Alumni statistics

Media

Part of Forestry Leaves

Title: Alumni statistics
Language: English
Year: 1953
Rights
Fulltext: Alunini Statistics Forestry Day Address-Dec. 6, 1952 By CARLOS s ULIT Today, we are celebrating an annual tradition of the College of Forestry-The Forestry Day. It may be appropriate at this time that we make an inventory or submit a balance sheet showing the accomplishments of those who have graduated from this college to find out if the qualities of those graduates and their ~ccoinplishments measure up to that exacting saying that the tree is known by its fruits. I have before ine, this morn:. ing, statistics concerning the alumni or grad· uates of the College of Forestry of the Uni,;, versity of the Philippines. But I do not believe very much in statistics becaus~, as somebody says, "there are three kinds of liars: Liars, damn liars and statisticians." The School of Forestry which is the forerunner of the present College was organized in 1910 as a branch or department of· the College of Agriculture. It turned out its first graduates of Forest Rangers in 1912. The school became an independent uiiit of the University of the Philippines in 1916 and then was converted into a college iri 1949. In the beginning, all the students were pensionados. Realizing, however, the limited number of students that could be accommodated and the lack of funds of the government, the pensionado system was stopped in 1931. Students were then admitted to study at their own expense. Surprisingly, the enrollment increased. Whereas the enrollment was limited to about fifty for the two classes, the enrollment for the freshman class alone in 1931 jumped to about 62. The higher course offered since 1914 to limited and selected employees of the Bureau of Forestry was opened to everyGRADUATION llilSUE-March, 1 q53 one in 1936 when students were admitted to work for their Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree. Such is the brief history of our College of Forestry. Coming now to our statistics, records show that during the 42 years of its existence, the College of Forestry has turned out 919 graduates. Of these, 173 or or 19% haye died leaving 746 or 81% living alumni. . More than half of these living graduates, numbering 382 or 51 % are still in the Bureau of Forestry while the rest or 364 represenitng 49% are outside the Bureau. Breaking up this figure of 364 who are not employed in the Bureau of Forestry, we find that 39 of them or 11 % are engaged directly in lumbering; 27 or 7% in work allied to forestry; 38 or 11 % in farming; 37 or 10% as business men, 18 or 5% in the Armed Forces of the Philippines nearly all as commissiOned officers; 63 or 17% in other bureaus or offices of the government such as Bureau of Fisheries, Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Internal Revenue and government corporations; 12 or 3 % as practicing lawyers, 33 or' '9% in other professions such as engineers, physicians and dentists; 14 or 4% retired due to old age or weakened physical conditions; 15 or 4% still studying, 25 or 7% of unknown addresses and 43 or 12% in other countries. From the above figures, you can realize the part being played by the alumni of the College of Forestry not only in the conservation and administration of our forest resources but in the general economic and social development of the Philippines. It might be worthy to mention that 3 alumni of the College of Forestry had been • Page 15 elected to the Congress of the Philippines, one of whom became a department secretary or cabinet member just after the liberation. One graduated from the Military Academy at West Point and was a Colonel in the U.S. Army when killed by the Japanese during the occupation. The influence of the alumni of the College of Forestry is not limited to the Philippines. As mentioned previously, there are 43 graduates who are in other countries. The high standard of instruction and the excellent records of the graduates of the College of Forestry of the University of the Philippines attracted the attention of neighboring countries. As a result, they sent students to take up forestry course in the College of Forestry or offered employment to Filipino graduates. At present, we find 2 alumni. . .. in Guam, 12 in Thailand, 8 in China, 1 ~ India, 5 in the United States and 15 in Borneo. As early as 1913, the Borneo Forest Service has employed Filipino graduates of the College of Forestry in their forestry ·work and is still asking for some more graduates to work there. Classifying the 382 alumni who are in the Bureau of Forestry at present in regard to their forestry academic attainments, we find that 14 are holders of the degree of Master of Science in Forestry, all .:>f which were obtained in the United States; 135 are holders of the Bachelor of Science in Forestry mostly from this college; 203 are Ranger graduates and 30 are non-graduates. The last refer to those who just attended the college but did not finish any course. We find out also that the Bureau of Forestry, from the Director to all the Division Chiefs, Provincial Foresters, Officers in Charge of Stations and Rangers, is run by the alumni of this college. The Bureau of Forestry at present is composed of 1,096 employees. Excluding those performing clerical work, 439 may be classified as technical men. Of the 439 technical men, 382 or 87% are alumni of the College of Forestry so that we might say that the whole responsibility in the proper • Page 16 administration and conservation of our forest is in the hands of the alumni of this college. Analyzing the statistics by the number of alumni by provinces, we find Pangasinan to be in the lead with 141 alumni, followed by Cagayan, Abra, Ilocos Norte; Laguna, La Union and Ilocos Sur. Your statistician can not interpret this statistical trend although by coincidence we might say that Pangasinan leads because the Speaker of our House of Representatives and the only lady member of the Senate both come from that province. All these provinces belong to the Ilocano nation and again there may be coincidence in the fact that our present President is an Ilocano. Statistics also show that nearly all provinces are represeflted by alumni of the College of Forestry. The provinces with only one representative among the alumni are Bukidnon, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Cotabato, Davao and Sulu. The provinces that have no alumnus are Lanao, Mindoro Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte. We are glad to report that there is no alumnus in Muntinglupa. The students at present in this college might be interested to know the relation between scholastic records while in the college and the success after graduation. This is not shown in the statistics. However, observation of those who have been very long in the service of the Bureau of Forestry show that, in general, students who have good scholastic records, who showed leadership and initiative while in. college are the ones who succeed most after graduation. There are, however, some exceptions. Therefore, students who, after trying their best in their studies, do not make good grades should not be discouraged. After all, the school is but the preparation ground for the work that the students have to tackle after graduation. Success in the field of forestry activities depend on many factors, many of which cannot be learned in textbooks but only from experience. Although most of the medalists and honor men in the school are now ocFORESTRY LEAVES cupying high positions in the Bureau, there are also some who have not advanced as expected. On the other hand, we have in the Bureau and in other lines of occupations men who may be considered successful but who, during their school days did not show any marked degree of scholarship. The present and future students of the College of Forestry may also be interested to know the relation between athletic activities in the college and long life after graduation. We find from the statistics that the athletes in the college are · still strong and healthy. Examples of these whom you very well know, are Messrs. Oro, Soriano and Oro (baseball players), Rola (basketball player) and Sajor (marathon runner). There are others but you are not acquainted with them. You may be interested to know that probably of all the colleges in the University, the College of Forestry is the only one which does not have a lady alumnus. However, we had two larlies who started last year to take up the course. Unfortunately one got married but the other is still here and we expect that she will have the honor and distinction of being the first lady alumnus of the College of Forestry. I heard remarks that as compared with the other colleges of the University of the Philippines, the College of Forestry has been very strict in awarding academic honors to its graduates. Only one in the history of the college was awarded a "cum laude". This may be due to the high standard of instruction in the college .or to the poor scholastic standing of the students. I am more likely to believe, however, that it is the former. At any rate, this is not a reflection on the college. Analyzing the alumni in the lumber industry, our statistics show that there are only 39 engaged in this important work. This represent 11 % of the living graduates outside the Bureau of Forestry and only 4.2% of the total number of graduates. This figure is surprisingly low considering that logGi?ADUATlON ISSU&-March, J 953 ging and lumbering are important parts in the curriculum of the college. This is due to the fact that the students and graduates of the college, in general, belong to the low income group. Even if they worked in the Bureau for sometime, because of the very low salary they received, they were not able to accumulate sufficient capital essential in lumber business. As a result, those who are engaged in logging and lumbering of their own are operating in a very limited scale. Machineries, equipment, and operating expenses require capital which cannot be saved with the meager salary being paid in the Bureau of Forestry. However, those employed as loggers or logging superintendents of big companies are receiving adequate salaries which are very much more than the rates paid by the government. From what have been enumerated above, you can judge whether the College of Forestry, thru its alumni had done its share in the progress of our· country especially towards the administration and conservation of our forest resources. You can also judge whether the alumni or graduates of this college have been worthy or reflect credit to their alma mater. It is true that bas:ng on their monetary or financial income, we might say that except for those engaged in the lumber industry, they have not been very successful. But, there are things more valuable in life than money and among these, is the satisfaction to know that you have rendered the best in you in the promotion of a very worthy cause. This is true especially in the case of the alumni of the College of Forestry who, inspite of the poor compensation, are still sticking to the Bureau of Forestry. Some of them have more than 40 years of continuous service and yet they do not even own the homes that they live in or have acquired any public land. But they are satisfied alumni not in matter of money but in the matter of service and knowledge of a life dedicated for the good of the country. Many of them are now quite (Continued on page 21) Page 17 Zealand, the Americas, the Pacific Islands, Italy, France, Africa, India, England, and Spain were of Australian parent stock. Recently, 40 millions were shipped to Georgia (U.S.R.R.) to be planted in a big reforestation scheme. Probably the best known overseas emigrants are the blue gums (E. globulus and E. bicostata) often known as California gum because they are abundant in California. In India, however, these are called fever tree and are planted in swampy areas as malaria preventive because mosquitoes, it is claimed, are allergic to the strong eucalyptus oil. They are also known to grow well in Algeria and the Cape of Good Hope. Australian eucalypts are growing well in the Philippines and are being used in landscape beautification and roadside planting particularly in Baguio. Some of them attain about 60-80 cm. diameter at breast height and about 40 meters total height. Species growing in Baguio are: E. citriodora, E. robusta, E. saligna, E. teriticornis, and others. Many more species are under observation in the arboretum of the Makiling National Park. In recognizing the potentialities of the Australian eucalypt as a reforestation tree, the Philippines may find some inspiration for its reforestation program. Besides the desirability of using the eucalypt in our reforestation work, its example behooves us to explore the possibilities of our native tree resources inasmuch as any of our trees may turn out to be a surprise package like the eucalypt with hidden possibilities. For instance, Mindanao gum or amamanit (E. deglupta) which is widely known as native to the Philippines since Blume discovered it in 1849, had been found abundant in Cotabato, up to the second decade of this century. However, because the wood is almost comparable in quality to red lauan, sawmi~s relentlessly exploited it almost to extinction until it was felt that the reservation of the remaining stand was necessary. It is sad to note, though, that due to the GRADUATION ISSUE--March, 1953 last world war and due to the damage done by squatters, this Amamanit forest reserve at Palembang may eventually be totally destroyed. This naiive Philippine tree, as well as others, calls for an investigation of its possibilities as a reforestation tree. Who knows if, among the multitudinous tree species in our country, there is one or more that may rival the Australian eucalyptus in potentialities? ALUMNI ... (Continued from p. 17) old, many have died and many more will probably pass to the great beyond in the near future. As individuals sharing in the multifarious endeavors that make our country great they will, unlike old soldiers, not only die but also fade away. However, the work they have done in help'..ng to conserve our forests for future generations will be the ever-lasting reward for a life well spent to the credit of their Alma Mater, the College of Forestry of the Univer10ity of the Philippines. 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