At last, after a year of dormancy, the Silahis is now here to satisfy our need for information. After waiting almost to oblivion and teetering to the point of forgetting there is an official school publication, it resurfaced and confirmed that our publication fees are not put to waste, right? That after all, the birth of new writers and the pleasure of reading them would vindicate their absence and compensate for their failed issues, right? True, it was put off for long but here it is now, geared towards affirming the "world-class" ambition of the institute by equally "world-class" articles, right?
WRONG.
If there is one thing that the latest issue of Silahis proved in any of the above mentioned it would be that the publication was done to remind students that the publication fee is put to use. And this it proved barely. Putting to use does not necessarily mean putting to good use. I do not have to enumerate in this post everything that compelled me to litigation of the paper which could be distilled to the grammar, diction and content problems. You only have to turn to the editorial section to prove to yourself that the alleged return of the Silahis is a premature one.
What reader would not grimace at the realization that the editorial written in Filipino would be flawed on the first paragraph? Who can tolerate a movie review when the author apparently knows not how to punctuate? Where on earth can "grace and yoke" be a better and more apt replacement than blessing or burden? What self-respecting editorial staff would publish that they have undergone rigorous selection of writers composed of neophytes, yet the rigor of it all failed to inculcate the perfectionist character of a writer,at least, in his prose? Who would not believe the haunting feeling that this paper did not even fall under the scrutiny of an editor? When the world is teeming with a lot of better things to write about, who would bother giving a second thought to a truncated article about metrosexuals? (Unless one is bothered about her boyfriend.)
Drowned with all these thoughts, I remembered my old issues of Silahis. What happened to the writers? The likes of Jay-Ar Decenella, Karen Nueva Ecija, Gratian Paul Tidor? Has their excellence in their craft failed to proliferate in the succeeding generations or is it still on the process of doing so? Either way, it only affirms the unlikely publication of Silahis. I do not wish to undermine the writers of which quite a few are freshmen, but their works have spelled their demise. Published works are supposed to be impeccable. Content, grammar and other elements. All the more when you are writing under the banner of a school with a claim to prestige. When you look at the latest issue of Silahis and compare it to a school paper written and edited by high school students you would think that Silahis has just recently released a lampoon issue, in obvious defense of the absurdity of the articles. After all, what is not absurd about an editorial, editorial cartoon and student reaction survey about pedestrian lanes and security guards all in one page? I need not mention that a topic about pedestrian lanes and security guards is pretty trivial for an editorial of a paper returning from an "invigorating slumber" and "recharging hibernation."
The release of the recent issue has not stirred the Silahis from dormancy. Not until the staff and whoever is responsible for the school publication would realize that releasing a schoolpaper is no avenue to display mediocrity, it goes without saying that this dormancy could head on to extinction.
Well, you could argue that Silahis lacks writers and that the authors are still proving themselves. The dire situation is exemplified by this quote from the article 'The Silahis and the Neophyte.' (The first "the" should have been omitted, by the way.)
(sic) "Out of more than 10,000 students of MSU-IIT, only 14 have the eagerness to join the team. Although there are still brilliant thinkers out there who may have the best writing skills necessary for the publication, enthusiasm lacks them all, the enthusiasm which is vital to a student journalist. Thus, there are no questions that these 14 students were qualified automatically to become a staff of the student publication. Besides, these 14 students were not just chosen since they are the only present but they all took the examination as well underwent the process of interview."
Aside from the grammar and construction going straight to hell, this paragraph seems to regard enthusiasm as the only requirement to become a staffer. Nothing could be further from the truth. Enthusiasm alone doesn't make a good writer. Talent does. And the paper needs good writers. Judging from the quality of the articles, the standards of qualification were not what they claim it to be or they were just so desperate to fill the spaces with people, not with talent.
Rejection, if viewed on the bright side, is an effective motivator. These writers have a lot of promise. Some may even turn out to realize the writer's dream. However, the OFFICIAL paper is not meant to exclaim this and mere inadvertence is unacceptable. It is not a medium for aspiring writers to prove themselves. For the love of God, it is not a DRAFT.
The lack of writers, QUALITY writers, means one thing-- lengthen and intensify the search. The problem of Silahis is that no one seems to be interested in being a staffer. Did you delve deeper into the reasons why this is so? Why not attack the problem from there? Why not go to the tasking business of making students interested? Multiply advertising efforts, double incentives, conduct writing workshops and propagate concepts to spark the interest of the skilled writers out there.
I am not aware of your internal affairs but if this is what you claimed to have done and by all means did not work, then do not PUBLISH. To do so in order to appease the students in their collective clamor against misuse of funds while sacrificing the quality of the published work is atypical of an institute geared towards excellence. Imagine this issue competing with UP's The Philippine Collegian, The Guidon of Ateneo de Manila, The LaSallian of De la Salle University to name a few. If non-publication due to lack of writers is the problem, then let the students know that the funds are being used to secure the necessary talents. Surely this could not go on for long and when that comes, get a better editor and PUBLISH. The test of the pudding is in the eating, so to speak.
On the bright side, this could be a decree for "the brilliant writers" who are ahead of their time to save the quality of the school publication. I know there are a lot of you out there. Children of the Schools Press Conferences, spawns of the union of the pen and paper, young students who aced their Formal Themes. Or to the staff themselves to improve exponentially. Do not allow readers to laugh at your articles like how Pinoys laugh at carabao English, then later come to realize that the situation is rather sad and unfortunate. Reject mediocrity and deserve the honor of being a student journalist.
That is an ardous process.
In the meantime, I am hoping that this disconsolate feeling would elude me.
To everyone who has come to the end of this post, here's a treat. Read it. Just read it. It's here.
