The official student publication of the University’s Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB), The Flame, landed top spots on the 9th UST National Campus Journalism Awards (UNCJA), announced by The Varsitarian, on Friday, Jan. 12.

According to an official post on Facebook, the AB publication received awards in two out of three categories, namely best editorial and in-depth report, with a special jury citation for the annual student journalism awarding event of the University, founded by The Varsitarian.

Among the reports that were given recognition is The Flame editor-in-chief, Fatima Baduria and managing editor Bless Ogerio’s article, “From Teacher to Whitewashers,” which criticized the Department of Education’s (DepEd) order to change the term “Marcos dictatorship” to “dictatorship” under the recently launched Matatag curriculum in an attempt to seemingly rehabilitate the late dictator’s image for the best editorial category.

The article, “Jeepney modernization program: Drivers have a steep price to pay” by The Flame writers, Pauline Bautista, Robb Moya, and Joss Olivers, won for the best in-depth report category, and the report, “After surviving lockdowns, small food businesses grapple with high commodity prices” by Zoe Aguinaldo, Trisha Tamio and Joss Oliveros received a special jury citation.

With each winning article to receive a Php 20,000 cash prize, the Flame will be given Php 40,000 in total.

Other student publications that won in the 9th UNCJA were the University of the Philippines - Diliman (UP Diliman) College of Mass Communication’s official publication Tinig ng Plaridel for its in-depth article “Breaking Barriers: ‘High’ demand for Anthro 198 reveals need for FSL (Filipino sign language) courses” by Eliseo Rioja as the best feature.

Also from UP Diliman, the Philippine Collegian’s editorials entitled “The Transportation Crisis is an Affront to our Right to Live” and “The Board of Regents Faces a Confidence Crisis of its Own Making” received special jury citations.

The GUIDON, the official student publication of the Ateneo de Manila University, also received its special jury citations for its in-depth report, “This Article is Co-Written by ChatGPT” by Aidan Bernales and Felicia Singson and feature, “Katipunan Kariton Routine” by Aurelia Solaba and Katrina Antonio.

Cagayan State University (CSU) Andrews’s official student publication, The CSU Communicator, also received a special jury citation for its feature article “‘Agan-anus Ka’: The Tales of an Anguyub.”

Meanwhile, the judging panel for this year’s annual UNCJA consisted of Pulitzer Prize winning-journalist and PressOne PH’s editor-at-large Manuel Mogato, Executive Director and current Ateneo Journalism lecturer Luz Rimban, political nonfiction author Joel Pablo Salud, author and Palanca awardee Eros Atalia, Chief Editor for Philstar.com Camille Diola, and UST Journalism instructor and Malacañang reporter for Philippine Star Alexis Romero.

The respective campus publications were awarded on Friday, Jan. 12, at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building (BGPOP) during the fellowship night of The Varsitarian’s 25th Inkblots.