2008 Woodie Awards
1972: Bringing it back
Brandon Muri
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Focus
- Page 1 of 1
Students peer into the book with awe, crowding so close their heads nearly touch.
"Hey is that the 1972 yearbook, that thing is sweet," senior Ethan Lewis said as he sank into a chair.
The book is eggshell white. It is thicker than most yearbooks and except for the appendix in the back, contains no words.
When senior Kate Reiner, an art major, first saw the '72 Winona, she was floored.
"I really wish I could have been a part of this [project]," she said, "I could study this book for a week."
Filled with black and white photos, it is presented in such a way that the observer discovers the sense of time and place.
"I think [the yearbook] gives a much truer expression of student life and the spirit of the school," Reiner said.
Steve Kennen, class of 1973, was a photographer on the 1972 yearbook project.
Kennen said the goal of the yearbook was to "get into it and capture it - to show life how we experienced it."
The yearbook wordlessly paints a Hillsdale scene where the Greek system is vibrant, the student body diversified, and a classroom atmosphere more lax than today. The '72 Winona also drops subtle hints of the tension resulting from the recent occurrence at Kent State and the Vietnam War.
Kennen remembers the relaxed atmosphere, the tensions, and the blossoming Greek
system, which, he said, was composed of the vast majority of students.
"With the administration trying to lose the 'party school' stereotype, we tried to capture as much of the spirit of the times as we could, because we knew it wouldn't be too long until it would be a lot different," Kennen said.
The 2007 Winona staff is planning to revive the 1972 style for next year's project.
Weary of the trend of mediocrity and predictability that is associated with yearbooks, senior Margaret Jago, the chief editor of the Winona, plans to break the mold.
"Most yearbooks are trite-the colors are bad, the pictures unimaginative - I don't want [this to be] a publication that will be looked at once and thrown away," Jago said.
She calls it "the coffee table persona," which is the quality of a book which draws people to it and never grows old.
The Winona editors, in resurrecting the '72 edition, have their work cut out for them.
She got the idea a few years back when a friend showed her a copy of the book, Jago said. She soon began doing research on her own - she found a similar project by a man at the University of Kentucky, who spent six years compiling photographs. He won many awards for the accomplishment.
"Now he is a famous photographer," Jago said.
Unlike this year's free-for-all system of claiming yearbooks at registration, which Jago said is the result of a "crappy yearbook," that will not be the case next year.
"Hey is that the 1972 yearbook, that thing is sweet," senior Ethan Lewis said as he sank into a chair.
The book is eggshell white. It is thicker than most yearbooks and except for the appendix in the back, contains no words.
When senior Kate Reiner, an art major, first saw the '72 Winona, she was floored.
"I really wish I could have been a part of this [project]," she said, "I could study this book for a week."
Filled with black and white photos, it is presented in such a way that the observer discovers the sense of time and place.
"I think [the yearbook] gives a much truer expression of student life and the spirit of the school," Reiner said.
Steve Kennen, class of 1973, was a photographer on the 1972 yearbook project.
Kennen said the goal of the yearbook was to "get into it and capture it - to show life how we experienced it."
The yearbook wordlessly paints a Hillsdale scene where the Greek system is vibrant, the student body diversified, and a classroom atmosphere more lax than today. The '72 Winona also drops subtle hints of the tension resulting from the recent occurrence at Kent State and the Vietnam War.
Kennen remembers the relaxed atmosphere, the tensions, and the blossoming Greek
system, which, he said, was composed of the vast majority of students.
"With the administration trying to lose the 'party school' stereotype, we tried to capture as much of the spirit of the times as we could, because we knew it wouldn't be too long until it would be a lot different," Kennen said.
The 2007 Winona staff is planning to revive the 1972 style for next year's project.
Weary of the trend of mediocrity and predictability that is associated with yearbooks, senior Margaret Jago, the chief editor of the Winona, plans to break the mold.
"Most yearbooks are trite-the colors are bad, the pictures unimaginative - I don't want [this to be] a publication that will be looked at once and thrown away," Jago said.
She calls it "the coffee table persona," which is the quality of a book which draws people to it and never grows old.
The Winona editors, in resurrecting the '72 edition, have their work cut out for them.
She got the idea a few years back when a friend showed her a copy of the book, Jago said. She soon began doing research on her own - she found a similar project by a man at the University of Kentucky, who spent six years compiling photographs. He won many awards for the accomplishment.
"Now he is a famous photographer," Jago said.
Unlike this year's free-for-all system of claiming yearbooks at registration, which Jago said is the result of a "crappy yearbook," that will not be the case next year.
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