University

of Santo Tomas

Chapter 5

Medical
Studies at the
University of
Santo Tomas
(1877-1882)
 □ After finishing the first year of course
in Philosophy and letters (1877-78), he
transferred to the medical course.

□ As a Thomasian, he won more literary

laurels, had other romances with
pretty girls, and fought against
Spanish students who insulted the
brown Filipino students.

□ After Graduating with the highest

 honors from Ateneo, Rizal had to go
to the University of Santo Tomas for
higher studies.

□ Don Francisco and Paciano wanted

Jose to pursue higher learning in the
university.
□ Dona Teodora opposed:
“Don’t send him to Manila again; he
knows enough. If he gets to know
more, the Spaniards will cut off his
head.”
□ Jose Rizal himself was surprised why
his mother, who was a woman of
 education and culture, should object to
his desire for a university education.

□ In April 1877, Rizal who was 16,

matriculated at UST, taking the
course on Philosophy and Letters.

□ two reasons for taking the course:

1. his father liked it
2. he was “still uncertain as to what
career to pursue”
□ He wrote to Father Pablo Ramon,
 Rector of the Ateneo, asking for
advice on the choice of a career. But
the Father Rector was then in
Mindanao so that he was unable to
advise Rizal.
□ Two reasons for studying medicine:
1. Ateneo Rector’s advice is to study
medicine
2. to be able to cure his mother’s
growing blindness.

□ during the 1st term in UST,

he also studied in Ateneo and took
up
 vocational course leading to the title
of Perito Agrimensor (Expert
Surveyor)
□ at age 17, he passed the final
examination in the surveying course,
but could not be granted title because
he was below age.
□ he frequently visited Ateneo because
of his loyalty
□ the professors in Ateneo loved him
and inspired him to ascend to greater
heights of knowledge.
□ he was president of the Academy of
Spanish Literature and secretary of
 the Academy of Natural Sciences and
also the secretary of Marian
Congregation.

□ Rizal had ample time for love □

Romantic Dreamer who liked to sip
the “nectar of love”
□ His sad experience with his first love
Segunda had made him wiser. Segunda

Katigbak
□ “Miss L” (fair with seductive and
attractive eyes)
□ Nobody today knows this woman □
Two reasons for his change of heart: ■
The sweet memory of Segunda was still
fresh in his heart
■ His father did not like the family of “Miss
L”

□ He courted
Leonor
Valenzuela , pet
 name
is Orang

□ He taught her the

secret of reading any
note written in the
invisible ink by
heating it over a
candle or lamp. Leonor Valenzuela

□ Leonor Rivera
(his
cousin from
Camiling,
 Tarlac)

□ They became
engaged.

□ “Taimis” is the
code name of
Leonor Leonor Rivera

□ Rizal experienced his first taste of

Spanish brutality when he a freshmen
medical student at the UST.
□ One dark night in Calamba, Rizal
 passed a man and did not salute nor
say a courteous “Good Evening”. That
man turned out to be a lieutenant of
the Guardia Civil. He whipped out his
sword and brutally slashed Rizal on
the back.
□ he went to the General Primo de
Rivera but did not obtain justice

□ Because he was an indio and the

abusive lieutenant was a Spaniard.

□ In 1879, the Liceo Artistico-Literario

 (Artistic-Literary Lyceum) of Manila
held a literary contest.
□ Rizal, 18, submitted his poem entitled
“A La Juventud Filipina (To the Filipino
Youth)”
□ He won first prize which consisted of
a silver pen, feather-shaped and
decorated with a gold ribbon.
□ The poem is a classic in Philippine
literature for two reasons:
1. it was the first great poem in
Spanish written by a Filipino, whose
merit was recognized by Spanish
literary authorities.
2. it expressed for the first time the
nationalistic concept that the
Filipinos, and not the foreigners, were
the “fair hope of the Fatherland”.
□ In 1880, Artistic-Literary Lyceum opened
another literary contest to
commemorate the 4th centennial of the
death of Cervantes, famous author of
Don Quixote.
□ Many participated in the contest –
priests, newspapermen, scholars and
professors.
□ Rizal submitted an allegorical drama
entitled “El Consejo de los Dioses (The
Council of the Gods)
□ All the judges were Spaniards. □
Rizal won first prize because of its
literary superiority over the others. □
The Spanish community in Manila
howled in great indignation against
the decision because the winning
author was an Indio.
□ The prize awarded to Rizal was a gold
ring on which was engraved the best
of Cervantes.
 □ Junto al Pasig (Beside the Pasig) ■ a
zarzuela, staged by the Ateneans on the
occasion of the annual celebration of the
Feast Day of the Immaculate
Conception, Patroness of the Ateneo.
(1880)

□ A Filipinas
■ a sonnet, for the album of the Society of
Sculptors. It urged Filipino artist to
glorify the Philippines.(1880)

□ Rizal went on a pilgrimage to the town of Pakil,

 □
famous shrine of Birhen Maria de los Dolores

Accompanied by Saturnina, Maria, Trinidad and

□ They took casco and stayed at

female friends

home of Mr. and

Mrs. Manuel Regalado □ They

were Fascinated by the famous turumba

■ People dancing in the street in honor of Birhen Maria
de los Dolores
□ From Pakil,
Rizal made
a side trip
to
Pagsanjan
 ■ It is the native
town of Leonor
River

■ To see the world

famed Pagsanjan
Falls

□ In frequently fights against arrogant Spanish

students:
■ indio chongo
■ kastila bangus

□ 1880, Rizal founded Companerismo

(comradeship), members were called
 companions of Jehu.

□ he was the chief of this secret student society □

his cousin, Galicano Apacible was the secretary

□ As chief, he led the Filipino students

into combat against spanish students
in various street fights.

□ In one of the skirmishes, Rizal was

wounded on the head.

□ His friends brought him to Casa

Tomasina where Leonor Rivera took
care of him.
□ Rizal was unhappy because:
■ The Dominican professors were hostile to
him
■ The Filipino students were racially
discriminated against by the Spaniards ■
The method of instruction was obsolete
and repressive.
□ In his novel, El Filibusterismo, he
described how the Filipinos students
were humiliated and insulted by their
Dominican professors and how
backward the method of instruction
 was.

□ Failed to win high scholastic honors

due to his unfriendly attitude of his
professors.

□ 1879-80 Medicine
□ 1877-78 Philosophy and
■ Cosmology Philosophy ■ Physiology
E & G G G G G ■ Private
Metaphysics ■ Anatomy 2 Hygiene ■
E E ■ Theodicy ■ Dissection 2 Public Hygiene
Letters ■ History of
□ 1878-79 Medicine
□ 1880-81 Medicine
F E G ■ Natural ■ General ■ Surgery
■ Physics History Pathology ■
■ Chemistry F E G Therapeutics
G □ 1881-82 Medicine
■ Anatomy I
G ■ Medical Obstetrics
VG VG
■ Dissection I Pathology ■

Library
 University of
Santo
Thomas

□ decided to study in Spain because:

■ no longer endure the rampant bigotry,
 discrimination, and hostility of UST
□ he knew that they will disapprove
especially his mother
□ Persons allowed him to go to Spain:
■ Paciano
■ Saturnina
■ Lucia
■ Antonio Rivera
■ Valenzuela Family