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These words were written by the 1920 Rotunda editor, but they continue to resonate with the small but dedicated student staffs struggling to chronicle memories for the SMU community.
"I hear many complaints about the yearbook, but in making them, many fail to understand just how much time and effort we put into making this book," according to Fredricka Johnson, the 2005-2006  Rotunda Editor in Chief and the 2005 managing editor.
"Despite the stress and difficulty that comes with putting together the yearbook, it is my passion," she said. "The ultimate goal is to produce a yearbook that appeals to the University community. When you have accomplished this task, you are able to feel good about your work."
In celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Student Media Company, Inc., take a look at the people, issues and cultures that have filled Rotunda even longer, for 90 years.
In the beginning, largely because of production technology then available, layouts were very formal, featuring relatively few and posed photographs. That has shifted over the years towards contemporary designs highlighting candid photography better illustrating the personalities and culture of SMU.
Similarly, early covers were formal in neutral browns and heavy grain. That began to change in 50s, 60s and 70s as staffs experimented with more dramatic colors and unconventional colors and they now have moved to a school-spirited use of red and blue or standard black or white through the 80s, 90s and into the new millennium.
Here's a basic timeline:
1915 - "Rotunda" name chosen, submitted by seven students
1916 - First edition published
1925 - 1,450 copies circulated
1927 - First use of process color work in opening pages
1928 - First 9"x12" standard-size book
1940 - Candids replace formal studio portraits in administration section
1941 - Book price $5.50
1948 - Board suggests editor have SMU publicity director "OK" contents of book
1952 - First indexed book
1954 - First co-editorship; greater use of color among 105 pages
1956 - Featured index tabs for a "Do-It-Yourself Rotunda"
1957 - Taylor Publishing Company prints book for first time
1962 - Editor described artwork as "a little wilder than usual"
1963 - First fall-delivery book, "adopted with the purpose of producing a yearbook in the true sense of the word - a Rotunda which includes the important spring events of SMU"
1967 - Dedication pages turn more to editor insights and inside jokes
1978 - Featured photographs for more than 2,700 students
1989 - Editor described book as more conservative in appearance and content
1993 - Returned to spring delivery
1995 - Returned to fall delivery
1997 - First year most of the yearbook was electronically put together
2002 - Entire book now four-color, priced at $54.99
2003 - ACP Pacemaker finalist
2004 - Return to spring delivery, Walsworth prints first book
Features Old and New
Throughout the years, Rotunda has featured sections that no longer appear in today's book. These include:
Rotunda Beauties--Under a variety of names depending on the theme of the book, like Heroines or Queens, this section basically just featured pretty girls. Student organizations nominated the candidates, and celebrity judges, including Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart in 1947, Dorothy Lamour in 1950, James Garner in 1959 and Bob Hope in 1978, chose the final winners. The tradition ended in 1985.
Saddle Burr--"Not intended to be taken as a scandal section, but as one of fun - to be enjoyed for its humorous situations and then forgotten," Saddle Burr, nicknamed "The Grind," caricaturized students and campus figures decided upon by the editorial staff. This teasing came in the form of cut-and-paste pictures and mocking dialogue. Though generally accepted as satire, Saddle Burr encountered opposition in 1927 and was retired in 1946. The editors wrote: "It's gone! It was definitely a juvenile section - a high school section. It was not up to what college standards should be... Most of you will understand that a section such as Saddle Burr has no place in any annual, much less the annual of SMU... To all of you who wish there were more - you'd better be glad there isn't." More recently, the Rotunda has included in-depth stories about various campus events and organizations and year-in-review inserts.
Apathetic or Activist?
The SMU community is often criticized, and criticizes itself, for not being more involved in politics and current events. Over the years, Rotunda carried copy indicating otherwise.
The 1943 Rotunda was dedicated to "the college men in the Armed Forces of the United States. They, who, when called, laid down their books and with simple faith put on the raiment of battle to do a job that their country told them they must do, will find glory in the eyes of those who remained behind."
In the 1970 book, a two-page photo spread depicted students and signage opposing the Vietnam War and urging students to strike from classes in protest. Posters referenced Kent State and listed schools that were striking. The 1973 book included this passage: "The troops have disbanded now. Their mission is complete. They have left quite a mess. But the jungle has a curious way of swallowing up the land. No one will know they ever came, or left. Thank God they've finally come home."
In 1980, the Rotunda reprinted text from the 1974 Student Handbook encouraging students to bring "a big hit of anarchy" to the campus: "SMU is nice....Nobody makes trouble, and nobody makes a difference. We just act nice, proper, polite, decorous, and STUPID. We are paying an outrageous amount to do, not to be told what to do, so make trouble, dammit."
Amidst the Gulf War in 1991, Rotunda ran a story discussing various student opinions on U.S. involvement. The story was accompanied by a photo spread of a student/faculty peace rally, petition banners and a student stabbing a Saddam Hussein doll with scissors.
Censorship Controversies
In 1927, then-President Charles Selecman was highlighted in Saddle Burr for his "high-handed methods of Prexy in running the school and all its occupants by his big stick policy." Though it was meant to be satirical commentary, Selecman did not take it that way.
The president demanded an apology from the editors and had the students cut the offensive pages from all distributed yearbooks. He reportedly attempted to bar the editors from returning to campus and graduating, but the SMU Board of Trustees intervened. However, the adviser lost his job.
The SMU Students' Publishing Company, later called Student Media Company, Inc., was founded in 1930, in part, to provide students freedom of the press, something the company has protected over the years.
In 1988, the Rotunda featured a full-page photo spread with a story entitled "Risky Business" discussing the newly discovered AIDS epidemic, birth control and other sexual topics. The photo was of a man kissing the nape of a woman's neck; however, the zoom, angle and blurred affect of the image seemed, at first glance, to give the appearance of oral sex.
Then-President A. Kenneth Pye found the photo offensive and worried that it "could have cast the image of the university into bad repute." James Caswell, vice president for student affairs, was quoted at the time that the picture was "pornographic on first impression."
"It did appear, initially, pornographic," Caswell said, recalling that parents and various religious organizations contacted the university to complain about the photo.
Still vice president, Caswell said he supports student freedom of speech and expression and opposes to censorship. After the incident, he recommended that, before publication, staffs should inform parties who might be offended by potentially offensive content - not as a screening process, but just to open dialogue about things that could possibly affect the image and reputation of the university - though no such policy was instituted.
"It seems like a reasonable conversation," Caswell said, especially in the context of recent criticism of the credibility of The New York Times. "There is more scrutiny of media and what their intentions are and what the reality is," he added.
Over the years, advisers urged students to be contemporary. Former editorial adviser Judy Babb (1999-2004) told students attending the first staff interest meeting for the 2004 book, "This is not your high school yearbook. We want them to think we can be edgy."
Thematic Interpretation
Rotunda has dabbled in a variety of themes, from poetic and artistic to cheesy and unoriginal.
In 1930, "The Kasidah" - This is "the story of a traveler going through life, reminiscing over philosophy and events in all walks of human existence. The thoughts and ideas are symbolical of the trend of modern youth as it wends its way through the University."
In 1945, "Lights...Camera...Action" - All the Hilltop's a stage, and its students are its players, the Rotunda editors illustrate.
In 1955, "Nostalgia" - This colorful book design and layout harken back to Renaissance England with kings, queens and court jesters scattered throughout its pages.
In 1973 - The book cover is illustrated with what looks to be bamboo, and the pages inside are minimalist, seeming to reflect on the war.
In 1987 - "A Cut Above" - The Booming '80s and SMU's stereotypical materialism manifest themselves in this theme, illustrating our self-proclaimed superiority through a diamond logo with the trademark geometric "M" emblazoned inside. Ironically, this is the year monetary incentives for the football team end in the death penalty.
In 1995, "and..." - The editors say this theme marks a transitional period of rebuilding for SMU, including many changes in administration. This year, R. Gerald Turner becomes the 10th university president and Jim Copeland becomes athletic director.
In 2003, "First, Last and Everything in Between" - This journey starts with Rotunda Passage, ends with graduation, and illustrates well the countless other memories made from August to May.
Voices of the editors
Yearbooking is hard work, to which at least 90 students will attest. Their comments after submitting the last pages provide some insight into the job as well as the context of their times as editors.
"The entire staff has worked to make the 1937 Rotunda a reality, and presents it to you with the wish that you may find it worthy of many hours of romantic reflection." - 1937
"Another staff might have produced the book with far greater efficiency, but no other group could have made the job as much fun." - 1953
"So despite mononucleosis, matrimony, and morbidity, here is your 1956 Rotunda...may it be to you that excitement, that amusement, that nostalgia." - 1956
"Counting pages instead of sheep...missing deadlines, basement fatigue, traumas, confused staff meetings, scheduling pictures, rescheduling pictures, rescheduling rescheduled pictures... unorganized organization...getting more and more frantic, getting less and less particular...mass suicide becoming a distinct possibility...famous last words: 'I'll finish it after school's out.'" - 1967
"Is it worth the loss of sleep, weight, and time spent? You bet." - 1973
"It is through you and me that the spirit of the university lives and will continue for generations to come. We will never forget. We cannot forget. And in a few years when we are older and a little wiser we will remove the Rotunda from its place on the shelf and remember..." - 1978
"I'm tired as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. I wouldn't want to say that editing the 1979 Rotunda was the hardest thing I've ever done, but editing the 1979 Rotunda was the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to learn to be consistent without being boring, be understanding without being gullible and be demanding without being tyrannical. Well, two out of three ain't bad." - 1979
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