Nexus' A.Y. 2021-2022, All-Set!

The Oikonomos Nexus kicks off A.Y. 2021-2022 after hosting its second Online General Assembly, themed "𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑼𝑺 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑻𝑬: 𝑾𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑶𝑺𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼!" held on Saturday, October 23 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

"𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦," 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘔𝘴. 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴."

A Community and Civic Engagement Specialist at Rappler, Bagayas emphasizes that when talking about the distinction between journalists and other online content creators, "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵."

She then focused on how crucial student journalists are in serving their community, adding that "𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."

The Rappler Journalist amplified this point by listing shutdowns of local and even mainstream media outlets, and that it further strengthens the significance of student journalism.

"𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘉𝘚-𝘊𝘉𝘕, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 [𝘤𝘢𝘯] 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦," she stressed.

Ms. Bagayas also encouraged student publications to expand their coverage, advising that "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥," 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦."

𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬

Ms. Bagayas touched upon the issue of fake news, stating "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮," and that "𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴," such as in false claims in relation to vaccines, which can lead to vaccine hesitancy.

"𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 [𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯] 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘣[𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯]. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭," she expounds.

She emphasized the point that student journalism is not practiced journalism.

"𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵," she defends.

She explains that student journalism gives us a head start in deepening our journalistic work, and in which we get to know where our strengths lie.

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐨, 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 of the publication then presented the organization's tentative Calendar of Activities from October to December.

The publication plans two activities for the fourth week of October, including launching a website, to be headed by the Executive Team; and hosting a Movie Night entitled "𝑴𝒊𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝑶𝒏 𝑽𝒊𝒆𝒘," which would be managed by both the Executive and Editorial Team.

For the month of November, the Editorial Team would be conducting multiple activities, which include the "𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝑭𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏" (first week) and "𝑰𝒔𝒌𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒌𝒔" (TBA [to be announced]) by the Feature and Literary Team, TGIF (TBA) and "𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔"(TBA) by the Creatives and Layout Team, "𝑶𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅" (TBA) and "𝑶𝒑𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒔: 𝑶𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔" (TBA) by the Opinion Team, and a creatives and layout webinar named "𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊-𝑭𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚" (fourth week) by the Editorial Team as a whole.

For December, Lomibao mentions the conduct of an 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 (TBA), an internal event under the Editorial Team. Additionally, the Executive Team would be launching "𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔," the publication's own podcast.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨, the 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳, displayed an overview of the old constitution and publication by-laws, which was amended last May 2014, and listed the importance of implementing such amendments, expressing that it ensures the sanctity and ratification of the constitution, checks the arbitrary power of the Publication, and it strengthens the system that contributes to the consolidation of democracy.

The proposed subjects for the amendment include (1) updating the organizational structure, (2) adding the roles and duties of the Editorial Team, (3) updating the roles and duties of the Executive Team, and (4) the addition of the Publication's Mission and Vision.

In accordance with Article X, Section B, of The Oikonomos Nexus' constitution, a referendum was held via Google Forms to determine the adoption of the aforementioned amendment.

The results of the referendum are yet to be announced.

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬

The publication also formally presented its new set of Officers and Editors for the current academic year, introduced by the 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐢 𝐃𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬.

The 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬—Nexus' top committee—is now composed of Avriel Joy Fernandez, Executive Editor/Editor-in-Chief; Muros, Deputy Executive Editor; Micah Sta. Teresa, Managing Editor; Deniel Floria, Associate Editor; Lucille Grace Ann Lomibao, Executive Secretary; and Dan Kurt Buenaventura, Creative Director.

The 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 on the other hand will be constituted and led by Alnie Jane Guanzon, Assistant Secretary; Michele Angela Paez, External Relations Officer; Jan Moira Sapiot, Junior External Relations Officer; Adrian Paurillo, Legal Affairs Officer; Stellar Porcadilla, Junior Legal Affairs Officer; Mico Francisco, Finance Officer; Ronnel Jasper Jambalos, Junior Finance Officer; Leonaro Dimaapi , Marketing Officer; Rackel Aimee Bachar, Junior Marketing Officer; Marge Noreen Vidal , Human Resource and Development Officer; Adrian Josef Nabua, Junior Human Resource and Development Officer; Jhon Lord Mancol, Communications and Research Officer; and Rona Marie Natividad, Junior Communications and Research Officer.

While the 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 will be comprised and headed by the following: Maria Danica Esparrago, News Editor; Byron Lester Silvala, News Associate Editor; Jantzen Eros, Opinion Editor; Jennifer Balgos, Opinion Associate Editor; Jan Chloe Alpay, Features and Literary Editor; Nethaniah Jan Lim, Features and Literary Associate Editor; Marcus Lex Cajusay, Sports and Culture Editor; Rizza Alarcio, Sports and Culture Associate Editor; Gerald Reyes, Layout and Design Head; and Patrick Simon Estanislao, Assistant Layout and Design Head.

The two-and-a-half-hour event was made in partnership with 𝑷𝑼𝑷 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 (𝑪𝑺𝑺𝑫𝑺𝑪) and the 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 (𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝑹𝒆𝑺); co-presented by 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒇𝒚.𝒑𝒉, and sponsored by 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒍 𝒏𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐 and 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔.

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Written by: Patrick Rabi Layout and design by: Dennis Amoroso