A Woman's Touch: How the co-educational system changed the Ateneo forever

(from the third issue of Blueblood magazine. I posted this exactly one year ago in Bleachers' Brew.

I am re-posting this again in light of the Ateneo Heritage Series.)

A Woman's Touch
How the Co-educational System Changed the Ateneo

text by rick photos by aaron

“Pare… chicks!”

It sounds so tacky today, but 34 years ago, the buzz at the start of the school year wasn’t if you were in the “terror” professor’s class, but the new eye candy that sashayed down the corridor.

After one hundred fourteen years, the Ateneo De Manila, all-male enclave of Jesuit pride finally opened its hallowed doors to the female of the species thereby changing the university forever.

Fr. Bienvenido Nebres who was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences tells of a male student who a few weeks into new school year visited him in his office. The student greeted Fr. Nebres then plopped down on the seat and looked a little bewildered. “I fear that the Ateneo’s academic standards are going to go down,” said the student with all finality.

A mild crease of concern furrowed on the Dean’s forehead as he gently prodded, “Why do you say that?”

“You see, Father,” answered the student who had come up from Ateneo’s grade and high school, “Time was during breaks or lunch, we’d (the boys) go to the library to study. Now we stay in the corridors to look at the girls.”

Time and tide
The 1960’s heralded change on a large scale. Political unrest, the Vietnam War and the Domino Theory, the Age of Aquarius, Woodstock, Pinoy rock and rhythm, and Gapo were some of the events and bywords that had stirred up a hornet’s nest of revolution. In the Ateneo, there was the rapid move towards the Filipinization of the university. It was thought then that the students were seeing less of the Jesuits (if that was the case during those years then one wonders what they can say of today). If the students, in a reflection of the times insisted on wearing their hair long, the school administration stood pat on cutting them short.

But perhaps the biggest change was the proposal to open the school to women. The University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines had long since opened their doors to co-education. Ateneo on the other hand was seen as the last bastion of male machismo. A sacred and exclusive boys club-slash-school where in school plays, the men played the roles meant for women. During an NCAA basketball game, students never went to the Rizal Memorial Coliseum with their dates. They sat with their classmates and professors to show support for the Blue Eagles and bunched together in case there was a rumble.

Back in the Padre Faura days, Ateneo football players would deliberately send the ball over the walls of the Assumption if only to get a glimpse of the girls who would giggle and smile at this most subtle of flirtations. But now in the sprawling lawn of Loyola Heights (for this was during the pre-building growth of today), the male students no longer had to resort to such tactics and histrionics. If the mountain would not go to Mohammed, the women were coming to Loyola.

Swept away
Twice during the 1960’s, the school failed to garner the majority vote to allow the women into Ateneo, but by 1972, the college faculty, supposedly made up of the more conservative and older generation, insisted that the school catch up with the modern times. The college set-up then had an Academic Council made up of professors and student leaders voted 32-0 (with two abstentions) to approval the proposal that was ratified by the University Senate (which was composed of the Deans and the more senior professors as well as school officials).

There were three questions that had to be answered for the university to opens its portals to women:

Would the Ateneo make a better contribution to national development by accepting women students?

Would such a policy of co-education contribute to the educational experience of both men and women?

Would such a policy have a significant effect on the future of the university?

Even during the previous two voting sessions, the three concerns were answered with a resounding “yes.”

“What took it such a long time to pass,” recalls Fr. Nebres “was facility and curriculum-wise, we weren’t ready. There were a lot of learning curves for all involved. Take for example sports, how do you integrate the women into the program? How do you teach taekwondo to women? Do we have the right personnel to train them? Of course today that’s a common occurrence, but then it was a challenge. And facility-wise, there were no women’s bathrooms or lounges. Much work had to be done. By 1973, we felt we were ready.”

Fr. Bert Ampil, S.J., who was the Assistant Dean and also the Head of the Communication Arts Department back then looks back and says that there were other reasons for admitting females into the Ateneo. “For one,” he laughs, “you had to look at the financial aspect. Two, student activism wasn’t confined to males. There were a great many leaders who were women and they were at the forefront of change. So if they could affect society through their efforts why not let them contribute through the school as well? And that leads me to the third reason which is all about ‘going down from the hill.’ It was hard to live up to that creed when we were being selective in its application.”

Agents of change
In the first issue of the Guidon of school year 1973-74, dated August 31, the editorial box without fanfare contained a few curious entries: Agnes Gomez, Assistant Features Editor and feature writers Margarita Logarta and Marie Irene Dominguez.

Almost immediately, women made their presence felt throughout the college from the classroom (there were a number of them who immediately made the Dean’s List) to the Council of Presidents. And the following year in athletics. The first ever women’s basketball team, then called "the Blue Eaglettes" were formed to compete in the WNCAA.

But it wasn’t as smooth a transition for the 127 freshmen co-eds and 35 transferees and cross enrollees (who made up 8.7% of the undergraduate population). Registration for the first semester was more than an event – it was a spectacle.

Male students jokingly volunteered for the “chicks screening committee.” The females responded by saying that “the men were stripped down of their party selves. Wala nang papel.”

One student wrote in the Guidon that it was a tense atmosphere. As much as the women were made welcome, not every student was in favor of it. Nena Rosales (nee Legaspi) was a transferee from Maryknoll College that year, and she admits that as much as there were charming men who made her feel welcome, there were others who outright hostile. One classmate, former Senator Orly Mercado would even rib her (although in a good natured manner) all the time.

Current University Director for Development Hector Guballa was a junior that year and tells of actress Nora Aunor’s harrowing experience in Ateneo. “The students had this unofficial anti-celebrity stand and as great a move it was of accepting women, when you combine that and some lingering ill sentiment about women in the Ateneo, it made for a combustible environment.”

Aunor enrolled as a non-credit student since being enrolled full-time meant a conflict with her showbiz duties. There were times when she’d come straight from a shoot still dressed in her show garb and she would be greeted with derisive jeers of “baduy.” It got to the point where to protect the actress, the college assigned one of the campus tough guys to play bodyguard. The heckling stopped. But so did Aunor who never went back after one semester.

Many female students found adjusting to the new environment difficult. Tey Dalupan, the daughter of then-Blue Eagles’ coach Baby, scored the lack of facilities. “We needed more women’s showers and dressing rooms in Loyola Center (today called Blue Eagle Gym). Noon nga nagkagulo sa gym after one PE session and some of the girls were taking a shower when a couple of boys made the mistake of entering not knowing who was inside.”

One female student made light of the possible co-ed campus dorm by wondering if she had to apply for a gun permit.

It wasn’t only the women who had to do the adjusting. The males had their work cut out for them as well. Fr. Adolfo Dacanay S.J., who was a student in the college then, recalls that, “The boys suddenly had to comport themselves better. If we liked to wear t-shirts and maong, everyone began to wear collared shirts and act a little more ‘civilized.’”

Chito Narvasa was a freshman during the second year of the co-ed system. “Coming from an all-boys school, we were all excited,” reveals Narvasa who aside from his business has made a name for himself in local basketball circles as a coach and administrator. “That novelty soon gave way to reality where they were every inch our equal if not superior in academics.”

Fr. Ampil laughs at this yet underscores a valuable nugget at the inclusion of women in the school, “It greatly helped in the maturation process of every one. Men included.”

“After a few weeks where we had to adjust to the new environment,” confirms Rosales who aside from being a practicing lawyer is the current Vice President of the Ateneo Alumni Association, “a sense of normalcy settled everyone down.”

Guballa adds, “We (the men) eventually figured out that as pretty as they were – and there were a lot of them – if they made it to the Ateneo, then they must be strong and smart women. They were more than just muses for intrams of the NCAA opening. They were Ateneans.”

Liza Nakpil, a self-made entrepreneur and who currently manages local rock sensations Rivermaya says that it was time of big change and that there were a lot of national and international issues that everyone was concerned about. “We all had to focus on the tasks at hand after a while. But we had to show that we belonged and we had every right to be called an Atenean as much as the men.”

Women of wonder
Today, the women are firmly entrenched not just as a sizeable portion of the student body (56% of the college population are female) but in key university administrative positions as well. The contributions of alumnae in national development, in culture and the arts, in business and in finance, in academics and even in athletics have brought the school and the country great renown.

Current University Athletics Director Ricky Palou who finished school right before the entrance of females in the Ateneo corroborates their overall contributions to the school. “If you look at our over-all standings for Season 70, it’s the women who have kept us in the hunt for the top three positions by virtue of the Lady Eagles’ second championship and the Lady Tankers’ second place finish – their best ever in school history.”

“Without a doubt, it was a wonderful move that has had a significant impact not just on the school but also in the great consciousness of the country,” pronounces Fr. Nebres. “So I guess if you were to look back at those original questions or considerations that preceded the change, I’d say that the answers are very much valid. I think that now, it’s no longer saying ‘men for others’ but ‘men and women for others.’”

On one of the walls along Xavier Hall in the college is a bronzed plaque that unless one is browsing is lost among the numerous bulletin boards and notices that line the corridor. It’s a simple plaque that records for posterity that inaugural batch of trailblazing women. Back then they had to fight for more than equality. They had to fight for acceptance in a male-dominated world and dispel stereotypes of being mere “chicks.” They were the Women of the Ateneo as they called themselves, a distinction that is lost on today’s generation of female students who identify themselves more with their batch.

And if there’s anything, they’re considered more than just eye candy. The adjectives of smart, capable, talented, and strong are very much a connotation that comes along with them.

By the numbers
The female population of the Ateneo for SY 2007-08

Current total number of students enrolled in the college: 7,730

Total number of women in the Ateneo: 4,358
1^st Year – 1,400
2^nd Year – 1,080
3^rd Year – 927
4^th Year – 928
5^th Year – 23

Author's dedication: To the women of the Ateneo and to the men who made their inclusion possible.

Last Ride

If you can find this back issue of Sports Illustrated from 1998, get this. I have every single SI issue with the Bulls on the cover since 1990. This one of was one of the last from the old dynasty.

It has one of the best Chicago Bulls stories ever written; I kid you not.

If you've got friends and relatives who live in New York, there's a back issue bin along Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. They've got this one sale for $1.

That's Ron Harper, Scott Burrell, Scottie Pippen, and MJ on the cover.

The Litany of Gary Sheffield

After four years of poor play with the Milwaukee Brewers, Gary Sheffield was traded to the San Diego Padres but not before injuring his wrist and calling team management for being racist.

Said Sheffield after was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Diego Padres:
"Playing in California is like a breath of fresh air." (He hit .316 in his first year in San Diego)

After a year and a half in San Diego, he is sent to the Florida Marlins where he would win a World Series title in 1997.
"It feels good to be back home." (Sheffield was born in Tampa although the Marlins are based in Miami and he his .316 once more in his first season there.

After the World Series victory, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers because Florida could not pay him an extension. Said Shef after the trade, "I am excited to be here."
While there he played well but alienated coaches and teammates alike for his constant whining in the press. After four years, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves.

Two years in Atlanta then Shef became a free agent. He wanted to move on seeing as how the Braves were no longer among the National League's elite.

After playing hard to get, he signs with the New York Yankees. Said Shef, "This is a dream. A boyhood dream. Who doesn't want to play for this storied team?"

He played well there but in his final year, he was displaced by Bobby Abreu in right field and made to play part-time at first. He became a locker room distraction and criticized teammates.

He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2006 where he said "I'm going to a place where they want me." Then he proceeded to lambast the Yankees.

On March 31, 2009, the Tigers released him because they wanted more versatility.

On April 3, 2009, Shef signs with the New York Mets and says, “This has been a lifetime thing for me,” he said. “With my uncle (Dwight Gooden who played for both the Mets and the Yankees) here with the Mets, it’s been a dream of mine for a long time. I never thought it would happen, but I had the chance to come here and fulfill my dream.”

Okay, let's wait for a year to see what he has to say about Omar Minaya, Fred Wilpon, and his teammates.

Red Eye: Europe's Upset Kids

Good friend and fellow writer Chris Soler (of inboundpass) makes his Bleachers' Brew debut with what's going on the in the current 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. We're calling his Brew column, Red Eye since this guy stays up longer than I do to watch football matches.

Wait 'til you see who else we have lined up. Thanks to these folks who contribute!)

Europe’s upset kids
By Christian Soler

SURPRISES, anyone?

If the UEFA qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa were a chic restaurant, the main course would be upsets topped with hopes of taking the global stage by storm in about 400 days time.

While European heavyweights England, the Netherlands and Spain have more or less booked their tickets to the greatest single-sport spectacle on the planet thanks to 100 percent records halfway through qualifying, fellow giants Czech Republic, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey are in grave danger of getting shoved out of the way.

Will we see a World Cup without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Petr Cech and Zlatan Ibrahimovic? It’s more than a possibility. So, who’s responsible for all this carnage?

Portugal and Sweden, two teams that saw action in Euro 2004, 2008 and the 2006 World Cup, were heavily favored in Group 1 but have since groped for form. With five matches to play, undefeated Denmark looks to be in cruise control of the group, winning four and drawing only once.

The Danes aren’t the most obscure novelties in world football, having captured the 1992 European Championships in Sweden as last minute replacements for the former Yugoslavia. But nobody could have predicted their last-minute, 3-2 victory in Lisbon, which firmly established their foothold on the group. In-form Arsenal FC striker Nicklas Bendtner has scored eight goals in 25 appearances for Denmark, while Liverpool defender Daniel Agger anchors a backline that’s conceded only two goals in World Cup qualifying. Equally as important is its underappreciated midfield, led by Daniel Jensen and Christian Poulsen.

Making matters worse for the big boys in Group 1 is second-running Hungary (10 points from six matches). If this were the 1950s, seeing the Magyars atop the leaderboard wouldn’t be a shocker. But the nation that legendary Ferenc Puskas put on the footballing map hasn’t made a World Cup since 1986. What makes Hungary version 21st century all the more impressive is its lack of household names. Premier League diehards will be familiar with West Bromwich Albion playmaker Zoltan Gera, one of the world’s most underrated yet prolific attacking midfielders.

The mother of all surprises in the last round of qualifying matches, though, was Slovakia’s 2-1 victory over archrivals and former communist “partners” Czech Republic in Prague. Just a few days before the match, Martin Skrtel and company were outclassed by England, 4-0 in a not-so-friendly at the New Wembley. The joke on April Fool’s, however, was on the more prominent Czechs as Erik Jendrisek sent home the winner with seven minutes remaining.

Should the Slovaks advance from Group 3, South Africa will mark their first-ever appearance in a major tournament. It will also be the coming out party of Jendrisek and 19-year-old Miroslav Stoch, a flashy midfielder who’s spent much of the season with the Chelsea FC reserves and is arguably the most promising player to come out of Eastern Europe since Pavel Nedved. For now, it’s a must for fans to appreciate the likes of Liverpool centerback Skrtel and captain Miroslav Karhan.

There was more to Turkey’s 2-1 home defeat to Spain than a bitter pill to swallow in Istanbul. A little less than 990 kilometers away from the crossroads of Asia and Europe, in a city that sounds more like a pharmaceutical than a historic enclave (Zenica), an overachieving Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated a bruised Belgian squad for the second time in a span of four days to go second in Group 5 qualifying.

Just like Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina has never qualified for a major tournament in its history. This may about to change thanks to the exploits of 23-year-old striker Edin Dzeko. Dzeko is having the week of his life, scoring thrice in two matches against Belgium before netting two goals to lift his club, Wolfsburg, to a 5-1 humiliation of reigning champs Bayern Munich and the top of the German Bundesliga.

What makes this Bosnian team scary is its attack. Dzeko, Wolfsburg teammate Zvjezdan Misimovic and TSG Hoffenheim forward Vedad Ibisevic form a prolific attacking trio that has caught both the fancy and sweat glands of the entire continent. In domestic play, the three players share 39 goals between them. Save for having tongue-twisters for names, these booters make up Bosnia’s golden generation.

The smaller squads are clearly making a meal out of European qualifying. With the way they’re playing, don’t expect the traditional powerhouses to ease these kids’ hunger just yet.

Bleachers' Brew #152 A-Promise Unfulfilled

This appears in the Monday April 6, 2009 edition of the Business Mirror.
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/sports/8381-a-promise-unfulfilled.html

A-Promise Unfulfilled
How I am a tongue-in-cheek footnote to the Yankees and the rivalry with the Red Sox
by rick olivares

On the eve of the new Major League Baseball season, I have a couple of confessions to make.

First, I would like to claim some responsibility for bringing Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees. No, I do not even have a teensy teensy fraction of the wealth of team owner George Steinbrenner for the Yankee third baseman to deign to have coffee with me but I nevertheless bear some guilt.

Second, I am a willing and guilty participant to the New York-Boston rivalry.

But who knows? Maybe if I hadn’t led the chants of “Let’s go, A-Rod” maybe Rodriguez would have gone on to the Boston Red Sox and we’d have the pinstriped dynasty still lording it over baseball? Maybe the Curse of the Bambino (or is it Dan Shaughnessy) would still be upon Boston like a plague. Maybe New York would have won its fifth World Series title under Joe Torre’s watch and maybe Friends (God, bless Jennifer Aniston) would still be on the air.

No, I am not regretting A-Rod going to the Bronx after all, he has given us plenty to cheer about. Except that it’s not in October.

Yes, I know the confession I am about to make is preposterous in its impact by a country mile but allow me to indulge myself in a hitherto unknown footnotes in Yankee lore. Besides it’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

During the spring of 2004, Rodriguez, the Texas Rangers’ slugging short shortstop was the biggest free agent in the off-season. At first, Boston seemed to have the inside track on the then current Most Valuable Player. New York tried to make a play for him but seemed out of the A-Rod Sweepstakes… until spring of 2004 when there was a sliver of a chance of seeing him in pinstripes.

That was when I led a host of New Yorkers in chanting “Let’s go, A-Rod” and “Let’s go, Yankees” as he discussed his options with his then-agent Scot Boras in the building next to where I worked in East 49th and Fifth Avenue. Surely he must have seen us waving Yankee caps and chanting out heads off as we engaged a gaggle of visiting Red Sox fans. We even made FOX News that day.

I had enmeshed myself firmly in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry and I was proud of it.

Months later, while visiting a friend in Beantown, in a moment of hubris, I stepped off the bus wearing a Yankees cap. A few paces later, I spotted three men in a bar giving me a menacing finger. A block away, cops pulled me over with a friendly tip – take off the cap if I wanted to live longer.

I did but I got my revenge months later when Boston visited the Stadium. A couple of fool Red Sox fans made the mistake of sitting in the upper tier section with all of us NY fans. It didn’t take long for them to be showered with abuse. I got my licks in as pelted them with a bag of popcorn and nachos. It was an expensive bit of revenge (cost me $20). Minutes later, the Boston fans got doused in beer by some rowdy Yankee supporters and they left.

I received an ovation.

And it looked like Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman got some help from me because on February 15, 2004, Alex Rodriguez was traded by Texas to New York.

I did the jig, downed a few Buds with my mates, and bought every tabloid in the Big Apple to celebrate the occasion. And I staked out Modell’s on Broadway for the first batch of replica Rodriguez Yankee jerseys.

However, there were a couple of matters that A-Rod had to attend to prior to the press conference. First, he had to decide on what jersey number to wear. In Seattle and Texas, he wore No. 3. That wasn’t going to happen in pinstripes as the number has long since been retired and was honored in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. It was the late great Babe Ruth’s number.

Although Rodriguez had put up Ruthian feats on the diamond he was still had yet to win a title. What better place to win his first than in New York?

It didn’t take the newest Yankee to choose a number as he decided on No. 13. Every alarm in my body clock began to ring. It was simple, I reasoned -- it had the number three on it and it was his number when he played quarterback in Westminster Christian High in Miami in honor of Dolphins QB Dan Marino.

Not soon after that, Rodriguez, paid a visit to the Yankee clubhouse to choose a locker. There were two vacancies – that of injured third baseman Aaron Boone and that of departed pitcher David Wells.

The southpaw pitcher’s locker was way towards the back of the clubhouse and afforded more space and privacy. I’m not the superstitious sort as I already chose to ignore A-Rod wearing #13 but when he chose Boomer’s locker (as Wells is nicknamed), I gulped and hoped that he wouldn’t inherit Wells’ penchant for sublime clubhouse mayhem.

As luck would have it, Rodriguez fed the tabloid chatter with stories of travails with busty blondes, run-ins with the Boston’s Jason Varitek and Bronson Arroyo, and colossal fold-ups in post-season play.

“I still feel like someone is going to pinch me and wake me up,” he enthused when he was introduced as a Yankee.

His introduction had more fanfare than the previous season’s pick up in Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui. After all, A-Rod was already a superstar and he made the huge switch from shortstop – Jeter’s position – to third base which was vacated by Boone after a crippling knee injury while playing pick up basketball.

Joe Torre seemed the least surprised by Rodriguez’ seamless 90-foot switch. “This guy’s been doing it in the infield for years. He’s not going to forget how to field because you move him a few feet over.”

And he has been prodigious at the plate as he has won two Most Valuable Player Awards since his arrival in the Bronx. He’s led the American League in home runs in 2005 and 2007, the first Yankee to do so since Reggie Jackson did way back in 1980.

Yet unlike Jackson who is forever known as “Mr. October,” Rodriguez is New York’s “Mr. April-to-August.” To this generation of Yankee fans, he is today’s Dave Winfield (who happens to be one of my fave Bronx Bombers); a high-priced free agent who helped win a lot of games but not the big ones.

As for me? I hope someone would pinch me so that I’d wake up and say exclaim, “Damn that was the strangest dream – the Yankees suck because they have Alex Rodriguez on the team.”

Reality bites. Boston has won two World Series while the Yanks have sputtered in the post-season. They didn’t even make it last year.

Now I am feverishly thinking of a way to jump-start A-Rod -- do we give him another busty blonde or Madonna – and the Yankees.

Batter up!



Further reading:


Jay Greenberg (New York Post):
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032009/sports/yankees/traditions_made_it_safely_across_street_162671.htm

From ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2009/news/story?id=4041053

From Sports Illustrated:
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1153909/index.htm



Game time!

Let's go, Yankees!

Liverpool is giving me sleeping problems

This is why you should never say it ain't over 'til it's over.

It was close to 2:30 in the morning and there was a minute and fourteen seconds into injury time. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I told myself -- what a wasted opportunity. I was referring both to Liverpool's chances of going up again in the English Premier League and my staying up so late when I could have finished my column for Business Mirror and some press releases.


Fulham doggedly kept Liverpool at bay. Their short game was superb in the first half and so was their defense. But I told myself that the last time LFC played in the afternoon they plastered Manchester United 4-1. So maybe their confidence and in-form will see them get another massive win.

By the second half, the Reds totally dominated the game as they kept the ball on Fulham's side of the field. I said to myself that it's only a matter of time before they score. Without about 20 minutes left, you could see the look of urgency in the faces of Rafa Benitez and his men. They could not afford to leave Craven Cottage without a win as it would hand an advantage to Manchester United for their upcoming match versus Aston Villa.

Ryan Babel entered for Andrea Dossena (who played superbly). Then with 16 minutes left to play, Yossi Benayoun for Dirk Kuyt.

I was looking at Kuyt who had this look of "what me?" But I hoped that Benayoun, the Israeli midfielder who had been magical for this team all season might save the day.

And he had a couple of chances as soon as he got in.

That brings me back to 1:14 in injury time. I told myself that, "Damn. What a waste."

I prepared to shut my LCD down. As it was shutting down, Benayoun sent a powerful shot from the right side.

Then my monitor went blank.

I shouted aloud, "Oh no!" as I switched it back on. By the time I reconnected, the match was over. Liverpool had the 1-0 win but I had to wait for the replay of the day's highlights.

So much for sleeping. Now I was awake. At least Liverpool won!

The Blue Ghost: The Passion Play of Fr. Henry Lee Irwin S.J.

This is the second in a series that I am writing for Ateneo and the Sesquicentennial. It's called The Ateneo Heritage and it appears on ateneo.edu. I don't know if they will compile this somewhere down the road. It's keeping me busy aside from my day job and other writing gigs so I'm sorry if I haven't been able to properly look at sports. But on deck is football, the Gilas-RP Team, and the Ateneo Blue Eagles and other UAAP/NCAA teams.

The Blue Ghost
The Passion Play of Fr. Henry Lee Irwin S.J.
by rick olivares

The old man held his colegiala audience in sway. He was older now, this thin yet tall American who spoke about the power of drama to a group of students from St. Scholastica’s College.

Suddenly, he clutched his heart and paused mid-sentence. He leaned forward and gasped for air. The students froze and were gripped with fear and helplessness.

The American fell to the floor; his fingers, and eyes bulging. Finally, one student broke out of her state of shock and yelled, “He’s having a heart attack! Someone call a doctor!”

The urgent cry galvanized everyone into action. A few broke sprint records as they rushed to the school infirmary. By the time the panting school doctor arrived, Henry Lee Irwin S.J. picked himself up with a spryness that belied his age and pronounced with muted pride, “That, class… was acting.”

As a young man growing up in Connecticut, the call of theater and the bright lights of Broadway beckoned him. Only there was a louder voice, one that stopped him in his tracks. A voice whose message was loud and clear that he instead become like Him, a fisher of men.

Henry Lee Irwin, arrived in the Philippines in 1921, as a part of the first batch of Jesuit teachers and administrators. He was a scholastic then and enjoyed teaching in an Ateneo that rapidly becoming Americanized. He was in country for three years before he returned to America where he finished his theological studies and was ordained a priest.

By 1929, Fr. Irwin returned to the Philippines and the Ateneo. He quickly found himself in the classroom teaching Philosophy, Theology, and Rhetoric. He took charge of the Ateneo Dramatics Guild where he was at his element.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear -- all under Fr. Irwin's oversight -- played to packed audiences first at the Manila Grand Opera House and later at the Ateneo Auditorium. He even had one of his students, Teodoro Evangelista play Lady Macbeth so convincingly that left the mixed male and female audiences stunned.

“A youth trained in dramatics is never at a loss,” he once exclaimed with the pride of a father as he talked about the growth of theater in the school and in the country. He made such an impression on his students that many of them adopted a life of teaching using the stage or film to communicate what they learned in school: Lamberto Avellana, Raul Manglapus, Onofre Pagsanghan, and Leon Ma. Guerrero.

“Theatrics is a key to the development of the human personality. It allows for expression and confidence,” he would always reason.

Fr. Harry, as he was fondly called, was at his most eloquent when he spoke about plays. He dissected mystery and morality plays as if he were a military man pouring through intelligence reports. And he was able to stage an original number titled The Blue Ghost before he was called away for other duties.

When Japanese warplanes flew over Manila on December the 11, 1941, a wave of fear enveloped the Jesuit priest’s body. “This wasn’t for show. This was real,” thought the priest.

When the Japanese Imperial Army took over the country, Fr. Irwin was first interred at the Ateneo grounds in Padre Faura then later at Los Baños concentration camps where his health suffered.

After the Liberation of the Philippines and the subsequent re-opening of the school, many feared that the priest had lost his zest for life and teaching. But once he was nursed back to health, the fire and passion in his eyes returned.

Fr. James B. Reuter S.J., who aside from moderating the Ateneo Glee Club and serving as trainer for the men's basketball team of yore, once told a story about Fr. Irwin and another Jesuit Fr. Martin Zillig, who both had many a spirited debate about many a thing.

“At the end of the day, the priests would gather at the recreational room at the Jesuit Residence for small talk about the day’s events. Both Fathers Zillig and Irwin were highly opinionated and they would continue their discussions at the balcony only for the former to storm off in anger muttering, 'Jackass! Jackass!'

“When Fr. Zillig fell sick and lay dying, he asked for Fr. Irwin to stay by his bedside.

“As Fr. Irwin packed a few belongings to take with him to the hospital, his eyes burned with tears and he began to mumble, ‘I know, I know. He wants me there so he can look me in the eye one more time and say, ‘Jackass! Jackass!’”

The anecdote, humorous it may be, underscores the close-knit fraternity of the Jesuits and Fr. Harry’s compassion. Towards the 1970’s, Fr. Irwin fell ill and retired from teaching. Instead he tended to his garden outside the Jesuit Residence and walked around the campus befriending and giving impromptu lectures to students about school, life, theater, and just about anything. He pushed students to explore life and live it to the fullest.

One of his former students, Onofre Pagsanghan put up the Dulaang Sibol for the Ateneo High School. In the elementary level, the Ateneo Children’s Theater behind the direction of Mariano Singson Jr. thrived. In the college, there are Tanghalang Ateneo, Entablado, and Blue Repertory. All have continued the very best tradition that began way back in Intramuros all the way to Padre Faura and eventually to Loyola Heights where the first Ateneo plays there were held at the college covered courts.

On August 20, 1976, the father of Ateneo Theater made his final stage exit. He spent 61 of his 84 years on earth in the Society of Jesus with 54 of them in the Philippines. He was buried at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches like so many of his fellow Jesuits.

In 1987, the Ateneo Grade School began to raise funds for a planned Php 87 million theater. Finally construction began in January 1994 and was completed 14 months later.

On December 9 of that same year, the Fr. Henry Lee Irwin Theater opened with three shows, Pasasalamat, Pagdiriwang, at Paanyaya; a multi-part celebration that included many of the Ateneo’s famous alumni in the field of theater and the arts as well as renowned performers from the University of the Philippines and in the local industry.

The theater was packed way passed its 1,100 seating capacity.

Today, the theater is home not just to grade school plays but also other university events such as the recent speech by the former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Tony Blair.

As always, it plays to a capacity crowd.

Never let it be said that Fr. Irwin couldn’t bring the house down. And that wasn’t acting.



Commentary from my pop:

Hi Rick,

Good article. I know about this act of his as if he was having a heart attack. He did that several times, to his dramatics class at the Ateneo. Among those he trained aside from those that you mentioned were Tito Rod, whose best performance was doing a soliloquy of a man going crazy (I hope I am right, maybe you can ask Tito Totit or Tito Ed; they would know better) and Tito Rogel (although he was a product of both Fr. Irwin and Fr. Reuter).

Dad



Next: The Manila Observatory and Fr. Nicholson vs Smokin' Joe Cantada.

NCAA News

Three new teams will debut in the NCAA next season: Lyceum, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Arellano University and Angeles University. There are four you say? One of them will not make it. Then after the season eith one team will be retained or all three will be included in the permanent NCAA roster.

In the meantime, the tug of war between two schools for Arvie Bringas continues. San Sebastian is keen on elevating him to the senior team but La Salle is dead set on getting him as a replacement for Rico Maierhofer. Red-shirt at Reedley?

Don't be a joke. Vote for the real Rookie of the Year... Derrick Rose!

One of the best college basketball teams ever

Okay, the Michigan Wolverines didn't make it to the Final Four (but the Michigan State Spartans did). Nevertheless, we'd like to take this opportunity to remember one of the best US college basketball teams ever.

Left to right: Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Ray Jackson.

Stripped Stripes

While adidas Philippines has been imploding, chief competitor Nike has ratcheted up on in adverts. The Swoosh managed even to snag Jai Reyes from the three stripes.

Since late last year, the regional offices of the Germany-based athletic apparel company has been beset by internal strife, reorganization, and movements based on the times.

The local movements, resignations, and the lack of communication between adidas and its endorsers has put off many of their endorsers. Said one athlete, "The least they can do is return our calls."

Nolet Puno, formerly of Coca Cola and the former captain of the 1983-84 UAAP Champion Ateneo Blue Eaglets has been tapped to head adidas.

Of course, news about adidas' demise is greatly exagerrated.

Additional info on A Masterstroke

In the photograph I mentioned, Mr. Rudy Allayban (of the University Archives) and I examined it thoroughly. You could see the bulldozed area with some portions burned down -- presumably to cleanse the area of pests etc. I am going to try and find a digital copy of that so I can post it here.

What remains a mystery is why three trees were not taken down -- the one in front of the Ricardo Leong Center, the tree beside the Irwin Theater in the Grade School, and the one fronting the Loyola House of Studies. It might be a coincidence but the three trees form some triangle.

The trees that you now find all over the campus, in Miriam College, and some along Katipunan outside UP were planted by Fr. Irwin in conjunction with the local government.

There are few houses in the valley below. The photo shows the area even leading up to Riverbanks and Cainta to where the LRT station now stands. The area is barren.

What this means is that a whole community sprung up after Ateneo moved to Loyola Heights!

Further to the triangle, the road that would eventually become the main thoroughfare in Marikina would be called "Andres Bonifacio Drive." The old Balara Road would be re-named "Katipunan Avenue." And further west, the road would be called "Tandang Sora."

What we both want to know is why did the renaming of the streets after Philippine Revolutionaries stop with the three. The three form a "U" shape.

In 1972, another aerial photograph was taken of the entire area that includes portions of UP to the west and the Marikina Valley to the east, I was astounded to how clear the photo is. This was taken before digital imagery. The lenses must have been high powered because it is startling in its clarity and detail.

The two photographs where the subject of a study made by UST Architecture students years ago. They marveled at the soundness of the development of the school and how precise its construction was.

Wonder what it would look if a picture of the area was taken from an orbiting satellite?

Next on the Ateneo Heritage Series: The Blue Ghost.

66

He has been for quite some time now, the Michael Jordan of his sport. Tiger Woods with a last gasp putt to win a tournament? Put it in the books. And maybe, His Airness is quite possibly, the Tiger Woods of basketball.

That is just for semantics or the clever advertising hook, but the reality of it all is that timeless mutter professional golfers swear under their breath when the gap closes between Tiger and Bear.

Did you honestly think that he was finished?

A round of 67, a five under par of 275 total then he delivered the coup de grace with a sliver of sunlight left to win Bay Hill. Sean O Hair, "I was born in the wrong era."

Don't worry Sean. Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Karl Malone say the same thing about your buddy.

"It really feels good to be back in contention again," exhaled Woods with the toothiest smile since his last victory nine months ago. "To feel the rush and have to deal with everything down the stretch."

And the stretch is where Tiger Woods makes his living.

O'Hair pulled abreast on the 17th hole with a bogey but that was for sheer drama. He seemed spent as he missed eight of his fairways and his miserable day allowed Woods to overtake him. He still had a chance though but his miss from 38-feet out was all she wrote.

Woods reached deep inside, measured his putt some but didn't have the benefit of time. He's been through this situation so many times before and did anyone think he was going to miss?

A Masterstroke

The Ateneo Heritage Series Part I
http://www.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=120&type=2&sec=40&aid=6580

I re-wrote A Masterstroke to include lots more research and interesting data that was previously not available to me. I suggest you re-read the whole piece because it is now totally different. Also read my comments in the notes section.

A Masterstroke
The move from Padre Faura to Loyola Heights
by rick olivares

- for Fr. William F. Masterson S.J. who dared and dreamed -

Sudden Impact
When Fr. William F. Masterson S.J. was a Jesuit novice who taught in the Ateneo de Manila grade and high school, he was one of the more popular teachers around.

Not soon after he returned as a newly-ordained priest from the United States after World War II ended, Fr. Bill, now the new Rector; saw his popularity ratings dip to rock bottom. The 20th Rector in the 88-year history of the Ateneo was about to make one of the most controversial decisions in the school’s history.

The trip from the dockyards of Baltimore on board the converted liner the Gertrude Maersk took him all the way through the Panama Canal to the Far East. After more than a month at sea, the good priest arrived at Manila Bay on the 13th of August, 1947.

The Philippines was barely a year as a full-fledged Republic after gaining its independence from America. The Pacific War had ended two years earlier yet the country still wasn’t done repairing the war damages.

Rev. Fr. Francis X. Reardon S.J., the outgoing Rector, met him at the docks along with some other officials and immediately went straight to the Ateneo in Padre Faura. The school returned to its familiar ground after a year in Plaza Guipit in Sampaloc.

Life Among the Ruins
The school and the Society of Jesus faced massive problems. The campus with its majestic edifices and buildings lay in ruins. Due to the lack of facilities, many of its students had transferred to nearby schools. The Jesuit faculty was severely depleted because of the war. Some died during their internment in Los Baños during the war while those who survived were weary and sick if not malnourished.

Nevertheless, Fr. Reardon reopened the school yet operated it at a staggering Php 100,000 loss in 1947 alone.

Back stateside, Fr. Masterson had worked and coordinated with General Douglas MacArthur in setting up a relief program for the Philippines through donations. If there was one thing he learned from the American Caesar, it was looking ahead and expanding one’s territory.

With the Pacific War close to an end, Fr. Masterson was named Director for the Jesuit Philippine Bureau in New York that was responsible for raising aid for the Society’s institutions in the Far East. He managed to raise $4 million and used half the amount to provide relief for the displaced and starving children all over the Philippine archipelago.

When he arrived in the Philippines, he took Fr. John McCarron, S.J. into his confidence and unveiled his master plan. They set about doing a study on selling the Society’s scattered properties throughout Manila and its environs and consolidating them in one area – one that could accommodate all the units and more.

It was Fr. Austin Dowd who was responsible for getting the schooling back on track in those Quonset huts that served as classrooms in Padre Faura that the students dubbed as “Ateneo de Quonset" (a few classes were also held at the Nazaret House in Plaza Guipit). But it was Fr. John who always found the occasion to build things and was thereby known as the “Great Stone Mason.”

The war had left him with a slight limp but he remained a tough teacher not to mention competitor. He previously introduced boxing as an intramural sport and once taught a student the sweet science’s rudiments by knocking him out some. The task of planning and canvassing suited Fr. McCarron to a “T.”


The Master Plan
Fathers Bill and John looked at several locations but the one place they instantly fell in love with was the Balara area overlooking the Marikina Valley. Coincidentally, the University of the Philippines was contemplating a similar move and in the same area.

During one exploration trip to Balara with some students, Fr. Masterson raised his arms and declared, “On this location the new Ateneo will rise.”

Everyone thought it to be a joke but within a few weeks, a feasibility study was completed and it confirmed the seriousness of the Rector’s plans.

The decision to move the Ateneo to a new location was contingent on three things: 1) that the site be that sprawling hilltop in Balara, 2) begin work on a gym that will be a source of revenue, and 3) to sell Jesuit properties in Manila.

Fr. Masterson was crucified.

The announcement was met with protest by the faculty, the student body and their parents, alumni not to mention his fellow Jesuits. The school catered to the genteel and the insulares who all lived nearby. Its proximity to Malacañang, Luneta, and those stomping grounds of Taft was perfect. A move to Balara which was a howling wilderness meant that the school would drift from the center of the galaxy that was Manila. Many openly wondered if the school would lose its market and if they were going to open their doors to monkeys and wild animals given how Balara was underdeveloped.

“Who wants to go to school in the province with the carabaos?” asked an angry student base.

The concern wasn’t as simple as relocation. Many families sent their sons to Ateneo and their daughters to either Assumption or the Malabon Normal School that was run by the Maryknoll Sisters. The move was certain to cause havoc in the students’ commute since there was hardly any public transportation that made the outskirts of Quezon City as part of its route.

Fr. Masterson argued that the construction of the gym would help in the funding of the rebirth of the Ateneo. He theorized that if the school can play at least 20 games a year in the new state of the art gym, they could earn up to Php 120,000 annually.

Since he was the Rector, he had the final say on many things. Yet due to a confluence of events, the move seemed that it would stall from the lack of funds needed to purchase the land from the government.

In Fr. Bill's report to the War Damage Commission, it was declared that the total cost of rebuilding the school would amount to Php 1,500,000. The US Congress passed Bill S-1033 that provided all American-governed educational and public welfare institutions would be paid the cost of their original construction. “If that Bill becomes law,” presented the Rector. “We will not have a (financial) problem.”

Except with the entire country ravaged there wasn’t enough money to go around.

The Society of Jesus was paid only Php 400,000 but Fr. Masterson remained undaunted. He had faced similar cash flow problems while helping out with the war effort in New York. He was sure that he would be able to find the money.

The problems, however, persisted. The newly-erected chapel in Padre Faura burned down because of faulty wiring, setting back the Jesuits by another Php 3,000.

A drive where items and artifacts were sold netted Php 70,000 in the bank. They sold the original school grounds in Intramuros for Php 400,000 and a property in Balintawak for Php 250,000. There were buyers for the Padre Faura campus except that they could not sell it just yet because they had nowhere to move to.

The land that would be known as Loyola Heights cost Php 420,000. But the gym cost more at Php 650,000.

The school was left with Php 50,000 as operational expenses. It was a gamble; one fraught with so much risk and danger. Fr. Masterson prayed long and hard for guidance and perseverance.

The gym was designed to accommodate 7,500 paying patrons divided into box seats, reserved seats, and the bleachers. With a total area of 60, 863 sq. ft., not only would it feature a basketball court but also the Athletics Office, the ROTC Office and Armory, the printing shop, the electrical and carpentry shop, locker rooms with showers, six bowling alleys, a billiard room, a press room, and four snack bars.

It took a year to finish the huge gym and right before its completion in December of 1949, in order to generate more funds, Fr. Masterson booked the 19th Alumni Homecoming right before Christmas and a concert featuring the noted pianist Ben Tupas and the Manila Symphonic Orchestra in January the following year.

If there was anything that life during wartime taught Fr. Bill, it was resourcefulness. Fr. Masterson found a tremendous amount of support from stateside allies that included New York City Mayor William O’Dwyer, Francis Cardinal Spellman, the sixth Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of New York, former U.S. Postmaster General James Farley, and the then-President of the United States, Harry S. Truman.

The gracious Ateneo Rector offered all of them honorary alumnus status; a gesture that so moved President Truman that in an official White House stationary letter dated June 9, 1947, he wrote Fr. Masterson: “I consider it a great honor and privilege to be made an honorary member of the foremost Jesuit educational institution in the Far East. I hope you will continue your work in building a greater citadel of education in the Philippines.”

In an aerial photograph taken of the school grounds on March 9, 1952, the full 150 hectares had been cleared of trees, wild grass, and other natural formations. The photograph depicted in stunning clarity the Ateneo Gym, the Grade School that had two buildings, the high school which then comprised of the present-day Xavier, Kostka, Berchmans, and Gonzaga Halls, Bellarmine Hall where the college was situated, the Jesuit Residence, and the college covered courts.

There were four exits that led to the old Balara Road that would be renamed Katipunan Avenue about a decade later. Three of them form the present-day Gates 1, 2, and 3 but there was actually another driveway between Gates 2 and 3 that cut across the area where the football fields are now.

The photograph showed a sparsely populated area. The cogon grass and hilly area had been bulldozed flat. But mysteriously, only one tree inside the campus was left standing and it still stands as it currently fronts the left side of the Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies.

Below the Marikina Valley, there was nothing save for an unspoiled Marikina River and few houses. In order to clear the entire area, it would take sophisticated construction equipment of the time, a truckload of money, plus some favors from high places.

Fr. Masterson managed to solve that with the monies made from the sale of the Jesuit properties in Manila as well as the donations from America. In response to the concerns of the daughters of Ateneo families, Fr. Bill traveled to the Maryknoll Sisters Mother House in New York and persuaded them to transfer their school next to the site of the new Ateneo.

With pledges and advance payments coming in, the Jesuits even with the gym unfinished expanded the construction to include the grade and high school buildings.

Spread Wide Each Wing
On December 3, 1949, the Ateneo Gym, as the cavernous facility was simply named, was going to be inaugurated.

It had rained non-stop the previous 10 days and it left the bulldozed parking lot surrounding the gym a quagmire that resembled a muddy battlefield. Miraculously, in the morning of December 3, 1949 – a Saturday – the rains stopped yet the skies were overcast.

Despite the inclement weather, the traffic from Manila streamed right into the car traps as 6,000 people flocked to the gym.

The Archbishop of Manila Reverend Gabriel Reyes was the guest of honor and he blessed the new facility by tossing Holy Water at the front of the gym all the way around the court.

A beaming Fr. Masterson gave a rousing speech at center court before he turned the microphone over to Atty. Ambrosio Padilla who led the basketball team to an NCAA title before the war. The Secretary of Education Dr. Manuel Carreon talked about the Ateneo’s significance in educating the modern Filipino youth as they struggled to bring back a country to her feet. He too, kept things brief before turning over center stage to the last speaker.

And he was the team captain for the Blue Eagles, Luis “Moro” Lorenzo.

As the captain smilingly trooped to the podium, Fr. Masterson and Atty. Padilla conferred him with a special award – Ateneo’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year as an appreciative audience showered him with applause. Lorenzo had led the luckless Blue Eagles time and again on the hardcourt giving new meaning to "One Big Fight!" His scoring feats at that were unheard of. He routinely scored in the 20's and 30's hitherto unchartered territory for many a player. And he was the man who gave Ateneo a chance to win day and day out.

As Lorenzo stood before the microphone, a hush descended on the crowd. Such was the respect for Lorenzo that he literally held the crowd in sway.

“We have a new gym,” he enunciated in a deliberate tone before pausing for effect. “But this will not mean anything without the spirit that is found in the bleachers… and the members of the teams that will play on the court.”

And the crowd went wild.

The first team ever to take the court of the gym were two Ateneo junior squads: one from Manila and the other from Davao who were known as the Knights.

The Blue Eaglets beat the Davaoeños 46-40 behind the exploits of Rusty Cacho, Johnny Chiudan, Ignacio Ramos and Vicente Santos. The visitors kept the game close by its two stalwarts who would figure prominently against Ateneo later on – Bonny Carbonell and Lito Banggoy. One player did not get off the Knights’ bench that game… one Sonny Paguia who would later coach National University in the UAAP.

Then came the main event… the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the defending NCAA Champion the Mapua Cardinals.

Ateneo was bannered by Lorenzo who prior to this friendly match torched the champions for 34 points. Starting alongside him were Chole Gaston, Poch Estella, Pepot Gonzales, and Luis La O. The Blue Eagles were coached by former player Rafael Roco.

The game featured several lead changes but at the end of it, the Cardinals survived 58-56 largely due to the hot shooting of Valerio Lopez.

As the final whistle sounded, the beaten Blue Eagles shook hands with the victorious Cardinals. Then both squads faced the crowd and bowed.

A new chapter began in Ateneo history but it would have to make it without Fr. Masterson.

In May of 1950, he was fired from his position as Rector and exiled to Ateneo de Cagayan where he was designated as Student Counselor and Head of the English Department.

Redemption
Fr. William F. Masterson completed the work he set out to do in 1950 – to move the Ateneo to a new home where it could grow away from the crowded confines of Manila. He moved to Cagayan where he was faced with the daunting task of putting up Ateneo de Cagayan or Xavier University.

The 21st Ateneo Rector, Reverend Fr. James McMahon S.J., completed the transfer of all the units by 1952 save for the College of Law and the Graduate School (that Fr. Bill also started) which both stayed behind in Padre Faura.

Fr. Bill astonished his critics by putting up a College of Agriculture, a precursor to the internationally-acclaimed South East Asia Rural Leadership Institute whose graduates initiated agriculture-based programs in 22 countries. Said Fr. Masterson, “I felt that we had no right to exist unless we immersed ourselves in the problems of our milieu.”

In 1967, the Ateneo de Manila made amends for the injustice done to Fr. Bill. He was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa.

Seven years later on August 31, 1974, Fr. Masterson received another important award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding.

He would receive several more awards including the Xavier Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Society of Jesus on its members.

Years after that, the University named the main campus road Fr. Masterson Drive.



Notes: The land purchased by Fr. Masterson included not only the present-day Ateneo de Manila but also the area of Miriam College and a portion of La Vista and Alta Vista.

On the land that would come to be known as Xavierville that was owned by the Ramos family, there was a plan to put up some housing for the Ateneo faculty and staff. Instead the housing was relocated to a street in a subdivision Town & Country in the suburb of Cainta. The road is called Ateneo Road. Meanwhile, the Ramos family settled into the Alta Vista area while Xavierville was eventually developed into a residential area.

Almost immediately after the move to Balara, Fr. Masterson re-christened the area “Loyola Heights.” The Jesuit Residence was called “the Loyola House.” That name was discontinued when the Ateneo Gym was called Loyola Center and the Loyola House of Studies was put up.

My Comments: The time of Ateneo's move to Loyola Heights was difficult. At the time of the move in 1949, much of the area was still not fixed. To get there, one needed a car or a chartered bus.

Walking from the campus to the corner of what would be eventually Aurora Boulevard seemed far. The sun didn't sear one's skin the way it does today but it did cause concerns because there wasn't any police department or hospital nearby.

The move taxed resources early on and it frayed many nerves. But after a few years, all was well. Fr. Masterson was proven right in moving. If you look at the U-Belt schools, they are trying to gobble up all the nearby buildings and properties in such a convoluted area.

Since we're on the topic of history, I say that we should restore the San Ignacio Church in Intramuros. I downplayed the criticism that Fr. Masterson received. It was bad. But in the end he was right while all those idiots were dead wrong. It was the same thing when people were keeping women from entering Ateneo (I am a firm believer in women's rights). There are always people who oppose yet they do not even give money at all to the cause. Even the medical school took so long. Remember it is not the men who say no who change the world. They are merely blood-sucking parasites who live off the bravery and imagination of others. Screw them bastards.

This coming December will be the 60th Anniversary of the Ateneo Gym, Loyola Center, or Blue Eagle Gym.

I worked on Making A World of Difference for Ateneo several years ago through the office of Dr. Angeles. It was executive produced by OIP with Glenn De Leon and Joanna Ruiz through the VP's Office. I wrote and directed it with a lot of help from Mai Ventura. Erwin Nolido provided his equipment and production house. Ceres Lina and Trina Alejo were our production assistants.

The video was used for attracting foreign students to go to Ateneo. Glenn informed me as of today, Wednesday, March 18 that it is all over the world in universities and colleges. Wow! But disclaimer. This video was not responsible for the recruitment of Kirk Long and Vince Burke. Bwahahaha.

We totally had fun doing this although we had sleepless nights. It was a great and rewarding experience.

Lyon feels the heat and Corinthians' Galactico Project

In 2000-01, Olympique Lyonnaise finished second in the French Ligue 1 with 17 wins, 4 losses, and 13 draws.

Buoyed by their second place finish, a hungry OL side in 2001-02 beat out RC Rens 66-64 in the points race for the title. Despite the championship, Jacques Santini stepped down as manager because many in the organization felt he was the right man for the job.

Rennes' Paul Le Guen took over and Lyon won the next three Ligue 1 titles.

In 2003, they barley beat out Monaco 68-67 points. In 2004 Paris St. Germain 69-66, In 2005 they had a little more comfortable 8-point winning margin over Lille OSC. Flexing their muscles, they had a 15-point difference over Bordeaux as they captured their fifth straight Ligue 1 championship in 2006 under former Liverpool manager Gerard Houillier. They annexed their sixth championship as they further widened the gap with a 17-point point differential over second running Marseille 81-64, Houillier's last before stepping aside.

Then last year, OL survived a close chase by Bordeaux as they copped their seventh crown by ammassing 79 points to the challenger's 75 under manager Alain Perrin.

Under Claude Puel, their fifth manager in eight seasons, the seven-time champs are only a point up on Marseille 56-55 with 16-5-8 in 29 matches. Les Gones (The Kids) only regained the top pole position over OM with a 2-0 win over Sochaux over the past weekend placing more pressure on the squad and the new gaffer.

Lyon has five national players in the squad with forwards Karim Benzema, Sidney Gouvou, midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, defender Jean-Alain Boumsong, and goal keeper Hugo Loris but the team has had all sorts of problems on and off the pitch. Word that Brazilian team captain Juninho will return to his original club, Vasco De Gama in the off season has not helped any.

Galactic Ambitions
Not content with signing up O Fenomeno, Ronaldo, ambitious Brazilian club Corinthians have set their sites on luring French legend Zinedine Zidane out of retirement to pair him up with his former Real Madrid team-mate in Sao Paolo.

Zizou, now 36-years-old, and Ronaldo, 32, were a key part of the galactico era at the Bernabeu and Corinthians director Mario Gobbi admitted that he wants to bring a slice of that glamour to the Paulista. "Zidane is an impossible dream... but so was Ronaldo," Gobbi told Gazeta Esportiva. "I believe that it will be difficult to make two impossible dreams come true in the same year."


Corinthians fought-off several interested parties from Europe, as well as fierce rivals Flamengo, to sign Ronaldo and it has been reported that the Brazilian club are currently negotiating a sponsorship deal with French hypermarket chain, Carrefour, in the hope of facilitating a deal for Zidane.

Mallrats rule! (Not!)

photo taken from Ivan Henares' blog

Three years ago, I conducted a long interview with Fr. James Reuter S.J. at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center. He was my dad's teacher back in high school and I had a chance to work with him when I was in 3rd Year high on the Animo Ateneo Project (that came out in 1983 not soon after Ninoy Aquino was assassinated).

It was the first time he had been inside the campus for a while and he told me that to him, it resembled the Roman Empire. The interview was very revealing as we were supposed to only talk about sports and the NCAA years but he touched on other topics that would be difficult to write about because it might piss off some people.

My colleague Ivan Henares told me about what was happening at the Xavier House in Sta. Ana, Manila and it sparked the piss fires in me. My beef with this country is our failure to preserve historical sites and records. Yet when Filipinos travel they always go to foreign historical sites and exclaim, "Sana ganito rin sa Pinas, no?"

I am not exactly the biggest SM fan because of their poor regard for the rights of employees. I don't know if you remember during Typhoon Milenyo, they kept the Mall of Asia open in spite of the bad weather. They even threatened to fine tennants who did not open.

I find it equally amusing that people say we have the best malls in the world. Eh, tangina naman no, wala ka naman ibang pupuntahan dito sa Manila kung hindi mall. Sa Boracay meron din Mall. WTF! In other countries, they do not need to go to the malls because there are so many other places to go to.

I mentioned in a past post that even in Corregidor, they plan to put up a golf course! I hope some golfer steps on a goddam landmine and blows his damned foot off.

The last thing we need are more malls and golf courses. We live in a Republic of Shopping Malls. They have everything... cinemas, veterinarians, salons, amphitheaters... We should all worship the shopping mall.

What this country needs is better governance than the corrupt one we have in place. What we need is greater priority on the economy, jobs, education, health care, and the environment. Whoa, don't malls supply all of that? At a price though.

Arrgh! I will never be a mallrat.

We should have never gotten independence because we have only shown ourselves to be incapable of governing ourselves. Look at all these bastards who pretend to be nationalistic; they're the first ones to skip town and go to the US.

Back to historical places. Look at Intramuros. When Dick Gordon was handling the Tourism industry, Intramuros was fixed up. Now, well... it's dirty.

Next thing I know is that some one will be building a mall in Tirad Pass. Wait a minute, they might get an idea. Shh!

__________

An classmate of mine, Martin Angala emailed me this morning and sent me this:

Hi Rick,

I read your comment (rant) on malls.

When I was reading that, I remembered the thoughts I had when I moved to Melbourne. I was amazed that there were so many things to do that didn't involve going to malls -- libraries, museums, parks, playgrounds, etc. and most of these involved little or no fees at all! I remember sitting on a park bench once on a Sunday. My wife and I were seated there, under the autumn sun, and the kids were playing on the grass. Wow, I thought, I could never have done this in Manila!

To arms, Yankees!

You know what they say about good pitching winning games...

Right now, I'd have to say that Boston -- Curt Schilling or no Curt Schilling -- has the better pitching staff with Dice K, Brad Penny, Josh Beckett, John Smoltz, and Tim Wakefield.

The New York Yankees' CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, Chien Ming-Wang, and Joba Chamberlain look like a solid staff on paper. But right now, in case you've not seen them play in spring training, Wang still isn't up to snuff while Joba's lost his heater; absolutely no zip in his pitches.

Mariano Rivera, the team's Hall of Fame closer, is in the twilight of his career. He'll still be plenty good but can he still pitch in two innings or will he strictly come in the ninth?

New York Manager Joe Girardi will be under the spotlight as he will have to build on last year's failures. He should show management that their failure to grab a post-season seat; their first since 1994, was a fluke. For pitching relief, he has one more roster spot to fill. He's got three long releivers he could possibly add: Brett Tomko, Dan Giese, and Alfredo Aceves. If he doesn't get a utility player, look for Girardi to pencil in Tomko.

Five more days, Yankees. Four more 'til Opening Day.