Where is My Yearbook?

As many students know, last year's yearbook is not yet here Many are wondering where it is and when it will arrive? It is quite interesting to us how many people would like to have a yearbook now.

Where was this support when the prioritization process cut the yearbook from the budget? The SHEN had more support from the faculty, staff and SGA than it did from the student body. Which at this point is fine. Would the school even miss the yearbook if we did not produce one? Is it worth the time and effort since it gets criticized for every mistake it makes?

In our opinion, we do not think the campus would miss the yearbook. As we look back at the prioritzation process, we cannot help but wonder what would have happened if we would not have stopped production on last year's yearbook to try and convince the Student Government that this yearbook is worth the investment? As we ask ourselves all these questions we cannot help to think how big of a mistake it was to try and save the yearbook.

Most of the campus community doesn't realize how much goes into the production of a yearbook. The process starts as soon as students return from summer vacation and doesn't end till a few weeks after graduation. The past few years' staffs have had only a handful of people,leaving each member with a huge responsibility. Most schools the size of EMU have a staff of at least 30 people, yet EMU has a yearbook staff of ten.

If everyone is so interested in having a perfect yearbook why doesn't anyone want to help with the production? In as much as the institution would like to shift responsibility for how the SHEN is run? Who runs it? And what direction it should head in? EMU in our view benefits more than anyone from the hard work that students put in. For example, for the recent YPCA 75th anniversary celebration a good portion of the material was derived from previous SHEN issues. Shouldn't the institution bear some responsibility for keeping it going if it is this invested in it?

Why is it so hard for publications on this campus to get people who are willing to commit to them? How can people continuously complain about something, yet are unwilling to step up and help with the process? The SHEN is for EMU, by EMU. Until both EMU administration and students take up responsibility, provide equipment, and offer assistance to the passionate individuals who are willing to work on this publication everyone will continue to criticize without offering any solutions.

So, everyone is wondering where last year's yearbook is. It is nearly completed with some fine-tuning being done to get everyone satisfied. On top of being very short staffed last year, a majority of the staff was also enrolled in the Documentary class which produced a 45 minute documentary. Prioritization last year also brought production to a halt as the staff had to work with SGA, faculty and staff and the prioritization committee to try to save the yearbook. Some departments have been slow at getting back to SHEN staff regarding their articles, while some have been outright uncooperative.

What's in store for the future of the SHEN? With nine of the ten staff being seniors this year, they will leave behind an even smaller staff for next year with little to no experience. Is anyone going to step up and take charge of the SHEN or is everyone going to keep complaining and not attempt to help?

In our opinion, after three years of working with the SHEN, the hassle is not worth it. We are thankful for the staff we have worked with and their patience in understanding that it takes six months before we see results, but we can only do so much.

As we get closer to graduation, we wonder if all we have worked for in the past three years will fade away as no one takes the reins for next year's book...