Yet few students realize this ancient Amherst tradition struggles to survive and is in what many close to the situation describe as a state of crisis. As the 2007 book arrives over a semester after the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year, the fate of the 2008 book sits in limbo as no students are currently working on the book; the OLIO has no staff and not a page has been laid out. However, after a contentious year of infighting and what Haynes calls “a lot of finger-pointing,” the 2007 OLIO has finally arrived and it is “tremendous work,” according to Haynes, “one of the best [he’s] ever seen.”
Throughout its recent history, short-staffing and lack of interest have plagued the publication. In 2002, for example, Dean Haynes had to organize a last-ditch effort to complete the book from nothing. Trouble is not a new phenomenon in OLIO history. After Laura Jarrett ’07 spent the year as editor of the 2006 book, she was slated to oversee the 2007 book. However, coming off delayed completion of her previous book, Jarrett decided halfway through second semester of last year that she would no longer continue her work on the OLIO. Months passed without any substantive work on the 2007 book. With little done by graduation, photography editor and OLIO staffer since his freshman year Mark Yarchoan ’07 realized he had to assume a leadership role for the sake of the book’s survival because no one else seemed to care. Having enlisted the help of his friend Jenny Lesser ’07, the two completed most of the book themselves. “That book would not be here today if it weren’t for them,” explained Haynes.
Lesser and Yarchoan worked with what they had and laid out pages from their homes throughout the summer and fall to finish the book because they felt an obligation to themselves and their class to perpetuate this Amherst institution. “This was actually our book so we wanted to do a good job,” said Lesser. Paola Ligonde ’08, who was supposed to assume leadership of the OLIO from Jarrett, contributed to the sports section, but Lesser, Yarchoan and the Jostens yearbook company’s representative to the College, Amy Dunn, completed the rest of the book. “It’s tragic to me that every year the OLIO’s continuance is in question,” said Yarchoan. He explained that the way the 2007 yearbook was completed is “not sustainable for years to come,” adding, “the sad thing for us is that there is no one else to continue it.”
While Ligonde was supposed to head the 2008 book, with no other staff members on board, Haynes has given her a pass and is currently in the process of trying to recruit a new staff to work on this year’s book. “I’ve invested many, many hours,” said Haynes. “This is my last-ditch effort to get people on board.”
On Monday evening, Haynes described the OLIO’s dire situation to the Association of Amherst Students (AAS). The College’s governing body that funds the OLIO agreed to distribute the 2007 book that arrived over Interterm in the Keefe Campus Center this week and form and ad hoc committee to address the situation. Haynes hopes the committee will “strategize long and short term plans to assist the OLIO in obtaining membership and ultimately sound leadership.” He added, “I feel confident that together we can design and structure a more secure future for the OLIO.”
“My interest is mainly in the fact that we’ve already invested 50 grand in the OLIO and I want to see we get a good return on it,” explained AAS Senator and ad hoc committee member Pat Benson ’08. He said the committee “will look into new incentives to get people back on board,” such as greater financial compensation. Making OLIO participation a work-study job is one possibility several have suggested. For now, the committee hopes to “dole out responsibility” for laying out pages to individual clubs and teams in an effort to “mitigate the burden on whoever does take on the job,” Benson said. Haynes will soon mail flyers to all students advertising a general interest meeting he will hold this Friday at 3 p.m. in Keefe.
Whether due to lack of immediate gratification for hard labor, serious burn-out after working on a high school yearbook, or what some see as the growing irrelevance of yearbooks in the age of Facebook.com, the OLIO must overcome stifling interest. Still, many recognize the OLIO’s important place in the history of the College as a hard-record of the year’s events. While he expressed disappointment that “more students haven’t come forward to perpetuate it,” Dean of Students Ben Lieber said, “the OLIO is an Amherst institution I think everyone wants to preserve.” For now, however, Lieber is just grateful the OLIO has survived another year. “The school owes both Mark and Jenny and Dean Haynes an awful lot because without their contributions the book would not have come out this year,” he said. “There is something about the OLIO’s continuity I wouldn’t want to see go,” added Haynes.