UST IS 400; A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL
[PHOTO - All-alumni cast. The QuattroMondial monument was formally unveiled as the centerpiece of the 400th year of the University of Santo Tomas. Thomasian architect Ramon Orlina was commissioned to do the bronze casting and glass monument, and he drafted alumni Charlene Gonzales-Mulach, Piolo Pascual, UST rector Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, and his daughter Monina as models. Photo By Denison Rey A. Dalupang]
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2011 (MALAYA) BY AUDREY B. MORALLO - Several minutes before the clock atop the historic Main Building struck midnight, some were already feeling somnolent, exhausted from the day's festivities that included the unveiling of a monument that summarizes the achievements and many of the things the institution for which the statue stands for.
But for the great many that gathered on this campus in the heart of Manila, the night was just starting.
Intense excitement could be felt in the air as thousands of students, alumni and visitors and friends from other educational institutions awaited the grandiose light display on an otherwise dark sky.
And then the first streak of light from the top of the grandstand where many artists performed shot up, simultaneously drawing thousands, tens of thousands even, of faces toward the same direction, in military-like precision. Minutes later, everyone was on a rambunctious roar, chanting "Go USTe! Go USTe! Go USTe!"
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) had just officially turned 400 years old.
At a glance, it is unimaginable that a university originally conceived to be a an institution for the education of men for the priesthood would last four centuries during which it played such a significant role in the nurturing of young minds who would later become presidents, chief justices, members of Congress, national scientists and national artists and many more men and women who, in the words of Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Papal legate and main celebrant of the Quadricentennial Thanksgiving Mass, became "distinguished in various professions."
Every man and woman who has walked the grounds of UST knows that they are following a lineage that includes heroes like Dr. Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini and former Presidents Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Jose Laurel, and Diosdado Macapagal, saints and martyrs of the church and many others. And UST students of today know how heavy the responsibility of measuring up to this pedigree is.
Erected on April 28, 1611, UST stands proud as the oldest university in the Philippines and in Asia and the largest Catholic educational institution in terms of student population.
And throughout its existence, the University, according to the Pope's message read by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, "has contributed and continues to contribute much to the educational cultural and religious development of the young people who live in the Philippines."
The Pope also acknowledged the role the University has played in the propagation of faith in Asia aside from the education imbued with faith and reason it has willingly given to thousands or even millions of Filipinos in the past four centuries.
President Aquino told the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Council of the Universities of St. Thomas (ICUSTA):
"But when we look back at the long list of distinguished individuals this institution has produced, it is not merely education that sets them apart, but principles. This university has made it its noble mission to instill Catholic principles to each of its students while, at the same time, giving them a high quality of education."
And this is where UST has been undeniably successful. A university should be more than "a place where scholars scrutinize reality, more than a place that imparts information or provides creative skills intended to give economic benefits to society," according to Cardinal Grocholewski.
Santo Tomas was able, throughout its four centuries of proud existence, to hone the human person and impart wisdom, a purpose which in the opinion of the Papal legate, is the "most genuine and comprehensive purpose of a university."
Since its birth, UST has received many titles, as can be deduced from its complete name, The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines. It was on Nov. 25, 1645 when Pope Innocent X raised UST to university status. Charles III, in 1785, granted it the title "Royal" while Pope Leo XIII bequeathed it the title "Pontifical" in 1902. It was in 1947 when Pope Pius XII granted to UST the cognomen "The Catholic University of the Philippines."
Although UST was founded officially on April 28, 1611, UST officials chose to celebrate the Quadricentennial, whose theme is "UST: Building the Church, the nation and the family—our birthright and destiny," on Jan. 28, the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas after whom the University was named.
Perhaps, one of the highlights of the year-long Quadricentennial celebration of the España-based school was the unveiling of the Quattromondial, a 10-meter bronze monument at the Quadricentennial park of the University, towering between the campus' "imposing" Main Building and its Benavides Library.
The monument, another masterpiece of Ramon Orlina, a Thomasian sculptor renowned internationally for his works with glass, consists of four larger-than-life human figures- a male student and a female student, a Dominican priest and an academician- with arms stretched upward holding a globe high in the air and facing the four corners of the world. Two of the models for the four human figures were actor Piolo Pascual and actress and beauty queen Charlene Gonzales-Mulach, who were both in attendance when the structure was presented.
Mr. Pascual was the model for the male student while Mrs. Mulach was the model for the lady teacher. The University's Rector, Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, O.P. was the model for the Dominican monk while Mr. Orlina's daughter Monina posed as the young female student.
Just like its home institution, the monument is replete with symbolisms and the character that UST embodies, a fact bared by the artist himself.
The four human figures represent, according to a statement from UST, "the four centuries of excellence, erudition, spirituality and tradition the University has demonstrated and inspired in every one of its stakeholders." The globe, tilted 23.5 degrees, symbolizes the phenomenon of globalization and the challenges it faces this 21st century like ecological destruction and climate change. This spherical figure obverses the North Star, which is used by travelers as guide during their trips. In the same vein, UST has provided guidance to its educators and students as they nurture themselves spiritually, intellectually and socially. The globe, meanwhile, is comprised of three intersecting spheres that resemble an atom, the most basic, irreducible, indestructible building stone of any matter. "Similarly, a UST education is an irreducible, indestructible part of every one of its stakeholders," said the UST architecture graduate. Viewed from different perspectives, one could turn reflective as he beholds the glass inside the sphere made of multi-dimensional glass.
"And as it catches light, it reminds the viewer of the glowing sun and rippling, flowing water, giving the structure a spiritual dimension, reminding everyone that the University is a proud Catholic institution," Mr. Orlina said, adding that he also wanted to humble "the observer into a quiet reflection that holiness or spirituality, like water, is not something that can be cupped in one's hands, but a mystery and a gift that flows from one person to the next."
The celebration in UST just started last week. Many more events are slated for the rest of the year. But for the many who took part in last week's gala, it will be etched forever that they were a part of the plethora of people who crooned, danced and jumped as they celebrate an institution's 400th birthday.
And the University of Santo Tomas knows that its mission is not over and in fact is just starting. Just outside the gates of UST, as the celebrations were under way, little children whose faces were smudged with dirt and paupers roamed the streets surrounding the gates of the campus, desperately asking for little food, or crumbs, so that they could tide over their hunger.
It is only when this sight and other injustices and inequalities in human society are permanently eliminated could UST proudly face the heavens and say "I have accomplished Thy mission for me."
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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