By Allianah Junnice Bolotaulo | April 26, 2024
Five special interest organizations at Silliman University (SU) formed the League of Interests (LOI) to develop cooperation and collaboration for shared events and activities.
The member organizations include Artista Sillimaniana, Fine Arts Department Student Organization (FADSO), SU Geek Culture Society (SUGCS), SU Producing and Songwriting Artists (SUPASA), and SU Writers’ Bloc (SUWB).
With cooperation, collaboration, and mutual support of artists of all mediums as its goal, LOI aims to make communicating and collaborating between member organizations efficient, removing the need for emails and letters.
SUPASA President Jeyah Mae Culanag said that she and the other presidents wanted “easy access” to each other without lengthy and complicated processes.
“I really believe [in] the saying ‘artists supporting artists,’ but I don’t really see a lot of that here in SU because we are all in our separate organizations. We’re all [on] separate missions. We don’t have a space where we can just get together and collab[orate],” she said.
Meanwhile, FADSO President Caesar Ian Vergantiños said he is excited about organizing events with the other LOI organizations.
“..it was hard to get in touch with everyone […] but now we can actually just do everything together,” he said.
For LOI members Chelsea Malto and Sheikha Encabo, joining the coalition meant collaboration between art organizations through planned events.
“The League has plans that not only help support the art community on campus but also provide an avenue to give back to the community. If this is the direction that the LOI is headed to, then it’s [going to] be a fun ride,” Encabo said.
First onboarding meeting
Following its founding a month ago, the presidents and members of the five organizations organized LOI’s first onboarding meeting last April 15 at the SU Amphitheater.
Members were introduced to the coalition’s objectives and plans during the meeting. Furthermore, necessary committees were arranged to help with the coalition’s operations.
SUGCS President Mia Carla Tabasa said that they prepared the events to promote the “strengths” of each organization to the SU community.
“Our strengths [can be utilized] in different ways as well, even through outreach and especially showcasing [the] talents and hidden potentials that each of our members have,” she said.
In the current and upcoming semesters, LOI plans to hold an arts festival, fair, and workshop to foster mutual support among SU artists.
