Cebu-based student publication kicked out of its campus office

Photo by Jacq Hernandez/NUJP Cebu

By MAVERICK AVILA
Bulatlat.com

CEBU CITY – Known for its critical coverage of tuition and other fee increases (TOFI) and administrative policies affecting students, the Cebu-based student publication Today’s Carolinian was removed from its office without prior notice.

Journalists from Today’s Carolinian only learned through a piece of paper posted on its door that they can no longer use their office. “Effective January 15, 2025, this office space, Room No. G112, will be used by the Alumni Office,” the notice from the University of San Carlos (USC) administration reads.

In an interview with Bulatlat, managing editor for development Deanella Molato said that the publication wasn’t informed of this displacement. “If not for one of our associate editors passing by the office, we would have found out even later,” said Molato.

But this is not new for Molato.

She said that last August, they were also kicked out of their Talamban campus office. “And I learned it as I was visiting the office when the people occupying our space told me to get our things at that very moment.”

The publication inquired for a response from the USC administration and the Alumni office. As of writing, they have not been answered.

Molato believes that this repression resulted from the publication’s commitment to reporting on critical issues inside the university and its continued refusal to seek accreditation under the Office of Student Formation and Activities (OSFA).

For the managing editor, it’s as if they were not given any choice. Affording a space now without the office would mean the publication has to pay to book a facility. “However, the ability to book rooms within the university is mostly reserved for registered organizations under OSFA,” Molato explained.

Not the first press

Today’s Carolinian has been known to cover critical stories inside the university and the locality.

The publication has provided comprehensive coverage of TOFI and its dialogues with the Commission on Higher Education Region 7 (CHED RO 7) since 2019.

Photo by Jacq Hernandez/NUJP Cebu

The same year, Today’s Carolinian was defunded by the USC administration, which took place after releasing articles on the university’s plans to impose another tuition increase. Even without funds, they continued their reportage on TOFI.

In their July 17, 2023 report, the publication exposed how the USC administration did not submit petitions regarding TOFI to CHED RO 7. CHED has confirmed that the USC administration proposed a 6.95 percent tuition increase, exceeding the previously announced five percent hike.

Apart from being defunded by the USC administration, the publication also experienced being barred from writing stories about university events. “During USC days, we also struggled covering the entire event because of the issue surrounding media passes. Only OSFA-accredited publications are allowed to cover,” said Molato.

They had to adjust their operations, forcing them to go fully online. “However, the downtown campus office, that is basically the area where our media team prepares their equipment,” said Molato.

Now, a usual day of coverage for Today’s Carolinian only gets harder. “There are no other spaces within the campus for the members to set down their materials or specific areas where they can work. We have to book it in our portal and even pay a fee,” Molato told Bulatlat.

USC Student Council president, Hans Noel Balila told Bulatlat that while the administration did not give out prior notice to the student publication: “…it was something that definitely we could have expected, especially with the increasing repression from the university administration on all student formations, not just the student publications, but student organizations in general.”

Balila also said that they shared the same struggle with the publication when the student council office in Talamban campus was also removed without mention of relocation. “It’s already a pattern… And it’s definitely something we’re currently preparing to have a dialogue for,” Balila added.

Bulatlat requested an email interview with the USC administration regarding the issue but, like the publication, has not received a response as of this writing.

Solidarity

When Today’s Carolinian was evicted from its office, student publications across the Philippines were alerted.

College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), the oldest alliance of student publications in the Asia Pacific, condemned the action of the USC administration.

Brell Lacerna, CEGP spokesperson said that the USC’s removal of Today’s Carolinian’s office amid students’ fearless inquiry on the tuition fee and other school fees increase is a clear violation of the democratic rights of the students and its communities.

Chrisly Aday, chairperson of CEGP – Cebu, told Bulatlat that 11 student publication members denounced the action of the USC administration against Today’s Carolinian.

McKen Izah Cabo, associate editor for Tug-ani, student publication of UP Cebu, expressed that “…such repressive measures not only suppress the voices of Today’s Carolinian’s student journalists but also silence the entire student body and the broader community the publication serves.”

“An institution whose core values include integrity, leadership, and social responsibility should never be the first to restrict student democracy,” wrote Airam Limatog, editor-in-chief of Lanog, student publication of UP Cebu, College of Communication, Art and Design on Facebook.

Alixandra Alviola, editor-in-chief of Today’s Carolinian meanwhile said, “We call upon the public to demand and to shame all university administrations that hide behind the policy to kill campus press freedom.”

The University of San Carlos is a Catholic educational institution owned by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), which also owns local radio station DYRF Radio Fuerza. (AMU, RTS, RVO)

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