News

Yearbook, ‘Dirigamus,’ documents student life

By Ernest Scheyder

Posted on Dec. 08, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

With the semester drawing to a close, the University of Maine yearbook is steaming straight ahead, on schedule and on budget, according to Editor in Chief Jonathon White.

With $5,800 allotted to the project from Student Government, White has been compiling pictures, text and ads since the beginning of the year and is now sifting through the material to compile pages for the first publishing deadline.

The full-color yearbook will be published after the close of the spring semester and will feature an assortment of memories from UMaine life. The staff changed the name of the yearbook from The Prism, as it was previously known, to Dirigamus, Latin for “We Lead.”

“The project is going very smooth,” White said.

To help determine which items will be included and to incorporate students clubs within the yearbook, White is working with members of the university to compile an advisery board. The board will meet to discuss yearbook policy and layout and will work with White to complete the finished project.

A UMaine yearbook has been absent from campus for the past seven years due to lack of student interest and funds. Last year, Student Body President Matthew Rodrigue was granted permission by the student senate to hire an individual to complete a feasibility study for the project. White completed the study and was hired as editor this fall.

Together, with a staff of five, Photo Editor James Hills, Copy Editor Bennett Fellows, Sections Editor Krista Ricupero, Business Manager Sandra Defilipp and a designer editor, who has not yet been chosen, White plans on ushering in a new, revitalized yearbook.

Currently, the staff is compiling and photographing individual portraits from seniors and other interested undergraduates. A station will be set up in Memorial Union in March for seniors to have their picture taken, free of charge, for inclusion in the yearbook. A time will be set up later in the semester for other undergraduates to have their photos taken.

When completed, “Dirigamus” will consist of 224 pages and will cost $75, comparable to other college yearbooks, White said.

Already, the yearbook is being offered to parents of students via mail by publisher Taylor Corporation. The yearbook will be distributed through mail and through the University Bookstore.

White noted that the yearbook project may one day become independent of Student Government and have a closer association with the university administration. A determining factor in that move would be the project’s performance this year, White said.

Currently, the yearbook is looking for volunteers for all areas of production, from photography to ad sales. For more information, contact Jonathon White on FirstClass, or visit the yearbook’s headquarters in the Wade Center for Student Leadership.