PENNSYLVANIA – Due to lagging sales, University of Pittsburghofficials have decided to transfer control of the school’s yearbook toits public affairs department.
Only about 500 of Pitt’s 3,000 seniors purchased a copy of PantherPrintslast year, leaving the yearbook with a large deficit. Insteadof discontinuing production of the yearbook, the student government board,the alumni association and the public affairs department decided to fundthe publication themselves and distribute the books free to graduatingstudents.
The public affairs department collaborated with the yearbook editorto revamp the publication. To keep costs down–the university has givenPanther Printsa budget of $60,000–the yearbook will be about 100pages shorter and will no longer include senior portraits.
“It was just a matter of time before the traditional yearbook was discontinued,”said Corrine Rushkowski, editor of Panther Prints.
Rushkowski said she was glad that Panther Printswill continueto exist at Pitt but admitted being upset over the omission of senior portraits.
“I’m a traditional kind of person,” Rushkowski said. “I was upset tosee the [old format of the] yearbook go because that’s what I’m used to.”
Still, she said, the new arrangement is better than nothing.
“I’m glad to see them rework it instead of get rid of it,” Rushkowskisaid.