Siot in UST’s Inkblots

For the eighth straight year, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) school paper Varsitarian hosted a highly-successful national campus journalism fellowship that drew 241 participants from 33 schools all over the country last week.

It’s a tribute to the Varsitarian that campus journalists from Baguio and Tuguegarao in the north to Bukidnon and South Cotabato in the south converge at UST every year to participate in the three-day seminar where leading lights in the writing profession share their gems of wisdom with the stars of tomorrow.

The Varsitarian’s history is richly embellished by the writings of such notables as Jose Villa Panganiban (who co-founded the paper in 1927), Teodoro Valencia, Joe Guevarra, Felix Bautista, Joe Burgos, Tony Siddayao, Jess Sison, Jullie Yap-Daza, Tony Lopez, Neal Cruz, Jake Macasaet, Alice Colet-Villadolid, Eugenia Duran-Apostol, F. Sionil Jose, Celso Al Carunungan, Cirilo Bautista, Arsenio Lacson, Emmanuel Pelaez, Juan Frivaldo, Kit Tatad and Recah Trinidad.

The annual seminar is called "Inkblots," presumably because the Varsitarian hopes to leave indelible traces on the walkway to journalistic prominence for student writers.

"This conference tries to build on the basics of campus press practice while providing a clearing-house for media currents and other issues affecting the student press," said UST student publications adviser Lito Zulueta. "Moreover, the fellowship does not waver in its stress on media ethics and on the formation of a free but responsible press."

Erick David, one of three chairpersons in this year’s "Inkblots" (the others were Florian Garcia and Paul Jaud), said it is the seminar’s tradition to pave the way for campus journalists to become future icons of the press.

"Campus journalism is a craft that requires excellent investigative skills," said David. "This is where ‘Inkblots’ enters the picture. I am glad to say to my fellow journalists that in our venture in perfecting our craft, ‘Inkblots’ is there to guide us in every way possible."

* * *

ABS-CBN’s Maria Ressa was the seminar’s keynote speaker. The lecturers were Christian Esguerra for newswriting, Ruel de Vera for culture and lifestyle writing, Nestor Cuartero for feature writing, Glenda Gloria for investigative writing, Vim Nadera for Filipino writing, Ernie Sarmiento for photo journalism, Jess Abrera for cartooning, Manuel Quezon III for column writing, Sandra Aguinaldo for broadcast writing, Zulueta for campus paper management, Jiggy Manicad and Villadolid as panelists, Charie Villa for journalism ethics and yours truly for sportswriting.

For my talk at the St. Thomas Research Center, the players from the UST Growling Tigers championship squad were in the audience. They were introduced to the seminar participants to rousing applause.

After my lecture, I called in Ginebra San Miguel assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen — a UST alumnus — as the man on-the-spot in a mock press conference where the student writers played the role of professional journalists with the assignment of churning out a story.

Tanquingcen gave his opening remarks then was bombarded by questions from the audience.

* * *

Before Tanquingcen arrived, I had briefed the students on his background and inspiring story of success. I told them of his struggles as a 5-8 basketball player who refused to give up on his dream of someday making it to the pros. I told them of how he was devastated but challenged when he was one of only three among 20 applicants not picked in the 1996 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) draft where Marlou Aquino was the top overall choice. I told them of his two championships as Ginebra coach and how he willingly slid back to assistant coach when Joseph Uichico came on board this season. I told them of his perseverance in passing the CPA Board exams and how he values education. I told them of when he used to ride a bicycle from his home in Sta. Mesa to his workplace in Makati everyday before deciding to make basketball a career. I told them of his passion for the game and his commitment to team goals.

To spice up the exercise, I asked the students to submit a write-up of their impressions in their style of preference (essay, editorial, news, feature, whatever) within 45 minutes from the end of the mock press conference. I said I would choose the five best entries and give away prizes I brought from The Philippine STAR (writers’ notebooks), Sonia Trading (belt bags and clutch bags), Emerald Headway (sports magazines), Atlas Publishing (sports magazines) and the PBA (Molten indoor-outdoor basketballs and new season T-shirts).

It was a lively question-and-answer session. Tanquingcen was amazed at the maturity level of the students who threw a lot of provocative questions. He was candid, honest and frank in his answers.

Asked what he thought of himself as a player, Tanquingcen said he was "horrible" because he wasn’t only short but also he could hardly jump. And on a scale of 1 to 10, he modestly rated himself a five as a coach because when his team wins, he said it’s due to the players, not him.

Tomorrow, we’ll publish excerpts from the five best write-ups and reveal who won the prizes.