To emphasize the role of campus press in raising awareness on various social issues, The Aquinian, the official student publication of the UST Junior High School (UST JHS), organized a series of online seminars on January 29 and February 5.
Resource speakers GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Correspondent Bam Alegre, ABS-CBN Senior Reporter Adrian Ayalin, Executive Assistant IV-Office of the Executive Director at the Philippine Science High School System Aries Oliveros, INQUIRER.net Social Media Specialist Chris Gamoso, School Publication Coordinator of Mintal Comprehensive High School Leonardo Cabural, Special Science Teacher V at the Philippine Science High School-Cagayan Valley Campus Dr. Harold Gallo, Journalism teacher at New Era University Meden Fadriquela, and Head of the Knowledge Management Office at Philippine Normal University Mindanao Assoc. Prof. June Dumanhug delivered talks about different journalistic fields during the publication’s seven nationwide events.
During the keynote webinar titled “Vanguard 2023,” Ayalin, a senior reporter from ABS-CBN, stressed how journalism helps in providing more media coverage and exposure on issues faced by less privileged people.
“Lahat ng ito na ginagawa natin ay para sa kanila, those who are less privileged. Those who have less in life should have more in law. Sa TV reports ko, those who have less in life should have more airtime. Mas bigyan natin ng halaga ‘yung mga nasa laylayan,” said Ayalin.
Meanwhile, Alegre, a GMA News and Public Affairs senior correspondent, also served as a keynote speaker for Vanguard, emphasizing that journalists must aid the public in forming deliberated opinions rather than promoting certain agendas and beliefs.
“Ang papel natin bilang mga journalist ay hindi para sabihin sa mga tao kung ano ang dapat nilang paniwalaan, that’s not our role. People have the right to decide on what they want to believe in. Now, our role is to give them correct facts, double-checked facts, fair information; give them that to help them decide on what they want to believe in,” said Alegre.
The series’s six other sub-events, focused on features writing, news writing, opinion writing, sports writing, copyreading and headline writing, and editorial cartooning, respectively.
The event, which was live streamed via Facebook, was viewed by publication advisers and student writers from all over the Philippines. During the previous publication years, The Aquinian also organized multiple national events on different topics in the field of campus journalism, including Myriad, Beacon, and Illuminate, while also featuring notable speakers, such as Mr. Jeff Canoy, the late Mr. Rene Aranda, and Assoc. Prof. Inez Ponce de Leon, Ph.D.
