THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas was named second-best in the “School of the Year” category at the 11th edition of the Student Quill Awards, marking its third consecutive year as first runner-up behind De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
The España university received a total of 30 plums during the awarding ceremony at the Manila Hotel on Aug. 27, higher than last year’s 19. It bagged 10 Excellence Awards and 20 Merit Awards.
UST was again behind De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, which won a total of 66 awards. The Taft-based college secured the “School of the Year” title for the third consecutive year.
One of UST’s 30 winning entries was The Flame’s in-depth report “From Streets to Sheets: Motorcycle Drivers Ride on Sex Work as They Traverse Hard Times,” which won in the writing category. The piece explored the experiences of motorcycle taxi drivers who turn to sex work to cope with financial struggles.
It made history as the first story from an Asian campus publication to win the top spot in the in-depth category’s regional division of the 2024 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards. It was written by The Flame’s editor-in-chief Zoe Airabelle Aguinaldo, associate editor Joss Gabriel Oliveros, and staffers Jianzen Deananeas and Ma. Alyanna Selda.
The Flame’s literary folio Dapitan: Panopticon, which explores themes of surveillance and imprisonment, also received a merit award in the publications category.
Other UST organizations that won plums are Tiger Media Network, which received three excellence and nine merit awards; The Varsitarian, which got three excellence and three merit awards; TOMCAT–UST, which garnered one excellence and two merit awards; and the UST Department of Communication, which won one excellence and three merit awards.
Entries were scored based on the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) global seven-point scale for communication excellence, with scores from 5.25 to 5.74 earning a Merit Award and scores of 5.75 or higher earning an Excellence Award. The School of the Year title goes to the institution with the most Excellence Awards.
The Philippine Student Quill Awards, hosted annually by IABC Philippines, honors excellence in communication and recognizes outstanding student work in communication research, programs, and creative projects. F – with reports from Mc Neil Zyh Serrano
