UP Naming Mahal
The UP hymn is actually a translation of the original 鈥淯P Beloved,鈥 from the poem of Teogenes Velez. 鈥淯P Beloved鈥 is a product of two University contests in 1917 about the UP Spirit鈥攐ne for poetry, and the other for music.聽Nicanor Abelardo composed the winning music to which the poem was set.聽In 1969, a contest to translate 鈥淯P Beloved鈥 to Filipino was put in place, but no single translation emerged to be the winner.聽Instead, the translation came out as a composite of seven entries from Carlito Barril, Conrado Galang, C.P. Habito, Bienvenido T. Miranda, Jose L. Pelayo, Hilarion R. Rubio and Severino S. Tabios.
UP Diliman Month
The Diliman Month started in February 1999.聽 Proclaimed by UPD Chancellor Claro T. Llaguno in compliance with Presidential Proclamation 683, declaring February as National Arts Month, this celebration superseded the Diliman Week that began in February 1995, an initiative of Chancellor Roger Posadas.聽The month-long celebration showcases UPD鈥檚 wealth of research and creative works and recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of its constituents.聽 Part of the Diliman Month is the 鈥淟inggo ng Parangal,鈥 the week-long recognition of outstanding UP faculty, personnel and students.
UP Fair
A 5-day musical fest held at the Sunken Garden every February, the UP Fair is considered the biggest student-initiated activity in UP Diliman.聽 Organized by the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC), the Fair features many of the biggest bands of the country and attracts a crowd of up to 10,000 per night.聽 The UP Fair is not only a week-long revelry, but also a USC fundraising activity for the organization鈥檚 various beneficiaries like the UP dormitories and the UP varsity.
Cadena de Amor
The Cadena de Amor that started in 1934 was a rite based on the Daisy Chain of Vassar College, where the responsibilities of Senior coeds were symbolically turned over to the Juniors, through the passing of long garlands of聽cadena de amor. Usually set in mid-May, Cadena de Amor had three muses (Filipinas, Alma Mater聽and听尝补办补尘产颈苍颈, formerly聽Maria Clara) chosen among the Seniors for their academic ratings, personality, leadership and intelligence.聽 The turnover ceremony is comprised of the four phases of聽verdant leaves聽(辫谤辞肠别蝉蝉颈辞苍补濒),听辫别迟补濒蝉听(acceptance by the juniors of the responsibilities),聽loops and links聽(passing of the cadena de amor by graduates to the new seniors) and聽vines聽(speeches by juniors and senior students and one by the outgoing president of the UP Women鈥檚 Club). 聽Each UP lady in attendance recites the聽Cadena de Amor聽poem written by Trinidad T. Subido, sings the聽Awit ni Maria Clara聽song, and passes the聽cadena de amor聽garland while singing聽Auld Lang Syne.聽 The rise of student activism saw the end of the 鈥渇estivals of girls and flowers.鈥 聽The last Cadena de Amor was held in 1968.
UP General Education Program
The General Education (GE) program is a legacy of President Vicente G. Sinco that the University Council approved on June 21, 1958.聽 Sinco had in mind a curriculum that would develop the student鈥檚 ability to effectively speak and write English and read and understand materials with complexity to have the ability to think critically, to understand the present status and past history of the culture and society of which the student is a part, and to grasp the nature of science as an intellectual process. A new GE Program came after February 1986, aimed among others, to 鈥渋nfuse a passion for learning with a high sense of moral and intellectual integrity.鈥澛燭he GE program is the hallmark of any UP student鈥檚 education.
UP Activism
UP is known for its long-tradition of activism. The first student protest march happened on July 17, 1918.聽 Led by Carlos P. Romulo and Jose Romero, the students objected to the unwarranted press attack on President Ignacio Villamor made by聽Manila Times聽on its editorial written by Manuel Xeres Burgos.
The most celebrated student protest was the Diliman Commune in February 1971.聽UP Diliman constituents held a barricade inside the campus for nine days, declaring a 鈥淩epublic of Diliman,鈥 while highlighting pressing issues like human rights, academic freedom and freedom of speech and expression.聽Twenty-five years later, on February 1, 1996, a commemorative marker was set at the UP Gates along University Avenue, about 20 meters from where the barricade was set.聽The unveiling was led by erstwhile student activist now physics professor and former UP Diliman Chancellor Roger Posadas.
UPCAT
Any Isko would remember the long lines to an UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) application, the passport to a UP education.聽Held for two days during the first week of August, the UPCAT was instituted in 1973 as the entrance examination required of all applicants for admission to UP.
UP Hayride
The UP Hayride coincided with the University鈥檚 celebration of Loyalty-Arbor Day.聽 The first documented Hayride was on September 21, 1962.聽 Everyone could hitch a ride from open vehicles cushioned with hay. This was the time when the usual somber evening on campus would turn into a night of revelry, where everybody donned the most casual of attires and were licensed to be in touch with their wild side.聽A favorite Hayride activity was the torch marathon.聽Contestants would run around the campus carrying lighted torches, and vie for the honor of lighting first the bonfire at the Union open court.聽The UP Hayride ended in 1969.
Pag-iilaw
The annual switching on of Christmas lights at the Quezon Hall and illumination of the University Avenue, the Pag-iilaw marks the start of Yuletide observation in UP Diliman.
UP Lantern Parade
The UP Lantern Parade can trace its tradition to the carrying of lanterns of various shapes and sizes to light the way to the early morning mass or misa de gallo, but had its first celebration in 1922. President Jorge C. Bocobo established the practice of Lantern Parade in 1934 as what it is now, so that 鈥渟tudents can have a frolicsome activity before the year ends.鈥
