THE BEDAN STAFF joined as one in their first face-to-face General Assembly since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the theme, “Reintroducing the Art of Journalism,” at the Smart Classroom in the St. Bede’s Hall, last May 20. 

Hosted by Anne Julia Francisco, the program began with the opening remarks delivered by The Bedan’s moderator and the Prefect of Student Affairs, Prof. Marvin Reyes, PhD. 

In his message, Dr. Reyes talked about working together with The Bedan even years before and ended with a word of encouragement to its staff, acknowledging the role it has played in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) for more than eight decades. 

The publication’s Legal Adviser, Atty. Michael Daguinod, who also serves as the Chairperson of the CAS Department of Legal Management, then delivered a lecture about the law protecting the rights of campus journalists, the freedom it allows publications, and its limitations. He stressed the necessity to keep publications free of influence and the rights journalists are guaranteed under the 1987 Constitution. 

Atty. Archiebald Capila, the Language Consultant of The Bedan, spoke after Atty. Daguinod and delivered a lecture on the technicalities in writing for the school paper. He also shared his personal experiences as a student-journalist to the staff, as well as to look back on the work of the publication over the course of the past year. 

Section editors of the publication also took to the podium to brief their colleagues on the guidelines and format to be followed in the writing process of the publication. The first to discuss this was the News Editor, John Phoebus Villanueva, who discussed news writing, The Bedan’s style guide, as well as the important techniques to use when writing.  

Following him was the Sports Editor, Chelsea Andrea Chan, who discussed how to write Sports News and Sports Features as well as her experience in covering the various events of Bedan athletes while encouraging the new staff to participate in covering future events.  

The last speaker was Features, Cultures and Reviews (FCR) Editor, Patricia Sonia Torreda, who discussed Feature Writing as well as how it differs from the other sections. 

Furthermore, other editors and senior staff also gave their own additional comments on the writing process in the question-and-answer portion of the assembly. 

The event concluded with closing remarks by the Editor-in-Chief, Paul Alexis Arga, who called on the staff to “keep up their commitment to the truth” and to the Bedan community “despite the challenges of the times.” 

(with Veronica Balbin)

Photo by Paul Alexis Arga