Unang siglo
Turning 100 is a milestone that calls for a big celebration and recommitment to one's values. That will be happening this year to the University of the Philippines Cebu.
Not so known in Cebu's history is the establishment of the Cebu campus of the University of the Philippines in May 3, 1918, 10 years after the state university opened its doors in 1908 at Padre Faura, Manila.
The Cebu campus of UP was then called the Junior College of Liberal Arts in Cebu City which held classes at the Warwick Barracks in Barangay Ermita, in front of what is now Carbon market.
It was the "School that Refused to Die," says the caption of a 1940s photo in a presentation by UP Cebu historian Dr. Madrileña de la Cerna about the school's history. According to an account posted in www.up.edu.ph, the fledgling college faced challenges such as "the lack of a permanent home, the effects of a global economic crisis, and opposition in Manila against the further expansion and continued existence of the college."
With the support of the Cebuano community, the Junior College of Liberal Arts in Cebu City found a permanent home in a 13-hectare site in Lahug with annual funding support from the provincial government. Through Act No. 4244, the Junior College then became a permanent branch of UP in 1936, allowing it to offer more courses preparatory to law and medicine and leading to degrees in commerce and education.
World War II forced the college to close down, with its building in Lahug used as an internment camp by the Japanese forces. After the war, the college reopened its doors only to be closed five years later in 1950 triggered by "UP students protesting the actions of powerful Cebuano politicians and their armed goons during the presidential elections which angered a Cebuano Senate President."
With support from UP alumni, the college was reopened in 1963 but the next decades saw uncertainty within the college, followed by changes after the EDSA revolution that placed UP Cebu under the Iloilo-based UP in the Visayas.
Today, UP Cebu has grown to become the eighth constituent university of the University of the Philippines under the leadership of Chancellor Liza D. Corro, with four colleges under its wings: College of Communication, Art, and Design, School of Management, College of Science, and College of Social Sciences.
The public is called to join it in celebrating its 100th anniversary, dubbed "Unang Siglo: Halad sa Katawhan - Celebrating Academic Excellence and Public Service (#UPCebu100)". The lineup of activities this month includes a forum, film showing, research symposium, and art exhibit. The Centennial Ball and Grand Alumni Homecoming on April 27 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel will feature a concert dinner for a cause.
On May 2, there will be an industry-academe forum at the school's performing arts hall. That day will also feature an open house for all service shared facilities located in the campus like the Creative Digital Media Center, Fablab, Go Negosyo Center and Co-Working Space, and Technology Business Incubation. This is a chance for the general public to see for themselves what these facilities can offer for them.
On May 3, or exactly 100 years after UP Cebu opened its doors to 28 students and two teachers, witness the culmination of the centennial celebration with the unveiling of the Gratitude Wall at the newly-built UP Cebu Oblation Square, capped with a dinner concert themed around UP Cebu's trademark Cook-out and Crazy Day traditions.
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