We law students were required to attend the “Quadricentennial Parade” of the University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday, one of the many events that the university had in store for its week-long celebration of the beginning of its 400th year of existence.

The march of thousands of Thomasians snaked along España Avenue, Morayta, Recto, Earnshaw and back to UST. We passed through the other schools of uptown Manila’s “University Belt”, cheering and playing loud music, probably causing disruptions in their classes. I found it pretty odd how from the moment we enroll in the university we students were made to swear by rules not to join noisy marches and rallies or anything that would “˜disrupt’ classes, and yet here we were, being made to do exactly that. And for what? A sectarian celebration. Ordinary folk in the streets were probably wondering what the ruckus is all about and how it is relevant to their lives, the parade having had caused a major traffic jam in Sampaloc for an hour or two.

I wasn’t a total scrooge, by the way, as I did enjoy the march, something activists are used to doing, for more relevant causes anyway. I hope the march rehearsed many Thomasians for more relevant marches in the future. Happy 400th UST!