SERVICE TO THE NATION. For 150 years, Ateneo has been playing a pivotal role in Philippine history. After the sesquicentennial, what more does Ateneo have to give to build the nation? Photo by Jason C. Mariposa

It was in 1859 when the Jesuits, after the constant urging of the people of Manila, abandoned their mission to Mindanao to set up a school that would stand amidst fire, war, and relocation. That school was named Escuela Municipal de Manila, now called the Ateneo de Manila University.

The year 2009 was the climax of the three-year-year celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary. These three years of celebration were headlined by three themes that emphasized the nature of the Ateneo education—celebrating excellence, deepening spirituality, and building the nation. The overarching theme for the celebration was “150 Years: The Ateneo Way.”

Now that the pomp and pageantry is over, how have these three themes made an impact on the Loyola Schools?

A tale of three themes

According to the sesquicentennial website, the three themes were chosen because they “evoke in all Ateneans fond memories and as well as new meanings in their connection with the school they have chosen and which has, in a big way, also chosen them.”

Sonia Araneta, sesquicentennial project director, said in a previous interview with The GUIDON that one of the biggest hurdles met in the planning of the sesquicentennial was getting the word out to the community. In the interview, she says, “We wanted to go as far as we could to touch as many students as we could to involve them.”

The first theme, celebrating excellence, commemorates the “passion for excellence” and the tradition of challenging students to constantly develop themselves. The second, deepening spirituality, aims to nurture Ignatian spirituality.

The third, meanwhile, is the call to be men, women and professionals for others in the process of nation building.

“[The themes are] something we should all reflect and think about,” says sophomore Joseph*. He says that these three, being central to the entire sesquicentennial celebration, clearly represented the pillars that each and every Atenean is supposed to learn in their years at the Ateneo.

“Words on streamers”

But not everyone in the community feels the impact of the three themes. Francis*, a senior, says that despite his teachers constantly repeating the meaning of the themes, they were nothing more to him than “words on streamers that were scattered across the campus.”

“More projects that are concrete and have an impact on students [should have been made],” he says.
Araneta says that a lot of effort was put into promoting the whole celebration to the community. “[We wanted to] make sure everybody’s on-board,” Araneta says. Presentations were given to different stakeholders in the different Ateneo units.

She admits however that they were “a little late” during the first year because of the efforts to first promote the sesquicentennial celebration. In 2007, the year devoted to celebrating excellence, two major conferences were held.

The next year, retreats and recollections were held for the theme of deepening spirituality. And in 2009, Gawad Kalinga projects were utilized for the theme of building the nation.

The LS agenda

Sanggu Finance Officer Rob Roque says that while all the three themes reflected the primary ideals that the university stands for, in today’s context, it is important to focus on building the nation.

Roque explains that theme of nation building is especially close to the Sanggu because of the May 2010 elections. “[It’s] the most concrete way of building the nation,” he explains.

Sanggu’s main project for the coming elections is Ateneo Task Force (ATF) 2010, which is grounded on voter registration, education, and mobilization. ATF 2010, however, is not directly connected to the sesquicentennial celebrations.

Sanggu President Gio Tingson shares Roque’s sentiment. In a previous GUIDON interview, he says that the elections are the “chance for our generation to contribute concretely in nation building.”

Roque adds that aside from nation-building efforts, students were mostly involved in the 500@150 campaign. The campaign was geared towards raising funds for 500 more scholars during the university’s sesquicentennial.

Sanggu, in particular, contributed through the “Fiesta Ciento Cincuenta,” which featured several cultural presentations.

However, Ateneo Catechetical Instruction League Spiritual Formation and Liturgy Head Kim Santos feels that while the themes were apt given the holistic nature of Ateneo education, there was minimal focus on “deepening spirituality.”

“[Most of the] projects and events related to [deepening spirituality] were not as big as those connected to the other themes,” she says.

Not as grand

Despite efforts from event organizers to make the celebrations felt among students, many feel detached from the sesquicentennial celebrations, and their overarching themes.

“It was [more of] a time [for Ateneo alumni]… to reminisce all the memories they had while they were students,” says Neil*, a sophomore. He finds this the reason why students didn’t feel the impact of the sesquicentennial as much as the alumni did.

While he finds nothing wrong with strong alumni participation in the sesquicentennial, he thinks that more events should have been made to cater to current students. He adds in particular that the history of Ateneo should have been emphasized to the students more.

“[The sesquicentennial is a] humbling moment for all Ateneans to marvel… and measure up to the Ateneans of the past,” he says.

Roque says that activities were not as “grand” as students expected because the university encouraged the different Ateneo units to each contribute to the celebrations.  He explains that this is the reason why not a lot of activities involved the entire community all at once.

Loyola Schools-specific activities include the School of Humanities’ “Magis” and “Agenda for Hope.” The Performing Arts Cluster also presented “PACisama: Rebolusyon.”

Beyond 150

Mike*, a freshman, thinks that students should not focus on the sesquicentennial celebrations and if they were satisfactory or not.

“We shouldn’t focus on [whether] the celebrations were not that festive but on the mere fact that we are celebrating 150 years. That’s a very significant celebration for any institution,” he says.

Araneta also clarifies that the activities in a year aren’t restricted by the themes. “We wanted to define the theme per year by coming up with events,” she says.

Roque adds that the importance of the themes go beyond emphasizing Ateneo’s long list of achievements and tradition of magis. He says the focus should be on how these themes and the sesquicentennial can teach students to appreciate the past in order to move forward in the present.

Mike agrees and adds that focusing on the grandeur or lack thereof of the celebrations diverts from “what really matters.” “[Students] should be more willing to be part of the celebration even without the extravagance,” he says.

With reports  from Irwin M. Amago and Bea C. Cupin
*Name has been changed to protect the individual.