Year 30 Issue 3 • September 25, 2009 • tingngplaridel.net

Tinig ngPlaridel

the official student publication of the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication

The ofces o CSSP’s Sinag is hal the room size o an average AS classroom.But they do get one, plus computers and aircon. Other publications aren’t solucky. (Jean Natividad)

A series of unfortunate events:

The state of college publications in UP Diliman

continued on page 3

Two pesos and ftycents per student.Multiplied by athousand students,Kalasag, the ofcialstudent publication of the Collegeof Arts and Letters, gets a total ofP2500 every semester. The budgetis expected to cover monthly print

ing and coverage expenses, ofceequipment and internet usage.Financial constraints and the lackof decent ofce are only some ofthe many problems that continue todisrupt the operation of many col

lege publications today.To cope with the meager budget,some publications, like Kalasagand Tinig ng Plaridel (TNP) of theCollege of Mass Communication,resort to “blood money” or tak

ing out off the staffers’ own pock

ets to support their needs. Sinagof the College of Social Sciencesand Philosophy, on the other hand,had to decrease the number of is

sues released to cut costs. Somepublications, like Kolektibo of theCollege of Social Work and Com

munity Development, had becomedefunct. Some had to completelyshut down.Under the ideal setup, a collegepublication should be an institu

By Hon Sophia Balodand Riziel Cabreros

tion equal to the student council.In reality, however, the oppositehappens—college publications areoften neglected.“It’s important to rememberthat just as students have the right

No tambayan presentor Christmas

The construction of tambayans willstart on December, and not nishby that month as previously an

nounced, according to college sec

retary Lourdes Portus.The College of Mass Commu

nication (CMC) secretary said thestudent organizations’ long-awaitedpermanent tambayans would startby the end of the year, built three tosix months later at the grassy areafacing the Media Center.College dean Rolando Tolentinohad declared last July that the con

struction, which included the refur

bishment of the canteen, would bedone by December, but Portus saidthe bidding process took time to ac

complish.“The bidding process must becompleted before Dec. 31,” saidCMC administrative ofcer GinaVillegas, adding that Sen. EdgardoAngara’s one million peso grantwould expire if a contractor wasnot identied by then.Despite being informed that bid

ding would close by November,CMC student council (CMC-SC)vice-chair Paula Lim said, “We feelpositive because at least there’sprogress, even if it’s at a slow

By Alexandra Francisco

continued on page 2

Cheers and tearsat CheerdanceAdvanced happy bash-day, graduate!

Despite dissent,

NEWS • 02 SPORTS • 08 FEATURES • 04OPINION • 07

BC students adapt tonew thesis rule

The UP Fighting Maroons endedtheir Season 72 campaign the sameway they started it: with losses toteams many people thought they’dbeat. They nished the season atlast place, with three wins and 11losses like last year. But even if theydid not improve on the team stand

ings, the boys from Diliman madethe Oblation community proud byhaving more tight games and post

ing two historic wins.“This tournament was reallyclose, it could’ve gone either way,”said head coach Aboy Castro.Though the season obviously didn’tgo their way, it was denitely a bet

ter one for the Maroons.“Even if we have the same num

ber of wins, we were able to showthat we were in the game, unlikelast year that we were crushed,”said forward Miggy Maniego.The boys also showed a bet

ter understanding of their roles inthe team. Arvin Braganza, MartinReyes and Woody Co displayedthe kind of leadership as this year’steam captains. Several playersstepped up, among them Maniego,and guard-forward Mark Lopez.The rookies did not disappoint aswell. Mikee Reyes, Moriah Ginger

ich, Mark Juruena, Carlo Gomezand Alvin Padilla gave a glimpseof what is to come for this youngteam.Castro and his wards lost threegames in a row before breaking intothe win column by giving the storyof David and Goliath a fresh spin as

By Kat Angco

pace.”Journalism representative Kel

vin Paulino also remains positivedespite minor holdups on the con

struction of tambayans. “Let’s justbe patient and continue knockingon the doors of the administrationfor a prompter action,” he said.As of press time, Villegas saidthe Ofce of the Campus Architect(OCA) is rushing the plans and es

timates for the project.Meanwhile, student organiza

tions were given the option to usefour tables and six benches near

Woody Co o the UP Fighting Maroons slips past the deense o UST’s Chris Ca-mus and Dylan Ababu. The Growling Tigers preyed on the Maroons, 95-85 duringtheir second date at the UAAP Men’s Basketball division. (Roehl Nino Bautista)

continued on page 3

Maroons display fghtingchance in Season 72

02Tinig ng Plaridel

News

September 25, 2009

All for one, one for all.Broadcast Communication (BC)students are adjusting to the indi

vidual thesis policy by working to

gether on their theses.“We try to work together by con

sulting each other,” said Rikka Abi

gail Sotto, a BC senior.She added that she and her coursemates would stay in one place whilewriting their thesis proposals.Students have been vocal abouttheir grievances on the change inpolicy. Not only have they beenused to the production environ

ment, they have also grown accus

tomed to the setup where they haveto work together as a group, saidSotto.

Despite dissent, BC students adapt to new thesis rule

In a group setup, Sotto explained,each member can specialize on atask that would demonstrate his orher strength. “In individual thesis-making, however, you fail to maxi

mize the good qualities of your co-students,” she added.

From production to academicwriting

In an e-mail sent to seniors, theBC Department explained that thedecision to revive the individualthesis policy stemmed from tech

nological advancements.Originally, the primary reason forenacting the partner/group policy isto cut production costs of students.However, since editing softwareand equipment have become much

By Ernica de Guzmanand Roehl Niño Bautista

Changes have been made and im

plemented to the Journalism de

partment’s curriculum such as theaddition of new classes, changes incourse number, prerequisites andsequencing of subjects.Effective this school year, newelectives such as Reporting on theEnvironment (J112) and Computer-Assisted Reporting (J116) will beoffered.In a report drafted by formerJournalism chair Professor RachelKhan, the electives aim to “increaseneed for sustainable developmentand concern for the environment”and to “maximize the use of com

puter programs to analyze, enhanceand graph information gatheredfrom eld reporting.”Meanwhile, the prerequisites for

New journ curriculum takes effect

taking core journalism subjects waschanged from any Communicationor Komunikasyon course to anycourse on English grammar andany course on Philippine history.Originally, Feature Writing(J111) can only be taken by juniorand senior journalism students butthe revised curriculum permits stu

dents who have taken a course onliterature and humanities to enrollin the course.Photojournalism, likewise, cannow be taken with the consent ofinstructor or after passing NewsWriting (J102).It was also suggested that Jour

nalism Ethics be an added prereq

uisite for taking The Newsroomclass (J121) because “journalismstudents need to be familiar with

By Ernica de Guzmanand Roehl Niño Bautista

the journalism ethics to understandthe decision-making process in thenewsroom.”Journalism Ethics’ course num

ber was changed from J192 to J110,which is also aligned with the col

lege’s chosen system for the under

graduate media ethics courses (ex.:Communication 110).Consequently, the sequencing ofthe Journalism courses affected – the Newsroom and Layout and De

sign – were moved by a semester.Another suggested move in thesequence of the program is the in

terchange of a Journalism electiveand college elective from the rstsemester of the third year to thesecond semester of the third year,respectively.cheaper, production costs have alsodecreased, thus nullifying the origi

nal purpose of the policy.Also, the department stressedthat previous theses concentratedon production and not on research“which is inconsistent with theUniversity’s academic and schol

arly nature.”“Individual theses are useful tothe academe because they ll theresearch gap. Chances of develop

ing and updating previous studiesare also higher,” Abi Moreno, an

other senior BC student explained.“The new policy is more applica

ble to the new BC curriculum sinceits design is more scholarly andacademic. However, it was a bitshocking for those who follow theold curriculum which was produc

tion-based,” said BC representativeAthena Chavez.In the new curriculum imple

mented on the rst semester of aca

demic year 2008-2009, TV produc

tion classes have been integratedinto one course. The same was doneto radio production classes.New courses such as PoliticalEconomy of Broadcasting (BC108), Text Analysis (BC 181) andAudience Studies (BC 182) werealso introduced.

Quantity affects quality?

The seniors also complain aboutthe consultation hours since onlyone professor offers Introduction toThesis (BC199). Since the studentswork individually, the number ofpapers to be checked and gradedhave also increased.“We have to compete for ourprofessor’s consultation time,” saidMoreno.Though busy checking all thetheses, Sotto said that Prof. JunAustria helps them by solving in

consistencies in the print-out ver

sion and pdf version of the CMCGuide to Making Theses.For example, there are differenc

es in the rules of spacing betweensub-heads, said BC senior PatriciaLoren Mangune.

Tinig ng Plaridel is looking for writers, illustrators,photographers and layout artists. Submit a portfolio tothe editors.Freshies are welcome!

No tambayan ...

from page 1

the TV studio at the Media Center,which Portus said was not a “tam

bayan” but a “temporary area wherethey can meet.”However, organization memberssaid the meeting area, even if wi-enabled, was too far from the mainbuildings.Journalism Club president JohnAntiquerra added the open placeexposed students to the rain, mos

quitoes and dog stench which wasrabid near the targeted constructionarea.While Edmalynne Remillano ofthe Union of the Journalists of thePhilippines’s UP chapter said theydid not use the area because UJPheld most of its activities in themain building.Meanwhile, Student Alliance forthe Advancement of DemocraticRights in UP CMC chair AbsalomEligio said the tables and seats inskywalk—where the organizationstemporarily hung-out—were of

ten disarranged because of collegeevents, making the area “look likea dumpster.”CMC-SC chair Rupert Mang

It’s a concrete show of dissent.College of Mass Communica

tion student council (CMC-SC)chair Rupert Mangilit said Sept. 17that the increase of CMC studentsduring the nal consultation of the2009 Student Code draft was proofof the organizations’ opposition.“The organizations’ presenceforces the administration to takeconcrete actions,” Mangilit said.“The concrete show of dissentproved how disappointed orgs arewith the code draft,” he added.Compared to the prior poorly at

tended cluster consultations of theCode of Student Conduct, the dis

cussion at the National EngineeringCenter was attended by 26 CMCrepresentatives from the six of therecognized organizations in the col

lege, among others.Schedule conicts and poor in

formation dissemination brought onthe handful and sparse attendanceduring the college-based consulta

tions, students said.Journalism Club’s Myra Cabu

jat said, “The consultation wasscheduled during class hours, so itwas inconvenient to send as manymembers as possible since theyhave classes.”The draft of the Code of StudentConduct was presented in March2009 after three years of review bya committee headed by Vice-Chan

cellor for Student Affairs ElizabethEnriquez.Mangilit said the release of astatement on the code isn’t enough,“This is a very important issue tothe orgs. It’s a matter of continuingsurvival, existence even. We haveto physically manifest our disgustwith the code draft and its provi

sions.”Majority of the CMC orgs, whowere required to send ve represen

tatives to the nal consultation, hadopposed the Student Code draft andcalled to junk it.After the cluster consultations,some controversial provisions wererevised, including the mandate forone year residency in the universityfor would-be members. Freshmencould now join organizations afterone semester in UP.But during the nal consultation,the organizations and councils re

peated their need for representationon the Code’s drafting committee.“(The University Council) doesnot have the authority or the powerto include anyone else in the draft

ing committee,” said College of So

cial Work and Community Devel

opment Professor Emmanuel Luna,the chair of the university councilCommittee on Student Organiza

tions, Activities, and Welfare.

Numbers showdissent against draft

By Franz Jonathan de la Fuenteand Katherine Elona

ilit said these concerns would bebrought up in the next council’sdialogue with the dean and the col

lege secretary.The previous tambayans werelocated in M207 and the roomsnear the photocopying area weredeconstructed in 2007 in favor oftransforming them into classrooms.Since then, organizations had clam

ored for new places to hang-out into conduct their meetings and otheractivities.Initially, the administrationthought of buying huts as tam

bayans but the plan was scrappedbecause the permanent structureswere promised to the students bythe end of the year, Mangilit said.

With reports from Katherine Elo-na, Ernica de Guzman and Katrina Alba.

He also suggested that the Ofceof the Student Regent is sufcientto address, representation, and thatStudent Regent Charisse Bañezbring the issue of student represen

tation to the rest of the members ofthe UP Board of Regents.

03Tinig ng Plaridel

News/Sports

September 25, 2009

CMC-SC printing servicepostponed

The CMC Student CouncilChairman Rupert Mangilit saidthe project will push throughonce the two computers fromthe Journalism Department aretransferred to the ofce.

News briefs

The UP Fighting Maroons’ victory over theDLSU Green Archers couldn’t be sweeter foranyone else than rookie Mikee Reyes. Aside fromposting a career high of 25 points, the best outputof any freshman player this season, he also got toaccomplish his personal mission: to outdo the Ar

chers.“I really wanted to beat La Salle,” said Reyes,who went to La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) for highschool. His desire did not go unsatised, as he ledthe Maroons in giving the Archers their fourthconsecutive loss in Season 72, registering six as

sists and ve rebounds on top of shooting 50 per

cent from the eld and the perimeter.The 5’9 point guard played for the LSGH Ju

nior Blazers. But instead of choosing Taft as hishome in the college league, he decided to bring hismagic to Diliman.UP’s underdog status in the UAAP enticedReyes to suit up for the Maroons. “I think I wantedthe challenge because UP hasn’t won anything,”he said. Undeniably, he took this challenge headon and made his mark as a playmaker that alsoprovides his team with offense.“He’s our energy player,” said men’s basketballteam head coach Aboy Castro. He likens Reyes toPBA player Jimmy Alapag, who is known to bea speedy point guard as well as good perimetershooter.The Sports Science major was exposed by hisparents to basketball at an early age. “When I wasa baby, my crib even had a [basketball] hoop in

side,” he shared.He started attending basketball camps while he was in prepat the Ateneo. His father, a former San Beda Red Lion, ishighly inuential in his athletic career. “He gives me tips andtells me which things I have to improve on,” he said.The women in Reyes’s life are also all very supportive ofhis basketball career. His mom and four sisters are alwayspresent in his games to act as his own cheering squad, com

plete with # 9 Reyes jerseys. His girlfriend, on the other hand,doesn’t just provide him with inspiration, but also helps himdeal with the demands of life as a student-athlete.Like most college ballers, Reyes aspires to join the profes

sional ranks in the future. But for now, he is focused on bring

ing back the basketball glory to UP.“The future is very bright for us,” he said. Reyes believesthat the team has enough talent and with hard work, soon,they will get to the promised land.

UP Fighting Maroons rookie Mikee Reyes charges towards Micheal Luy othe NU Bulldogs as Mike Maniego looks on during the two teams’ secondmeeting at the UAAP Season 72 Men’s Basketball division.(

Roehl Niño Bautista)

Reyes’ riend and siblings pose right beore the frst round UP- AdU game. Together with Reyes’ mom, they have been consis-tently present in the Maroons’ games (

Roehl Niño Bautista)

Mikee Reyes on target:profling the Maroons’ power shooter

By Katrina Angco

to self-governance, they also havethe right to be informed on crucialissues both within and outside theuniversity,” Larissa Suarez, consul-general of Solidaridad, an allianceof campus publications in UP Dili

man, says.Ideally, college publications andthe student council should have anequal share in the student fund, ac

cording to Suarez. However, not allcouncils have been supportive oftheir college publication.Guilder of the College of Busi

ness Administration does not re

ceive any fund from the council orthe students. They fund their issuesthrough marketing, solicitation anddonations from the alumni.In the case of Sinag and Kala

sag, in order to request for a big

ger budget, they have to conduct areferendum or amend the publica

tion’s charter which will both take along and tedious process. TNP, onthe contrary, had been successful inlobbying for an additional budgetwith the help of the dean and thestudent council.Aside from the dwindling fundof college publications, the lackof press ofce and equipment hasalso affected its operations. Out ofthe eight college publications inter

viewed, only Sinag and Scientia ofthe College of Science have theirown press ofce and computer.The rest have to rely on eachstaffer’s resources for the press

work.“For our story conference, wemeet anywhere possible. But wereally have a hard time writing ourarticles since we don’t have anycomputers to work with,” RoehlBautista, associate editor of TNP,says.In terms of membership, Guil

der, Kalasag, Sinag and TNP allsaid they are understaffed. Lackof interest among their respectivestudent populations is cited as themain reason behind it. “Call forwriters are usually ignored,” saidJei Ente, editor-in-chief of Sinag.The same reason applies to thedifculty in establishing a studentpublication at the CSWCD andCollege of Home Economics.With respect to the current staff,academics is a major consideration.“The college pub,” Ente says, “hasalways been the mistress of ourstaffers’ academic priorities.” Thatkind of prioritization affects thestaffers’ promptness in meetingdeadlines, she says.The restrictions in nance andequipment, along with membershipand commitment issues, are all fac

tors to the irregularity or failure ofprint releases. This, in turn, affectsthe readership and reception of thepublication’s audience.“We have a hard time establish

ing the name of the publicationsince students only see the publica

tion twice or thrice a sem. Even thewebsite, which contains more up

dates, gets ignored,” Bautista said.Scientia, conversely, receives apositive feedback from the students.“We are actually surprised that themagazine has gained a followingeven from students outside the col

lege,” EIC Carlo Castillo said.Since most problems of studentpublications are similar across theUP system, Solidaridad joins ma

jor alliances in UP to raise theseconcerns to the Board of Regentand other university ofcials, suchas the UP Diliman Ofce of theVice-Chancellor for Student Af

fairs. Press workshops and forumsare also held to increase the level ofskills and media awareness amongstudent journalists.Unless the issues raised are ad

dressed, college publications willcontinue to operate on meagerfunds and release issues on irregu

lar basis.As echoed by Solidaridad, thepurpose of a college paper will notbe served and the students may facethe risk of losing yet another venuefor expression of students’ voiceand empowerment of students’rights.

(Balod and Cabreros are botheditors of Tinig ng Plaridel.)

A series ...

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they stunned the defending champi

ons Ateneo Blue Eagles, 58-68.The renewed spirit of the Ma

roons was evident in the way theyplayed their succeeding games, butit wasn’t until the start of the sec

ond round of eliminations whenthey took home win number two.They avenged the NU Bulldogs,who routed them on opening week

end.The Diliman squad kept their Fi

nal Four hopes alive and made his

tory once more when they churnedout a ve point victory against theDLSU Green Archers. This mo

mentous win earned them the nick

name “Giant Slayers.”“It made things harder for us- wedidn’t have the chance to surpriseour opponents anymore,” says Cas

tro, after being labeled as “GiantSlayers.” Indeed, no other UAAPgiant faced the Maroons in less thanimpeccable battle gear.Of their 11 defeats, there werea couple of games which could’vebrought them nearer to the FinalFour. They “could’ve and should’vewon” their outings against the AdUFalcons and the UE Red Warriorsin the rst round, said Castro. TheFalcons snatched the win awayfrom them during the nal minuteof regulation, while the Warriorsdid so in overtime.“We just couldn’t nish as wellas we would’ve wanted,” admittedCastro. But, he added, “there are alot of lessons learned.”For now, a quarternals appear

ance remains elusive for the Fight

ing Maroons. They’ve proven thatthey have the talent, but the poiseneeded in playing in really closegames is something the team stillneeds to develop. “If we learn howto do that over the next 12 months,then we’ll get to where we want tobe,” concludes Castro.

Maroons ...

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Cine Plaridel extended

The deadline for the CinePlaridel short video competitionhas been extended to Decemberto accomodate new entries.It’s part of the CMC-SC’s ac