PAPAGAIO! IN THE first few months of being an editor, there’s no denying the chaos I was thrown into. I’ve had my first few mistakes of taking a quote out of context, overlooking facts that could have been corrected at the section editor-stage, got names and titles wrong, but so is the life of a green horn editor. In that period, however, the biggest part of that chaos was this big Cesspool I struggled to wade my way through. Well, let’s just say, I was in the mood to do some deep cleaning anyway.
One thing I carried from the previous Volume was an SBU CATS article. They were seeking help from The Bedan in their struggles with stray cat abductions around the campus last May. Alleged unidentified people drove their vehicles into the campus in the early hours of the day to whisk these poor animals to God-knows-where.
“I refuse to write a story clean of truth.”
As the assigned writer at that time, I got to work. That it was a challenging task was an understatement because the witnesses refused to have an interview for fear of being ejected from the Laudato Si’ Institution, so it was difficult to solidify the story.
Second, behind these alleged abductions were “big people” – people we weren’t supposed to take lightly. Should a story such as this be released, it’ll be like nudging a sleeping lion.
Even as a current member of the Editorial Board, I still find myself powerless to release this same story. It’s been rotting in my files for months since the first time SBU CATS reached out for help and it’s a let-down that I have to release a watered-down version of it if I chose to push through with it.
I refuse to write a story clean of truth.
And speaking of truth, I refuse to write up a magazine section. To say that the months of August and September have been eventful would be an understatement.
Long and ridiculous queues for ID-taking, a landslide 1st Year Representative election, the SBU Band’s sudden silence during NCAA games, the Community erupting over last-minute Administration decisions–to name a few.
Stories like this solidify a News Section for the sole reason that they are written for the Community–not because they’re meant to glorify some top figure.
If the Section does that job of praise, it would be overgarnishing a meal for someone who ordered a simple glass of water.
There are still numerous questions that need answers, but I fear that a publication dependent on a bigger power will only overshadow them. Look at it like a child walking around eggshells around his father’s angry moods at the dinner table.
It sounds like an excuse, but it’s the truth. Biting the hand that feeds should not be an option, another part of the Cesspool that needs some cleaning.
While I am saying all this, these words come from the perspective of a narrow-minded, small, and very timid editor who still struggles to understand what goes around the Institution. The size, however small SBU is, is still overwhelming and I am surprised everyday.
There’s always a newfound corner that I always find, and just like an insect to a flame, I am always curious to find out what murk and gold are hidden in them. So, please don’t blame this poor News Editor if I find whatever pot of gold you have underneath the Cesspool.
Email me at the thebedan_newseditor@sanbeda.edu.ph