Seven staff of The Touchstone, the official campus student publication of Cagayan State University – Sanchez Mira campus, made it to the top ten during the 20th Regional Higher Education Press Conference (RHEPC) at NGN Gran Hotel, Tuguegarao City on January 22-24, 2024.

 

Moreover, the campus publication placed 10th as overall highest pointer among the 26 competing publication in Region 2 and bagged the overall 6th place in the Best Tabloid wherein the pub’s tabloid entry garnered several awards such as 6th place DevCom page, 6th place page layout and design, 6th place Literary page, 7th place opinion page, 6th place sports page, 6th place news page, ang 6th place in feature page.

Rica De Asis, the associate editor for print, was adjudged as champion in Copy Reading and Headline Writing-English, while Editor-in-Chief Lovely Danica Durante bagged the third spot in Developmental Communication Writing-English, 6th in Copyreading and Headline Writing-Filipino, and also placed 9th in Editorial Writing-English.

 

Furthermore, Myrrha Prima Rosa Muli, the associate editor for online, placed 2nd in Feature Writing-English and 10th in Column Writing-English; Frank Allen Anciso, the associate editor for broadcast, ranked 5th in Column Writing-Filipino; Rommel Jacinto, a graphic artist, bagged the 2nd place in Literary Graphics Illustration-Filipino; Peter Andrei Pregerino, the layout artist, placed 9th in Layouting; and Victor Moises Arda, the editorial cartoonist, placed 7th in Editorial Cartooning-Filipino and 10th in Comics Strips Drawing-Filipino.

 

After making it to the top 5, De Asis, Durante, Muli, Anciso, and Jacinto will be competing in the Luzonwide Higher Education Press Conference (LHEPC) which will be held in Naga City on March 19-21, 2024.

 

In addition, the team was coached by Ms. Gleann Corpuz, the publication adviser.

 

This year’s RHEPC, with the theme “AI and Ethics: Shaping the Future of Campus Journalism in the Digital Age”, was attended by 312 student journalists and publication advisers from Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.

Gracing the press conference were Dr. Regidor Gaboy, Dean of the College of Education at Central Luzon State University; Professor Ben Domingo, CHED Technical Committee on Journalism Chair; Dr. Ferdinand Bulusan, Associate Professor at Batanes State College; Mr. Melvin Gascon, a senior correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer; and Atty. Virgo Gulan, a legal officer at the National Irrigation Administration in Region II, who served as speaker-judges.