by MATTHEW DAVE A. JUCOM
THE CREATIVE Writing (CW) program announced on Monday its separation from the Literary Society (LitSoc), declaring UST MaKatha Circle as its official student-governing organization.
In a statement, they cited the growing number of students and the diverse interest between the Creative Writing and Literature students that led their separation to LitSoc, who temporarily governed the CW majors.
“As the number of students [continues] to grow within our respective programs, and the diversity of interests between the creative writing and literature majors became more apparent, there arises the need for the creative writing students to establish their own governing body,” the statement wrote.
It also said that the MaKatha Circle was formed due to the combined agreement of the creative writing students to establish an independent community.
Creating a legacy through a collaborative effort
MaKatha Circle President Ezekiel Katindoy told the Flame that the decision was done to create their own legacy as creative writing students.
“Our goal is to create a safe space and a community especially for writers because it is in that community that we are able to find our own voices and where we can develop our own crafts [to] become better writers,” Katindoy further said in an online interview.
“Creative Writing program is different from the Literature program in AB. We want to develop our own home [organization] and it is important that we are focused on the creative writing major,” he said.
He also noted that it became possible because of the collective efforts done by the creative writing students.
“We asked [for] help from the two batches (CW1 and CW2) at that time for decision-making,” the MaKatha Circle president said.
“As for the election naman […], it was a collaborative appointment [because] we also asked other people [in] our batch, ‘yung pioneer batch ng [Creative Writing…] to join the EB (Executive Board) para they can [have an] experience,” he said.
Meanwhile, they also showed their gratitude to the UST LitSoc for the guidance that allowed them to hone their skills.
“This new path does not mean however that the relationship between literature and creative writing majors would diminish. In fact, it would only become stronger now that both of them can work together as two independent organizations aligned towards similar interests and goals,” they said.
The program was first offered by the Faculty of Arts and Letters in the academic year 2018-2019. F
