By Allianah Junnice F. Bolotaulo | May 7, 2024
The Junior Sillimanian (TJS), the official student publication of Silliman University Junior High School (SUJHS), opened the search for members after its hiatus during the pandemic.
In the early recruitment announcement on April 18, TJS Co-adviser Hanz Denzil Villahermosa said they needed to “catch up” after losing their members during the pandemic.
“The moment we came back after the pandemic, we started to regroup and finalize, once again, the roster of campus journalists. We really had no one within the campus who had ample experience with campus journalism,” he said.
Villarhermosa added that he hoped the publication could publish their paper every few weeks or months.
“Training is not just for the competition, but really letting them understand what it really means to be a campus journalist, and not just for the sake of competing,” he said.
For prospective SUJHS campus journalists, TJS Co-adviser Meg Silorio said they are looking for committed writers willing to train in journalism activities.
“To the applicants of TJS, explore the many categories and perks of being a campus journalist and choose what’s best for you. Anyone who is willing is very much welcome to join us and be part of our growing TJS family,” she said.
Recruitment
The recruitment process only allowed seventh to ninth-graders to apply, allowing them to dedicate time to training and competing for upcoming press conferences.
Diversity-wise, TJS catered to only JHS students, as the senior high school department is recognized as a different campus requiring its student publication.
Villahermosa said they want to invite more students from the lower levels so they have “more time to really hone their skills.”
“It’s just that the continuity is a bit of a disadvantage for us since by the time a campus journalist becomes a grade ten student. Technically, that’s also his or her last year in junior high,” he said.
At the end of the application period, TJS received over 40 submissions in the English and Filipino categories.
