Pantograph staffer wins 8th place in nat’l tilt SSG promotes poll awareness via ‘Project Tindog’

Pantograph staffer wins 8th place in nat’l tilt

KYLE BAUTISTA

INCOMING ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jayvee Fortuno is hailed as one of the best in the premier National Campus Press Olympiad (NCPO), after ranking eighth in Pagsulat ng Lathalain among campus journalists across the country held last May 16.

In her category, Fortuno competed with campus journalists from grade 10 to first-year college. According to her, despite the current situation of having a pandemic, she still decided to join in order to improve her skills as a journalist. She also said that the result was unexpected due to the numerous students participating in the event.

“It was hard and challenging because the topic given was something that I am not familiar with. The given video was short and it was very challenging to maximize the concept and be able to craft 20 paragraphs out of it. Given the minimal time, fortunately, I was able to overcome the pressure and finish my output, containing the ideas I wanted to include and the message I wanted to convey,” she added.

She also mentioned that she became a writer because of her love for reading and making her own stories. As a campus journalist, Fortuno started at the University’s Elementary Department’s publication The Children’s World. She would then continue to join The Trailblazer in Junior High School, and eventually, she would join The Pantograph and would serve as the Associate Editor of the publication in the next school year.

Fortuno also encouraged those who are aspiring to become a campus journalists, citing that a campus journalist plays a significant role in the community.

“Being a campus journalist does not just mean that you have the skill in writing. Beneath that is the big responsibility and accountability you will hold while being the voice of your fellows. As you write, there will always be people who will doubt your capabilities. But do know that as long as one person reads your crafted article, as long as one person looks forward to being educated about a topic you may write on, it is already a reason for you not to stop, and to not let those words be a hindrance with your sole purpose, which is to educate and give awareness to the people that serve as a huge step towards change,” she explained.

NCPO was divided into two parts, the side, and main events. There are 10 side events that are open for all and consist of a wide range of journalism and creative contests that promote critical and artistic thinking. On the other hand, there are 15 main events that are exclusive for grade school, high school, and college students. The main events will cover interactive multimedia publishing, mobile journalism, and print and visual media.

The competition was organized by the Best-Designed Campus Papers of the Philippines (BDCP). It is the first online journalism tournament that features a series of competitions for grade school, high school, and college campus journalists throughout the country, with the theme “Promoting Community Development through Multi-platform Campus Journalism.”

SSG promotes poll awareness via ‘Project Tindog’

JAYVEE FORTUNO

TO HIGHLIGHT THE significance of the elections among the Filipino public, the UNC Senior High School Supreme Student Government (SSG) has launched its final project for the school year 20202021, “TINDOG: Diving Deeper into Securing Our Future: Raising Awareness for the 2022 National Elections”.

The project is a social media campaign about voter registration, education, and participation. It was named Tindog, for it is a Bicolano word that means to stand for the quality of life they want for themselves, their constituents, and for their country.

With the ongoing project, some of the SHS students have already registered as voters and shared their perception on why voting is important, such as the SSG President for School Year 2021- 2022, Tishana Maria Bertiz.

“It is our responsibility. It is our part in making the Philippines better in the future,” Bertiz said.

Zena Ticiamae Chavez, a Grade 11 student from ABM B and the newly elected ABM Representative, emphasized the implications of elections to the country. “Voting gives us the opportunity to choose the candidates with pure intentions that would make a difference in our country. This is now our chance. Register and vote wisely,” Chavez stressed.

Joshua Andrey Doce, a Grade 12 student from GAS L and the current SSG vice-president, is also a proud registered voter. Doce also tackled the significance of a single vote.

“Importante, mahalaga, at may pakinabang ang boto mo! Stand up for all the Filipinos for this is your time,” Doce said.

According to data gathered by the Commissions on Elections (COMELEC), only 863,309 people registered for the 2022 elections during the voter registration period that began on September 21, 2020. This figure does not even come close to the four million people who are expected to be eligible to vote in the 2022 elections. With the SHS SSG’s perception that every Filipino has a responsibility to help secure our nation’s future, it is a way to ensure that the votes of the people go to the rightful leaders.

Meanwhile, in a survey by The Pantograph among 101 SHS learners, 44.6% or 45 of the learners are eligible but are not yet registered; 29.7% or 30 are already registered, and 25.7% or 29 learners are not yet eligible to vote in the 2022 polls.

With their hashtags #RegisterToVote and #MagpaRehistroKa, the UNC SHS SSG still continues to encourage everyone to be a registered voter by posting interactive publicity materials and videos that serve as the way of execution.