UP shifts academic calendar; screens 83K applicants for AY 2015-2016

Note: This photo-essay appeared in the 22-28 August 2014 issue of FilAm Star with the title "UP grind begins with new academic calendar, screening of applicants by the thousands." This author/blogger is the special news/photo correspondent of the said newspaper.

UPCAT day scenes at Melchor Hall.

The weekend of 16-17 August 2014 saw some 83,000 high school seniors taking the UP College Admission Test or the popular UPCAT in various testing centers around the country.  The UPCAT is a five-hour multiple-choice examination in English and Pilipino comprising language proficiency, science, mathematics, and reading comprehension.  Last year, out of around 74,000 examinees, 13,028 qualified for admission, which is roughly the number that can be accommodated by the various academic units in the different campuses of the University of the Philippines System.

We were in the Diliman campus at about noontime of 16^th when the morning batch of examinees had just finished the test and they were getting out of the engineering building.  The afternoon batch was preparing to move inside, and we noted two lines: one of students and the other of parents/chaperons. The UPCAT, as usual, became a family event. The parental duty, of course, could only go as far as the entry door of the building.  We chatted briefly with several of them to learn of their first and second choices of courses and campuses.

It was almost the same time last year when the UP freshmen (freshies) of this Academic Year 2014-2015 took the UPCAT. They could have recognized their own predicaments a year ago when they saw the faces of this year’s UP applicants: those who have taken the test and those who are about to take the bout using Mongol pencil 2.

It was barely two weeks past when classes started in UP Manila (August 6) and UP Diliman (August 7).  UP Los Baños and UP Baguio opened on August 11 and 12, respectively; and Mindanao, on August 18 yet. 

Mural at the College of Fine Arts.

This means that the freshies had a four-month vacation to fortify themselves for the first bout with UP life: the enrolment process, and the surprises and perplexities inside/outside the classrooms during the first week/month. 

It’s all because the UP shifted its academic calendar the first semester from June-October to August-December, and the second semester from November-April to January-May.

The second semester will no longer be interrupted by the long Christmas break. It will start right after the scholars of the people (mga iskolar ng bayan) return from a happy holiday, hopefully, unless the first sem performance is gravely disappointing.  The calendar shift is most welcome to parents of students going home for the holidays because they will save in transportation fares.

UP President Alfredo Pascual emphasized in his press statement that “the decision to shift the academic calendar is part of the continuing efforts of UP to develop into a regional and global university and to maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global educational partnerships”.

The UP Charter, Republic Act 9500 of 2008, mandates UP as the national university, and one of its purposes is to “serve as a regional and global university in cooperation with international and scientific unions, networks of universities…in the Asia Pacific Region and around the world”.

The academic calendar shift comes in synch with ASEAN 2015, when the Action Plan of the ASEAN Economic Cooperation is expected to be fully implemented in the member countries. The Plan includes promotion of the free flow of goods and services among said countries.

The historic AS Steps

UP is a member of the ASEAN University Network (AUN).  According to Pascual, synchronization of the academic calendar with those of ASEAN, European and American academic partners “will create more joint programs and partnerships with other universities, allow students to get transfer credits, particularly under ASEAN and ASEAN +3 Credit Transfer System (ACTS), and address the problem with semestral gaps with partner universities.”  Thus, this synchronization will enhance the mobility of students and faculty within the region.  Most universities in Asia, Europe and North America also start their classes in August or September. 

Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University are also members of the AUN. According to reports, they plan to shift their academic calendars next year.  The University of Santo Tomas shifted this year to July, and will adjust to August next year.  Other universities may eventually adopt a new calendar.  As far as we know, the Department of Education has yet to decide if the elementary and high school academic calendars will also shift to harmonize with the universities.

“Padayon mga Iskolar ng Bayan! (Carry on, Scholars of the People!),” Pascual exhorted the freshies of UP Diliman during their welcome assembly on August 11. 

Fine Arts freshies with artsy headgear.

The welcome program of the University Freshie Month was intended to make them feel at home. The student proctors also made sure that the freshies kept a buoyant spirit when their deans introduced them to the university president.  Hence, they did some gimmicks to lighten up the event, and student organizations rendered presentations to cheer them up too. The contingent of Fine Arts freshies came with artful headgear, which led us to ask the proctors if they are already preparing them for their first Lantern Parade in December. 

Probably their first bewilderment was the call for a bonfire at the UP Diliman Sunken Garden on August 9, two days after the opening of classes:  what’s the hullabaloo about the Fighting Maroons clobbering the Soaring Falcons of Adamson University at a UAAP Season 77 basketball game?

The last time the Maroons won was two years ago. They were UAAP champions in 1986 long before the freshies were born. Probably their only popular ‘connect’ to that event was Benjie Paras who was in that champion team, and his son Andre who was a Fighting Maroon until he moved to San Beda earlier this year.

By now, the freshies may have found favorite places to go to for budget meals if they do not have their own ‘baon’:  snack stalls of the ‘Samahan ng Manininda sa UP Campus’, eateries along JP Laurel Street, ‘kainan’ street, and those inside the shopping center, among others. Late afternoons may see them around Mang Larry’s Isawan, which non-UP students also patronize.  Of course, there’s always the quick and cheap comfort food is the iconic banana delicacy: turon!

Ikot! or Toki! around the campus.

He/she must now be thinking of ways to manage the time for attending classes in different locations especially when the schedules are tight.  Classes in buildings around the academic oval are navigable with strong legs. But if these are outside this loop, say in the new engineering complex, the UP Ikot, which runs counter-clockwise around the campus, or the UP Toki, which takes the reverse direction, may be the substitute for legs. These jeepneys ply different routes, one of them going through the messy traffic on CP Garcia.

After the welcome assembly with the UP president, the university has more events for the freshies, and one of them is the University Freshie Student Council elections on August 26. This reminds us that in our time, freshmen were not represented in the university student council, nor were we allowed to vote. 

Outside of these official events, some freshies may opt to have a political baptism by joining the Junk STS [Socialized Tuition System] unity march around the academic oval on August 27, and Boycott the BOR [Board of Regents] rally at the Executive House on Aug 28, being organized by Gabriela Youth.

It is likely that the Gabriela Youth will culminate the march with a program at the A.S. Steps. Historical events took place here such as:   UP President Salvador P. Lopez declaring support of the UP community in 1971for the Diliman Commune; Senators Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas speaking on national issues before the declaration of martial law in 1972; and students launching the protest movement following the Aquino assassination in 1983.

On August 27, other freshies may want instead to go to the Film Center’s Cine Adarna to witness the awarding of the 2014 UP Gawad Plaridel, an annual media award of the university, to Nora Aunor for her "unique artistry and versatility as a singer,: and for "portraying with keen intelligence and uncommon sensitivity an amazing range of cinematic roles."

CMC@50 

The UP Gawad Plaridel was established by the College of Mass Communications (CMC) “to recognize Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, radio, film, and television) and who have performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.”  It is named after the propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), known to history students for the reformist La Solidaridad of the expatriate Filipinos in Spain in the late 1890s.

Freshies may not fail to note the CMC poster announcement that its 50^th anniversary will be next year and the Plaridel image is their embodying logo for the theme “Midyang Malaya at Mapagpalaya”.

By the way, Chancellor Michael Tan wrote that "it's still go for the sunflowers for next year's graduation, for the sake of tradition, and science." The protest against the calendar shift used the sunflowers as an argument. But a shorter variety of sunflowers that were planted in June are now blooming. The tradition lives on, and the freshies today will have sunflowers on their graduation four or five years from now. Padayon, mga iskolar ng bayan! 

Noble warrior of UP Vargas Museum.

Sablay, sunflowers, and reminders to serve the people for the bright lights from UP Diliman

Note: * This photo-essay appeared in a slightly different version in the 02-08 May 2014 issue of the FilAm Star, 'the newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America' published weekly in San Francisco, CA. This blogger/author is the Philippines Special News/Photo Correspondent of the said paper.  

Two long vertical maroon streamers from the top of Quezon Hall provided the historical framework of the 2014 General Commencement Exercises of the University of the Philippines Diliman on 27 April.   The streamers were in honor of Apolinario Mabini, the revolutionary ‘sublime paralytic’.  It is in celebration of his sesquicentennial birth anniversary this coming July that the commencement program carried the theme “Pagbabalik Tanaw Tungo sa Tapat na Pamamahala.”

On the University Avenue, streamers vertically hang on posts along the traffic island of blooming sunflowers told that this year’s graduation class is the 103rd batch in the history of the university, alongside that of the Mabini commemorative
.

UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan said he could have similarly honored Isabelo de los Reyes, had he known earlier that the 150th birth anniversary of the pioneer in the country’s labor movement is also in July. The dean of the School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) gave due recognition to de los Reyes when he presented his unit’s candidates for graduation.

Directly facing the graduates, their families and friends seated at the amphitheater, was the banner stretched across the front of the stage bearing in big bold red letters the slogan of the 1970s: Paglingkuran ang Sambayan (Serve the People).  It was a reminder of the great responsibility expected by the country of the graduating class, the Iskolar ng Bayan, since their university education was subsidized by the people’s tax. 

Wherever you go, UP President Alfredo Pascual said in his message in Pilipino to Class 2014, whether in government, in business and industry, in the academe, in NGOs, or in other fields, you are expected to push for reforms that would contribute to the well-being of the country and society.

Commencement speaker Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, expressed similar sentiments urging Class 2014 to pay back the people who spent for their education.  She exhorted them to be productive: “Huwag ninyong sayangin ang inyong kabataan, ang inyong lakas, ang kaningningan ng inyong mga mata, ang inyong idealismo at pagkamalikhain, sa mga pangarap na walang saysay.” 

She urged them to help in building a just and free country, clean of corruption. You have the voice, she said in her speech, to shout “‘tama na, tama na ang katiwalian, tama na ang lamangan, tama na ang kasuwapangan.’ Panahon na para ang katarungan ang manaig.”  

Sereno asked for patience and vigilance in the prosecution of graft and corruption cases. “Anuman ang magiging kararatnan ng mga judicial process na pagdaraanan, kailangan po ng walang humpay na pagbabantay ng taong bayan, di lamang sa pag bantay sa kaban ng bayan, kundi sa pag ganap ng tungkulin na iniatas ng ating konstitusyon sa mga opisyales ng ating pamahalaan,” she emphasized.

The Chief Justice was speaking to what Chancellor Tan described as the brightest and most privileged graduating class, many of them part of almost 4,000 high school graduates who gained admission to the Diliman campus after passing the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) of 2010.

“Almost 60 percent of our students come from private high schools,” Tan said, “and another 30 from public science high schools, whose composition is still largely middle and upper income.”  He acknowledged, and thanked “the students from low income families, whose parents, or an Ate or Kuya, scrounged and saved, sought ways to get [them] into, and keep [them] in UP.”

Comprising Class 2014 were 3,367 with undergraduate degrees, 710 with master’s, and 62 with doctoral, degrees.  Tan made special mention of the seven students from Eastern Visayas who made it despite the adversity caused by typhoon Yolanda.  

On the lead were twenty summa cum laude graduates, and at the top was Ralph John O. Ugalino, BS Chemistry, from the College of Science with a weighted average grade (WAG) of 1.067. 

The College of Engineering had the most graduates at 789, eight of them summa cum laude.  The College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), College of Science, and the School of Economics each had three graduates with top honors. 

Through a selection process that involved submission and oral presentation of a speech before a panel of judges, Jose Maria L. Marella, BS Economics(1.164 WAG) was chosen from among the qualified summas to deliver the response in behalf of the graduating class.

In his speech "Para sa Bayan: Dangal at Husay," he stressed two important values -- Honor and Excellence. "Dangal. Honor. Integrity. Ito ngayon ang hamon sa ating mga bagong graduates ng UP. Ipalaganap natin ang pagsisilbi ng may karangalan sa bayan. Huwag nating kalimutan ang mahahalagang aral na natutunan natin sa loob at labas ng classrooms sa UP. At higit sa lahat, isaalang-alang natin sa bawat gawain natin ang kabutihan ng lahat, ang kabutihan ng bawat Pilipino at hindi and pansariling interes lamang. Saan man tayo mapapunta, balik-tanawin natin ang mga aral na ito, tungo sa tapat at mahusay na pamamahala!"

The historical and current reference frames of this year's commencemnet program were enriched by the cultural nuances of the sablay. This is the official academic costume that graduating classes have been wearing since 2000, replacing the traditional cap and gown (toga).

The sablay is a loose garment or wide sash using the UP colors of maroon and green. It is a nationalistic expression conveying the importance of our indigenous culture, a value that the University teaches. The sablay is adorned with ukkil , representing the growth of knowledge, and geometric patterns like triangles and chevrons, which are common design elements of indigenous cultures in the Philippines. UP, the University’s acronym, is based on the baybayin for U and P, and is etched in yellow on the sablay.

It is worn over barong tagalog for the men, and ecru- or eggshell-colored dress for the women. The graduating class wears the garment on their right shoulder at the start of the program. The highlight comes when UP President confirms them as graduates, and that is when they move the sablay to their left shoulder using the proper technique so that they do not have to take it off. 

There’s another frame for the UP Diliman graduation day, very environmental or botanical.  It is not an official practice but it simply became traditional: the planting of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.) usually in late February so that they come into full bloom along the University Avenue and around the Quezon Hall amphitheatre during commencement week.

We have seen people in cars stopping by for selfies with the blooming sunflowers, and graduates sneaking out of the amphitheatre for picture taking at the University Avenue with the UP colors of their sablay as counterpoints to the bright yellow of the sunflowers.

It is almost a given: an unofficial part of the commencement program, a brief time allocation for student activists to express their advocacy statements. 

This year, before everyone rose for the singing of UP Naming Mahal, the activist graduates moved to the front with their banners, and with clenched fists, recited their protest slogans. 

From the balcony of Quezon Hall rolled two black tarpaulins printed with “US Troops Out Now!!!” and “Obama Out of Asia Now!!!”  This was on the eve of the arrival of US President Barrack Obama in Manila for his state visit to the country.