Vision possible
When we created Campus in The Philippine STAR, our vision was to provide students and teachers a space where they can express their opinions and sentiments on issues that affect them. It is meant to be a space for different voices. Gladly, we are seeing how this page touches the lives of members of the academe. D uring our event last Feb. 18 at the University of the Philippines - Diliman, a journalism conference and contest organized by Virata School of Business’ The Guilder Wire, we saw how thirsty the young are to learn more about journalism.
With topics facilitated by our topnotch writers and editors such as Marichu Villanueva ( Editorial Writing), Rene Aranda ( Editorial Cartooning), Janvic Mateo (Newswriting), Louella Desiderio ( Business Journalism), and EC Toledo ( Photojournalism), more than 100 high school students were equipped with practical knowledge on writing.
As a product of campus journalism, I saw myself in the same situation years ago. Young writers, especially those from public schools, are always hungry for new knowledge, especially if it could hone their journalism skills. I remember sitting in a feature writing talk when I was in fifth grade, and that was the first time that I believed in my capacity to tell stories.
As Campus’ first partnered event, we are very happy that this page is being recognized as a bastion of young ideals and aspirations, and we hope to continue being that. Two of the winners wrote pieces that tackled extrajudicial killings and the use of social media.
In this competition, a total of 18 winners were chosen based on the quality of work they did in an hour. Their work, I must say, is really worthy of space in this page. Their objectivity and critical thinking (partnered with good writing) are admirable.
In the coming months, Campus will launch several new projects to level up the conversation about the journalism industry. We will spearhead several programs that will discuss the present and future of publishing. We hope that campus journalists and likeminded individuals can come and be part of the conversation.