Seniors Eva Rishel and Mia Caldwell, both lead editors of the yearbook, have goals to make senior quotes mandatory and accessible to the majority of students.
Last year, they noticed the low turnout and empty blank spaces in the yearbook without senior quotes. They made goals to have a larger turnout by creating a Google Form and QR codes to access it around the school early in the year, in hopes for more participation.
“The senior section is something that’s really fun to look at,” Caldwell said, “so if we add more, you can see more of the community and the class itself.”
Participation is also important to Rishel.
“We want to add more consistency to the yearbook. We want it to look as good as it can. We think [encouraging yearbook quotes] will also provide more participation because sometimes people email us at the end of the year, they’re like, ‘Where was I in the yearbook?’” Rishel said. “We feel like it will include more people to put your own touch on it.”
Senior class president Benny Wilson finds it important for leadership to spread the word too.
“I think it’s important that the Senior Reps are relaying important senior dates, deadlines, and updates,” Wilson said.
When giving seniors updates, he included the QR code in the senior slideshow in hopes of a higher turnout. An obstacle some seniors may face is how to come up with a good quote. Last year, the yearbook even saw one repeat: a Lana Del Rey quote. The editors came up with a solution. If seniors are at a total loss, they can put something else in instead of a quote.
According to Caldwell, last year they talked about options like having seniors put in their favorite memory or a club they joined, so they chose to put that as an option on the senior quote form.
The formatting for the senior section takes a lot of time because each student’s profile is different. The yearbook team made the senior form deadline Feb. 14. in order for them to get it done in time.
“We have to finish the entire book by the end of March and have it submitted. With the senior quotes, especially if we’re requiring them, there’s going to be a lot more this year than there were last year,” Caldwell stated. “We type out every single one of the senior quotes individually, and so putting in senior photos and senior quotes is a lot harder than doing all the other portraits.”
In efforts to add more turnout in participation, both yearbook editors are ready to take on the task and increase participation this year.
