UP Lingg welcomes undergraduate students in Department Assembly

New and current undergraduate students for the Academic Year 2025-2026 were welcomed at the annual Department Assembly last 15 August 2025 (Friday). The event was held at CSSP Health and Wellness Center and featured both academic and non-academic activities.

Instructor John Michael Vincent De Pano formally opened the program by providing a short introduction to the assembly and the Department of Linguistics, as well as debuting the updated admission guide that students may use throughout their undergraduate life.

Chair Francisco Rosario, Jr. then welcomes the newly admitted and current BA Linguistics students into the Department by introducing himself and the BA Linguistics program. He encouraged the students to engage not only with the program but also with the many Department events, opportunities, and with their fellow students as well. Concluding his message, Chair Rosario underscored the importance of August being Lingg Month and that the Department had many activities planned in the celebration of its 103^rd anniversary.

The microphone returns to Instructor De Pano who proceeded by detailing the three undergraduate tracks offered by the Department. These include the Plan A Linguistics track which require students to learn two foreign languages and 12 units of a related discipline. There is also the Plan B Linguistics track which specializes in a Southeast Asian language, specifically Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia. Finally, there are two Plan C Linguistics tracks that focus on an East Asian language. They are the Plan C Japanese and Korean tracks. All tracks are programs that major in linguistics, but the latter two have another language of specialization. Instructor De Pano also introduces the different subjects offered by the Department as well as the different undergraduate program advisers.

Assistant Professor Noah Cruz took over Instructor De Pano when it came time to reminding students of the different academic policies and guidelines that they have to abide by as students of the Department and the University. He diligently reminds students of the retention policies that they have to follow if they wish to stay in the Department. Assistant Professor Cruz also underscores the importance of following both policy and proper decorum not only in conducting oneself as a student but also when communicating with peers and the faculty.

To continue reminding students of several important concerns, Assistant Professor Divine Angeli Endriga details more policies that students must abide by during their stay at the Department. These include policies on underloading and overloading, as well as reminders on seasonal courses that students need to take at specific semesters. Finally, Assistant Professor Endriga concludes her reminders by informing students of the different privileges they have as students of the University such as access to a UPMail account among others.

Besides the faculty, student led organizations also featured in the Department Assembly. The home organization of the Department, the UP Samahang Linggwistika (SALIN) encouraged students to be a part of their organization. This way, they advocate, students can not only socialize with their fellow linguistics majors across year levels but also join in advocating for linguistic rights.

The volunteer Core Group of the Department of Linguistics, SparkLINGG, also presented themselves to the student body. They invited students to participate in their development and socialization activities and encouraged those interested to volunteer. SparkLingg also announced their new website, LinggDEX, which students can access for information that can help them as undergraduate students including testimonials from BA Linguistics’ alumni. They also unveiled the different merch produced by the group that help fund the different activities they are organizing for the linguistics majors.

The program concluded with a raffle, a game, and some food. The attendees were able to bag both information for their undergraduate and linguistics journey and different prizes such as Department merch, snacks, and items donated by the faculty.