USG heads Buwan ng Wika, Club Fair online
Shyreen Balajediong
Students from different colleges actively participated in this year’s culmination of Buwan ng Wika and Club Fair spearheaded by the University Student Government (USG) with the help of other clubs through a virtual platform via Zoom on August 29, 2020.
The University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) marked the month-long celebration of Buwan ng Wika via online with the theme, “Wika ng kasaysayan, kasaysayan ng wika. Ang mga katutubong wika sa maka-Filipinong bayanihan kontra pandemya.”
Different competitions such as poster making contest, online Tawag ng Tanghalan, spoken poetry, and debate were prepared for the students. The events aimed to harness the essence and showcase the relevance of our national and native languages in this time of pandemic. Moreover, the activities accommodated the wide array of talents of the students who showed creativity, originality, and proficiency on the various activities they participated during the online festivities.
Ritchlie May Cona from the College of Accountancy and Business Education (CABE) emerged as the first placer in the poster making contest, followed by Smyly Zheinn Estandarte from the College of Pharmacy and Chemistry (CPC) who garnered second place and Mariane Hernandez from College of Nursing (CN) who placed third respectively. Meanwhile, Alyanna Marie Brodith from College of Medical and Biological Sciences (CMBS) shined during the online Tawag ng Tanghalan and snatched the first place while Godwin Miles Maunes from CPC and Andrea Lou Igot from College of Music (CM) seized the second and third places respectively.
For the spoken poetry, Aliyah Grace Zarza of CPC pocketed the first place and Meccah Aliah Sobrecarey Tambuco and Leila Lapinoza from CABE bagged second and third places respectively. Meanwhile, in the battle of wit and reasoning, John Carlo Lim, Diana Flores, Meikle Bañez, and Edrian Abad of CABE aced Khalil Zeta, Mariah Dollyrie Ras, and Arvin John Ortile of CMBS during the virtual debate.
In his speech, USG President Charles Nieves shared his thoughts on the importance of harnessing and strengthening the use of our national and native languages. He also emphasized that the students must be steadfast amidst the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Misinformation and fake news are rampant nowadays, thus it is important to know and use our native language properly in order for the whole community to be guided in sharing useful and reliable news to combat this global pandemic.”
On the other hand, the USG also organized a virtual club fair recruitment for the different academic and non-academic clubs to gather new members. The recruitment aimed to promote and cultivate student’s resourcefulness, passion, and interest by joining clubs that may best fit their interest.
“It is challenging to deliver virtual club recruitment for the first time. As everything happens online, we had to level up our social media engagements and page promotions to let the students discover and know more about our club,” said Von Jabagaton UIC Debating Society Vice president in Communications and Public Relations as he shared his experience during the virtual club fair.
He also stressed that the online interaction encourages the club officers to be critical and creative in order to respond to the changes brought by the global health crisis.