Just as the grammatically-challenged theme song “UP Ang Galing Mo” cannot fully embody the University of the Philippines's celebration of its one hundred years of meaningful existence and tradition of excellence, no single phrase can sufficiently describe the eighty-six years of tradition and reputation of one of its most important institutions, the Philippine Collegian.

One of the few weekly student publications in the country and considered as one of the most prestigious given its history, the Collegian or Kulę has been recognized as an exemplar of the kind of journalism that does not just passively observe the issues of the day but actively participates in them, with social critique and change as its thrust.

The Collegian traces its roots from the College Folio which was first published in 1910. In 1917, the Varsity News replaced the College Folio with Carlos Romulo as its editor. Eventually, in 1922, the Philippine Collegian was born with Wenceslao Vinzons as the first editor in chief.

Former editors and staff of the Collegian would distinguish themselves in different fields like art, business, journalism, literature and even politics. Some, however, chose the path of anonymity and joined the struggle for national democracy in the countryside.

Regarded by some as the soul of the University, the Collegian stands as a steadfast sentinel of academic freedom. In the 1950s, when nationalist ideals were deemed as communist threats, it fiercely fought for academic freedom and rallied the students to protect their rights. The Collegian also serves as a symbol of press freedom. Under the repressive Marcos regime, its radical content contended with those of the state-controlled mouthpieces. It published what the mainstream newspapers could not publish. Today, the Collegian operates without the intervention of a faculty adviser and, unlike mainstream newspapers, is not indebted to any commercial or corporate entity. Within its pages, there is no such thing as taboo. Topics ranging from sexuality to armed revolution are freely discussed.

Despite the Collegian's consistent tradition of upholding of and fighting for democratic rights, there has never been a single Collegian. Each term tries to assert its own character and at the same time, live up to the publication's tradition.

The Philippine Collegian* 1988-2008

1988: The term saw the inclusion of light news articles, campus scene and similar features. The editorship of Patrocinio Jude Esguerra III also denounced the murders of 13 farmers in the Mendiola Massacre.

1989: Ruben Carranza Jr.'s term was among the first to espouse pluralism as a framework. Circulation staff Donato Continente was illegally abducted in front of Vinzons Hall for the alleged killing of an American military officer. He was released only in 2005.

1990: Francis Ronald Perez's Collegian was beset by internal problems. Despite this, the term called for the university to respond to the crisis of democracy.

1991: The editorship of Alecks Pabicko refused to take a stand in the move to expel the US bases from Philippine soil. He also instituted the Filipino language policy in the Collegian.

1992: Beset by problems regarding honoraria, food subsidy and absenteeism, many resigned from Pablo John Garcia's Collegian.

1993: Under Bernard Cobarrubias's editorship, the battle cry was pluralism and more weight was given to local issues, consigning matters of national interest into the periphery.

1994: Michael John Ac-Ac's term downsized the Collegian from broadsheet to tabloid. This was also when the Graphics section was formally created.

1995

Ibarra Gutierrez, who was elected Chairperson of the University Student Council after his editorial term, reverted to the pluralist framework and the broadsheet format.

1996: The Collegian editorial exam attracted the interest of the nation when second placer Voltaire Veneracion filed a complaint against winner Richard Gappi, claiming the judges were biased. The case was junked but Veneracion still became editor due to a technicality. Months later, the Rebel Collegian was published with an anonymous editorial board.

1997: Lourdes Gordolan, a former USC councilor, was hounded by a complaint regarding her citizenship before assuming the post of editor in chief. Articles discussing sex were abundant.

1998: The Collegian was published in full color during Jeanie Bacong's editorship, which some of its staff described as having no thrust at all.

1999: After four years of a broadsheet Collegian, Seymour Sanchez again downsized it to tabloid format. For the first time, the masthead read only Kulę.

2000: Herbert Docena almost resigned near the end of his term due to the staff's defiance against his dictatorship. The term also saw the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada.

2001: Perhaps the weirdest Collegian format – neither broadsheet nor tabloid but somewhere in between – can be attributed to Duke Bajenting's term. As with Docena, Bajenting claimed to be objective and non-partisan.

2002: Ellaine Rose Beronio vowed to crumble the Collegian's ivory tower. The Collegian, along with the rest of the university, condemned the US invasion of Iraq. During the USC elections, the Alpha Phi bBeta fraternity allegedly hoarded copies of the Collegian.

2003: Sherwin Mapanoo continued the previous term's thrust and adamantly opposed the proposed UP charter change through Senate Bill 2587. Senate guards attacked and detained Rafael Lerma, Collegian photographer and graphics editor, while covering a mobilization against SB 2587. The Textback segment was also launched, enabling readers to send feedback through SMS.

2004: Jayson Fajarda's editorship saw the election of a new UP president and a new Diliman Chancellor. When articles were published about an alleged hazing by the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity, members of the fraternity inserted photocopies of a statement from the victim's father inside the Collegian's pages and allegedly hoarded copies of the newspaper.

2005: Juan Paolo Colet's term was attacked from all sides, including some members of the Journalism Department. Midyear, the format changed from broadsheet to tabloid, the masthead was changed and several members of the staff and the editorial board resigned. In the midst of the impeachment complaint filed against President Arroyo, the Collegian published a special UAAP issue.

2006: Karl Fredrick Castro's term delineated itself from its predecessor and chose the “path of dissent”. The administration's refusal to release the Collegian's printing fund has left the publication in debt and unable to publish issues starting September. By the end of November, in an act of defiance, Rebel Kulę was published through the financial assistance of alumni. The Collegian has been barred for months – its longest suspension since its three week hiatus under Martial Law. Many believed that the move against the Collegian was deliberately done by the administration to prevent it from publishing articles about the proposed tuition and other fee increases. Consequently, ToFI was approved by the BoR by the end of Decemeber.

2007: “Sa pagpanig, walang paumanhin” was the title of Jerrie Abella's first editorial. Continuing the previous term's thrust, Abella's Collegian staunchly opposed the 300% ToFI and the inhuman demolition of communities in UP to give way to the building of commercial infrastructures. Abella ran for chairperson under the Student's Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP in the University Student Council Elections but lost.

2008: Collegian feature writer and incoming junior journalism student Larissa Mae Suarez will serve as the editor in chief this coming school year. Suarez said that under her term, the Collegian would continue its tradition of critical dissent as an alternative publication and would intensify its pro-student and pro-masses stance as reaffirmation of the core values of UP in its centennial.

The Collegian's history is incontestably intertwined with that of our society and understanding it is understanding the fact that the pages of newsprint a UP student holds each week are the result of the struggles occurring within and outside the university.

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