Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Yearbook Faces Unclear Future

MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA Ye Domesday Booke has been published for over 100 years.
MICHELLE XU/THE HOYA
Ye Domesday Booke has been published for over 100 years.

After 100 years of continuous publication, Ye Domesday Booke, Georgetown’s undergraduate yearbook, may not be published this year after the graduation of its two editors this coming spring.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, the yearbook only had one editor and was dropped from the Media Board, moving under the direct purview of the Center for Student Engagement. Director of the Center for Student Engagement Erika Cohen Derr said that the decision was made when the Media Board no longer saw the publication as an opportunity for student involvement.

“During the 2011-2012 academic year there were transition issues for the student organization Ye Domesday Booke and the organization didn’t transition new students to become editors,” Cohen Derr wrote in an email. “The Media Board at the time considered the role of the yearbook as a student organization, and ultimately determined that it had become less of an involvement opportunity for students to serve as organizational leaders and more of a service for students — primarily seniors — to capture their senior year,”

This transition into the CSE was in large part due to financial issues.
“It wasn’t making money, there wasn’t a staff. The staff had died off. There wasn’t someone to step up as editor,” Ye Domesday Booke’s Editor-in-Chief Emily Coccia (COL ’15) said. “There was a threat that it would not exist anymore.”

After joining the publication as an editor in 2011 and working with just one other student in producing the yearbook, Coccia was left with the task all to herself with no assistance the following year.
“So it was a lot of sort of sitting alone in Starbucks and stuff like that trying to sort through pictures,” Coccia said.

In large part, this effort was unappreciated due to the general lack of awareness on campus of its existence.

“Sophomore year — that was the year I ended up doing the whole thing alone and telling people that and people just still not knowing that it existed was a hard thing,” Coccia said, “It was hard. It sort of had to be a self-deprecating sense of humor type of thing.”

The lack of visibility is the cause of many issues the production faces. The yearbook’s sports editor, Caroline Egan (COL ’15), expressed her difficulties in getting student groups to send in photos.

“I think what happens too often is that we reach out to clubs and we’re like, ‘Hey, can you send in photos?’ And they basically tell us, ‘Oh we had no idea you were a thing. We don’t have any photos. Sorry,’” Egan said.

After efforts in the past two years to increase visibility, there has been a slow growth in recognition.

“Last year we got [photos] from some of the groups that we had never gotten photos from before. We were able to get their photos rather than sort of reaching out just to individuals we knew,” Coccia said.

The yearbook’s popularity has declined throughout the past decade because of the rise of social media, which allows students to access photos and keep in touch with their classmates for free.

Sales increased by about 100 yearbooks last year, though, with sales of around 1,100 to 1,200 books last year, which marked the first time the yearbook has turned a profit in recent years. Students can purchase yearbooks for $85.
“Admittedly it’s sort of been a one- or two-person show, but we turned a profit starting my sophomore year,” Coccia said.

According to Egan, part of the growth can be attributed to the appeal of owning a hard copy in the digital age.

“One thing that I think is awesome is that sales are going up and we are increasing our visibility at least to some extent. And I think also in this age of everything being online, people are realizing how it’s nice to have a physical object to remember their time at Georgetown,” Egan said.
In addition to senior portraits, the yearbook includes photos and information about clubs and teams.

However, with only 35 likes on the yearbook’s Facebook page, this visibility continues to be limited, although seniors receive email notifications and fliers in the mail.

Because of the visibility problems, the yearbook may not have an editor for production this year, which will take place during the summer. Its continuation will depend on involvement from new members. Applications are available at all times throughout the year, and anyone in the Georgetown community, including alumni and faculty as well as students, is permitted to join.

“Spring and summer is really where we do the bulk of our work. So we have a few freshmen and a few underclassmen who had mentioned that they would really like to get involved, and if we can train them this spring and help them with it this summer, I think that would really be what we need to keep it going,” Egan said.

Since its transition to CSE, Ye Domesday Booke has received financial and other administrative support.

“The university pays for the book and then the university gets money back with the revenue, and we also have ads and parents can buy pages for their kids in the back of the book, so all of that revenue goes through CSE. I don’t end up dealing with any of it,” Coccia said.

The CSE also helps the editors with coordination, which can be difficult for an understaffed publication.
“[Cohen Derr] is really helpful about coordinating stuff with the Senior Class Committee, sending out calls for pictures to the senior class,” Coccia said.

There is a $40 fee for senior portraits, which is waived for students who purchase the yearbook.

Coccia and Egan said that they are hopeful the continuation of the yearbook, especially after its 100th anniversary last year.

“It’s a tradition that has gone on through the generations of Hoyas that I really hope will be continued,” Egan said.

Ye Domesday Booke also functions as a sort of time capsule for each student, according to Coccia.

“I think there is something to be said for also having sort of memories, even if they are not yours, getting to read about what other people were doing when you were at college … and really getting a snapshot of what your life was like for those four years,” Coccia said.

Pauline Huynh (MSB ’15) said that she does not feel the need to purchase a yearbook because of how large each class is.

“In high school you kind of know everyone and there are a lot less clubs but in college you’re not going to know all 7,000 students and you’re realistically only going to be involved in maybe two or three activities out of the hundreds on campus,” Huynh said.

Cristina Fletcher (SFS ’15) said that she would like to get a yearbook if it is reflective of the individuals that make up the senior class.

“I think it’s a good investment for those who have strong ties to Georgetown and who really loved their college experience. I think it’s a tangible memories of the experiences,” Fletcher said. “But that being said, I don’t know the specifics about the yearbook and how much space each student gets. If it’s just your picture and that’s it, then I’m not sure I’d buy one.”

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    Hypothetical HoyaNov 16, 2014 at 7:46 pm

    Hypothetically speaking, if I had purchased a yearbook last year, how would I go about receiving it?

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