Franz Lenard Torres 
Gleaming, juvenile, presences that inspire change and revolutions of some sort — is what I would like to describe our existence. So profound yet so simple, situated at the cusp of reportage and service — complex words to narrate the uncomplicated duty that is service to the people. There is a surety that this responsibility is closing the gaps of misinformation and can be found in its rawest and simplest form; initiative of the youth.
In an era of rapid proliferation of information and digital connectivity, student journalists stand as torchbearers of truth and transparency. Armed with pens, cameras, and an insatiable curiosity, these fledglings fearlessly delve into the heart of campus life and beyond and take the role of reporters to spotlight stories that resonate with their peers, shedding light on issues often overlooked by mainstream media.
However, to be completely frank, it isn’t easy being part of the campus press. A long list of trials and tribulations presents itself in attempting to enter a publication that embodies the entire population of students of an institution. They must be careful in what they publish and write because what they put out characterizes the concerns of the normal student. Members of the publication must be critical in everything that they do to objectively define and cover events in their community.
These journalists become sparks observing affairs, jotting down important details to communicate an intricate crackling that contains their integrity and trustworthiness that can be seen through their craft. They shift into embers, snapping through event after event headstrong, to broadcast their authority to stand for their populace. But sometimes, they also transform into infernos that grace creativity with every exertion of their warmth through talent. They need to be versatile and learn every field there is so that they are well-rounded and could be whatever instrument of reportage that can be deployed anytime in case an event happens, like one of many weapons ready to be pulled out from an arsenal to get the job done.
But these entities are not born, they are made. Like a fire, they start from a combustion from years of pressure and experience although sometimes just from their yearning to be the change that could be a start to a raging fire of evolution. They are people crafted from the willingness to possibly be a step in the right direction. Some are molded from years of honing their skills in journalistic endeavors, some come from an appreciation in the act, and a few materialize in their need to invest their talents into something purposeful. And what else could be more purposeful than to devote a skill to be able to help the masses they consider themselves a part of?
However, in their pursuit of bringing a shift to their environments, it poses a threat to the powers who have taken advantage of the system the youth is trying to stray from. The multiple aftermaths campus press have made and could make, harm the disordered structure that has been practiced, long before their occurrence. Campus media is considered a conflagration; a huge and disastrous fire that hinder and burns the furthering of rot in the system created for the privileged and continues to exploit the underserved. As watchdogs who expose and illuminate this disparity, they can be discarded, silenced, and incapacitated readily.
Is optimism enough to combat the looming supers that could siphon the voice and volume they have so carefully built, bit by bit? Could begging suffice to get the influence among their cohorts back after a forced blackout of their craft?
Naivete. No, sheer positivity could never bring back something oppressed and stepped on. It would be like advising a starving infant to cheer with joy if they ever feel hungry again. No, an act of pleading would feed their egos that they can take something so easy from an enraged mass that is well-informed of the wrongs being cultivated.
If this freedom can be easily revoked, then it is not freedom, it is merely toleration. And this toleration is only allowed if it benefits the system. Freedom is not earned, it is intrinsic, like dignity and the right to live. Support from the people to maintain said freedom shouldn’t be demanded in the first place, however, it is necessary in taking this right back to wield it to feed the need of the people to be aware of the systems they follow. If freedom is taken from the body that informs the public, then support from the same public that was once informed by the same body is required. They are not bystanders anymore who stand and watch in this hubris. They are now protagonists that converge in the fight head on.
On the day we celebrate the independence of campus press nationwide, let it be an avenue to reaffirm the notion that we are not insignificant onlookers in the rivalry of oppressors and liberty. The tiny yet so massive presence campus journalists carry is how the youth stays learned of what is happening around them. They do not dwell on the past, or fortune tellers that tell the future, they are instrumental in defining this moment in time, the present around us. The resplendence that journalism produces, refract and enforce a kindle that manufactures a grounded audience, ready to make cultured decisions that further the greater good of the people.
Let us advocate that there is no space to think that this liberty can be taken and renounced. May the torch fire of free journalism forever be the catalyst of change that erases the causticity of tyranny. May it burn brighter as it devours and illuminates a future the populace deserves. May its radiance never extinguish and ignite every wick that gazes into the ongoing era of student service and reportage. May its heat always seep into the spirit of the people to always engage if freedom is being suppressed. Long live the ever-burning flame of student journalism!
