Scintilla Juris Fraternity
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SCINTILLA JURIS Fraternity is a Latin-named fraternity in the University of the Philippines (UP). It is based in the UP College of Law, and was established on October 14, 1966.
[edit] History
The SCINTILLA JURIS Fraternity was founded on October 14, 1966 by fourteen (14) charter members, who were honor students in the UP College of Law. Literally, SCINTILLA JURIS means "Spark of Right". The founders chose this Latin phrase as the name of the Fraternity because they wanted to become the spark that would change the fraternity system in UP. The founders also agreed that the name of the Fraternity should be written in capital letters, signifying equality among all members of the Fraternity, regardless of age or seniority. This was one of the major changes the SCINTILLA JURIS brought to the fraternity system in UP.
[edit] Ideals of the Fraternity
The founders of the Fraternity chose three guiding principles that would become the pillars of the Fraternity and its members. These principles became the ideals of the Fraternity, which are the Rule of Law, Intellectual Integrity, and Academic Excellence. Far from confining these principles within the Fraternity, the members swore to propagate these ideals to every male individual in the University. This is the reason the Fraternity continues to recruit members into its ranks.
[edit] Propagation of the Rule of Law, Intellectual Integrity, and Academic Excellence
From the time the SCINTILLA JURIS Fraternity was established, recruitment was confined to the male population in the UP College of Law. However, realizing that the ideals of the Fraternity were too valuable to limit within such a few population, the members of SCINTILLA JURIS decided to recruit from the various colleges in UP. Starting from the College of Arts and Sciences (now College of Arts and Letters), the Fraternity spread to the colleges of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Engineering, Science, Mass Communication, and Education. In the main campus in Diliman, UP saw a new breed of fraternity men dedicated to the three principles the Fraternity fought to uphold.
During the latter part of the 70's, the SCINTILLANS wanted to spread the ideals of the Fraternity even more. They established chapters in other UP Campuses, starting from the campus in Los Baños, and from there spreading to Baguio City and Iloilo. The SCINTILLANS, armed with their ideals, fought side-by-side with other UP students who were defiant of the dictatorship established by the President of the Philippines. It was not uncommon to see a SCINTILLAN leading a rally or march against the repressive government during those times. During the Martial Law era, several SCINTILLANS were imprisoned by the government while fighting for the well-established freedom of education, speech, and the press, all of which were suppressed by the administration.
It was also during this turbulent era in Philippine history that the Fraternity still decided to propagate its ideals to each and every intellectual in the country. Several chapters were established in other universities. However, seeking to maintain the quality of its members, the Fraternity chose to recruit only from the College of Medicine and College of Law of the other universities.
Thus, before the turn of the new millennium, the SCINTILLA JURIS Fraternity has molded thousands of young, idealistic students into professionals: lawyers, engineers, doctors, educators, academics, businessmen, etc.
The motto of the Fraternity is '“SCINTILLA JURIS, right or wrong! To keep right when right, to set right when wrong"'.
