Page 6 - The Flame

Mr. Bes, Ms. Pol Sci win Insignia 2011

Ms. Arts and Letters disqualified in University-wide pageant

By MARIA NIKKA P. POLICARPIO in special cases,” the ABSC said
in its manifesto on the issue.
THE EPITOME of an Arts and Letters Other awardees include
(Artlets) personality does not settle Royd Vicente (Journalism) as
for looks alone, but the entire package the male first runner-up; John
of wits, intelligence, and character as Andrew del Prado and Reyra
well. Delos Reyes (Literature) as
This premise was justified as Be- the male and female second
havioral Science freshman Mark de runners-up; and Kevin Antonio
Sequera and Political Science senior (Communication Arts) and Pa-
Joliv Catiis were hailed as this year’s tricia Cruz (Economics) as male
Mr. and Ms. Artlets after besting oth- and female third runners-up.
er participants in Insignia: The 2Q11 During the awards night,
Search for the Epitomes of Artlet the candidates strutted out
Beauty held last November 25 at the the runway on different sets of
Plaza Mayor. clothing categorized into Black
Catiis was supposed to represent and White Glam, Festival Wear,
the Faculty together with De Sequera and Evening Gowns. They also
in the annual Search for the Ideal modeled casual clothing by
Thomasian Personality set on Febru- sponsor Hang-Ten and donned
ary this year, but the Artlets Student the creations of Drei Soriano
Council (ABSC) was later informed by and Veejay Floresca.
the Student Organizations Coordinat-
ing Council (SOCC) that she was dis- Change of name
qualified for failing to meet the height The ABSC gave the Artlets
requirement of the University-wide pageant a new face this year as
pageant. (See story on page 28) it renamed it “Insignia”, a Latin Behavioral Science freshman Mark de Sequera and Political
Because of this disqualification, term that means epitome or Science senior Joliv Catiis were hailed as the Mr. and Ms. Fac-
the ABSC decided to send first runner- emblem. This will be the per- ulty of Arts and Letters after defeating other participants in
up Angelica TIngcungco of the Com- manent title of the Artlets pag- Insignia 2011. MICHAEL JUSTIN C. DE VERA
munication Arts program to represent eant under different themes
the Faculty. for the coming years. respective pageants and were tested not only in
“The disqualification issue of Insig- “It is the meeting of new and beauty but also in intelligence and talent, with eth-
nia Joliv Catiis does not dethrone her old, of tradition and modernization,” ics and character alongside.
from being the representation of life, ABSC President Julius Fernandez “We (ABSC) scratched the typical pageant and
love, lore, brimming full, neither gives said. inserted a different idea which is high fashion in-
disregard to the rights of the runner- The candidates of each Artlets side a pageant,” ABSC Vice President for External
ups to represent the Insignia winners major were selected through their Affairs Rhodel Sazon said. F
Int’l confab highlights UST history, legacy

By MARIA NIKKA P. POLICARPIO and FRANCIA D.R. AFULUGENCIA
BEFORE the University officially closed its Quadricentennial cel- nila University professor Michael Coroza; former New York Times
ebration, it revisited its past through the international conference correspondent Alice Colet-Villadolid; and Conservatory of Music
“Pro Ecclesia et Pro Patria” that highlighted its tradition and soci- Dean Raul Sunico, among others.
etal contributions held at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex
auditorium last December 1 to 3. Thomasian days
The three-day academic conference presented “micro-histo- National Artist for Literature Francisco Sionil Jose narrated in
ries” of the University in different fields of study such as Journal- his keynote address his roots as a war veteran and how the Univer-
ism, Literature, Fine Arts and Design, Philosophy, Music, and oth- sity influenced his life and career.
ers, to present a broader view of the contributions it generated “It is always a pleasure to visit the University where I spent four
through the years. of the happiest years (of my life),” Jose said.
“It [the conference] is conceived for Thomasians and non- Furthermore, he discussed the difference between journalism
Thomasians alike so that they will know the real role of this insti- and literature. He described the former as history in a hurry, and
tution,” Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) professor Ma. Eloisa the latter as the noblest of all the arts.
Parco De Castro, one of the main conveners of the conference, Same remarks were given by Villadolid who gave a lecture on
said. Thomasian heroes through the centuries. She also discussed some
The presentations were done in either parallel or plenary ses- of the experiences she had at the University.
sions. “Institutional heroes are hard to find, but the University of
Speakers included Monash University emeritus professor John Santo Tomas has a galaxy of heroes,” Villadolid said.
Crossley; Canadian linguist Christopher Miller; University of the The conference was made possible through a collaborative ef-
Philippines-Diliman professor Jose Wendell Capili; Ateneo de Ma- fort between the UST Graduate School and the Artlets. F
6 | FLAME