The probability of South Brunswick High School (SBHS) reinstating senior yearbook quotes is extremely unlikely. Because our school system has grown over time, matters such as the yearbook have also improved. Though our current yearbook may not contain the exact content shown in a SBHS yearbook from previous decades, it is due to specific reasons.
Early on, formatting became an issue. When SBHS was first established, there were merely 300 graduates; however, the number of students has almost tripled in size throughout the years. SBHS has reached close to 800 students in a grade level, and this year’s graduating class has 685 students. The number of students is a contributing factor for why senior quotes were removed–the greater the number of students, the more difficult it is for the school to maintain the format.
Mr. Jim Zinsmeister, former graduate of SBHS and current long-term substitute teacher, explains the complexity. “How do yearbook personnel get even a short quotation under a thumbnail photograph? And if you listed the quotations alphabetically at the end of the senior section, the association of the quotation with the student’s name without a photograph would lack clear depiction of who the quote belongs to” he said.
Afterward, liability issues followed. Senior quotes are creative statements chosen from a wide variety of topics. They can range from one’s favorite song or quote to a personal experience. However, this process became difficult because of easy offenses. Students may use problematic quotes that can easily offend those who disagree or feel targeted by it, leading to a potential opening for lawsuit or controversy. Though a few administrators could arbitrate the quotes, it is not likely to happen because of the great amount of students.
Even if SBHS brought back senior quotes, a lack of participation became yet another issue to its removal. Ms. Anna Lehre, English teacher, class of 2026 and yearbook administrator said, “The last time we requested senior quotes from students, only about 10% participated out of a class that exceeded 700 students.”
Because a majority of the class did not want to participate, it created problems with pricing. “When there is low interest, we have all this unnecessary empty space which is costing a lot of money and that in turn would lead to an increase in cost for the student. To give you an idea, last year, we printed 800 books, 264 pages each, at the cost of $84,117.97. Students paid between $80 and $100 for the base price of the book depending on when they bought it during the year” said Ms. Lehre.
These factors created continuous issues that kept the senior yearbook quotes difficult and impossible to keep.
