SUPPORT OPHELIA ALCANTARA-DIMALANTA; UST MUST FULFILL ITS PROMISE
- Target:
- The Office of the Rector, University of Santo Tomas
- Region:
- Philippines
In November of 2010, the University of Santo Tomas, through Rector Magnificus Reverend Father Rolando V. Dela Rosa--during the necrological service of professor, academician, literary critic and Filipino poet Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta--announced the following:
1) The University of Santo Tomas Creative Writing Center, of which Professor Dimalanta was the co- founder and director, would soon be re-opened.
2) That the UST Creative Writing Center, when it re- opened, would be named after Professor Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, to honor her legacy.
The latest news, from reliable sources, is that the University of Santo Tomas is withdrawing the second part of its promise--for reasons that are still unclear.
The petitioners therefore call on the University of Santo Tomas to stay true to its word and keep its commitment.
REV. FR. ROLANDO V. DELA ROSA
Rector Magnificus
University of Santo Tomas
Dear Father Roland:
We, the Thomasian and non-Thomasian friends, colleagues, former students, readers and supporters of Professor Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, are grieved by and disappointed over news that the University of Santo Tomas Creative Writing Center will no longer be named after her.
Those who attended her wake at the UST Santisimo Rosario Chapel heard and do clearly remember the promise that was made: that the UST Creative Writing Center would be reopened in the imminent future, and would be named after her.
We are making this petition to hold the University to that commitment.
The news that this promise is being withdrawn is a terrible blow to UST's reputation, and if it indeed should come to pass, it couldn't be at a more unfortunate time. Among other things, it would affirm the harsh judgment of others, and inexorably erode the University's standing as a foremost nurturer of some of the best writers and thinkers in our country.
Allow us to remind you, dear Father, that Professor Dimalanta was one of country's best poets, teachers, and critics, whose legacy is evident everywhere. Her work brought honor and pride to the University, to which she dedicated her life, and which she served to the very end.
For the writers and students to whom she was mentor, friend and mother, she was nothing if not a beacon of intelligence, wisdom, compassion, moral courage, and generosity---a Thomasian, a person, we can all be proud of.
We reiterate our petition and urge you to uphold the dignity of Professor Dimalanta's name, by holding fast to the goodness that it represents, and by fulfilling the University's promise, which was announced publicly, at the necrological service for her in November of 2010.
We implore you, Father, to think back to the moment you said those solemn and consoling words, when the terrible and immense clarity of her loss slowly gave way, inside your heart, inside all our hearts, to gratitude.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The SUPPORT OPHELIA ALCANTARA-DIMALANTA; UST MUST FULFILL ITS PROMISE petition to The Office of the Rector, University of Santo Tomas was written by J.W. Capili, A.A. Carpio, J.N. Garcia, R.D. Gulle and is in the category Literature at GoPetition.