PERSISTENT RAIN and strong winds forced the UST administration to reschedule this year’s Baccalaureate Mass to ensure the safety of its participants.
The Office of the Secretary General (OSG) announced that the send-off for the class of 2025 has been rescheduled to Saturday, May 31, and would be divided into two batches.
The ceremonies prior to the recessional walk, which were traditionally conducted outdoors at the UST Open Field, will now be held at the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The events for the first batch will take place from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The initial batch consists of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy, Faculty of Arts and Letters, College of Fine Arts and Design, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, College of Information and Computing Sciences, Conservatory of Music, College of Nursing, Faculty of Pharmacy and College of Rehabilitation Sciences.
The send-off rites for the second batch will be held rom 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The batch is composed of the College of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Law, Ecclesiastical Faculties, College of Education, Faculty of Engineering, College of Commerce and Business Administration, College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Graduate School, Graduate School of Law, Institute of Physical Education and Athletics and the College of Science.
“Further details will be communicated through the academic units. This supersedes the earlier advisory on the new schedule,” the OSG said, referring to an earlier announcement stating that the send-off rites would begin at 4:30 p.m.
The event began as scheduled, with some segments proceeding under increasingly damp conditions. However, as the rain intensified, university marshals directed attendees to return to their respective buildings for safety.
According to the UST Health Service, seven people, including one professor of the College of Education, experienced minor injuries, sprain and dizziness on campus.
The Baccalaureate Mass is a long-standing tradition that marks the end of the college life of graduating Thomasians.
It features a Eucharistic celebration, fireworks display and the ceremonial exit through the Arch of the Centuries, a rite of passage reserved for graduating students. F — with reports from Sheridan Delfino and Kayla Gonzalez
