HEIGHTS Ateneo’s 72nd Editorial Board (EB72) commits to strengthening the organization’s internal processes to spark social involvement in connection with its thrust: Devoting ourselves to one another in igniting social action through art and literature.

With the incoming 2025 Senate elections, the EB72 underscores the necessity for defiance in an era of false information and propaganda while also establishing the capacity of art and literature to move individuals and communities into action.

Responding to reconnection

Bee Zureta serves as the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) for academic year 2024 to 2025, highlighting the call to revisit internal structures and relations. “While HEIGHTS is a publication for the Atenean community, it is also an organization of like-minded individuals,” Zureta expresses. The EIC denotes the significance of its members in making HEIGHTS as it is and in ensuring the quality of published materials that the Higher Education Cluster can peruse.

Notably, Zureta regards social action as non-negotiable in the thrust, especially with the midterm elections approaching. Therefore, the 72nd EIC hopes that the organization combats this age of misinformation and disinformation with the creation and curation of art and literature that seek to fight against the prevalent issue.

Besides the release of folios, HEIGHTS also houses a space for Ateneans to be trained and guided by respected panelists in Ateneo HEIGHTS Workshops. “[It] allows us to cultivate a space wherein creatives get to explore how they can use their respective mediums to spark social action,” Associate Editor Cas Roberto states, who takes on the role of Director for these workshops. As such, these and other flagship projects shall be imbued “with a sense of urgency to champion voices that fight for the truth to prevail against all odds”.

Governing the processes

At the helm of “Devoting ourselves to one another,” Managing Editor for Internal Affairs (MEIA) Andie Basilio spearheads the internal initiatives of the organization. “Through our staff- and org-wide initiatives, we choose to reflect on what we are individually capable of so we can come to our collective vision for HEIGHTS, representing both the product of our labor and the people in our community who make it all possible,” the MEIA identifies, citing activities such as maximizing publication room use and utilizing online platforms as a response to the thrust.

On the other hand, Managing Editor for External Affairs (MEEA) Brylle Principe, who handles partnerships within and beyond the Ateneo, recognizes the priority on internals. “Focusing on internal structures allows us to lay the foundation for stronger relationships outside HEIGHTS,” the MEEA examines, thereby paving the way for the publication’s momentum in its critical engagement with the world. “A unified HEIGHTS is, after all, a more effective HEIGHTS”.

Processing all monetary transactions, Managing Editor for Finance (MEF) Lion De Leon oversees the thrust’s actualization. “I like to envision finance as the lifeblood of our organization, the energy that pushes us forward,” the MEF imparts, as it signals HEIGHTS’ journey towards nurturing a robust community. With projects that illuminate socially relevant themes and folios that bridge HEIGHTS to a broader audience, the MEF aspires to spark reflection and discourse.

Defining defiance

Many of us, no matter how much we want to, cannot turn away from the dark comedy of politics and the tragedy of our environment. There are only two possible options when faced with these: conformity or defiance. HEIGHTS has always resonated with the latter, thus deeming it apt to center the theme of this first semester’s folio around defiance or pagsuway.

“Hindi maikakailang marami na ang nasabi, ngunit ‘di-hamak na mas marami pa ang masasabi at kailangang sabihin,” says Lanz Railey Fermin and Francelen Rose Molod, the Bagwisang Filipino Editors for this year. They recognize that what stops people from defiance is fear, but they assure that HEIGHTS is a safe space for creative resistance. “Huwag matakot lumihis, lumabag, at subukan ang kakaiba,” they champion.

Similarly, English Editors Lia Gutierrez and Rei Ramos Kawabata wish for writers to defy the very works they have written. “We are looking for pieces that challenge themselves,” they express, “not only in subject matter but through experiments with form and genre.” They provide questions that can advise submitters: What can and cannot be said? What are the rules worth breaking?

At present, one may think that the conformity in a publication is that of the printed page; however, Art Editors Ren Santos and Zia Palomar do not believe so. They wish to receive as many non-traditional pieces as there are traditional works. Performance art, installations, found objects, and mixed media are encouraged to be explored and submitted. “We believe the content of pieces that play with various mediums will allow exciting conversations and rich discourse,” they voice.

Living the thrust

The issues come out twice a year. Each day that is not the folio launch is spent curating a HEIGHTS that is true to its theme and the thrust.

“HEIGHTS has continued to reintroduce itself year after year, but we hope to keep up its visual identity through familiarity and reconnection,” declares Design Editors S Ongtao and Anya Imbuido. They believe how HEIGHTS is perceived internally and externally go hand-in-hand: an organization that devotes themselves to one another is one that devotes themselves to the broader community.

Looking inward, Production Managers Nico Gonzales and Mikaela Balaga believe that a brave organization must still be a safe one, where everyone feels comfortable and empowered to fully express themselves. “We believe that everyone involved in HEIGHTS, from staffer to contributor, is truly the life behind it,” they remark.

Looking outward, HEIGHTS Online Editors Aidan Reuel Bernales and Jules Aranjuez seek to balance hospitality and courage. Handling both the management and journalistic aspects of HEIGHTS, their goal is not simply to be inviting but to invite resistance. “We aim to pursue stories that generate inquiry, provoke reflection, and denounce oppression,” they assure.

Thinking ahead

While the Editorial Board will not be the same one year from now, EB72 is not only focused on their term. HEIGHTS has a history within the Ateneo, and all members of the board have been taught the history and legacy of HEIGHTS. Every action made then is forward-facing. Last year, the goal was rediscovery. This year, it is reconnection.

Zureta wishes to reconnect both internally and externally, getting everyone inside and outside the organization to understand just how vital literature and art is to pump blood into the beating heart of the Filipino. Everything to be done this year and beyond is “all within the goal of sparking collective social action,” the EIC asserts.

As a literary and artistic publication, HEIGHTS moves towards a Philippines that recognizes the importance of art and literature in times of struggle and confusion. Through its thrust, the publication wishes to extend a lifeline to artists and art enthusiasts who are lost within the sea of turmoil, hate, and bigotry — knowing full well that the only way out is against.