Graduates of UP Diliman applaud after they shifted their Sablays to the left shoulder – an act marking the formal completion of studies in the university.
The University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), under the leadership of Chancellor Michael L. Tan, conferred academic distinctions and degrees to 4,552 graduates this year, 30 of whom earned summa cum laude honors, during the University’s 105th General Commencement Exercises on June 26, 2016 at the UPD Ampitheater in Diliman, Quezon City. “Summa cum laude”, Latin for “with the greatest honors”, is the highest academic distinction given to graduates with a weighted average grade (WAG) of 1.20 or better.
UP President Alfredo E. Pascual served as commencement speaker. He called on the new graduates to live “a life of giving and service. . . that provides meaning and purpose to our existence.”
UP President Alfredo E. Pascual delivers his commencement address.
“Connect with our people. That is because you studied in UP not to become this nation’s privileged intellectual elite — but this nation’s hope,” Pascual said.
“I hope that as you make a living, you will also consider service as your investment in what this nation can be. I hope you will commit to a life of giving and service. It is a commitment to a better nation and a better world for everyone to live in,” he added.
Summa cum laude graduate Alexander L. Lopez, representing the Class of 2016, called on fellow graduates to take flight, “pumailanlang” or to soar “to do our best work for the people.” Lopez, a BS Basic Medical Sciences graduate of UP Manila and BA Philosophy graduate of the UPD College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), had a WAG of 1.181.
UPD also took pride in its 325 magna cum laude and 936 cum laude graduates. Magna cum laude graduates have a WAG of up to 1.45, cum laude, up to 1.75. The CSSP and College of Engineering (COE) each produced six summa cum laude graduates, followed by the College of Science and the School of Economics with five each, and the College of Arts and Letters and the Virata School of Business with two each. The Colleges of Education, Fine Arts and Mass Communication and the School of Statistics each had one summa cum laude graduate.
Of the graduates, 3,580 received their undergraduate degrees and 972, their graduate degrees, 70 of whom were conferred their doctoral degrees. COE had the highest number of graduates at 839 and also had the highest number of graduates with Latin honors at 200. CSSP came in second with the highest number of graduates with Latin honors at 184 out of 373, and VSB, third with 163 with Latin honors out of 351.
Pascual, in his message, also emphasized that UP graduates become extraordinary by placing the nation’s interest above self, as exemplified by the life and works of the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
“Our country is still confronted with challenges so complex that it needs the best and brightest minds we can muster from across the nation. Finding the solutions is our extraordinary task in UP as the country’s national university — your challenge as UP graduates,” he said.
Pascual suggested several paths that could be taken with integrity and with a sense of social responsibility to best enable the graduates to help build the nation: the academe, the corporate world, civil society, and government.
BA Philosophy graduate Alexander L. Lopez delivers his valedictory message.
In behalf of the Class of 2016, Lopez said they could do the best work and give the best service to the people when inspired. “It is in the interest of society that we put each other in situations that will inspire us to do our best work for the people. When scientists, artists, and philosophers do their best, it is not only the individual but also society that soars,” he said.
Referring to the symbolism behind the Philippine diwata (fairy), the Diwata microsatellite orbiting Earth, and the UP Oblation in acclaiming the graduates, Lopez said, “We all have our shapes that are distinct and beautiful — beautiful like a diwata. . . . Ako ay isang diwata. Lahat tayo ay diwata. We, the graduates, have the potential to soar through the stratosphere. From the rocks of Oble on the ground to the cosmic domain of Diwata, our family, friends, University officials, and professors have shaped us to take flight. Let us thank them by soaring to the sky. Pumailanlang na tayo. Mabuhay ang mga bagong diwata!”
This year the traditional lightning rally in UPD commencement exercises highlighted the call for social and economic reforms under the incoming Duterte administration; and the resumption of peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines to address the roots of armed conflict in the country. Graduates and educators unfurled streamers and placards after the induction of graduates into the UP Alumni Association.
For more photos of the event, please click through the album below.
