The Tamanawas Yearbook has been a staple of the Puget Sound community since 1920, but it is in danger of being discontinued. Rising print costs and the increase of social media usage has made many feel that yearbooks are obsolete.
Print media as a whole has been criticized by proponents of online journalism as burdensome and costly. Yearbooks have endured, however, and as a form of commemoration they remain popular.
“A physical yearbook has a certain permanence that an online yearbook simply does not,” yearbook editor-in-chief
Marissa Croft said. “It’s a tool for us to remember our college experience in the years after we leave.”
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Tamanawas yearbook, and with support from the Puget Sound community, it will not be the last.
In addition to recording the school’s events, history and remarkable moments, the yearbook can assist with giving insight to the interests of the students and the opportunities open to them.
“It promotes school unity and encourages students to have pride in their activities and peers,” Croft said.
“It is also an important tool thatclubs and groups can use to spread the word about their club to the student body and get new members.”
“When you work for the yearbook, you get to know the students and professors much better. Overall it’s allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for how many amazing opportunities the University has to offer,” sophomore Duyen Vo said.
The inclusion of new students on the yearbook committee allows for Tamanawas to extend itself and take in, rather than be taken over by, opportunities rising from technology. Because students are increasingly using social media, the Tamanawas team has made use of student participation and submissions via the Internet.
“This year we are moving the Tamanawas into the 21st century with the power of social media,” publicity manager Coleen McNeely said. “We want our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to serve as a sort of digital supplement to the printed yearbook itself.”
Through the Tamanawas Facebook page, there will be an Ugly Sweater contest where Puget Sound students can submit their photographs. Non-contest submissions can also be submitted through the page as well as on Instagram, under the username ‘Tamanawas.’
“We would like to focus on what makes this year unique, so we are doing modern, fun stories, like a Logger fashion spread and fun coverage of the different on-campus activities,” Croft said.
All students are highly encouraged to participate in assisting in material creation for the yearbook.
Tamanawas yearbooks come with the added advantage of a great price, ranging from $15 to $20 depending on the location and time of purchasing.
“I was surprised at how cheap the Tamanawas is compared to my high school yearbook! It’s a $50 dollar difference!” freshman Mikayla Hougen said.
Despite the cheap price, Tamanawas is not a mass-produced product, and there are only 300 books currently available for purchasing.
More financial support could help with printing, so all students may one day be able to purchase a copy of this timeless record. The presence of the yearbook can, and has, dwindled without the support of students to give each year new life.
Vitalization of Tamanawas comes from students recognizing that there is a yearbook on campus, and that the yearbook is by Puget Sound, for Puget Sound.
The Tamanawas staff strives to achieve higher quality and more vibrancy than has ever been seen. Technology and student skills drive the yearbook to have the same immortal qualities as its predecessors. All it needs is a community willing to support it.
“I really just want people to realize that we actually have a yearbook on campus, and that 20 years from now it will become one of their most valuable possessions,” Croft said. “Anyone who has parents who went to college has likely seen their parent’s yearbook at one point or another, and I think that really speaks to the enduring quality of print media.”
