In tiny Union office, yearbook staff toils to preserve history

10/31/07 - In the age of Facebook.com, another, more traditional method of storing college memories is perhaps overlooked: the college yearbook. After Facebook meets whatever end it may, or when students grow older and their carefully-tended online profiles fall into disrepair, the yearbook will remain as a record for the future. Few people understand this better than Justine Metro, editor of "Renaissance," the University of Rhode Island yearbook.

"I think people should value their yearbooks a little bit more, because it represents the school and it represents you," Metro, a junior, said.

Metro and her staff of approximately 20 students work all year creating the book that will be read by alumni and their families long after they graduate.

In their small, windowless office in the Memorial Union, the "Renaissance" staff is literally surrounded by evidence that their work will create a historical record of life at URI. Yearbooks dating to 1899 line the shelves of the office, which together chronicle URI's development over time. The oldest books, called "The Grist," record the era when URI was a land-grant farming school with almost no buildings and certainly far fewer weekend activities than today.

As the university grew so did the yearbook, replacing text and drawings with photographs and more pages as graduating class sizes increased.

Metro said she likes to look at the old yearbooks and she is often surprised at how similar the URI experience has remained in recent years.

"When you look back at the old books you can see, 'wow, they did Springfest way back then?'"

Metro said that despite many similarities, one of the biggest changes to URI's campus and culture in recent years can also be seen in the yearbooks: the disappearance of students partying on campus at venues such as the former bar in the Ram's Den.

Although this activity can no longer be found on campus, there is still plenty for Metro and her staff to document. Staff members are responsible for working at least four hours per week and taking pictures at one event each month.

However not every staff member has the same job. Sophomore Melissa Simandl assists the "Renaissance" finance editor. Her job is to help pay bills, order supplies, process advertisements and handle the stipends of her coworkers.

Simandl said that as an accounting major, she joined "Renaissance" for the practical experience.

"I don't know any other groups where I could actually be on the finance staff," Simandl said.

Metro said the diversity of available staff positions is an attractive part of working for "Renaissance."

"You could be any type of major just about and have something to do on yearbook," she said.

Metro said that putting the yearbook together is often hard work, with deadlines looming right before school breaks. She said that 158 completed pages must be turned over to the publisher before the end of June. Metro added that she expects to come to the office over the summer to complete the final 80 pages, including those about Commencement held in May.

"You have to take into consideration things that will happen or will not happen," Metro said. "Our book is based on events that happen during the year, so we can't do anything until [the events] happen."

The "Renaissance" staff experienced an exciting event of their own last Monday, as the 2007 yearbooks had come in the week before.

"All of a sudden, after a whole year, you finally see your work in print . it's very exciting," Metro said about receiving the books.

Even as the staff reviewed their work, they continued to focus on this year's issue, the theme of which is a dictionary motif called "A defining year." Metro said that the yearbook will feature more students than previous volumes, who will share their definitions and impressions of URI.

"I want it to be more personal and I want the students to be more represented," said Metro, who created the theme. "We're trying to get seniors excited about yearbook."

To that end Metro said the yearbook staff is offering a special deal to seniors. Between Nov. 27 and Nov. 30, seniors can have their portrait taken on campus. They will be charged a $35 sitting fee but will receive a yearbook for free, which usually costs $65.

"Mom and dad like to see your portrait, plus you get a yearbook out of it, and that yearbook will have your face in it," Metro said.

Students can register for the portraits at www.ouryear.com. The URI school code on the Web site is 294.