“Everything that I did on behalf of the yearbook was for the people and not myself. Giving Prairie View something that it hasn’t experienced in the new millennium is a memorable experience,” said Cynthia Dees, editor in chief of the Pantherland Yearbook as she described resurging the publication.
After seven months of late nights behind the computer screen and picking teeth with staff members and advisors, the 20-year-old mass communications major can finally return to her traditional role as a student. The yearbook staff met its final deadline last week.
With an estimated 10 deadlines originally set in August, Dees says the challenge to produce a yearbook was difficult because they were in a push to beat competing entities for production.
Using Taylor Publishing Company, a Dallas-based company established in 1939, the yearbook was forced to compete with elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and other universities listed within Taylor’s list of clients.
For the yearbook staff, meeting deadlines would be much easier said than done.
In addition to having to compete with other schools using the same publisher, Dees and her staff were forced into the role of historians. They had to capture 11 years worth of lost memories that went uncovered since the last yearbook was published in 1999.
Dees and her staff along with primary advisor Orok Orok, managed this task by providing editors with early deadlines that were much sooner than those set by the publisher. Orok also serves as program coordinator for the Office of Student Activities and Leadership.
Dees said over time, this called for both her and Orok to step outside of their roles.
When the production process began, the yearbook staff consisted of 10 editors.
However, according to Dees, by the time the publication was finished, there were only a total of four editors remaining.
With a shortage of staff, Orok, who also serves as an advisor for the student newspaper and Campus Activities Board, was faced with the ultimate challenge. This challenge eventually called for him to step down as advisor and actually participate in the production process.
Dees said, “Oddly enough, you could compare our experience to pregnancy. We were all pregnant with this unborn child because of the amount of work we had to put in. But as a good parent, you can’t quit while you’re in labor. Every day felt like morning sickness, tossing, turning, and craving to do something different. However, we endured the labor and we are about to give birth to a beautiful child; a yearbook.”
Orok’s duties as advisor were split with nationally renowned author Reshonda Tate Billingsley, author of “Let The Church Say Amen” and “Nothing but Drama,” who served as the content advisor for the yearbook’s staff.
Married to Miron P. Billingsley, associate vice president for student affairs, Billingsley’s schedule as a professional author prevented her from being a full-time occupant in the office.
However, with all odds against them, seven months and 256 pages later, the yearbook staff is now waiting on the arrival of their product in early May.
With an estimated 1,500 issues on order, Dees seemed excited about a number of different sections in the yearbook, including the fashion spread, which shows the variety of self-expressing apparel students at PV display, and the stereotypes pages, which were designed to attract attention to issues around campus that are often overlooked.
Dees says that she also feels alumni will be pleased with the outcome of the yearbook and the effort the staff put into including their lost years.
The yearbook is expected to arrive early May 2011, with student prices set at $55 and alumni prices set at $65.