Pride before Prejudice

To be a true-blue “Centralian”, one should know his roots. And after the MCU community celebrated its 106th founding anniversary last December, we will once again look back on how Escuela de Farmacia del Liceo de Manila, a private review class for pharmacy students, has grown into a venerable educational institution over the years. Thousands of professionals who have peopled this university for the past years are living proof of how efficient MCU is in living up to its mission of “developing people”. But believing the old maxim that “age doesn’t matter”, we new breed of Centralians are still troubled by questions which seek to find our own identity.  Has our beloved school really changed in aconsiderable magnitude since 1904? Are these changes sufficient enough to give us a clear understanding of what it is like to be a Centralian and how to take pride from such identity?

Nothing and no one in this world is perfect; MCU is not an exception to the rule. But this imperfection is an indispensable part of a process that leads to long-term growth and improvement. Our university has been trying its best to give students relevant facilities and opportunities to make their learning experiences even more worthwhile. As a matter of fact, the Learning Resource Center and the Students’ Day were both launched last semester to cater the Centralian students’ increasing needs for knowledge and leisure.  Nonetheless, the process of change for MCU has never been a cakewalk. A lot of students are still finding a lot of flaws both on the internal and external aspects of our school. We often nitpick on 

the school’s policies regarding our uniforms, our “lack” of involvement in sports activities outside the school, and a lot of things here and there that sometimes lead us into questioning our school’s 106 years of existence inconsiderably.  Do we really have anything to be proud of as a Centralian? On a true-blue Centralian’s point of view, this question would be a walk in the park. The key lies in our past.We all have our own fair share of a ‘dark past’ and again, MCU is not perfect to have none. During the Second World War, MCU temporarily closed its doors and, as a result, the Japanese forces occupied its buildings and systematically looted its facilities, laboratory, equipment, museum, among others, leaving only the shell of its two buildings. But history showed us how our school turned out to be a “phoenix” that rose from its ashes. Since then, MCU has produced well-rounded professionals and topnotchers in the fields of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, among others. But in reality, producing topnotchers on a yearly basis is not the true measure of ‘quality education’ that MCU holds on to. Our school always ensures that the quality of education it offers reaches every student, average or superior in I.Q., who wants to fulfill his or her dreams. It’s the true essence of education that will last a lifetime, not the accolades that involves only few portion of a school’s population. And no matter how imperfect things are, we are lucky enough that the administration has been very open to every student’s suggestions and criticisms, using 

The Pharos as the critical avenue of communication over the years. From comfort room renovation to a newly synchronized university clocks, we’ve seen enough to believe that MCU has been striving hard to meet or even 

exceed our expectations. We may not be involved in UAAP or NCAA but it’s the balance between studies and sports that we still promote. We should remember that there is always a perfect time for everything to come into place. MCU is not perfect but it always aims for perfection.

In reality, it’s not the school where you came from that will secure you a place in the job market. It’s on how you utilize that knowledge your Alma Mater has apportioned for you. Many years from now, we will realize that being a Centralian is not just carrying a school’s name. It’s all about being the best that we can become, rising above every adversity that comes our way, and acknowledging the fact that although we knew nothing, MCU was there to give us the “fruit of knowledge” with a shelf life of forever. That’s the true “Centralian” spirit that has inhabited this institution since 1904. Hence, we don’t have the right to despise MCU after its 106 years of fruitful existence. We have myriad reasons why we have to take pride on our name. All we need to do is to review our timeline and choose between 

pride and prejudice. It’s about time to choose pride