Grade schoolers off to Children’s Museum and Library Incorporated competition

Selected Carolinian grade school students will represent USC to the national Children’s Museum and Library, Incorporated (CMLI) at the Teacher’s Camp in Baguio City on August 30th to September 3rd 2008. The national competition will include skills like singing, writing, drawing, and public speaking.

The following is the list of participants:

COMPETITIONS FOR EXCELLENCE

Declamation Krizamae Barabat (Filipino) and Meca Gabutan (English)
Essay Writing Dave Almagro (English) and Tudor Balbon (Filipino)
Extempo Speaking Rex Cabanilla
News Writing Jesmaine Diamante (English) and Krisha Aytona (Filipino)
Poetry Writing Tudor Balbon (Filipino) Josh Abugan (English)
Pop Quiz Hot Shots Rex Cabanilla and Ian Singco
Poster Making Celina Paredes
Spelling Bee Ian Singco and Jason Pepito
Story Telling Venice Surban

COMPETITIONS FOR ENTERTAINMENT

OPM Solo Singing Nikka Marie Gelbolingo
VJ Hosting Karen Ancajas
Radio Drama Elysha Ouano, Lyka Aldemita, and Niña Lapa
Kirstene Galaroza, Patrick Bulan, and Yenna Deliman
Maui delos Angeles, Luil Delgado, and Akita Pepito
Mr. Graders Con 08 Josh Abugan
Ms. Graders Con 08 Monique Sasam
Talent Variety Show all delegates

CMLI 2008 theme: “Human Rights, Human Rights, Bakit ka Ginawa? CMLI: Empowering the Filipino Youth as Steward against the Deprivation of Children’s Rights.”

Filipino scholars off to UK

The University of San Carlos Office of External Affairs has announced the names of the three grantees of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program - Philippines . The grantees come from Central and Eastern Visayas.

The Filipino scholars will be sent to universities in the UK to take up further studies.

1. Noeme del Migues
Program Coordinator
Social Apostolate Center
Southern Leyte
MA Social Work
University of East Anglia, United Kingdom

2. Michael Cañares
Holy Name University
Tagbilaran City
MA Development Studies
London School of Economics, United Kingdom

3. Laricel Jarenzo
Capiz Province
MSc Practicing Sustainable Development
University of London, United Kingdom

Board Exam Schedules 2008

Some of you asked for the Schedules of PRC Board Exams for 2008. PRC has the official document of the schedules of licensure/board examinations for 2008, the cities where they all be held, the dates and places, including the deadline in filing applications.

Schedules of PRC Board Exams for 2008 in PDF format.

USC- Inter-Fraternity and Sorority Council

So there is a website for the University of San Carlos Inter-Fraternity and Sorority Council (USC-IFSC)! I found it in Wiki.

The website is not complete though and some links redirect to an image hosting site for the site photo gallery. Few fraternity links were tied to spam "ad" sites. I tried to search for the exact office location, but it only says "USC-TC" with no room number. A mobile number and email address are provided, however.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago a post "Where's Greek Life in USC". I mentioned why links to fraternity websites are not included in the main university site. Fraternities and Sororities must be acknowledged for they are part of "student life" or "campus life" as well. I couldn't imagine how many students these organizations have helped through the years! There may be bad news thrown here and there, but what the heck! They should count the fun and happy days too and, sure, the bad news are outnumbered.

Do you know how many Fraternity and Sorority groups are there in USC? There are 55 of them.

* ADAMAS NU OMEGA
* ALPHA CHI UPSILON
* ALPHA CHI UPSILON SIGMA
* ALPHA ETA OMICRON
* ALPHA KAPPA RHO
* ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA
* ALPHA OMEGA SIGMA SORORITY
* ALPHA PHI EPSILON
* ALPHA PHI IOTA SIGMA
* ALPHA PHI OMEGA
* ALPHA PHI UPSILON
* ALPHA SIGMA GAMMA
* ALPHA SIGMA OMEGA
* ALPHA SIGMA PHI
* ALPHA TAU OMEGA
* ALPHA TAU RHO SIGMA
* ALPHA XI EPSILON
* ALPHA ZETA EPSILON SIGMA
* BETA SIGMA BETA
* BETA THETA EPSILON
* DAUGHTERS OF JOB'S
* DELTA EPSILON
* DELTA GAMMA BETA
* DELTA GAMMA RHO
* DELTA PHI EPSILON
* DELTA PHI OMEGA
* EPSILON CHI SIGMA
* EPSILON NU SIGMA
* GAMMA EPSILON
* GAMMA KAPPA PHI
* KAPPA MU TRI-EPSILON
* KAPPA NU SIGMA
* KAPPA RHO SIGMA
* KAPPA SIGMA
* KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS (COUNCIL NO. 8148)
* LAMBDA BETA PHI
* MEGALITH NU SIGMA PHI
* OMEGA BETA DELTA
* OMEGA PHI SIGMA
* ORDER OF DEMOLAY
* PHI OMEGA CHI
* PI RHO SIGMA
* RAINBOW FOR GIRLS
* ROYALE BROTHERHOOD OF TRI-SIGMA CLAN
* SCOUTS ROYALE BROTHERHOOD
* SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON
* SIGMA KAPPA BETA SIGMA
* SIGMA PHI
* SIGMA PHI ZETA
* TAU GAMMA PHI
* TAU KAPPA PHI UPSILON
* TAU RHO LAMBDA
* TRI-OMEGA
* UPSILON PHI SIGMA
* ZETA DELTA GAMMA

With this number of Fraternity and Sorority organizations existing in USC, why can't they even get a link?

Fraternity leaders and members must raise this concern to the USC website admin. A link to the USC-IFSC website should be the best option!

Note:
USC-IFSC is THE CAMPUS MARSHALL OF THE UNIVERSITY founded on August 15, 1995.  The USC-IFSC is the umbrella organization which recognize and oversees all Fraternities, Sororities and Non-Greek Organizations on the University of San Carlos Campus. Members strive to increase cooperation and communication between the Greek Community and Non-Greek Organizations and the rest of the University. The USC-IFSC seeks to educate its members about Anti-Hazing Policy, Community Service, Multi-Cultural Issues, and Organizaiton Management. The goal is to allow members to become educated, involve and active in their respective organizations and to the USC-IFSC as well.

USC - College of Education announces Grand Alumni Homecoming

In celebration for its 70th anniversary, the University of San Carlos College of Education is inviting all CoEd alumni to a Grand Alumni Homecoming.

When: 26 July 2008 (Saturday)
Where: Rudolf Rahmann Cultural Center in the South Campus (the old USC Girl's High)

For more info, you can contact the South Campus through number (63)(32) 254-0117 (connecting all departments).

University of San Carlos, 2nd best performing school in Pharmacy board exam

The University of San Carlos is ranked as the 2nd best performing school in the July 2008 Pharmacy board examinations.

USC had a passing mark of 85 percent (30 out of 35). National passing percentage is 55.94 percent or 631 out of 1128 examinees.

Here's a complete list of USC successful board passers.

1. Ampo, Aikho Neil Laurel
2. Atienza, Jessica Marie Parcutilo
3. Bandala, Zara Marie Tamse
4. Batan, Vhirley Joy Pilarca
5. Boldero, Raya Lorraine Mañanita
6. Carim, Shayma Guro
7. Casilan, Nerija Ortega
8. Causin, Mayenne Pranza
9. Dalogdog, Hosannah Marie Doldolea
10. Deiparine, Syrico Juan Carlo Go
11. Dycoco, Florjomar Cainong
12. Gesite, Joyme Balan
13. Guigayoma, Abigail Flores
14. Kintanar, Catherine Peteros
15. Lim, Joyce Borromeo
16. Lopez, Maria Corazon Soberano
17. Magbanua, Ginny Lee Hondanero
18. Manugas, Rae Phoebe Amarille
19. Micairan, Kristine Camille Rose Tan
20. Miro, Mary Martinae Lim
21. Monares, Eydie Marie Go
22. Nebril, Lyerha Grace Bongo
23. Pleras, Ehrick Martinito
24. Primacio, Pearl Tayapad
25. Ramirez, Divina Ghea Punay
26. Rendon, Cherie Clare Luna
27. Timol, Keshia Acosta
28. Tiro, Mae Quenie Abadingo
29. Yap, Mary Grace Torres
30. Yu, Kristine Antisoda

Congrats to all!

Pat Jason Leonos Meracap: USC grad tops architecture board

A graduate of the University of San Carlos (USC) placed 4th in this year’s licensure examination for architecture, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced.

Pat Jason Leonos Meracap got a rating of 81.40 percent. Of the 1,279 graduates who took the licensure test last month, only 528 passed.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Architecture board exam passers:

1. Emannuel Franz Lisandro V. Medillio Plan - 84.60 % - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

2. Arturo Isidro Tolento Jr. – 83.00 % - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

3. Kristoffer John Manalo Harina - 81.80 % - Batangas State University-Batangas City

4. Pat Jason Leonos Meracap – 81.40% - University of San Carlos (USC)

5. Mark Kenneth Caluza Flores – 81.00% - Saint Louis University

6. Maria Isah Christine Guinto Mendoza – 80.70% - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

7. Emereauldine Teñido Eliseo – 80.50% - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

8. Gilbert Conde Revil – 80.40% - University of the Philippines-Diliman
Mark Jeffrey Samson Sio – 80.40% - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

9. Anya Acebron Raquin - 80.20% - University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

10. Zaldy Soriano Imperial – 79.50% - Adamson University

Congratulations to Pat Jason Leonos Meracap! Congratulations to the USC-CAFA department!

For the complete list of the Architecture Board Exam Results 2008, visit this site.

Dr. Michael Cullinane connects with the Cebuano Studies Center of USC

The assistant director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Dr. Michael Cullinane, is presently in Cebu to do a research project entitled "The Urban Origins of the Cebu Political Elite, 1757-1940". He is connected with the Cebuano Studies Center of USC.

The research will focus on the emergence of an urban elite in Cebu City's Parian, especially from the 18th century to 1860, and more broadly throughout the city since the 1860s. Emphasis will be placed on the movement of urban-based elites into various municipalities of Cebu Province during the 19th century and on the impact these movements had on transforming local social and economic elites.

The project will also delve on the subsequent impact of the political institutions implemented in the 20th century by the Americans, in particular the introduction of municipal and provincial elections, resulting in a province-wide politics that was soon dominated by urban-based families with strong links to the municipalities.

Dr. Michael Cullinane is on a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship.

USC: 54th Grand Alumni Homecoming

The University of San Carlos, through The Carolinians Incorporated, will hold its 54th Grand Alumni Homecoming this 24th of August 2008 at the South Campus (the old Girls’ High) Pentagon. Registrations will start at 3:00 p.m.

All USC alumni, wherever you are on the planet, are invited. There is a registration fee of P400 (around $10) for dinner and door prizes.

For more info, please contact any of the following:

Analie at (+63)(32) 2537507 or analiebosquit@yahoo.com

Daday at (+63) 09209256068 or cigohetia@yahoo.com

April at apriltudtudramos@yahoo.com.

CAPPACOPEE: A coffee shop inside USC

A coffee shop inside the University of San Carlos? Awesome! This is a very good idea, not to mention a good business. Being the first of its kind in the campus, this will surely sell to students. Visiting Starbucks or Bo's coffee in the malls, you'll see that they are populated by coffee-loving students. The best market for coffee -- students!

CAPPACOPEE is located at the new Law and Business Building, and managed by a group of BA students. The shop was an idea that came out from their "Businesses Administration double major in Marketing Management and Entrepreneurship" thesis.

With the temperature in Cebu around mid 30s, who doesn't want a cappuccino, cookies and cream, and chocolate blended and chilled?

They have room-to-room delivery. Just text:
NAMEORDER LOCATION (what room, etc.) AMOUNT and send to 09236431477. Look for Stevens or Kyshia.

Go CAPPACOPEE!

Where's Greek Life in USC?

Greek life inside the University of San Carlos is alive. Greek Life means Fraternities and Sororities that abound and has been existing in the university for so long. These groups carry names in Greeks - like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Teta and so on. But why are they not listed in the official USC website?

If you go to the link "Campus Life" found on the left sidebar of usc.edu.ph, you will see a list of clubs which are mostly, if not all, academic-related. Nothing about Greek Life. Nothing about Fraternities and Sororities. Why?

Greek Life in most U.S. schools are highly acknowledged. They even have their own offices and they play big roles in almost all university events. But that is also what fraternities and sororities are doing in USC, isn't it? We often see frat members participating and volunteering in student events, inside or outside school premises. It is time that they get listed as part of Campus Life.

Just because few of us have become witnesses of frat wars in school, this doesn't mean the groups have to be feared. Greek life must be given a chance to prove their worthy cause.

Are you a member of a campus frat or sorority? How does Greek Life affect you as a student? Please leave a comment.

University of San Carlos famous alumni

I was reading about Vicente Sotto, one of the greatest Cebuanos of the 20th century and the "Father of Cebuano Literature", and found out that he actually finished his secondary education at the University of San Carlos (formerly Colegio de San Carlos).

I searched for more notable alumni of USC and saw this from wiki:

* Sergio Osmeña - second president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines

* Christopher Go - Filipino astronomer who discovered a new red spot on Jupiter, an achievement recognized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

* Jesus Estanislao - former secretary of the Department of Finance. He is the recipient of the 2002 International Corporate Governance Network Award (first and only Filipino to receive such award to date) and the Philippine Legion of Honor in 1992. He was the founding Dean (1998) of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo. He also served as the founding president (1992-1997) of the University of Asia and the Pacific, which grew out of the Center for Research and Communication, of which he was the founding Executive Director (1969-1981). Dr. Estanislao holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he was also a Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow. He obtained his MA in Economics from Fordham University, and his AB in Economics and Ph.B. (summa cum laude) from the University of San Carlos.

* John L. Gokongwei, Jr. - Filipino industrialist and tycoon; founder of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGSHI) and Chairman Emeritus effective January 1, 2002; #34 of Southeast Asia's 40 Richest (2005)

* Augusto W. Go - president and founder of the University of Cebu

* Pablo Garcia - former Governor of the province of Cebu

* Mariano Jesus Cuenco † - Representative, 5th district; Philippine Legislature Senate; In office as a Senator 1912-1928, 1941-1964.

* Ramon Fernandez - former Philippine Basketball Association or PBA player

* Emilio Mario Osmeña or Lito Osmeña - founder and chairman of PROMDI Party (Probinsya Muna Development Initiative or Provinces First Development Initiative) where he ran for the position of President in the 1998 elections but lost to Joseph Estrada.

* Senator Sergio Osmeña, III - incumbent Senator of the Philippines (1995-present); did not graduate at USC

* Senator John R. Osmeña - Senator of the Philippines

* Congressman Raul del Mar - member Philippine House of Representatives, Representative of the 1st district of Cebu

* Congressman Orlando Fua, Jr. - member of Philippine House of Representatives, representative of the lone district of Siquijor

* Congressman Oscar G. Garin - member of Philippine House of Representatives, representative of the 1st district of Iloilo

* Commissioner Michael "Mike" Francis Acebedo Lopez - Commissioner-at Large of the NATIONAL YOUTH COMMISSION and member of the appeals committee of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), youngest Presidential Appointee in Arroyo government at age 22

* Verns Buckley - International Supermodel

* Maria Karla Bautista - Bb. Pilipinas World 2004, Miss World 2004 4th Runner Up

There you go. If you know more USC alumni excelling somewhere, just leave a comment.

A Mosaic of Visions: Inaugural Speech by Fr. Dionisio M. Miranda

(Inaugural Speech delivered by Fr. Dionisio M. Miranda, SVD, during his Investiture as the 10th President of the University of San Carlos, July 5, 2008, held at the Rudolf Rahmann Cultural Center, South Campus, J. Alcantara St. Cebu City. Via USC.)

Introduction. For those attuned to its symbolisms, the toga I wear today represents both a departure from, and a continuation of, a tradition. It departs from tradition because most theological schools in Rome, already used to the clerical garb, saw no further need for an academic dress. But because the tradition of the University of San Carlos demanded it, I chose to design a new one in deference to the custom of investiture. The crimson bands refer to the discipline of theology, as does the STD after my name. Theology also explains the Scriptural allusions, religious metaphors, and patterns of moral discourse.

1. Education as Inculturation. My work as theological ethicist engaged me in a particular movement called inculturation, whose ideal is to so lodge faith at the heart of culture to the extent that it becomes its very principle of life and operation. Perhaps this can be made more concrete in terms of the principles which guide the process. The first was indigenization, which is nothing more than rediscovering one’s voice, after centuries of being taught – badly - that all there is to speak must come from someone else’s discourse. The second was contextualization, which is inserting one’s understanding in one’s native soil, and one’s historical period. If that sounds abstruse, think of it more simply in terms of a current slogan, “think global, but act local.” The third was the choice of a procedural approach, allowing the issues to shape the methods by which they could be solved. One did not only drink from one’s own well; one did so with a coconut shell. What I learned in theological circles about the value and possibility of unlearning years of pursuing an agenda on inertia I now apply to education, in the conviction that learning’s purpose is best achieved by asking questions of questions, by taking the learner seriously, and by pressing the issue of the common social good. In other words, for the University of San Carlos to recover its reason for being it has to weave again the core processes of education, which are to facilitate learning, to advance knowledge, and to make both serve human flourishing.

2. Revisioning as Educational Conversion. The liberal tradition of education decisively lays the emphasis on the learning process and the value of learning transfer more than it does on content and function. Nonetheless, relevance demands of education that it balance the functional and the processual components, much as Aristotelian philosophy grasped the dynamicity of matter and form, or the complementation between the phenomenological and the ontological, or in more popular terminology the interplay between theory and practice. Among the serious challenges which any educational institution faces at the cusp of the third millennium is the need to return to the basics, something which is not feasible without a keen sense of history. The refounding of the University must begin at its most elemental units, such as the department, which needs to reconnect with the principles of its foundation. Reflection on the history of academic units reveals that none of them is ever straightforward but is a blend of mission and response to need, as well as of the accidents of personalities and resources ready to hand. Whatever the process, the department acquires an identity that is the product of its history, and a heritage that it can enrich only by bringing it forward and beyond. Revisioning is a sort of retrieval, a revisiting of the past in order to refresh the sense of what one’s essential nature always was. This reaching backward into the past is, in religious language, no more than a program of conversion.

3. Envisioning a multitude of educational mansions. Those in the know agree that our present Board of Trustees is a rather activist group, engaged not only in refining existing policy, but in crafting fresh ones. It was due to its initiative that the Long Range Plan was conceived and a Roadmap designed. Wisely the Board urged that a roadmap can only provide generic directions, and that it was now the proper task of future administrations to bring it down to the level of execution. In that light one can imagine university as a commons where disciplines are cultivated separately and yet in tandem. Alternatively one can think of the university through the metaphor of a round-table, with accent on dialogue within the disciplines and among the departments, replete with the cacophony of debates and the choruses of agreement. Finally one can employ a paradigm of the university as a living entity where cells grow into tissue, tissues into organ, organs into systems until all constitute a single total organism. But like all living beings, the university needs an animating principle, a character, a soul. The task awaiting every department, whether they come from the natural sciences, the social sciences, or the integrative sciences, is to settle on a vision or metaphor which conveys how it imagines itself to be a decade from today. Over time it will also have to undertake the systematic outlining of the steps and resources it will need to arrive at that future vision. One thing is clear: the vision of USC’s future will have to be as unified yet diverse as a mosaic of visions, not unlike Jesus’ promise of many mansions.

4. Discerning the Signs of the Educational Times. Between the legacy of the past and the destination of the future each department must craft its future in conjunction with all the pressures being brought to bear on education today. At the turn of the millennium the principal source of anxiety was Y2K, which eventually dissipated as an empty threat. Strategic Planners of governments and transnationals do not plan for short but long periods, imagining for example, fifty years from now, the state of a country’s water resources, the remaining supply of oil, the shape of the religious landscape, the strength of future super-powers relative to each other, the ageing rates of populations and so on. I cannot presume to see that far into the educational landscape, but in what we have come to accept as the knowledge era, some signs of the future are already emerging. One is the segmentation of the labor market, where we increasingly see notable shifts from pre-industrial factory workers to industry professionals, or to post-industrial sub-specialists, leading to a greater demand for vocational training and technical expertise. Another is the increasing commonplace of computer literacy as a standard requirement in the workplace, itself governed less and less by the bundy-clock and more and more by flexi-time. Today the buzzwords are tech-voc, ladderization, verticalization, cross-border and the like. Increasingly the priority demand on department chairs is not only management skillfulness but critical discernment of the signs of the educational times.

5. Parallels between religious refounding and University Revisioning. In the not so distant past there was serious talk in church circles about the “refounding of consecrated life,” focused on the crises of religious vocations. The concern continues, but without the sanguine optimism of that period, tempered by the realities of the contemporary world and the realization that dreams can only become real given certain conditions. For the University of San Carlos two come immediately to mind. Firstly, we will need the collaboration of the community. Communities require leadership, of which they will need various types at all levels of the organization; but institutions do not perpetuate themselves – they survive in those who gather as disparate individuals joined by a shared purpose. No effort at refounding the University of San Carlos can gain traction without the cooperation and collaboration of its faculty and staff. Secondly we will also need what some call luck and others serendipity, but which the religious in me prefers to call grace. The early missionaries founded Colegio de San Ildefonso as a logical offshoot of their faith; that it survived as Colegio y Seminario, real o conciliar across the centuries could only be explained in terms of a certain hope; as University of San Carlos it will have a future beyond ourselves if we believe in God’s mission of love more than in our perceived talents or capacities. We of the Society of the Divine Word are reminded today as never before that the mission is never ours alone, but God’s in the first place. We thank all of you who are here today to share in our joy at the many fruitful years behind us, thanks to towering pioneers and nameless contributors. We thank all of you as well for wishing us well as we face the future challenges of Philippine education.

To conclude: Leadership as Stewardship – Feeding Christ’s lambs. Philosophers spontaneously try to integrate all of human knowing into a single system, only to discover that sometimes all you can hope for is a window into the world of knowledge, constructed out of one’s discipline knowledge. One should not begrudge the architect for looking at the Church, for example, as dwelling-place, or a technophile for seeing social change as engineering. As questions are posed on how we wish to formulate our program of leadership for the university in the next triennium all we can offer is an image of stewardship along the lines of the greatest Teacher who ever lived. Jesus taught about the kingdom of God in the form of parable. My invitation to each member of the academic community, whether student or faculty, staff or administrator, to join in the challenge of unfolding, within each academic department, service unit, or administrative level, what the Kingdom of God means for the University of San Carlos. The role of the President of any Catholic university, in my considered view, can only echo that of Peter, in an academic context, to be sure. Asked thrice by Jesus whether he loved him, Peter’s affirmations were met by a repeated mandate: Feed my lambs. The University President, more than any other academic, is tasked to lead those who come to these halls of learning to the source of truth – about human life, in this world, as a family, in its many nuances. It is in light of this entrustment that I respectfully accept the task of leading so that the Lord can become our way, our truth, and our life. At root this is the mission of the University of San Carlos, then, now and tomorrow; I can only make it also my own. Thank you for your confidence, and may God bless this, our shared beginning.

Congratulations Fr. Dionisio Marcelo Miranda, SVD!

Congratulations to our newly installed University President, Fr. Dionisio Marcelo Miranda, SVD.

Update: Installation of Father Dionisio M. Miranda

Take not of the date: Saturday, July 5, 2008. This weekend is the Installation of Father Dionisio M. Miranda, SVD as the 10th USC President.

More details will be furnished to the USC Community.