UP grads exhorted to soar like fairies

WITH arms stretched out like the Oblation, Alexander Atrio Lim Lopez proclaimed the 2016 graduates of the University of the Philippines Diliman “fairies”—beautiful and capable of flight.

Lopez’s valedictory speech was a lighthearted moment during the solemn ceremony traditionally marred by protests carried out by activists among the graduates.

A graduate of basic medical sciences from UP Manila, Lopez took another undergraduate degree to pursue what he really loved.

He obtained a philosophy degree with a weighted average grade (WAG) of 1.1810, and was selected from 30 summa cum laude students to represent the 4,552 UP Diliman graduates.

UP president Alfredo Pascual was the keynote speaker for the 105th general commencement exercises held at the University Amphitheater on Sunday.

“I am a fairy,” a smiling Lopez said, eliciting cheers from other graduates in his batch.

“We are all fairies. We, the graduates, have the potential to soar through the stratosphere,” Lopez said, a reference to the first Philippine microsatellite, “Diwata,” now orbiting Earth.

Lopez recounted how he quit UP Manila’s seven-year accelerated medicine program after finishing the three-year undergraduate component and spending three and a half more years in medicine proper.

He joked about the approaches he had thought of to soften the blow to his parents. “Because back then, I still wasn’t out to my family, I’d say, ‘Ma, I’m gay. On a lighter note, I quit med,’” he said.

“My failure was, I wasn’t brave enough to accept and fully defend what I loved,” he said.

Lopez thanked his family and friends for supporting his decision.

“When I quit med, I finally accepted what I was and was not willing to do with my life. I have one life to live, and I am going to try to flourish and soar no matter what anyone says,” he  said.

Referring to the mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, two weeks ago, Lopez said: “In a tragedy where 49 people were shot dead, it’s medical science that heals the victims’ bodies and minds, it’s art that inspires survivors to move forward, and it’s philosophy that forms ethics to prevent another moral disaster.”

“When we are inspired, we do our best work. When we do our best work, we can offer the best service to our countrymen, which is after all, what Oble is known to symbolize,” he said.

“From the rocks of Oble on the ground to the cosmic domain of Diwata, our family, friends, university officials and professors have shaped us to take flight. Let us thank them by soaring to the sky. Let’s soar. Long live the new fairies,” he said.

The UP president had a similar message to the graduates, telling them to live a life of service and be the best they could in whatever field they were.

Nation’s hope

“You studied in UP not to become this nation’s privileged intellectual elite, but to be this nation’s hope,” Pascual said.

Thirty summa cum laude graduated this year from UPD’s 27 degree-granting units.

“Summa cum laude” is Latin for “with the greatest honors,” and the highest academic distinction for graduates with WAG of 1.20 or better.

Of those who graduated yesterday, 325 were magna cum laude (WAG of up to 1.45) and 936 cum laude (WAG of up to 1.75).

“Cum laude” is Latin for “with honors.”

A lightning protest followed Pascual’s speech. Several graduates stood up from the crowd and unfurled banners denouncing the commercialization of education.

A longer demonstration was held after the presentation of the graduates.

The protesters marked the 10th year of disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, among other issues.

Led by Stand UP’s Bryle Leaño, the protest called on the graduates to support the peace talks between the incoming administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the political arm of the local communist movement.

The ceremonies ended with a moving rendition of the university hymn, “UP Naming Mahal,” with the customary raising of fists in the air.