Campus Journalism, a must or not?
Campus Journalism played a massive role in helping me connect with something I never knew I would be pursuing. It has introduced me to the act of writing, and throughout the years of being a member of our school’s publication, campus journalism has actively shaped and honed my skills. Being a member of the school’s publication comes with a variety of emotions. It gives the sense of fulfillment after having an article, the feeling of upheld responsibility as a student who has provided the students’ needs, and it accords the feeling of success because it makes me realize that my honed skill in journalism contributes to my fellow students and the society.
Is Campus Journalism a must? The Philippine Government has provided the Campus Journalism Act, which aims to support and promote student journalism. Its objectives are to uphold student empowerment, student publications’ integrity, and the right to freedom of expression. Campus Journalism brings benefits to various people: To the members of the publication, to the students, and the entire school body. We all know that media is vital in the democracy of the country. Like any publication that releases news to its people, Campus Journalism is an avenue to address issues and problems from the student body; it becomes the media and press within the institution. It becomes the students’ voice through the relay of information and updates, and it helps bring awareness to the students to help them become responsible, informed, and proactive students. The school’s publication is the voice of the student body.
Moreover, aside from that, it paves the way for students to become informed and aware; Campus Journalism becomes a stepping stone for communication students who are soon to be media practitioners specifically, aspiring journalists. Through the student publication, having the power to write about school issues serves as training for future writing purposes. Campus Journalism also becomes a safe place for students to put into writing, photography, and literary pieces, their thoughts, emotions, and expression towards social conflicts. Many values are being developed within the organization and towards the growth of each member. It enhances critical thinking, moral character, and citizen responsibility.
Campus Journalism makes provisions for the student’s freedom of speech to be expressed despite being bound by some limitations. As the youth is coined with the term of change-makers, Campus Journalism serves as the route for these to be enhanced. At a school level, Campus Journalism establishes student writers for a future of writing within the national level. The reasons for it being a must in different schools within the country are vital not just to the academe but also to the nation.
