DAVID SAMUEL L.

MONTOJO BSBA-OM1 NARRATIVE BU-WEEK

Bicol University celebrates its 49 th founding anniversary and marks the start of

the 2018 BU Week with a foot parade and an opening program that features the return

of the university’s festive annual tradition–the Hataw Dance presentation. The theme of

this year’s celebration is “Sustaining Gains, Building Milestones”. This focuses on the

BU’s growth and advancement though the years, specifically in achieving the a higher

level of academic excellence as a world-class university.

The celebration actually began early Tuesday morning with a Thanksgiving Mass

at BU College of Arts and Letters (BUCAL) Amphitheatre. In the afternoon, nearly ten

thousand of BUenuos, faculty members, personnel, and officials assembled at

Peñaranda Park in Legazpi, which is the starting point for the foot parade. We are at the

frontliners of the parade because the College of Business, Economics & Management

(BUCBEM) is assigned to lead the foot parade. The 15 BU campuses showed school

spirit as the parade traversed from Peñaranda Park to the Albay Sports Complex in

BU’s Main Campus.

The parade and program also marked the start of the annual BU founding

anniversary. This event is highly anticipated by the students particularly the freshmen

because it is a week-long event of the student body, wherein participants from the

campuses contend against each other in a series of athletic and special competitions.

The opening program started with a flag-raising ceremony headed by BU

President Dr. Arnulfo Mascariñas. After each of the campuses were acknowledged, the

program gave way to the much awaited Opening Dance Salvo, where each college had

a group of 15 members participate in a conglomerated dance number. After the

Opening Dance Salvo, those present watched the return of the Hataw Dance

presentation –the inter-college freshmen group dance that went into hiatus during the

past two years. An estimate of 4,000 students coming form 10 colleges and institutes of

BU together with the Senior Hign School Department danced vigorously. The

participating groups brought their unique dance routines in their presentation, along with

the faculty of BU Institute of Physical Education and Sports Recreation (IPESR) headed

by its Director Carina L. Sales.