BAGUIA
The semester is winding down at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu but the glow of its centennial year remains.
Those of you who have not yet visited “Sentenaryo,” an exhibit of 100 artworks in honor of each of the university’s years should drop by the Jose T. Joya Gallery and feast on the aesthetic delights and social commentary on display there. The exhibit ends tomorrow, 31st of May.
“Alang Kang Basilisa, Akong Lola (For Basilisa, My Grandmother),” by Jay Nathan Jore greets visitors who enter the office of the College of Communication, Art, and Design. (The gallery includes the corridor leading to the office).
The work comes in tandem with “Alang Kang Presentacion, Akong Lola (For Presentacion, My Grandmother).” Both pieces are glass cases — one circular with a convex apex, the other rectangular –containing mostly dried white as well as magenta bougainvilleas.
The colors evoke the themes of purity and clarity — the innocence of white and the passion of every shade of red, and it can be preoccupying trying to guess the contents of the train of memories Jay the grandson unraveled starting from episodes with his grandmothers to honoring them in long-lasting potpourri.
The artist’s craftsmanship is definitely deft.
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In the studious quiet before the end of the school year, several political science alumni of UP Cebu gathered in a centennial reunion at Park Lane Hotel.
A congratulatory message from Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III was delivered on his behalf by Provincial Secretary Pulchra Marie Acevedo.
Prof. Zenaida Ligan-Ashburn, chairperson of the UP Cebu political science program announced plans for the creation of a center for good governance and the institution of a graduate program in global studies.
Her colleague, the prolific political science scholar Prof. Weena Jade Gera was cited for having received an award for disaster resilience from former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
But the formal portions aside, the occasion was a warm gather of teachers and their former students who have become friends and family.
Present were our first professor emeritus, Felisa Etemadi and professors Rhodora Bucoy of the nation’s women’s commission and Madrileña de la Cerna, representing the elder generation of political science mentors.
To me, it was a delight to see many faces I knew as a student and teacher in the same university.
Henry Francis Espiritu headed the current teaching force. Sir Henry, as we call him, regaled the homecoming audience with tales of his exploits with his classmates in coping with their brilliant teachers and balancing their academic work with involvement in the parliament of the streets.
He was most applauded when he pointed out something that is frequently forgotten today: The duty of the nationalist must not be accomplished at the cost of abandoning the responsibility of scholarship.
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