De La Salle University

For the university in Philadelphia, see La Salle University.

De La Salle University
Pamantasang De La Salle
Motto:	Religio Mores Cultura
Motto in English:	Lasallian Achievers for God and Country
Established:	1911
Type:	Private
Religious affiliation:	Roman Catholic, Lasallian
Endowment:	PhP 501.03 million[1]
Chancellor:	Br. Armin Luistro FSC
President:	Br. Armin Luistro FSC
Staff:	798
Students:	13,628
Undergraduates:	11,071
Postgraduates:	2,557
Location:	2401 Taft Avenue Malate, Manila,  Philippines
Campus:	Urban, 50,400 m²
Hymn:	Alma Mater Hymn
Colors:	Green and White
Nickname:	Green Archers
Mascot:	Gordo, Flaco and Sally
Affiliations:	ASAIHL ASEACU AUN IFCU I-IC LSP PATE UAAP UNCOFIN View template?
Website:	www.dlsu.edu.ph

De La Salle University is a Catholic private university located in Taft Avenue in the district of Malate in Manila, run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It is the oldest campus of De La Salle Philippines, a system composed of 18 Lasallian institutions in the Philippines established in 2006 to replace the De La Salle University System. The university draws inspiration from the life and works of the institution's founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle.

It is the first of only two private universities in the Philippines to earn a Level IV accreditation—the highest possible level—granted by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU).^[2]

Twelve fields have been accredited by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence, two of which are lone awardees. Additionally, four are accredited as Centers of Development. It is selected by ASEAN along with the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University to be part of the ASEAN University Network. The university, together with the Ateneo de Manila University, established the Asian Institute of Management.

It offers programs in undergraduate and graduate levels covering various fields in business and economics, engineering, the sciences, liberal arts, education and computer studies.

History

Early history

De La Salle College as depicted on a 1921 postcard

De La Salle College was established on June 16, 1911 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools opened their first school in the Philippines on Calle Nozaleda in Paco, Manila at the request of the then American Archbishop of Manila Jeremiah James Harty..^[3][4] The first classes were conducted in Spanish for the first 125 boys of varying ages and grade levels. During the early years, the Brothers were allowed to offer the full primary and intermediate programs and a three-year commercial secondary school program. The Commercial High School Diploma was first conferred in 1915 to three graduates. In November 1917, the school was allowed to confer an Associate in Arts degree.

In 1921, due to the lack of space on the Nozaleda Campus in Paco, the Brothers made a decision move to in 2401 Taft Avenue in Malate, its present location. Br. Acisclus Michael FSC then secured a vacant space at the southernmost boundary of Manila. The Paco property was then sold in March 19, 1920 to Don Vicente Madrigal, wealthy shipping magnate. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in March 1920 on a purchased lot along Taft Avenue. More than a year later in September 1921, the students and teachers trooped on foot from Paco to a half-finished school designed by Architect Tomás Mapúa.

Classes on the new Taft campus formally started in October 3, 1921, while the building was completed in December 15, 1924. In 1924, only 13 years after the Christian Brothers opened the doors of its new school to young boys, De La Salle College, was already recognized as one of the best private schools in the country by the Board of Educational Survey created by the Philippine Legislature then to make a study of education and all the educational institutions, facilities and agencies in the country.

In 1920, the school opened a two-year commercial course. The school's catalog for 1925 listed courses for an Associate in Arts, a two-year Commerce curriculum, and a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts although these last two degrees were never conferred before World War II. In 1930, the College was authorized to confer the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Science of Education. The last pre-war arts degree holders graduated in 1931. The Associate in Arts program was then discontinued because of the department's lack of staff. The Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree was first conferred in 1931 after a third year had been added to the initial two-year program.

World War II

During the Second World War, the Japanese forces in Manila forcibly took over the De La Salle College grounds and turned the campus into their South Manila defense quarters. Classes continued during the War starting in schoolyear 1943-44 but the curriculum was severely reduced. Repeated bombings of the vicinity resulted in the total destruction of the college gymnasium, its library holdings, as well as laboratory equipment. On February 12, 1945, as American forces were making their way back to Manila and its environs, a small group of Japanese soldiers massacred 16 out of the 17 Christian Brothers (all Europeans) residing in the Taft Campus, as well as several families who had taken refuge with them in the school chapel. Only one De La Salle Christian Brother survived the massacre - Brother Antonius Von Jesus FSC despite being severely wounded by the Japanese soldiers. Brother Antonius was found by the American and Filipino forces who entered the La Salle campus a fews days after February 12. The then De La Salle College Brother President - Brother Egbert Xavier FSC - an Irishman - was taken from the campus by the Japanese soldiers one day before February 12, 1945 and was never seen again.

The end of the War brought the imprisoned American De La Salle Brothers back home from the Japanese Los Baños concentration camp. They resumed classes in July 1945 in spite of lacking manpower and facilities; 1945 saw 60 boys graduating from high school at the end of the school year. Recognizing the role of education in reconstructing the Philippines, the Brothers expanded the Commerce curriculum into a four-year program.^[5]

Post-war recovery and development

The post-war years saw the establishment of numerous undergraduate schools and units. In 1947, the undergraduate school of Engineering was established, followed by Arts and Sciences in 1953, Education in 1959, Industrial Technology in 1973, and Career Development in 1980. De La Salle's Graduate School of Business Administration was established in 1960, followed by Education in 1963. In 1979, the College of Industrial Technology was merged with the College of Engineering as an Engineering Technology Program. In 1981, the Center for Planning, Information, and Computer Science was organized prompting the initial offering of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program. Beginning school year 1984–1985, the Computer Science Program was spun off as a program under the College of Computer Studies. In 1982, the La Salle Teacher Training Center was put up to revive an earlier education program and in 1987, this center was elevated to the La Salle School of Education.

The events of the 1970s were crucial to the development of De La Salle as a social institution. The school was exclusively for boys until 1973 when it admitted female students. That same year, a blueprint called De La Salle Ten Years was published, projecting the planned improvements of the school from 1973 to 1983, and was updated yearly.^[5]

Attaining university status

On February 19, 1975, De La Salle College was granted university status under the presidency of Brother H. Gabriel Connon FSC and became known as De La Salle University. Another milestone school year was 1981–1982, when the university adopted the year-round trimestral calendar for all units instead of the traditional semestral academic schedule. The trimestral system allows its students to graduate earlier than their counterparts in other schools that employ the semestral system.^[5] In 1987, the then 5-campus De La Salle University System was organized under the term of Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC composed of De La Salle University (Taft Avenue, Manila), De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Taft Avenue, Manila), De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (Ayala Alabang Village,Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila), the 27-Hectare De La Salle University-Dasmarinas (Dasmarinas, Cavite) and the 8-Hectare De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (formerly known as De La Salle Health Sciences Campus; Dasmarinas, Cavite). From 1987 up to 2008, the university officially became known as De La Salle University-Manila.

In March 28, 1994, the university had full Internet connection,^[10] and was one of the first Philippine schools to be connected to the Internet.^[11] The university then created its official website, dlsu.edu.ph in December of the same year.^[10] In 1996, graduate and undergraduate students were given internet accounts,^[10] and the university became the first Philippine educational institution online.^[12] During school year 1995–1996, DLSU Professional Schools was established, comprising the College of Computer Studies and the Graduate School of Business. Both were granted semi-autonomous status, which allowed them certain freedom to come up with their own academic and hiring policies, pay scale, among other things. In 2002, the College of Computer Studies was reintegrated into the university.

Recent History

In July 2006, De La Salle-Professional Schools, Inc. separated from DLSU-Manila making it fully autonomous. In October 2006, Globe Telecom introduced the Animo SIM, a personalized SIM card for DLSU-Manila students. The Animo SIM contains all the usual features of a regular Globe SIM card with additional features. Students will be able to follow up their grades and schedules and receive special announcements from the university through SMS, and have their own personalized La Salle menus using the SIM. In March 2007, the College of Computer Studies was recognized as Center of Excellence for Information Technology by the Commission on Higher Education. The College of Science's four departments, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, were all reawarded with Centers of Excellence in the fields. In May 2007, as part of the reorganization included in the implementation of De La Salle Philippines, several administrative positions were renamed such as Chancellor from Executive Vice President. Some school facilities and buildings were renovated including the Gokongwei Hall, Br. Gabriel Connon Hall, and Sports Plaza.

Before 2007 ended, the Brothers of Christian Schools named Dr. Carmerlita Quebengco as a Lasallian Affiliate, the highest recognition bestowed by the De La Salle Brothers.^[13] The Board of Trustees of the university also conferred to Dr. Carmelita Quebengco AFSC the Chancellor Emeritus status after serving the university for 12 years as Executive Vice President and one year as Chancellor. In December 2007 Br. Bernie Oca, President of De La Salle Professional Schools, announced the plan to reintegrate the Graduate School of Business.^[14]

Academics

The university is part of the establishment of consortium agreements with other major universities in the Philippines. These consortia have made exchange programs of students and faculty between the different schools, as well as the sharing of specializations which are inherent in to individual schools possible. At present, De La Salle has consortium agreements with St. Scholastica's College, the Philippine Christian University, St. Paul University of Manila, the Philippine Normal University, the Adamson University, the Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of the Philippines. Through these agreements, both the faculty and students of De La Salle are able to use the facilities of these schools and to work with their counterparts in the consortia.^[3]

Religious and lay professors and instructors trained in European, American, Asian, and Philippine institutions of learning compose the teaching staff of the University. The majority are professional educators while part-time professors and lecturers are also regularly invited to teach certain special and professional courses in commerce, engineering, education, computer studies, and arts and sciences.^[15]

The trimestral calendar being used by the university consists of three regular trimesters of about 13 to 14 weeks each and trimestral breaks of about two weeks each. Ideally, under this system, students are be able to finish their studies in less time than their counterparts in the regular semestral program. Under this calendar, the subjects for each trimester employ a more evenly-paced schedule.

Every year, the University receives approximately 16,000 applications for undergraduate admission to the University although only about 3,000 are finally accepted, an acceptance rate of roughly 19%.^[16]

Ranking

In the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings, De La Salle University - Manila and the University of Santo Tomas ranked within the top 401 to 500 range. The Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines is ranked within the top 300 universities of the world.

Colleges

The university is composed of six colleges which provide undergraduate and graduate programs:

• The College of Business and Economics, established in 1920, is currently the largest college of the university in terms of students. Many of its alumni have distinguished themselves as assuming top-level positions in the academe, business and industry, and government, such as the late famed senator/justice secretary/martial law freedom fighter-Jose W. Diokno, current Foreign Affairs Secretary and former Senator Alberto Romulo, Francisco Ortigas Jr., Ernesto Rufino Sr., Araneta Coliseum owner/builder-J. Amado Araneta, J. Antonio Araneta, Pedro S. Cojuangco, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Raul Concepcion, Jose Concepcion III, Rafael Buenaventura, Jose Cuisia Jr., Ramon del Rosario Sr., Ramon del Rosario Jr., Michel Lhuillier, former Supreme Court Justice Jose Y. Feria, Makati Developer-Joseph McMicking, Jacobo Zobel and Enrique Zobel.

• The College of Computer Studies is the youngest member college of the university and was established in 1981 as the Center for Planning, Information, and Computer Science, offering only a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. The department was formally declared as a college in 1984. In August 2000, Microsoft honored it as its sole Philippine Academic Partner.

• The College of Education is one of the oldest colleges in the university where it dates back to 1936 when De La Salle College was authorized to confer the degree of Master of Science in Education. The College of Education seeks to train students to be holistic, interdisciplinary, innovative, and culture-sensitive mentors. While it is the smallest college in terms of undergraduate student population, it is the biggest college in terms of graduate student population. Recently, the College has been awarded the distinction of Center of Excellence in Teacher Education as of June 2, 2008 by the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Panel for Teacher Education.^[17]

• The College of Engineering, founded in 1947, provides high quality engineering education in the Philippines. It is the only private institution in the Philippines selected by ASEAN to be part of the Southeast Asian Engineering Education Network (SEED-Net). It plays a major role as a leader in human resources development in engineering and information technology in Southeast Asia. Currently, the college earns the highest accreditation in engineering education in the Philippines given by the Commission on Higher Education, with three of its departments granted the status of Centers of Excellence. Its Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering college programs respectively hold the distinction as CHED's Center-of-Excellence awardee in these particular fields of study in the Philippines.^[18] Its Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) college program is also a CHED Center-of Excellence awardee.

• The College of Liberal Arts, formerly known as the College of Arts and Sciences that was founded in 1918. In 1982, the College of Arts and Sciences was split into two colleges, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Science. The CLA provides students with a liberal education enough to develop the student in humanities and the social sciences. The college is the second most populous college in the university, after the College of Business and Economics.

• The College of Science was formed when the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics separated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1982. In October 6, 2006, all of its Science and Mathematics programs have been granted the recognition of Center of Excellence in the Philippines by the Commission on Higher Education. It is the only private institution in the Philippines to be given such a distinction.^[19]

Research centers

Br. Alfred Shields FSC Marine Biological Station in Matuod, Lian, Batangas

• Advanced Research in Computing (AdRIC)
• Angelo King Institute for Economics and Business Studies (AKI)
• American Studies Resource Center
• Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center
• Brother Alfred Shields FSC Marine Biological Station in Matuod, Batangas
• Brother Andelino Manuel Castillo, FSC Religious Educational Foundation, Inc. (BAMCREF)
• Center for Business and Economics Research and Development (CBERD)
• Center for Educational Media (CREM)
• Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research
• Center for Engineering Research, Training and Consultancy
• Center for Lean Systems and Management (CLSM)
• Center for Natural Sciences and Environmental Research (CENSER)
• Center of Research in Advanced Information and Computing Technology (CReATe)
• CHED-Zonal Research Center
• Culture and Cognition Research Laboratory (CCRL)
• Educational Management Center
• European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC)
• Laboratoryo sa Pananaliksik sa Sikolohiya (LAPIS) (Laboratory for Research in Psychology)
• Marcelino Foronda Jr. Center for Local and Oral History (MFCLOH)
• Lasallian Institute for Development and Educational Research (LIDER)
• La Salle Institute for Governance (LSIG)
• Science and Technology Research Center (STRC)
• Social Development Research Center (SDRC)
• Yuchengco Center (YC)

Basic Education

Grade School

The De La Salle Grade School was a Catholic school for boys. It served primary education from 1911-1983. It was located within the campus of De La Salle University.

When the High School was dissolved in 1968, graduates of the Grade School would be transferred to the then newly-established La Salle Green Hills High School in Mandaluyong City, established because of the need to accommodate increasing requests to the Grade School.^[22][23] After 1980, graduates of the Grade School were given another option, with the estasblishment of the De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School High School Department in Muntinlupa City, established because of the same reason as LSGH,^[24] which gave graduates a choice of either the traditional all-boys (LSGH) or co-educational (DLSZ).

High School

The De La Salle High School was a Catholic, Preparatory school for males. It served secondary education from 1911-1968. Like the Grade School, it was located within the campus of De La Salle University.

Its varsity team was the De La Salle Greenies, which played in the Juniors' division of the NCAA Philippines, representing the De La Salle Green Archers. It won the first ever NCAA Juniors' basketball championship in 1924. After the High School was dissolved, the Juniors' team became the La Salle Greenies of La Salle Green Hills, a team still in the NCAA today, except with De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. When DLSU joined the UAAP in 1986, five years after leaving the NCAA, they picked the co-ed school De La Salle-Santiago Zobel as their juniors representatives. The juniors' team was originally known as the Bengals, but in 1998 they changed their monicker to simply the Junior Archers to reflect its status as its juniors representative in the UAAP.

The De La Salle High School is still present today in two schools, in De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School (co-ed) and La Salle Green Hills (all-boys), which are on opposite sides of Metro Manila, with DLSZ being in the south in Muntinlupa, and LSGH in the north in Mandaluyong.

Campus

St. La Salle Hall

Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall

Don Enrique T. Yuchengco Hall

St. Joseph and Velasco Halls

Br. John Hall

The campus at present, which consists of nineteen buildings, stands on the original 5.04 hectare main lot acquired in 1920 plus other recently acquired adjacent lots facing Taft Avenue and Fidel Reyes Street in Malate, adjacent to the 1934-built Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde's Taft Campus, and the Vito Cruz LRT Station. The first building of the Taft campus was the St. La Salle Hall(1921), which was one of the very few structures that survived the near total destruction of Southern Manila during the 1945 Liberation of Manila, a neoclassical structure designed by renowned architect Tomas Mapua which is now being used by the College of Business and Economics.

The campus was then expanded after the war with the construction of the Brother Athanasius FSC Gym to replace the original pre-war Gym that was burned by the Japanese during World War II, the 6-storey St. Joseph Hall in 1956, the 4-storey St. Benilde Hall in 1969(now renamed as St. Brother Miguel Hall), the Br. Alphonsus Bloemen FSC Hall in 1978 and the Br. Gabriel Connon FSC Hall in 1979. The 1980s saw the construction of the Velasco Hall and the new University Library in 1985. The campus was then expanded to nearby Fidel Reyes St. (formerly named Agno Street) in the 1990s with the construction of the Gokongwei Hall, the Science and Technology Research Center and the Enrique M. Razon Sports Complex. The newer buildings include the Br. John Hall in the southern corner of the campus, the Don Enrique T. Yuchengco Hall built on the former location of the Brother Athanasius Gym and the Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall located in front of the Sports Complex which was completed in June 2006 and currently the tallest school building in the Philippines.^[25]

The campus is dominated by two architectural styles, with most of the major buildings featuring neoclassical architecture while the rest of the buildings features the less decorative modernist style. The design of the new Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall is said to be a modern interpretation of neoclassical design. It retains the beautiful form and proportion of classical architecture but is executed in modern lines and using modern materials such as high-reflective glass curtain walls and high-tech equipment.^[26]

Classroom buildings

• St. La Salle Hall
• St. Joseph Hall
• St. Brother Miguel Hall
• Velasco Hall
• Gokongwei Hall
• St. Mutien-Marie Hall
• Don Enrique T. Yuchengco Hall
• Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall

Other buildings

• Br. Connon Hall
• William Hall
• Enrique M. Razon Sports Center
• University Library Building
• Pearl of Great Price Chapel
• Science and Technology Research Center (STRC)
• Marilen-Gaerlan Conservatory
• Br. John Hall
• Br. Alphonsus Bloemen Hall - the university cafeteria
• L'Hermitage House - used for recollections
• Warehouse (formerly the Alphonsus Bloemen Building) - houses the rehearsal hall of the DLSU Pops Orchestra as well as the offices of the 247th Naval ROTC Unit.
• University Press

Student life

Amphitheater - Used for various events and student activities

The University prepares its students through programs that aim to form well-rounded individuals. The university is strongly student-oriented, with such programs as faculty grievance, wherein students can opt to file a complaint against teachers, which the university will hear and decide on with the presence of the Student Council.^[3] The University's Student Council has also helped through the writing of the Student Handbook, the lowering of tuition fees, entertainment, and the like. Students also can agree or disagree together with the university administration whether or not they will hire certain members of faculty.

Under the wing of the Council of Student Organizations, the university has 28 professional student organizations, 2 socio-civic organizations, 5 special interest groups, 4 student activities organizations and 6 college batch assemblies. These clubs and organizations range from political organizations to debate societies, from Dragon Boat teams to ROTC units, writing clubs to multimedia organizations, and from publications to international studies clubs.

Landmark case on academic freedom

On December 19, 2007, the Supreme Court of the Philippines adjudged that De La Salle University (DLSU) cannot dismiss James Paul Bungubung, Richard Reverente and Roberto Valdez Jr. (who were involved in rival fraternity mauling incidents in 1995). DLSU was also directed to issue a Certificate of Completion or Graduation to Alvin Aguilar. Bungubung, Valdes and Aguilar are from DLSU, while Reverente is from College of Saint Benilde. At that time, CSB was a DLSU-run school. It affirmed the Commission on Higher Education's resolution: "the university's freedom to discipline students does not give them the untrammeled decision to impose a penalty which is not commensurate with the gravity of the misdeed." The fallo of the decision is quoted: "Petitioner DLSU is ordered to issue a certificate of completion/graduation in favor of private respondent Aguilar. On the other hand, it may exclude or drop the names of private respondents Bungubung, Reverente, and Valdes, Jr. from its rolls, and their transfer credentials immediately issued."^[27][28]

Accredited student organizations

Student Personnel Services

Br. Connon Hall - Where most of the student organization offices are located

The DLSU Pops, performing at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall in 2005

The university sponsors and implements a comprehensive student services program coordinated by the Dean of Student Affairs, with the aim of developing the full potential of each student.^[5] Some notable offices include:

Cultural Arts Office

The Cultural Arts Office takes care of tapping and developing the talents of Lasallian students through its different cultural organizations. Through seminars and workshops, students with strong inclinations for music, dance, and theater build up their artistry and craft. Cultural arts-related programs and activities organizaed by the group in venues inside and outside of the university promote awareness and appreciation of different art forms for the Lasallian.

The CAO consists of eight performing groups:

• DLSU Chorale
• DLSU Chamber Ensemble
• DLSU Pops Orchestra
• De La Salle Innersoul
• Harlequin Theatre Guild
• La Salle Dance Company-Jazz
• La Salle Dance Company-Street
• La Salle Dance Company-Folk

The CAO also includes Student Support Groups, consisting of the following:

• Student Artist Managers
• Green Media Group

Office of Sports Development (OSD)

The OSD is responsible for the development and implementation of the university's Sports Program through the recruitment and training of varsity athletes. These athletes are then called upon to represent DLSU in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA), and the University Games (UniGames), as well as other local and international tournaments and invitationals. The OSD may also provide assistance to the La Salle Athletic League (LSAL), Student Sports Clubs and other members of the De La Salle Philippines. The OSD oversees varsity teams in Track and Field, Badminton, Basketball, Chess, Fencing, Golf, football, Judo, Lawn Tennis, Softball, Swimming, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Volleyball, and Cheerleading.

Clubs have also been organized to harness students’ talents and include the Arnis Team, the Dragon Boat Team, the Hockey Club, the Iron Works Club, the Karatedo Club, DLSU Rowing, Sarian and the Yonshinkan Aikido Club.

Student Publications Office

The office provides opportunities for student writers to improve on their craft through practice, interaction, and instructions in journalism and creative writing. It also provides advice to student writers on matters concerning campus press operation and management, and encourages freshmen to get involved in the publications and develops a pool of talents who are able to serve in the school papers.

The following are autonomous organizations and publications but the office extends them editorial and technical advice:

• The LaSallian
• Ang Pahayagang Plaridel
• Green and White
• The Malate Literary Folio

Traditions

The Green Archer Statue

Alma Mater hymn

In 1961, Br. Stephen Malachy FSC took out a small harmonica during a class and shared a song that he and Br. Bonaventure Richard FSC had recently composed to his students.^[29] The melody originated in San Joaquin Memorial High School (a Christian Brother school), in Fresno, California where Br. Stephen was assigned as a lyricist in the 1950s. The words were modified but the tune is the same.^[30] The song was first sung during a graduation in 1964.^[31][32] It was later adopted by the NCAA basketball team and cheerleaders in the mid-1960s.^[29] The song eventually became the alma mater theme of De La Salle College and other Lasallian institutions in the Philippines. It is sung by students and alumni at the end of all La Salle gatherings with the gesture of continuously raising a clenched fist into the air.

The De La Salle Alma Mater Song has since the 1960s been sung traditionally by all Lasallians in every Lasallian sports, alumni and school event in all 18-La Salle campuses in the Philippines. De La Salle University was the first school in any Philippine collegiate league to sing its Alma Mater Song after the end of each La Salle match in the NCAA - a practice now done by all schools in the NCAA and the UAAP.^[29]

Green and White

In August 1924, the maiden issue of the student publication was called Green and White, where the color green was adopted as a tribute to Ireland, where the majority of the first batch of De La Salle Christian Brothers came from, while white represents the Philippines, from the "Pearl of the Orient Seas" that is pearly white.^[33] The High School team adopted the school colors and used the nickname Greenies before 1939. Today, Green and White is used as the name of the university's yearbook.

The Green Archer

The Green Archer was inspired by William Tell and Saint John Baptist de La Salle. It is the official athletic nickname of the university and also considered as its official symbol. La Salle basketball players were first referred to as the Green Archers during the NCAA games of the 1939-1940 season. Accordingly, the news reporters who were covering La Salle games at that time coined the team the "Green Archers" due in part to the players' precision shooting, which was like an archer nailing a bull's eye. The official mascots of the university are also green archers: Gordo, a fat archer, Flaco, a thin archer, and Sally, a lady archer.^[34]

The Green Archer statue standing at the central plaza was done by Ed Castrillo in 1985. It was first exhibited during the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee in 1986. In 1992, it was moved to its present location.^[33]

Animo La Salle

Animo means spirit... "Spirit to Fight..."^[35] it also means "La Salle Spirit". The Animo La Salle battle cry was derived from the 325 year spirit of “Faith and Zeal” of our Christian Brothers. The Lasallian spirit of "Faith" is symbolized by the radiant Signum Fidei Star from Bethlehem (the rays of our star has been replaced with the gloria et honos laurel). The Lasallian spirit of "Zeal" on the other hand, is symbolized by 3 chevrons (like the citroen logo) from the 1000 year old royal coat of arms of the De La Salle family.^[36]

School bell

The university uses Stephen Foster's Beautiful Dreamer as the tune of the school bell during regular days. During the holiday season they switch the tune to a Christmas carol annually.

Athletics

Main article: De La Salle Green Archers

De La Salle's games versus the Ateneo de Manila are the most sold-out events in UAAP.

De La Salle University has been a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines since 1986 after bolting out of the NCAA in 1981, Home and Away League, Shakey's V-League, National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA), University Games (UNIGAMES) and other tournaments and invitationals local and international.^[37] It was also a founding member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1924, the first ever collegiate league in the Philippines, which it left in 1980. Notable sports rivals include the Ateneo Blue Eagles, and previously the Letran Knights during the Archers' NCAA days. A staple cheer is Animo La Salle (a Spanish derivative of the Latin word for soul or spirit)^[38] and Rektikano (A disputed Latin translation of "The right to rule").^[39] Animo La Salle and Rektikano has also been adopted by other Lasallian institutions.

In August 2005, two basketball players (one-a current player and the second-a former player)were found ineligible to play in the UAAP by the university itself due to their earlier submission of falsified Dep-Ed government-issued documents in order to enter the university as college freshmen in schoolyear 2003-04. After its official internal investigation ended on November 2005, the university decided to return its 2004 UAAP championship and 2005 runner-up trophies and, in a letter addressed to the UAAP, De La Salle informed the league of their intent to take a leave from men's basketball.^[40] The university also expelled both students for previously submitting to the university falsified admission-required documents. The UAAP rejected the move for a leave by La Salle, saying that since basketball is a required event for members' continuing participation, La Salle would have to file a leave of absence from all athletic events and not just Men's Basketball. In a meeting held at Adamson University on April 21, 2006, the UAAP Board unanimously voted to suspend De La Salle from all UAAP athletic events for 69th season due to negligence.^[41]

In 1991 Finals when La Salle's final game win was protested by the FEU after a Green Archer was admitted into the playing court after being disqualified. The UAAP Board upheld the protest and ordered the replay. La Salle questioned the UAAP Board's decision upholding FEU's protest. FIBA and the BAP agreed with La Salle that it was the table official's fault and not La Salle's why Espinosa was allowed to play. FEU still had ample time to win the game as that incident happened with more than 2 minutes left in the game and La Salle leading by just 2 points. La Salle won 80-77. But the UAAP Board led by then UAAP President Dr. Cynthia Abad-Santos ordered for a replay of the first game. La Salle decided not to do the replay. La Salle was twice to beat. So FEU have to win 2 games to win the crown. On the replay date, the championship was handed to FEU automatically via default (even though DLSU had a twice to beat advantage).

Notable alumni

Main article: List of people from De La Salle University

Notes and references

External links

• De La Salle University
• De La Salle Alumni Association
• Philippine Lasallian Family

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