Two Yearbooks Sit Side by Side

Written & produced by Addison Richmond

Two yearbooks sit side by side, both the same standard size, both about the same thickness, both with the same school’s name (Mercyhurst college) in scrawled on the front. But there is were the similarities end. One is bound with a classic, marbled paper cover, the other is bolder, louder, bound with bright colors and curvy font. If we peer inside these yearbooks, we can see further evidence of their differences. The first is filled with classic senior pictures: largely dominated with girls, dressed in neat skirts, with smart jackets. Standing proudly and with an air of professionalism that we’d expect to find in a large corporation’s directory.[1] The second is much freer. It’s still mostly dominated by female students, but something’s a little different. The tight pinned curls are replaced with loose straight hair. The stiff pencil skirts are replaced with slacks, and the occasional shorts. Even the settings of the pictures has changed, students frolic in daisy fields, pose in front of abandoned train tracks, and hang out of oak trees. Every photo seems to reflect a new sense of freedom and independence. But also, in those pages are subtler hints to more serious questions lurking behind those smiling faces and flower crowns. Picket signs with peace symbols beg the question of war versus peace. Pictures of the first African American Mercyhurst graduates beg the question of equality and diversity. And the increased number of male student photos beg perhaps the most controversial question faced by Mercyhurst, the question of sexual equality and feminism.[2]

Get the full transcript and show notes at hurststories.wordpress.com

 

[1] “Mercyhurst 1968 Yearbook.” Mercyhurst Archives.

[2] “Mercyhurst 1969 Yearbook.” Mercyhurst Archives.