De La Salle University And The Green Archer Logo

De La Salle University And The Green Archer Logo

          It was after the summer of 1966 when I enrolled at the De La Salle College along Taft Avenue in Manila. I was with my close friend Manny King. I wanted to pursue two degrees under a special program of the College of Liberal Arts. Manny initially enrolled at the College of Business. The school was not yet known then as De La Salle University.

          Regular load in those days was 21 units with two semesters per year. Tuition fee, if I remember it right, was P 770 per semester. My father would give me P 1 thousand, and with the change, I would hie off to Baguio City for a short vacation with Manny and the Quito cousins, Rouel and Nelson. In our senior year, tuition fee was hiked to P 990 per semester.

         Today, the University is using the Trimester Academic Calendar with one trimester extending up to 2 1/2 months. Average tuition fee is about P60 thou per trimester. While enrollment in the 60s and 70s was limited, today the number of students enrolled in one school year reaches more or less 17,000.

         I still remember that in my first year at DLSU, I was attracted to the Green Archer logo, particularly the bow and arrow. This prompted me to buy an archery set from the National Archery Association of the Philippines (NAAP) based at the nearby Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. It was an imported set made of fiber glass and with the arrows guaranteed not to bend or warp. I even attended NAAP's training sessions to be able to hone my skills in archery.

         But when I asked around, nobody else was interested in archery. No one else had an archery set. Students were more inclined to playing football and basketball. Everyone wanted to be like football superstars Albert Garcia and Raffy Esteva.  Everybody wanted to be like basketball standouts Rey Bautista, Ding De Villa and Jimmy Brown. Little by little, my interest in archery waned. My archery set was shelved at one corner of our garage at Sta Mesa Heights until batch mate Digos Reyes got it and took it to their island resort in Coron, Palawan.

         Today, in my simple ignorance, I continue to ask: With the Green Archer figure as a logo, why is it that archery is not a preferred sports activity in the campus? If we were required to attend boxing classes and take up swimming lessons in our P.E. course, why not archery? Is there a fallacy in my argument? 

- Konted

" Oh, when La Salle goes marching in, 

oh, when La Salle goes marching in...

I want to be in that number, 

when La Salle goes marching in..."

De La Salle University along Taft Avenue in Manila. Photo taken  from the LRT structure.

DLSU's  South Gate

Entry and exit points.  About 4 guards are manning the South Gate.

North gate

Covered walkway in front of old LS Building

Marilen  Gaerlan  Conservatory (LS Building)

Central Plaza - area between the old gym and the football field

DLSU Archer statue

Amphitheater

Yuchengco Building houses DLSU's auditorium.  This used to be the old Athanasius gymnasium.

Yuchengco Bldg corridor and bulletin board

Classroom at the Yuchengco Bldg

View of football field from the Yuchengco Bldg.  There is no more football field.

View of the Rizal Memorial Stadium from Yuchengco Bldg

SPS Building or the Brother Gabriel Connon Hall

SJ Walk

Old St. Joseph Building

Photos of DLSU graduates are prominently displayed at St. Joseph Bldg. Shown above are Liacom 71 graduates.

One more shot

Last shot

One of several open basketball courts

Entrance to the four-storey DLSU Library

Near the entrance of the University Library

Conducive to learning

Systematically arranged

Filipiniana section

Taking a rest

Liberal Arts Building  is now called Miguel Hall.

Entrance to Liberal Arts Bldg (Miguel Hall)

Ground Floor, Liberal Arts Bldg (Miguel Hall)

Classroom, Liberal Arts Bldg (Miguel Hall)

All classrooms are air conditioned.

3rd Floor, Liberal Arts Bldg

Z2 canteen

The Enrique M. Razon Sports Center (Agno St.) has 9 floors.

Indoor volleyball and basketball courts at the 7th floor of Enrique M. Razon Sports Center

DLSU gym at the 9th floor of Enrique M. Razon Sports Center

Retired jerseys of outstanding DLSU cagers Kurt Bachmann, Lim Eng Beng and Ren Ren Ritualo

Olympic-size swimming pool at the 1st floor of Enrique M. Razon Sports Center

Multi-level pay parking at the Razon Sports Center

DLSU Science and Technology Center at Agno St. near the Razon Sports Center

Entrance to Brother Andrew Gonzales Bldg

Brother Andrew Gonzales Bldg along Taft Avenue has 22 floors. It is the tallest academic building in the Philippines.

Classroom at Brother Andrew Gonzalez Bldg

Gokongwei Bldg along Taft Avenue has 4 floors.

The newly built Henry Sy, Sr. Hall houses the Learning Commons. It stands at the old football field. (G file)

Ground floor of Henry Sy, Sr. Hall (G file)

Estrada street near DLSU

Pascual's Billiard Hall was a favorite hangout in the late 60s and  70s.

Stairway leading to the billiard hall

Filipino archer Mark Javier at the Beijing Olympics.  He is from Dumaguete.