San Marcos High School - Crown and Sceptre Yearbook (Santa Barbara, CA)

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M th of the Individual We are all somewhat aware of our own existance, conscious of the fact that we are removed from the rest of the human race by being individuals. Yet how much of the component parts that comprise me are superimposed from the thousands of things I witness each day and the thousands of influences acting on me in their subdued, almost unnoticalble manner? The assumption that I am I, and not just the sum total of sofiety, parents, friends, television, teachers, common morals, used ideas, and unoriginal thoughts, is essentially only an assumption. Is America, land of the individual opportunity, turning out such people and creating a new myth - that ofthe individual? It is hard to go beyond mere statement of the question. Conclusions should be drawn by the individual - those who read this are, in fact, individuals . . , San Marcos is composed of 1800 students. It is another myth that they all have the same, or even similar experiences of high school. Life is not and the joy of cheerleaders or the football crowd, nor is it the bland superficiality of daily gossip light talk. Inside each person is, as last year's editor described it, a quiet place. Here, the person is himself and how he transmits his ideas, moods, feelings, anger, frustration, joy, etc. - his meaning and his determination as an individual. abit W My r W a:25 f 2l7

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X., --ln., 5 '. . ' - W-,ag-a--Q ,in ai I wi Myth 0f The Self-Propelled Yearbook When Ijoined the yearbook staff at the beginning of the second semester, I had much to learn. I was naive enough to take the class because I had no sixth period, and wanted an opportunity to do my homework. Like the rest of the student body at San Marcos, I thought that the yearbook magically came out by itself. I imagined that all the staff had to do was choose from an infinite number of candid pictures, write a few clever lines beside each one, put them together, and send them to the printer. Presto! A yearbook appears in June. Little did I know . . . Before I could blink twice, I was drawing layouts, cropping pictures, writing copy, designing pages, and dispensing advice. I had become an unofficial Organizations Editor, and I still d0n't know how it happened. Eventually, it became clear that putting out the yearbook rested on the shoulders of about eight people. It was a major shock, somewhat like a punch in the stomach, to realize that if we didn't put out the yearbook, no one else would for us. To me, this seems to be a paradox. The responsibility for the yearbook, which holds the record of an entire segment of our lives, is left to a handful of people. How can eight or ten people give an objective view of the lives of 1800 others? It should be the contribution of everyone. Obviously, I do not expect the whole campus to sign up for yearbook next fall. On the contrary, too large a staff can create a poor book. We do need input however. It would be no extra work for each organization to send in a list of their activities, and for the club presidents to identify the formal or group shots. I can't count the number of times I had to send people running all over campus, trying to identify one person in a group shot. Sure, we could have left them out . . . but how would you like to be the missing person? We had so few offers of help from anyone. There was little cooperation from the organizations and athletic teams, and this did little to turn out the book quickly and efficiently. Yet, these are the same people who kept walking into the room and asking us, Is the yearbook going to be on time? Will it be good? They expect us to answer, UYES! Of course, with all the generous help and time you,ve given us why of course, it will be here on time, and the best yearbook you've ever seen? I hope that next year brings some drastic changes in the way yearbook is put out. Something like a yearbook, that means so much to so many people, should be approached more realistically. Eight people spent many hours a day after school for four weeks, days when only the muted shouts from the athletic field and the clacking of typewriters from the yearbook room broke the silence of the deserted halls. We were here evenings, weekends, and half of spring vacation, trying to get the book finished . . . that's too much. With a little more cooperation from the student body, the job would have been a whole lot easier. So many people have no concept of the organized time and effort that is necessary for the production of a yearbook. The yearbook doesn't come out by itself . . . my illusions of that are gone now. From the staff, I've learned so much-about cooperating with people, about writing, about dedication, about the quick passage of time, and mostly, about DEADLINES. However, I know that next year's new staff members will have the same illusions that I did. If every person on the campus were aware of the complications entailed in yearbook production, perhaps this knowledge could be passed on, and the problems could be lessened. For the sake of next year's staff, I hope so. Holly Wanless Staff Member