WHEN things seem to always be in our favor, especially when we realize our aspirations, we can’t help but hope that they would last forever.
But we have to admit that living within our comfort zones is dreaming without fulfillment. No matter how much we hold of the things we cherish the most, the time will come that we must leave them behind and we must move on.
Letting go perhaps is painful, or even harder than we expect it to be. There’s no other way but to move forward and continue walking towards another journey.
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Upon knowing that our batch will host Valik Varsi, the alumni homecoming of the Varsitarian staffers, we initially felt pleasured and pressured to organize this event which only happens every five years.
Pleasured for we were able to meet and greet the Amihan (“V” alumni) who mostly had excelled in their chosen fields. At the same time we felt pressured because their achievements were daunting. How could we measure up to them?
That January night of endless chatter and reminiscing under the sapphire lights was indeed a success. Credit this to the whole staff who had to juggle academic and editorial responsibilities with Valik Varsi obligations to arrive with such a memorable gathering.
It was overwhelming to witness the Amihan of different decades reunite to celebrate the unending legacy of this 85-year-old publication. Each one had his own story to tell of his stay in “V,” more so of what the Varsitarian had imparted that took him to where he was now.
Five years from now, I will be sitting with fellow Amihan and it will be my turn to share our own story of struggle and glory in the “V.” I wonder what kind of feeling it would be like as I flip back through the pages of this publication year! Perhaps, it may not be as epic as those of the previous batches, but one thing’s for sure—we have endured through the storms and even prevailed, firm and solid in what we believe in.
This publication year, the Varsitarian has received both cheers and jeers for its reportage and commentary that challenged the status quo and conventional thinking. We’ve heard Thomasians and non-Thomasians alike speak their views on every controversial issue we’ve tackled; they include those who simply want to lambast us without really knowing what the discourse is all about. Some criticisms are even as polemical as our standpoint, yet we have never lost our poise.
But behind those hard-hitting stories and exposés and opinion pieces has been our steadfast commitment to deliver what is only the truth. No matter how good or bad that truth is, the Varsitarian is not fazed to reveal every issue and story in a comprehensible and consistent manner.
The “V” has never failed to fairly report both the exceptional achievements of the University and the internal and external controversies it has been involved in. This doesn’t mean degrading UST’s reputation, rather providing objective views and even constructive criticisms of its strengths and weakness.
Besides, it’s not the job of a campus paper to be the cheerleader of the school it serves, nor should it be the mouthpiece of the school officials, for it is the “student” publication. The editorially independent Varsitarian is doing its job the best it could, without expecting any recognition from its Alma Mater.
In fact, the Varsitarian wouldn’t have achieved the mark it has made in the Philippine campus press without the various controversies it has faced through the years. Be it a national or campus issue, the “V” has and will always be there to witness and chronicle history, while generating intellectual discourse for every Thomasian that seeks to reconcile faith and reason by the truth.
Nobody said going against the odds is easy. You might think of giving up to end the game, but think again of what you are fighting for. Fighting for the truth will gain you enemies, but with courage and clear conscience, the storms, no matter how turbulent, will eventually fade away. As Winston Churchill put it: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something sometime in your life.”
