The Spectrum (USLS)

''The Spectrum'' is one of the oldest student publications in the Philippines; its history dates back to 1956. Its bimonthly newspaper, magazine, and annual literary folio ''Scribe'' are published by the students of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod.

History

Early years

In the school year 1956-1957 ''The Spectrum'' was established in an exclusive school for boys. That time, the then La Salle College was populated by less than 1,000 from preparatory kindergarten to undergraduate level. ''The Spectrum'' came out once every quarter in tabloid form, printed on white paper which was the standard during that time. Although the high school and college shared the same flag for their publications, they had separate issues prepared by their 30-member staff. Oscar L. Hilado (college) and Mario Guariňo (high school) were the first editors-in-chief of'' The Spectrum''. When La Salle opened its doors to female students in 1966, Lourdes Carisma Barredo became the first female editor-in-chief of the publication three years later.

''The Spectrum'' joined the annual Western Visayas College Press Conference and Awards (COPRE) in 1976. COPRE was and is still being sponsored by the Philippine Information Agency under the Office of the President of Philippines.

The first issue of ''The Spectrum'' magazine came out when the Fundamentals of Journalism class of 1978 was able to produce it as part of their semestral requirements. The editor-in-chief then was Isabel C. Urra. Two years later, ''The Spectrum'' won its first COPRE awards: Western Visayas’ Second Best Magazine and Second Best Filipino and Literary pages.

Post-Marcos years

Right after the ousting of then-president Ferdinand Marcos, ''The Spectrum'' produced issues filled with post-Marcos-related articles and pictures of the scenario in the province. In the middle of the 1990s, ''Scope'', ''The Spectrum''’s investigative arm was created, first published as a separate newsletter. ''Scope'' aimed to instigate change through investigative journalism so as to improve the university’s academic system.

In 1991–1993, the publication won the COPRE Region 6’s Best Newspaper for three consecutive years paving the way for ''The Spectrum'' to grab the most coveted Graciano Lopez-Jaena Award. To accommodate literary pieces in prose and poetry, ''The Spectrum'' released its first literary folio – ''Scribe1995''.

After the 1990s

In the '90s, ''The Spectrum'' won first place awards in COPRE's categories for newspaper and magazine, besting publications from colleges and universities all over the region.

In 2004, it became the Grand Prize winner of the National Campus Investigative Journalism Award sponsored by ''The Varsitarian'', the official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas. The award was for the ''Scope'' section in the July 2004 magazine that featured the “Probing into the STM Program” investigative piece. The article created an impact on the university's policy regarding the Student Team Managers Program that resulted in its abolition.

In 2004–2005 ''The Spectrum'' and its writers amassed a total of 31 major and minor COPRE awards and recognition. In February 2005, the Spectrum Negroswide Campus Journalism Fellowship had its debut. It was participated in by various college and high school campus journalists all throughout Negros Occidental. A year later, ''The Spectrum'' fellowship was held again; this time, student journalists from Negros Oriental’s prominent schools like Silliman University and Negros Oriental State University came to participate.

''The Spectrum'' at 50

The publication celebrated its 50th anniversary in the school year 2006–2007 with Ms. Krysl Marie E. Santiago as editor-in-chief. The holding of the 3rd Annual Spectrum Campus Journalism Fellowship was the main event. The fellowship that gathered campus journalists from all over Visayas had ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' columnist and ABS-CBN News Channel host Manuel Quezon III, Palanca awardee and performance poet Angelo Suarez and Peace Journalism Network National Coordinator Jean Lee Patindol, who was the 1988-89 editor-in-chief of ''The Spectrum'', as resource speakers.

''The Spectrum'' in the 2000s

In the 2000s, ''The Spectrum'' reinvented itself as more than just a publication as it ventured into other forms of media. It now holds the title the Official Student Media Corps of the University of St. La Salle.

On September 27–29, 2007 under Jeffrey Ordaniel as editor-in-chief ''The Spectrum'' expanded its annual fellowship and went national. The Spectrum Fellowship was held at Santuario De La Salle, Bacolod City. The event invited several of the country’s top personalities in the field of writing and journalism to share their expertise and experiences. Among them were ABS-CBN News Channel’s "The Explainer" and ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' columnist Manuel L. Quezon III for opinion writing, Mother Earth Foundation vice chair Chin Chin Gutierrez for the role of media in environmental consciousness, UP Institute for Creative Writing director Carmelo “Vim” Nadera for Filipino writing and patriotism in writing and journalism, Palanca Awardee Angelo Suarez for creative writing and performance poetry, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism training officer Yvonne Chua for investigative reporting, multi-awarded children's book author Jean Lee Patindol for peace and conflict journalism, and women's rights advocate Atty. Rowena Guanzon for gender-sensitive journalism.

The fellowship gathered the most senior Filipino young writers, campus journalists, artists and advisers from campus-based publications all over the Philippines.

In the same school year, ''The Spectrum'' hosted the 4th National Lasallian Schools Press Conference (LSPCon 2008). The event featured topics such as peace and conflict journalism, gender-sensitive communications, and nationalism in writing and journalism, among others.

LSPCon 2008 again invited Vim Nadera, two-time Salanga Grand Prize Winner for Children's Literature Jean Lee Patindol, and Palanca awardee and performance poet Angelo Suarez, joined by former magazine editor Jessica Zafra

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