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Literature professors on what to read next

Note: This article has been altered from its original format due to the failure to properly credit the interviewees’ responses. The LaSallian offers its sincerest apologies to Sir Johann Espiritu and all other parties for this grievous error.   In this busy and ofttimes fast-paced world, we are left with too many books, but with too…

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Memoirs of a Lasallian: Pio Uy Dehesa

“Hindi ko talaga alam kung mayroon pa akong kaklaseng buhay,” admits 96-year-old Lasallian alumnus Pio Uy Dehesa, his voice quiet and contemplative. For him, age is not just a number, but a hint of how different the world he was born into is from our world right now. What must it be like not knowing…

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Your outgoing USG President, Pram Menghrajani

On a Friday morning of what should be a free day for students to unwind and recover from their Happy Thursday hangover, outgoing University Student Government (USG) President Pram Menghrajani sits on one of the benches in Gokongwei lobby, signing documents handed to her by a fellow USG officer. As soon as he walks away,…

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The rolling stone that is Luis Dery

Dr. Luis Dery has retired. It’s a rare sight, really. For someone who has spent the majority of his adult life writing and lecturing like there’s no tomorrow, he stands alone now, retired, seemingly desolate in the privacy of his nearly empty cubicle. No geeky colleague chatter to serve as music to his ears, no…

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The relentless spirit of Anne Frances Sangil

“I have a pretty boring life and career so my answers might bore you,” Anne Frances Sangil warns me before the interview. But I beg to disagree—nobody who wears a pair of Wonder Woman Chuck Taylor trainers could possibly be such a mundane figure. And I was right. For the entire duration of our one-and-half…

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The man behind the controversy: Dr. Antonio Contreras

Political science students know his name—he is, after all, the only professor teaching one of their majors. But recently, his name has become famous (or infamous?), not only within the University, but also around the country, as some of his actions have once again put him in the spotlight. De La Salle University’s own Dr.…

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The many sides of Johann Espiritu

Literature professor Johann Vladimir Espiritu enters the room holding a mug from Hong Kong Disneyland filled with coffee. “Tell us a little bit about yourself,” we say. He thinks for a moment before responding. “Ang lawak ng tanong ah. Di ko alam kung saan ko sisimulan,” he answers with a chuckle. The literature professor Though…

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Facing reality with Dante Leoncini

Casually sitting in the faculty lounge, with a newspaper on one hand and the other holding a cup of coffee, we meet Dante Leoncini, one of the most interesting Philosophy professors in De La Salle University-Manila. Here, we get to understand Leoncini as both a professor and an over-all thought-provoking individual, who not only understands…

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Under the microscope: An interview with Dr. Edgardo Gomez

“I think I was one of those who won the contest in naming The LaSallian. It was in the 60s. My submission was The Quiver, the thing that holds arrows. But it was The LaSallian that came out,” says Dr. Edgardo Gomez when we first introduced ourselves to him.  A proud alumnus of De La Salle University, the esteemed biologist…

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The legacy of Mang Jack

In television, discipline officers are depicted as larger-than-life, clipboard-carrying, bloodthirsty hunters of rule-breakers and hoodlums. They carry in their hands every student’s fear: The deadly, unmistakable pink slip of paper with the words ‘DETENTION’ clearly written on it. Their spine-chilling “see me after class” mantra is enough to scare a student out of his wits…