Life at UP in the ‘50s

I was a fulltime student in residence at the UP community in the 1950s. As a dormitoriana at the Women’s North Dorm (now called Sampaguita since the ladies’ dorms were renamed after Philippine flowers while the men’s dorms were named after trees), it was both fun and confusing to live in remodeled Quonset huts or in military-like barracks divided into compartments.

The stories making the rounds, specially doled out to freshies, involved the nightly visits of “Marjorie,” supposedly the ghost of an American military nurse killed on the grounds, which were at one time an American base. Scared to sleep alone, debilitated by lack of sleep due to these stories, as well as the unfamiliar cafeteria food (there were few eateries on campus then), the July 4 holiday found me confined to the infirmary. There, many other freshies were also sick in bed, downed by homesickness and the stress of being away from home for the first time and the colegio environs of high school days. Our only means of enjoying the celebration consisted of watching the airplanes flying in the air show, celebrating Philippine Independence before the date was changed to June 12.

A change of residence to the Women’s South Dorm, now called Ylang-Ylang, meant a closer walk to the LA/Pharmacy building, but further from the Little Quiapo and the sawali university chapel. The big concrete building was a far cry from the makeshift structures that made up the North Dorm.

Friday nights were movie thrills for us when we would walk in our pajamas, sometimes hugging our pillows, to the nearby College of Law building to watch old motion pictures. Whoever chose the movies to screen had a fondness for Hitchcockian thrillers like The Spiral Staircase.  On weekends, we would take the red bus to Quiapo for window shopping along Carriedo or to see the movie of the week, usually at the Ideal Theatre on Avenida Rizal.

The Little Quiapo with its arcade of gift and school supplies shops, and the little cafeterias were frequented by many for the halo-halo special known far and wide. As student manager of the Pharmacy Volleyball Team, I would go with a group for the iced delicacy as a treat for a game well-played, or as a form of relaxation after a heavy practice. Others from dorms nearby would rush to get their supply of cigarettes for use during their study hours. Kool seemed to be the favorite among the ladies (no commercial value to this note, please!)

Every night, the UPSCA choir would practice at the old elementary school.  It meant losing study hours, but the strong influence of National Artist Antonio Molina, choirmaster, and Betty del Rosario from the Conservatory of Music as piano accompanist, brought us all together in the name of music and the goal of raising funds for the circular chapel to be built.

We were also constantly inspired by Fr. John Patrick Delaney, who was the moving spirit behind it all.  With great fervor, we jumped from one performance to another at the different universities/colleges in the Metro Manila area. Money poured in, and finally, the Catholic Chapel was blessed as a great reward after the sacrifices of many. Unfortunately, Fr. Delaney died very soon after and we lost a beloved figure in the university community. His guidance in the spiritual life of the Diliman community disproved the notion that UP was a godless school and in truth, was a contribution to our well-rounded development as UP students.

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