El Rodeo yearbook fears for its future after cuts
Katie Hill
Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: News
The elimination of the Spirit Activities Card has raised concerns about the future of El Rodeo.
Originally included with admission to athletic and university events with the purchase of a $135 Spirit Activities Card, the yearbook will be sold separately and "marketed to students as a stand-alone item next fall," said Mona Cravens, director of Student Publications.
"I don't think anybody purposely went after El Rodeo," said Heather Larabee, director of campus activities. "Athletics needs the money, and El Rodeo was one of the casualties."
In the past, El Rodeo received $25 from every Spirit Activities Card to cover printing fees. That money, Cravens said, was the "biggest source of income for the book."
The yearbook will cost about $40 next year, she said.
Cravens said El Rodeo sold about 500 to 600 copies beyond the ones distributed to Spirit Card holders.
"But there wasn't a real push on our part because the advantage of (having the yearbook) was an automatic sell," she said.
Cravens' main concern, however, is not a financial one.
Additional El Rodeo funding comes from rebates from the portrait studio that takes yearbook photos and from advertisements and paid photos commissioned by student organizations, she said.
Despite financial security, El Rodeo staff and students alike question whether the yearbook can sustain itself.
"I'm most concerned that El Rodeo continue because there's so much history in it that can't be found anywhere else," Cravens said.
"That's more important to me than the number of copies we sell."
El Rodeo has been published since 1899. The yearbook's name translates to mean "the round up," and "it was intended to be a 'round up' of all the activities on campus combined into one document that students could take with them," Cravens said.
Cravens said she hopes that everyone will realize "how important El Rodeo is in capturing and recording USC's history."
Originally included with admission to athletic and university events with the purchase of a $135 Spirit Activities Card, the yearbook will be sold separately and "marketed to students as a stand-alone item next fall," said Mona Cravens, director of Student Publications.
"I don't think anybody purposely went after El Rodeo," said Heather Larabee, director of campus activities. "Athletics needs the money, and El Rodeo was one of the casualties."
In the past, El Rodeo received $25 from every Spirit Activities Card to cover printing fees. That money, Cravens said, was the "biggest source of income for the book."
The yearbook will cost about $40 next year, she said.
Cravens said El Rodeo sold about 500 to 600 copies beyond the ones distributed to Spirit Card holders.
"But there wasn't a real push on our part because the advantage of (having the yearbook) was an automatic sell," she said.
Cravens' main concern, however, is not a financial one.
Additional El Rodeo funding comes from rebates from the portrait studio that takes yearbook photos and from advertisements and paid photos commissioned by student organizations, she said.
Despite financial security, El Rodeo staff and students alike question whether the yearbook can sustain itself.
"I'm most concerned that El Rodeo continue because there's so much history in it that can't be found anywhere else," Cravens said.
"That's more important to me than the number of copies we sell."
El Rodeo has been published since 1899. The yearbook's name translates to mean "the round up," and "it was intended to be a 'round up' of all the activities on campus combined into one document that students could take with them," Cravens said.
Cravens said she hopes that everyone will realize "how important El Rodeo is in capturing and recording USC's history."
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