ust Archives - The Flame

Jun282018 1 Comment

P1.2k breakdown to be released soon, says ABSC president

By CRIS EUGENE T. GIANAN THE DEAN'S Office is set to release the breakdown of the P1,200 pilgrimage fee no later than July 6, Artlets Student Council (ABSC) president Rafael Arellano revealed. Arellano said the Council had submitted a formal letter of request weeks ago as required by the Dean’s Office. "Sabi [po] samin may cine-clear pa po sila sa [Office of the Vice Rector for Finance]. Pero mabibigay daw po nila not later than July 6," the Council president told the Flame. The P1,200 that each student from Batch 2018 paid last academic year for a pilgrimage was reallocated to a thanksgiving and prayer worship activity after the Commission on Higher Education put a hold order on all off-campus activities after the February 2017 Tanay bus accident. READ: No breakdown for

Feb72018 No Comments

Mediating power dynamics: In fulfilment of Thomasian students’ rights

Issues

IN EVERY institution, not only are there rules that need to be observed and followed but also rights that must be upheld to have an orderly atmosphere. Regardless of position, every person is entitled to these rights that protect them from any mistreatment. For Journalism senior Ryah Sunday Carreon, having an official document of clearly defined students’ rights is essential in the University of Santo Tomas (UST). “Karapatan mo ‘yun bilang estudyante and it will safeguard you sa kung ano mang magiging situation mo bilang estudyante na nag-aaral sa UST.” However, in the University, a ratified students’ rights code that Thomasians can refer to does not exist. First drafted in October 2004, the Students’ Rights Code is still benching for the administration’s approval at present.

Jan242018 No Comments

Uson voluntarily returns gov’t service award

Scenes

By MARIA EDEN T. DINO PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson returned her Thomasian Alumni in Government Service award on Wednesday despite the refusal of UST Alumni Association Inc. (UST-AAI) to revoke it. Uson’s representative returned the award to UST-AAI Chairman Emeritus Robert Sy and Board Adviser Jack Castañeda. In a statement posted on Facebook, Uson explained her reason for voluntarily giving the award back. “Sa kabila ng desisyon ng UST Alumni Association Inc. na hindi bawiin ang award na iginawad sa akin, nagdesisyon po akong ibalik ang award dahil pilit na nililihis ng ibang tao ang mas mahahalagang usapin tulad ng Dengvaxia at iba pang nangyayari sa bayan.” Uson said she hopes that her decision would stop the public from condemning

Nov232017 No Comments

Millennials and a glimpse of publishing at #SCOUTxUST

Culture

By REYANNE LOUISSE AMPONG IT WAS an afternoon of creativity, lessons, and music as Scout magazine capped off their campus tour at the University of Santo Tomas on Monday. Students started their week with a blast as they played games with their squad, posed like cover models at the photo booth, and vent their emotions out at the freedom wall. To soothe the members of the crowd and make them forget their “acads” for a while, bands like The Cohens, Luncheon, and Oh, Flamingo! electrified #SCOUTxUST. More than entertainment, the event was a glimpse into the world of publishing as Lex Celera, editor in chief of the bi-monthly youth and culture magazine, shared some of his experiences and advice in the field. The real deal in publishing Celera shared that working in publishing

Oct212017 No Comments

Setting the bar higher

Perspectives

DISSATISFACTION WITH a candidate’s platforms is just one of the factors that would make a voter consider other options in a ballot. But what if the other candidates still seem unfit for the position they are running for in the student council? The voters would rather opt to abstain or rendering ballots void for a certain position might be the answer. This was the exact scenario that happened in the previous polls that led to the mass abstention not only in the Central Student Council (CSC) but also in the Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC), where only four out of the seven positions were filled. In the ABSC, the candidates for vice president-internal, secretary, and auditor lost to 678, 766, and 671 abstentions, respectively. With the issue that arose after former CSC pres

Oct212017 No Comments

Neu Roses: Continuing Conversations

Perspectives

IT HAS been a year since the Department of Health officially launched a national hotline that will provide help to people with mental health concerns. The project is called HOPELINE, a 24/7 crisis support hotline for depression and suicide prevention. People behind the phone are trained by professional psychiatrists and psychologists who have undergone intensive training to answer callers in times of need. However, I have encountered many stories circulating in social networking sites, reporting the hotline as inattentive. One user stated that the line becomes busy in the early hours of the morning, while another claimed that her responder hung up the phone when she was crying so hard she could not speak. These were only some of the reports that Twitter users raised against the HOPELINE...

Oct212017 No Comments

On Lack of Discourse on Certain Things

Perspectives

THE TRAIN stops at my station and I move along with the crowd that walked like zombies. But I forgive them; it was a long day after all. The streets around Tayuman station is always busy even at night. Vendors who sell goods are littering the streets, and stores are open, welcoming people in. It is a long walk on the way to the jeepney station that I’m supposed to ride to our apartment, but this is the norm so I’m used to it. But nothing is supposed to be normal that night. It was unnerving to see the business going as usual. It was unnerving to see people walking as if nothing happened. It was frightening to see that everything was normal when just last night, a man was shot dead in front of a gasoline station near the jeepneys I’m supposed to ride home. His blood that pooled around hi

Oct202017 No Comments

Apathetic or awakened?: Reflecting on Thomasians’ rising involvement in campus politics

Issues

THE PREVIOUS academic year has passed and so has the period of student council elections. However, Thomasians are left to deal with the aftermath of the messy event. After abstentions left vacant the positions of president, vice president, treasurer, and auditor in the Central Student Council (CSC), and vice president-internal, secretary, and auditor in the Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC), many saw a start of an era in which Thomasians properly scrutinize candidates before voting. So when the appeals on abstentions filed by former CSC presidential candidate Steven Grecia and ABSC vice president-internal bet Daniela Frigillana ultimately led to the disregard of “abstain” and proclamation of candidates with the most number of votes in the CSC elections, the two candidates e

Oct162017 No Comments

Calvert Simon

Faces of Dapitan

“Ano ‘yung deepest or darkest fear mo ngayon sa buhay?” “Siguro [‘yung] any form ng hindi pagtanggap. [K]ung baga sa organization, or hindi [ka] natanggap sa inapply-an [mo] na trabaho, sa parent, or sa mga kaibigan. Kung baga, ayaw kong ma-feel na hindi ako gusto, na hindi ako belong.” “Mayroon bang context [itong] fear mo?” “Siguro kasi darating sa point na lalabas na ako sa University at [papasok na ako] sa totoong buhay. […] Ano ba ‘yung mako-contribute mo sa mundo as yourself? Bilang totoong mundo, bilang realistang mundo, hindi sila tumatanggap ng mediocre lang. Dapat may isa kang tunay na magagawang difference at doon ako natatakot kasi baka hindi ko mapatunayan sa sarili ko at sa mundo na kaya kong gumawa ng difference.” “What will be your advice to eradicate your

Oct92017 No Comments

Nathan Raphael

Faces of Dapitan

“What was the most frightening experience you’ve ever had?” “My [most] frightening experience was […] something about myself. Last year, when I was in second year, I experienced subjects that were getting really difficult and it was a time that I was getting very emotional. It was during that time that I faced the challenge of losing my scholarship here in UST. […] There was a time that I really tried not to speak with my friends; I did not speak to people and it was getting difficult.” “What are you most afraid of?” “Based on that experience, I guess I can say that I’m mostly afraid of failure itself. As much as I’d like to say that failure teaches you things; failure teaches you how to handle your life. I would say that it’s still really difficult to face this kind of expe