High-resolution, full color images available online
Search, browse, read, and print yearbook pages
View college, high school, and military yearbooks
Browse our digital annual library spanning centuries
Support the schools in our program by subscribing
Privacy, as we do not track users or sell information
Page 18 text:
“
Tides of The last yearbook By David Flores, editor If this isn ' t the last Blue and Gold, then it should be. Time has been good tor the B G, but like all things of old age, the yearbook must finally face the reality that time has run out. The chronic backache and tottering balance can no longer be dismissed as simply signs of a cold. A disease known as terminal irrelevancy set in around 1 968, and should prove to be fatal. Old age is a mixed blessing for a publication. Lon- gevity commands some respect. On the other hand, aging seems to produce an inevitable atrophy which results in the demise of once vital journals. The tastes and demands of the reading public are subject to con- stant change, and any publication seeking continuing success must be sensitive of and responsive to these changes. Publishing history is littered with the remains of many great old magazines which have failed to change with their readership. So it has been with the Blue and Gold. In 1 969, after more than 90 years of publishing health, the B G failed to sell enough books to break even. This began a series of losses which continued unbroken through last year ' s 99th volume, and there is no reason to believe that this centennial issue will reverse that trend. Many varied hypotheses have been put forward to explain this decline in book sales. Bad management, bad publicity, and riots during peak selling periods have all been pos- tulated as the source of the disease. Unfortunately, these hypotheses fail to pinpoint the true nature of the problem: The yearbook market no longer exists. The course of student consciousness over the past decade has not left room for the old yearbook. Concern with community action and organization, domestic social problems, and The War pulled a large segment of the student population away from the traditional aspects of college life which the Blue and Gold repre- sents. The B G was not able to alter its face in response to these concerns. By continuing on as before, making only vague changes as concession to the situation, the Blue and Go d effectively produced a magazine without a readership. Terminal irrelevancy — the absolute failure to provide a product an audience will buy — became fully manifest. This centennial issue represents the most elaborate attempt to make the old traditional yearbook concept work. During the summer, although it was clear to a number of us that some radical alteration in concept was the most likely means of preserving the book, insufficient time to create that concept and structure its financing left us with the old Blue and Gold. We deter- mined that if a traditional yearbook readership existed, it lay in athletics, fraternities and sororities, seniors, the Gal Band, alumni, and other diverse but generally tradi- tional groups. Given adequate publicity, we hoped that our interest in these groups would be justified in book sales But being aware of the sales fate of the last four year- books, we also concerned ourselves with creating new sources of revenue. Sixteen of the 20 pages of Big Game Week coverage were overrun to produce 7000 recruiting booklets for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Thirteen pages were sold as a block to the Panhellenic Council. We also negotiated with the Uni- versity Office of Public Information and the athletic department to produce an additional overrun of 16 pages (97-1 1 2), which these offices would use for pub- lic relations purposes to sell the University. We tried to incorporate these pages as an introduction to the university section of the yearbook, but this was in a way secondary to the fact that 7,500-plus copies of this booklet meant several hundred dollars of added income for the B G. In Berkeley: A Self-Portrait, we attempted to create an additional source of income, as well as to satisfy the (continued on page 320)
”
Page 19 text:
“
change: Growing old in the ASUC By ASUC President Bruce Quan It is with great sadness that I witness the end of what may have been the most socially conscious, intellectu- ally stimulating and educationally challenging era for students on campuses across the country. There is no doubt in my mind that the idealism and concern of stu- dents for a more equitable society, generated first here at Berkeley in 1 964 by the Free Speech Movement and later sustained by the outrage at other injustices, is all but gone. Slowly but surely, we are drifitng back in the pre-1 964 age where the University no longer takes the initiative in promoting the welfare of the society at large, but rather retreats into isolation and non-communica- tion, taking along with it the majority of the students. To be more concise, the learning experience is narrowed considerably, and room for innovation less likely. It has, in any case, been an experience for me to have been able to experience and witness this full circle of apathy, idealism, disillusion and frustration, and finally apathy once again. In the midst of all this change has remained the ASUC, known to a few, but claiming to represent many. In fact, the question of whom does the ASUC represent is asked many a time. I sense that while it claims repre- sentation for all students, the real truth is that it exists to satisfy the innermost desires of a few for power, glory and fame. The blame falls equally on those who partici- pate, those who criticize and those who don ' t care. Until more people realize the potential of the associa- tion for representing legitimate student needs, the ASUC will continue to exist as before. In confronting this problem of potentiality of ASUC representation, I have found it difficult to isolate because of the maze of meaningless squabbles which have dominated the ASUC. Given this, I have instead tried to concern myself with building a foundation of legitimacy for student input into University decision- making and governance. Our efforts were concen- trated in three major areas: financial aids, academic affairs and administrative affairs. I fully realize that a house is only as strong as its foundation, but I felt that in a year ' s time, the internal mess existing in the ASUC could not be resolved. Given no choice, I felt that it was better my time be spent con- vincing outside people of student needs in specific areas. I will say that it has not been the greatest of pleasures trying to represent an organization which is full of personality conflicts and on the verge of bank- ruptcy. All in all, this year has been personally a great disap- pointment. The gap between my expectation level and what I could actually achieve was much too wide for my satisfaction. I only hope that in the future, the students come to understand the potential of the ASUC and uti- lize it to try to better the position of students as well as the surrounding community.
Are you trying to find old school friends, old classmates, fellow servicemen or shipmates? Do you want to see past girlfriends or boyfriends? Relive homecoming, prom, graduation, and other moments on campus captured in yearbook pictures. Revisit your fraternity or sorority and see familiar places. See members of old school clubs and relive old times. Start your search today!
Looking for old family members and relatives? Do you want to find pictures of parents or grandparents when they were in school? Want to find out what hairstyle was popular in the 1920s? E-Yearbook.com has a wealth of genealogy information spanning over a century for many schools with full text search. Use our online Genealogy Resource to uncover history quickly!
Are you planning a reunion and need assistance? E-Yearbook.com can help you with scanning and providing access to yearbook images for promotional materials and activities. We can provide you with an electronic version of your yearbook that can assist you with reunion planning. E-Yearbook.com will also publish the yearbook images online for people to share and enjoy.
