Students bow their heads in a moment of silence during the service for Dr. Acejo. Antonio Zaragoza / Photo Editor
Students did not cry at the memorial service honoring the life of Dr. Henry Acejo. This was not because they did not mourn his passing or feel the loss of his presence, but because the memories they drew on and shared in testimonials were fond ones, bringing smiles and laughter.
Dr. Acejo, a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Asian / Middle Eastern Languages, founded the Pilipino language program at San Diego State in 2004. He was born and educated in the Philippines. He also lectured at Southwestern Community College, and Mid-City Community College. The beloved professor was stabbed to death in his Tijuana apartment at approximately 11 p.m. on Dec. 18.
“Acejo’s death is an immense loss to the department, to the College of Arts and Letters and to the university,” wrote Dr. Ghada Osman, the director of the Arabic Program and a friend of Dr. Acejo, in a statement for the memorial program and the SDSUniverse website.
“He was a very popular instructor whose creativity, knowledge, hard work and dedication to his students as a professional were deeply striking. His upbeat personality, ubiquitous smile, sense of humor and care for others as a person were extraordinary.”
In the service organized by A.B. Samahan, the Pilipino-American student organization at SDSU, the testimonials portion reflected this sentiment most, filled with laughter at certain stories about Dr. Acejo’s life in San Diego and in the Philippines.
“He was always good at spreading the word for us … he connected with students well,” Salvador Flor, a former advisor for A.B. Samahan, said. “He could have just gone to class, done his thing, and split … he didn’t have to do the other things he did.”
The approximately 25 students who attended shared snippets of classroom memories and jokes, emphasizing the positive relationship Dr. Acejo maintained with his students. One even recounted that when he received a D in Dr. Acejo’s class, it humbled and inspired him to try harder when he repeated it later.
“The sadness of it all is that he left us too early,” Flor said.
Well written, I know he will missed.
Just a little thing… “Pilipino” is “Filipino”, and it’s spelled wrong throughout the entire article.
Hey there, Jennifer,
Actually, “Pilipino” is one of the accepted spellings, often used by the students and organizers themselves. For example, A.B. Samahan, the student organization that organized the memorial service, spells it this way on its official website: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~samahan/history.html
In this instance, I could have spelled it either way, but I chose to spell it the way the organization chose to out of respect for the members’ preference. That’s why our copy desk allowed it to stand.
Thanks for the sharp eye, though; people like you help keep us on our toes! As it should be.
Let me share this input, as point of clarification:
`Filipino’ (with an `F’) is one of the official languages (English being the other one) of the Philippines. It used to be called `Tagalog’, then `Pilipino’ (with a `P’), and NOW – `Filipino’ as stipulated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Let’s help disseminate this information and correct it’s proper use in view of some apparent confusion. Let’s then help create awareness on its correct spelling: `Filipino’.
Thanks,
Atilio V. Alicio, Ph.D.
Lecturer in Filipino
UCSD & SDSU
Originally the Pilipino language had no F, it has since then incorporated the F which has made the national language of the Philippines Filipino. That was actually how Prof. Acejo opened up his FILIP 102 class when I took it.