VOLUME XCIV / NO. 1 · SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 · THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS · Manila, Philippines
Protests mark 50th anniversary of Martial Law declaration LENSPEAK ► PAGE 6-7
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
facebook/varsitarian
twitter@varsitarianust
youtube/TheVarsitarianUST
instagram varsitarian.ust
BREAKING NEWS & REAL-TIME UPDATES at www.varsitarian.net
RECTOR DELIVERS PANDEMIC REPORT:
‘THE PANDEMIC BROUGHT OUT THE BEST IN UST’ THE COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the best in the University and the Thomasian community, UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. said in his first Rector’s Report on Sept. 8. In his report covering the period of January 2020 to July 2021, Ang said the pandemic became a defining moment for the Thomasian community in helping each other. “The pandemic taught us the value of what it means to be a Thomasian community. We are a community that looks out for the welfare of each other during a time of great uncertainty,” Ang said. “More than the time of hopelessness, the pandemic is a defining moment that brought out the best in us. It is a time that brought Thomasians closer to one another and closest to God,” the Rector added. Ang said the pandemic also allowed the University to exercise the Thomasian core value of compassion. “No employee was laid off for rea-
‘‘
We were made to experience this oncein-a-generation global health crisis for a reason: we were meant to survive. We were meant, to quote the Varsitarian, to rise above the rut of this pandemic. Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. UST RECTOR
Unvaxxed students allowed to join F2F classes STUDENTS and teaching and non-teaching staff who have yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are now allowed to participate in limited face-to-face (F2F) classes in UST, the Office of the Secretary General has announced. The University made the move days before Prospero de Vera III, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), said it was scrapping its vaccination requirement for participants in F2F classes. In a memorandum containing the University’s new health and safety protocols, UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said Thomasians were still ► UNVAXXED STUDENTS PAGE 10
son of the pandemic. Instead, the University gave pandemic assistance to employees, even janitors,” he said. “We accompanied our students in their struggles both in their academic and personal lives, and as we brave each passing day, we learned the value of meaningful connections with fellow members of the Thomasian community,” he added. Ang said how UST continued to operate amid the pandemic was a manifestation of its will to survive. In its history, UST has only totally closed down twice: during the Philippine revolution in 1898 and during World War 2 in 1942, during which it became an internment camp. “We did not experience complete campus closure during the pandemic,” Ang said. “We were
made to experience this once-in-a-generation global health crisis for a reason: we were meant to survive, we were meant, to quote the Varsitarian, to rise above the rut of this pandemic.” In his report, Ang presented nine “strategic directional areas” his administration prioritized: leadership and governance; Thomasian identity; teaching and learning; research and innovation; resource management; public presence; community development and advocacy; student welfare and support; and internationalization. As he ended his report, Ang became emotional in recalling how the pandemic adversely affected Thomasians. “For the past two years, we lost more than 50 of our faculty and staff and how we miss them because they contributed so much to the life of this University,” Ang tearfully said. But the University was able to move forward, thanks to “love’s labor,” Ang said. PANDEMIC REPORT PAGE 10
►
NEWS ► PAGE 2
No online synch classes under Signal No. 2 THERE will be no online synchronous classes in UST when Metro Manila is under Signal No. 2, according to newly released guidelines for the suspension of classes during inclement weather.
EDITORIAL ► PAGE 4
Chief executive, chief profligate
CIRCLE ► PAGE 5
UST GOES ‘NAMJOONING’: Museum reintroduces Sampaloc campus with BTS-inspired exhibit
OFAD reopens applications for USTET THE UNIVERSITY has opened the application portal for the UST Entrance Test (USTET), which will be conducted for the first time amid the Covid-19 pandemic for the admission of new students in Academic Year (AY) 2023 to 2024. ► USTET PAGE 11