The conflict between the school administrators and the students (and even other faculty members) rages on. The only woman professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department, the ingenious Madame Fe Noche (the first female Mechanical Engineer in the Philippines) posted an open letter throughout the whole school. It was very touching when she said that her 40 years in service would end upon the death of Mapua's name. Too bad (or too good), the feared lady -because of being reputed as very strict when it comes to plates, never became my professor.

Incidentally, the school president, Dr. Reynaldo Vea, who also happened to be a member of the ME Faculty, have given out a message through the Mapua website (how ironic, isn’t it?) that indeed, the school’s name is about to be changed. The decision was already approved by the CHED but for the meantime, it will be Malayan Colleges instead of the Malayan University. The latter will be in effect upon the compliance of the school to the requirements needed to have a University status. The Mapua name, on the other hand, will not be phased out in its entirety. It will be used as the official name of the College of Engineering and Architecture.

Even so, the students seem to have waged a battle with the administration. Almost all the students, including me (until now, I still can’t find any non-opposing parties except for the guards who scrupulously remove every propaganda poster in sight) still find it pointless to downgrade such an established institution just to pave the way for their financial interests. Again, this is a clash between idealism and reality.