Features Archives - The Flame

Leading in heels: How three women deans shaped AB’s history

31

Mar

By Lorraine Belle Baguio, Titus Reaiah Dayrit and Yelah Israel

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Leading in heels: How three women deans shaped AB’s history

THE PORTRAITS of past deans line the hall on the ground floor of the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building, their monochrome gazes frozen in time, watching over generations of students who pass beneath them. Each frame tells a silent story — of leadership, vision and the indelible marks each dean…

Sky painters: How two Thomasian alumni mastered the art of pyrotechnics

12

Feb

By Eugene Paul Lorenzo, Yelah Israel and Justine Nicole Malonzo

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Sky painters: How two Thomasian alumni mastered the art of pyrotechnics

FIREWORKS BURST across a small laptop screen. In a classroom at the Beato Angelico Building, two teenagers sat side by side, watching the patterns rise and fall, dance and evanesce. This was how they spent most of their time. They do not know it yet, but years later, they will…

What’s next for the 64-year-old UST Journalism student who went viral after his thesis defense

16

Jan

By The Flame Features

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What’s next for the 64-year-old UST Journalism student who went viral after his thesis defense

A NEW term has just started, and some Thomasians are anxious about the academic load and drama that await them. Not Roberto Solis. After taking a break from his studies in the 80s, the 64-year-old Journalism student and fashion expert is finally in the final stretch of earning his degree.…

More than words: A mother’s Christmas wish for her daughter with speech delay

31

Dec

By The Flame Features

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More than words: A mother’s Christmas wish for her daughter with speech delay

PEACHY SAT beside her mother on a bench at Benavides Park. Her hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail, and her hands were busy playing with the fallen leaves she had gathered from the grassy edge of the path. It was early December, and the ornaments for the year’s…

‘He’s the same EJ:’ Security guards reminisce EJ Obiena’s university days

05

Dec

By Shayne Lee Andreas Macaraeg and Mc Neil Zyh Serrano

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‘He’s the same EJ:’ Security guards reminisce EJ Obiena’s university days

IT WAS an ordinary yet eagerly anticipated day for two longtime security guards stationed at the University of Santo Tomas' engineering building. Elmer Vea and his partner Joevie Lumontod knew that EJ Obiena—the pride of UST and Asia’s top pole-vaulter—would visit the campus. But the itinerary was already set: just…

Cool but harmful: Why a vape user who began smoking at 7 cannot kick the habit

17

Nov

By Yelah Israel

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Cool but harmful: Why a vape user who began smoking at 7 cannot kick the habit

SIMON TAKES a deep breath. Smoke enters into his lungs, reaching every sinew. He slightly raises his head, and a thick cloud of vapor billows out of his mouth. One would expect to see a half-used cigarette emitting wisps from its embers. But instead, the smoke was blown from a…

Bones and belief: Young Thomasians find purpose in guarding sacred relics

02

Nov

By Arabella Peñaranda

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Bones and belief: Young Thomasians find purpose in guarding sacred relics

GRACIANA CALIMBO, a quiet and soft-spoken 19-year-old student, has been serving the Catholic Church since she was six and takes a particular interest in all things religious. So, when she exhibited strange and disturbing behavior, it was an emergency to her peers. In August this year, her boyfriend, Luke Traballo,…

Through sticks and strings: Pinoy puppeteers struggle to survive post-lockdown

27

Oct

By Ma. Alyanna Selda

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Through sticks and strings: Pinoy puppeteers struggle to survive post-lockdown

RICKY ALWAYS arrives in General Luna, Intramuros, at four in the afternoon in a distinct ensemble: a colored camisa de chino (most of the time maroon), a loose pair of shorts, a belt bag wrapped around his waist and a patterned fedora. Alongside Fort Santiago’s parking lot, he picked up…

‘Kayang-kaya ng wikang Filipino:’ Kung paano isinusulong ng isang Tomasinong propesor ang pamimilosopiya sa Filipino

30

Aug

By Yelah Israel

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‘Kayang-kaya ng wikang Filipino:’ Kung paano isinusulong ng isang Tomasinong propesor ang pamimilosopiya sa Filipino

“EGO SUM, ego existo, certum est,” o sa salin ng isang Tomasinong propesor, “Narito ako, umiiral ako, tiyak iyan.” Matatagpuan ang pundamental na katagang ito sa “Mga Meditasyon Hinggil sa Unang Pilosopiya,” isang akdang pilosopikal ni René Descartes — ang tinaguriang “Ama ng Modernong Pilosopiya” — na unang inilathala halos…

‘We can’t go back in time:’ How a reserved, soft-spoken K-pop fan became AB valedictorian

08

Aug

By Arabella Peñaranda

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‘We can’t go back in time:’ How a reserved, soft-spoken K-pop fan became AB valedictorian

IT WAS eight in the morning, and Kyla Jane Purcil had just woken up when she received an e-mail from the Rector’s office. “Rector’s Awardee 2024,” the e-mail’s subject read. Her heart momentarily stopped. Making sure that she read it right, Purcil, who came to be the UST Faculty of…