Diliman, Quezon City — The resident brothers of the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity joined together last April 30 to welcome the 2010 UP Law Freshmen and to celebrate the success of 9 new Alphan lawyers at the Balay Kalinaw, UP Diliman.
The event was graced by distinguished Alphan alumni, former Lord Chancellor and incumbent Deputy Court Administrator, Justice Raul Villanueva, esteemed Obligations and Contracts expert and faculty of the UP College of
Law Professor Eduardo Labitag, Atty. Ramon Esguerra, former professor at the UP College of Law and partner of Blanco Esguerra Law Office and the renowned economist, former Budget Secretary Ben Diokno. Present also to support the activity were Mike Galarosa (99h), Joel Erestain and new Alphan lawyer Fernan Zafranco, and the sisses, Phi Delta Alpha Sorority.
The program featured an overview of the College’s history, academic policies, and student organizations and activities giving the freshmen a glimpse of what’s in store for them for the next four to five years.
A solemn invocation was led by Atty. Esguerra followed by a warm welcome from the resident Lord Chancellor (LC) Melvin Banzon who congratulated the guests for having passed what is considered to be one of the most competitive admissions examination in the country – the UP Law Aptitude Examination.
In his brief welcome remark, LC Melvin Banzon explained that the orientation was meant to ease the transition of the freshmen into UP law. “Being a freshman in the UP College of Law is tough. As student leaders, we, in the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity would like to be there for the freshmen to guide them in this transition stage so that they don’t commit the same mistakes we had.”
Prof. Eduardo Labitag, who served as College Secretary under four deans, introduced the freshmen to the history and academic policies of the College. He emphasized the importance of knowing the academic rules.
The presentation raised several questions from the students which were adequately addressed by Prof. Labitag.
After the introduction to academic policies, Ras Sabornay (08f) showed the freshmen a video presentation about the life of a law student. He then shared tips and strategies on how to survive and excel in law school.
Sabornay summed up his tips into four things: 1) Know the rules, 2) Know the professor, 3) Know your subject and 4) Know your classmates. “Ironic as it may sound, the more you get yourself involved in College activities, the more you will find yourself excelling in law school,” said Sabornay, who is a working student.
Following Sabornay’s presentation, former Lord Chancellor Ryan Oliva delivered a short introduction to student organizations and student activities. He encouraged the freshmen to make friends and to participate in College activities such as moot court and writing competitions, advocacy campaigns and others.
Meanwhile, Prof. Ben Diokno shared his experiences as an Alphan and how his membership in the fraternity helped him both in his academic and professional life.
As the program drew near, Master of Ceremonies Jerick Cruz (07c) led the freshmen to an ice-breaker activity giving them an opportunity to get to know each other, the resident brothers, and the sisses.
LC Banzon closed the program with a toast to the new alphan lawyers and to the new UP Law freshmen. In high spirit, Atty. Fernan Zafranco, one of the recent Alphan bar passers, took the wine and chug-a-lug.
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Filed under: The Residents' News Tagged: | bar, freshmen, LAE, law, tips, up law
