The Birth of High School Papers (Campus Papers) in the Philippines

Student publication was just considered as an ordinary extracurricular activity until the Philippines adopted it from the Americans as a technical and integral part of high schools and colleges.

First Campus Papers

Whether the El Liliputiense (1890) of the University of Santo Tomas or the College Folio (1910 – now, Philippine Collegian) was the first campus paper is still under dispute among historians especially between the group of Jesus Valenzuela (History of the Journalism in the Philippines Islands 1933 and John Lent (Philippine Mass Communication 1964) and the group of Oscar Manalo, Narcizo Matienzo and Virgilio Monteloyola (Ang Pamahayagan 1985). 

Least contenders for the first campus paper in the Philippines are The Torch of the Philippine Normal University, The Guidon of the Ateneo de Manila University and The Varsitarian of the University of Santo Tomas (which was obviously published two years after El Liliputiense). 

Whatever came first, the oldest officially recorded student publication in the Philippines is still The Coconut by Manila High School (now Araullo High School) published in mimeographed student paper in School Year 1911-1912. 

After 11 years La Union High School published the first printed and regularly issued student publication in the country, The La Union Tab (1923). After the publication of this campus paper, pioneer papers came out one after the other.

Among the first campus papers are the following:
The Pampangan (1925)	Pampangan High School
The Leytean (1925)	Leyte High School
The Rizalian (1926)	Rizal High School
The Coconut (1927)	Tayabas High School
The Volcano (1927)	Batangas High School
The Toil (1928)	La Union Trade School
The Samarinian (1928)	Samar High School
The Melting Pot (1929)	Tarlac High School
The Granary (1929)	Nueva Ecija High School
The Torres Torch (1930)	Torres High School (Manila)
The Cagayan Student Chronicler (1930)	Cagayan High School

By 1931 high schools in the Philippines reached a considerable number, 106. Since then, high schools felt the necessity of putting up their own school papers and paper organization though no memoranda or circulars were issued.

Only 30 schools registered their school papers in the Bureau of Public Schools. By 1950, it became 169, by 1954, 253, by 1975, 500 and by 1986 (the rebirth of freedom), it became more than 900 secondary school publications in Filipino and English. 

Circular Letter no. 34 s. 1925 was the first noted regulation to support school papers in the country by standardizing it. It was issued by the Bureau of Education (which became Department of Education, Culture and Sports and now, Department of Education). The Circular Letter was signed by the then Director Luther B. Bewley. 

Standardization of school papers gave rise to requirements. Basically, there were three.

The requirements were as follows:

A capable teacher available to supervise carefully all the steps for the paper’s production;

Sufficient finances to prevent compulsion in seeking subscriptions and to prevent financial embarrassment to the faculty, and;

A printer and a print-er having equipments to produce creditable paper be available.

The Circular also tried to discourage publications with undesirable contents and materials, poor printing and faulty English. 

On October 22, 1945, Acting Executive Officer of the Department of Instruction and Information, John H. McBride sent a circular to all division superintendents quoting provisions from the Service Manual to make sure of the following:

School papers should chiefly contain articles concerning school activities;

School papers should be free from advertisements;

School papers should be free from advertisements;

School papers should be free from questionable jokes;

School papers should be free from questionable cartoons;

School papers should be free from worthless poetry;

School papers should be free from worthless prose;

School papers should bear contents that are written solely through students’ efforts (unless it were written by a staff or a faculty member, and;

The assistance of a teacher must only be limited to criticisms.