You Should Join Scienta! (no really)

written by C.J. Palpal-latoc

graphics by Tiffany Ashley Uy

Once you’ve stuck around in the college for at least a semester, maybe even for just a week, you’ll understand—regardless of how much of a nerd you are—that a science degree is not exactly a joyride or a walk in the park. It gets pretty tough out here, even for the summas!

So joining a busy student publication like Scientia might seem a little crazy of an idea when considering your workload. But let me tell you, as someone who has been in Scientia since I was a freshie and who is still here as an officially graduating senior (lord, help me), I’d argue that becoming a student journalist is one of the best decisions you’ll make in your college life.

Here are a couple of reasons.

Some organizations only benefit their own members. Others pull off outreach activities here and there. And then there are the student publications that spend hours every day to try and produce content that informs, entertains, defends, and educates their readers.

There is definitely a feeling of pride and honor (and pressure too) in being part of a student formation that has public service embedded in its core. And it doesn’t matter whether you’ll be writing sharp opinion articles, producing chummy features, or running administrative errands; once you’re part of Scientia, you are serving the people because you help the publication grow.

As a member of the Scientia staff, you will join other students in amplifying the voice of marginalized groups, leading discussions in science and technology (S&T), promoting our local research, publishing information people need to know, and of course writing commentary on the issues of the day.

Evidently, producing a publication is one of the more difficult ways to serve the people. It can be tiring and stressful, and sometimes you feel like people just don’t care. But there are also touching moments. We’ve received feedback from people saying that they appreciate our work and urge us to continue telling stories. Receiving those comments is one of the best parts of the job.

We’re not winning Pulitzer Prizes here or ousting corrupt politicians with exposés just yet (maybe next year), but we’re glad to be doing what we can to man the front lines in the fight for better support for S&T and for a better country. Why not spend your college days as a true-blue Siyentista ng Bayan?

Once you join Scientia and start doing the work, it’s impossible for you not to learn anything new and useful.

We organize internal workshops for writing, designing (layout and graphics), and even administrative work. But the learning really comes in from the work opportunities presented to you. Like any other publication, Scientia has no shortage of possible things to do, and taking on these opportunities with the help of your editors will provide you with experience to hasten your (marketable) skills and build your confidence.

Depending on which of the three committees (one for writing, design, and admin work) you’ll join, you’ll learn to become a better writer, designer, or coordinator. (You can become all three at the same time if you want. We won’t hold you back!)

But there are also learnings beyond the technicalities of running a publication. Scientia also conducts internal educational discussions (which are basically informal lectures/round tables) on important issues such as national industrialization and the state of S&T in the Philippines, among other topics. And then of course you’ll get to talk to experts and go to events that have much to teach you.

There is so much room for growth, and we celebrate people’s development. As much as it seeks to serve the people, Scientia is also an outlet for your talents, a place for you to better your skills. And it’ll look good on your resumé too!

Some people figure that they won’t be able to handle the demands of being a campus journalist while also being a science student. That’s understandable. However, the workload is actually not that bad (unless you’re an editor in which case you’ll have more things to keep in mind).

Nobody is being pushed to write an article every day, not even the news writers. There is some (necessary) pressure to write (or design or do errands) on a regular basis (regularity depends on which subcommittee you’re in), but we’re actually quite lenient especially when people have exams or some good reason to be inactive. Just don’t ghost people and nobody’s going to get mad at you.

Like I said, we’re not running out of possible things to do, so it’s quite easy to have work tunnel vision. But we try to look out for our own staff and to be understanding of people’s needs and boundaries.

So sign up now: bit.ly/JoinScientia2020

1) Scientia was born in 1988 after College of Science students and the Board of Regents voted in favor of its Charter.

2) 57% of Scientia is women-powered

3) Latin Modern Roman, the font used for Scientia’s masthead and logo, is taken from the font catalogue of LaTeX, a popular typesetting system.

4) In certain conditions, the 1988 Charter permits editors-in-chief to reign for as long as they’re students in the college.

5) A bot scrapes the webpage of the Philippine Journal of Science, the oldest scientific journal in the country, and alerts Scientia for new content.

6) Since Scientia’s revival in 2016, editors-in-chief have come from geology, physics, chemistry, and biology.

7) The farthest place Scientia reporter has been sent to (since 2016) is the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which is about 195 km of road travel from the National Science Complex.

8) The New Yorker is the original style inspiration for Scientia’s covers since 2018.

9) The most popular poem Scientia ever published is “Hapag-kainan” by former editor-in-chief Sofia Federico. The poem tackles the plight of NutriAsia workers.

10) Scientia’s first cover in August 1988 featured the blueprint of the then tobe-constructed National Science Complex.