Yearbook makes 100th book, recognized by Scholastic Press

T he Ouachitonian hit two milestones this year. It won numerous awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for last year’s yearbook and is currently putting together the 100th edition of the book.

In addition to receiving a Gold Medalist rating, the Ouachitonian also received seven Gold Circle awards, which are individual awards given for student achievement.

Alumnus Alan Greenwood won first place in the nation for sports reporting and was honored for the design of a sports page. Senior and current editor-in-chief Audra Hinson was awarded for design essentials and page designs. Hinson and sophomore Cassie Harrell received third place for their spread on Ouachita’s social clubs.

“We came in ahead of schools like the University of Miami and Ole Miss,” said Dr. Deborah Root, who has been the Ouachitonian advisor since 1991. “I’m proud of the students for not being afraid of competing against the larger schools.”

Hinson has worked on the yearbook since she was a freshman and has served as editor-in-chief for two years. Instead of aiming for a specific amount of awards, Hinson just focused on making a quality yearbook.

“One thing I tried to focus on was photo quality,” Hinson said. “I feel like that plays a big role in the overall outcome of how a yearbook looks. I tried to look at other books who had won national awards to get ideas that I could tweak and make my own.”

The Ouachitonian has a tradition of receiving awards and the staff appreciated their hard work being noticed.

“I wasn’t surprised [to hear about the awards] because we usually do get a lot, but it was nice,” said junior Megan Lindsey, the assistant editor. “I thought last year’s book was exceptionally good.”

“The yearbook only won one Gold Circle award the year before, so it was a big jump [to win seven],” Hinson said.

The Ouachtonian recently entered work in the Arkansas College Media Association and is still waiting to hear from them.

Now Hinson and her staff have an even bigger challenge with the 100th edition of the yearbook. They have brainstormed and worked on numerous ways to make this edition unique.

“The book we’re working on now is very special because it is the 100th edition,” Root said. “[Yearbook printer] Josten’s worked with us to make an all color yearbook. It will be [our] first all color yearbook.”

The theme of the book is “Today Is Yesterday” and incorporates the past and present traditions of Ouachita.

“We have pictures from past yearbooks scattered throughout the book in Polaroid form with facts about each picture,” Hinson said. “We tried to find significant things like a picture of the first women’s soccer team and Dr. [Alex] Nisbet during one of his first years at Ouachita.”

After graduation, Hinson and Lindsey will return to finish working on the yearbook which has to be completed by mid-June. Lindsey will be the editor-in-chief next year and looks forward to the experience.

“I’d like to add more interesting features,” Lindsey said. “Overall, I really like the way the yearbook is put together so I don’t think I’ll change much. I love our staff and just look forward to leading the group and having fun with it.”