium na naitayo na simula pa noong panayam noon sa Varsitarian. “Kung 1932. mag-a-attend pa ako ng [isang araw “The Alumni Center, originally, was to na] training, wala na akong pahinga,” have four floors, five, or six and now it’s going dagdag pa niya. to be twelve,” ani Sta. Maria. “The increase in Sang-ayon naman sa naturang the number of stories and floors is because we programa ang mga guwardiya noon are addressing the lack of classrooms.” sapagkat karagdagang ginhawa sa Ang pagkawala ng UST Gymnasium kanila ang pagtulong ng mga kadete sa ay sinalubong naman ng pagpapatayo ng kanilang tungkulin sa mga Tomasino at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion na sinimulan sa mga bumibisita sa Unibersidad. noong 2009 at nagbukas noong 2012. Bukod sa pagbabantay, umutulong Nakaharap sa España Boulevard, ang UST din ang mga kadete sa pag-aayos Quadricentennial Pavilion ay nabigyang ng daloy ng trapiko sa paligid ng daan nang gibain ang Engineering Sports paaralan upang maiwasan ang hindi Complex. pagkakaintindihan sa kalye at mga Ang kinalalagyan ng gusaling Beato aksidente. Angelico, itinayo noong 2001 at nagbukas Hindi na ipinatutupad ang noong 2003, sa kanto ng España at P. Noval ay nasabing patakaran sa kasalukuyan, dating gusali ng UST Printing Press, giniba ngunit kabilang pa rin ang mga kadete upang madagdagan ang mga silid-aralan para
ng ROTC sa paniniguro ng kaligtasan ng mga Tomasino sa tuwing may malalaking pagtitipon, pagdiriwang at iba pang mga mahahalagang sa mga mag-aaral ng Fine kaganapang isinasagawa Arts at Architecture. sa loob ng Unibersidad. Samantala, ang UST Printing Press Tomasino Siyana ngayo’y kilalaIsa bilang UST si P N u bo l ir s hmi n ag House L e r m aay, inilugar d a t kaloob i n g ng dekana Beato ng Angelico. Fakultad ng Hindi Parmasya, sa mga nagpapatunay na angat ang galing ng mga Tomasino pagdating sa pagpapakadalubhasa sa larangan ng agham.
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