The UP Journalism Club (UPJC) is a pool of young writers and creatives working towards someday becoming journalists and movers of the media industry. Founded in 1954, UPJC was formerly under the College of Arts and Sciences with then Dean Armando Malay as its adviser. The organization was born at a time when the potential of exploring communication as an industrial tool was still largely untapped. Today’s distinguished alumni in the academe, media and politics were once at the forefront of student involvement, at the height of mass actions during the First Quarter Storm. Besides the publication of Krisis, an issue-based newsletter, UPJC actively engaged in the call for an autonomous mass communication institute. When Martial Law was lifted, the club continued to mount campaigns for genuine student representation in the university. Veteran journalist and UPJC alumna Malou Mangahas became chairperson of the newly restored University Student Council in 1986. UPJC's militant beginnings heeded the call for action at the face of a country in turmoil. Today, we remain true to empowering students by tackling pressing issues that concern the university and the nation. We take pride in maintaining widely read publications that showcase both journalistic and literary prowess of our well-rounded members. Beyond the written word, we strive to make the relevant interesting by holding various fora with media practitioners, academicians, students and professionals. The organization’s flagship activity, the Campus Journalism Workshop, has provided trainings for budding journalists nationwide since 1995 in La Union, Bicol, Bacolod, Calabarzon, Cebu and Sulu, among others. Teaching journalism to elementary, high school and now—college students, is our way of contributing to the next generation of Filipino journalists. UPJC shall continue to pay things forward—by harnessing the audacity of the brave and bold Filipino youth, and their enthusiasm towards pages bound to make another indelible history.
