THE UNIVERSITY unveiled a new version of its tiger statue and UST block letters at the Plaza Mayor on Tuesday evening, which mostly impressed Thomasians on social media.
The new tiger statue and block letters signify the University’s aggressive expansion outside Manila as it opens campuses in Santa Rosa, Laguna and General Santos, and UST’s “rising over the pandemic,” UST officials said.
The infamous “Jed’s Island” tiger was replaced with a roaring 8-foot Bengal tiger standing on its two hind legs and supported by a stone slab that bears the University logo. It sported UST’s gold, black, and white colors.
The block letters, meanwhile, were changed to the Trajan Pro font used in official University communication.
Some social media users were in awe after seeing the remodeled tiger, the official mascot of UST since 1992.
“Luv (love) the glow up, but I will miss the old tiger,” said one Thomasian on Twitter.
“If the UST tiger can glow up, so can you! Keep trying, babe!” tweeted another.
The erstwhile tiger had gone viral for looking like the statues in Jed’s Island Resort in Bulacan, which is known for its uniquely sculpted statues of cartoons and anime.
Asst. Prof. Joselito de los Reyes of the Faculty of Arts and Letters called the new tiger statue “fierce.”
“Hayan, hindi na mukhang pang-Jed’s Island Resort ang tigre sa Plaza Mayor. Fierce na. Tapos kinapos ang talon kaya humampas ang dibdib sa kilometer post,” he said in a Facebook post.
He also likened the tiger statue over the years to Thomasians’ phases of thesis writing.
Go, USTe! pic.twitter.com/Eyo7EIlDr1
— Joselito D. Delos Reyes (@JoselitoDDelos1) August 10, 2022
Some Thomasians, however, were saddened about the new posture of the statue.
“[T]he sad part [about] the upgrade is hindi na siya pwedeng sakyan 
BUT ANG GANDA SOBRA,” a Thomasian said on Twitter.
The old tiger and UST block letters were relocated to the Quadricentennial Square on July 27. Justin Benedict T. Lim
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