Offering a more unified and collaborative student publication for the 39th Region VIII State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA-8), Eastern Visayas student journalists formed “Sinirangan,” which will serve as a regional student publications union for the SCUAA-8 during the Campus Media Orientation held at the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) Graduate School Function Hall, April 19.
Organized by The Industrial Wheel, the official student publication of EVSU – Main Campus, the orientation gathered student journalists from across the region in preparation for the upcoming regional athletic meet coverage.
Among the topics discussed were the game plan and venue briefing, rules and reminders for the Media Center, and the coverage playbook, serving as a general guide for the whole duration SCUAA-8 events and activities.
Additionally, the gathering served as an avenue to reach a collective agreement on the formation of “Sinirangan,” the official collaborative publication of campus journalists in Eastern Visayas.
Spearheaded by Mr. Rex Palompon, head and technical adviser of The Industrial Wheel, the convention provided guidance on coordinating inter-publication efforts and aligning coverage strategies for the duration of the SCUAA-8.
Through a formal nomination and voting process, Alrey Lacaba, Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of The Industrial Wheel, was elected as EIC of Sinirangan, with Mark Kendrick Orsua, EIC of The Pillar of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP), elected as Associate Editor, and Biliran Province State University (BiPSU) The Pillar Publication EIC Gil Agustin Irinco as Managing Editor.
Moreover, Vivienne Kyla Caber, Associate Editor of The Courier, the official student publications of Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU) has been nominated as the publication’s News Editor.
In an interview, Orsua emphasized the significance of having a unified publication for this year’s SCUAA-8 games among campus publications, hoping to expand the platform to better serve student journalists.
“It’s a good idea to have at least one publication that will represent the student publications in Eastern Visayas as unified somehow, and I want that to be the start na mas mag-connect pa ‘yung publications especially now na an press freedom is parang binabalewala ng government, and campus journalists are being red tagged—start in Eastern Visayas para pagsulong ng press freedom.”
He then added his hope to expand the platform not just in the SCUAA coverage.
“It is a good start na here in the SCUAA coverage well have a unified publication which we can find stories to tell and I hope that it would extend outside this SCUAA-8 coverage.”
The unified publication was agreed upon by campus journalists to produce daily newsletters throughout the SCUAA-8 duration, along with an overall summary magazine through contributions from participating publications in the region.
Article by James Magayon