NAGDAOS ang Legal Management Society ng isang leadership conference na pinamagatang “Breakthrough to Excellence: Legal Management Leadership Conference” sa Thomas Aquinas Research Center Auditorium noong ika-anim ng Agosto.
“Every student organization has the duty to mold its members as true and good Thomasian leaders. It has been a pride of the Legal Management Society to have and produce members for the past 21 years who excel not only in academics but in other aspects as well, such as leadership. For this academic year, many LM Students were able to become officers in various university-wide organizations,” ani Patrick Gil Cortes, pangulo ng Legal Management Society sa kanyang pambungad na pananalita.
“To continuously uphold this pride, the Legal Management Society aims to conduct Leaders’ Conference. There will be talks that are for the benefit of the participants,” dagdag niya.
Ang nasabing conference ay nilahukan ng mga class officers at mag-aaral na nasa ikalawang antas.
Tungkol sa pagbabago ang naging unang talakayan na pinangunahan ni Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Ambassador Von Carlo Yacob kung saan idiniin niya ang katuwirang nararapat mangyari sa gobyerno, edukasyon, kapaligiran at higit sa lahat sa ating mga sarili.
“Gusto ko ‘yung mga bagay na ikinalulungkot ng henerasyon ngayon at nung mga dating henerasyon ay ikasasaya ng susunod na henerasyon” ika ni Yacob sa kanyang pananalita.
Nang tanungin kung ppaano niya binabalanse ang kanyang oras, sinabi ni Maria Ninna Bonsol, Thomasian Achievers’ Awardee 2014, na nagpahayag tungkol sa “Leading the Hardest Person to Lead: Yourself” ang mga katagang “nilelevel ko yung importance nung mga events at mga dapat kong gawin”.
“Opportunity knocks only once, ‘pag kumatok pa ulit, swerte ka na. When opportunity knocks, open the door,” pagtatapos ng huling speaker na si Mark Kevin Dellosa, dating pangulo ng Legal Management Society at magna cum laude noong 2011, sa kanyang ulat ukol sa “Qualities of Outstanding Leadership.”
Sumunod dito ang oath taking ng mga miyembro ng executive board, committee heads at class officers.
The Faculty of Civil Law has started its investigation over a brawl between two fraternities that happened in the University last week.
As the probe started Monday, Nov. 14, Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina hopes to get the “whole picture” of the incident.
“We haven’t discerned the identity of those responsible or involved yet,” Divina told TomasinoWeb in a phone interview.
The fact-finding committee will be headed by Judge Philip Aguinaldo, coordinator of the Student Welfare and Development Board of Civil Law together with former Civil Law Dean Lope Feble and Civil Law professor Amado Tayag.
The committee is expected to decide on what sanctions will be imposed upon those involved in the incident.
Divina assured that the investigation will be finished as soon as possible.
In a memorandum signed by Divina last Nov. 10, all members of the Gamma Delta Epsilon Fraternity and Aegis Juris Fraternity are not allowed “to enter the campus or the Faculty of Civil Law or attend classes until further orders” following the fistfight between its two members.
“It’s not in a position of sanction, only preventive in nature and the purpose, being to prevent the incident from further escalating,” Divina explained.
The two fraternities are still mum on the issue. TomasinoWeb tried to get a statement from the two groups, but both declined to comment.
Gamma Delta Epsilon and Aegis Juris have also been involved in a “standoff” in 2014 which led to the expulsion of one of the students involved.
Amazing stories are hidden beneath shadows, and that is where he is prowling, with his camera at hand, patiently waiting for the right moment to capture.
With an array of stunning photographs he shot at various places he has travelled to, Jun Barrameda, a Thomasian professor teaching at the College of Fine Arts and Design showcased his works at the Beato Angelico Building in an exhibit titled SOLO, which explored the manipulation of space and light.
Every piece is a reflection of what reality is to him—depicting the elegance of culture and the classical history embedded into each photo.
“Well, I see myself as an artist photographer and my works are a reflection of my own reality; not subjective, rather I wanted to sing my own song, my visuals are my own narrative based on the intentionality why I create those images,” Barrameda said.
The exhibit featured photos shot during eight years of travelling and a manuscript “dedicated to everyone who is into photography, most especially to the Thomasian artists of today.”
“The intention of my exhibit is an inspiration for those in pursuit in the completion of their theses in the coming years,” he said.
Finding the right lens
Jun Barrameda
Barrameda obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Santo Tomas and got his master’s degree in Fine Arts and Design at the Philippine Women’s University where his collection, Photography: A Study of Light and Space was used for his master’s thesis.
His prowess in photography is recognized locally and internationally. His work titled Dugo at Kawayan won a bronze at the International Photography Awards and another piece titled Khmer Rouge earned the ASIAN Photography Award 2016 Featured Photograph.
Even with these achievements, he remains humble. “Progress comes along with age, and it is called maturity,” he said. “It took a journey of 40 long years of practice from advertising until today which I claimed to be an artist, working within the medium – photography, of which I love most.”
However, not everyone can handle this tedious process of following one’s passion—they are often disheartened in the middle of the journey. “The most difficult [person] to convince is yourself,” he said.
“But if you want to be successful, never be disheartened. Always have 100 percent self-confidence. Don’t ask Facebook likes to convince you; it is fake. Instead, believe in yourself that you are amazing.”
The mantra
“It’s my way of giving back.” He regarded his exhibit with pride, elated that he can finally impart his undying passion to his fellow Thomasians, especially to the University for nurturing him, and guided him in finding where his passion is.
“My message to the Thomasian community is be an artist—be a Thomasian artist. And to those who have love for photography, I will leave you three things: dedication and love, quality, and attitude (sic).”
Three Thomasians ranked among the ten top scorers of the October 2016 interior designer board exams according to results released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The University garnered a 65.79 percent passing rate, wherein 75 Thomasians passed out of 114 examinees. This is lower than last year’s 69.49 percent rate, in which 41 passed out of 59 examinees.
Maria Carla Sebastian ranked sixth with a score of 84.25 percent. Meanwhile, Miriam de Jesus shared the seventh spot with Christine Dizon of the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD) after earning a score of 84.05 percent.
Pauline Dominique Uy landed in the ninth place with a score of 83.9 percent.
Leading the new batch of interior designers is Irene Kathleen Dee of the Philippine School of Interior Design with a score of 88.65 percent.
UPD was hailed as the lone top performing school with a 95.35 percent passing rate.
According to the PRC, only 213 out 419 examinees nationwide passed the licensure examination.