The 115-year-old Badger yearbook will be up and running full speed this year. After last year's lapse, the book is free of debt and preparing for the 2005 edition.
\Everything was a mess and we had to complete the 2003 yearbook which had many contracts and agreements to fulfill,"" said Angie Barbian, UW-Madison sophomore and editor in chief of the Badger Yearbook. ""We spent the bulk of the year making that book and we were unable to get the 2004 book off the ground.""
""We found out that the previous year's yearbook was literally incomplete; it was only 10 percent done,"" said Asif Pesnani, UW-Madison senior and business manager for the Badger Yearbook.
After a year of completing unfinished business, the Badger has started anew.
With the assistance of Lori Wilson, representative of the yearbook's publisher Herff Jones, and UW-Madison professor of life science communications Gary Lake, the Badger's advisor, the Badger hopes to do well. The staff is focusing on implementing a basic foundation and learning from past failures, according to Pesnani.
""I can see where previous mistakes were made. ... I saw that the yearbook was successful when they had an advisor and board of directors so those were the first things I went out and got and now we're moving forward faster than I ever thought,"" Barbian said.
""They scaled back the book so they won't be in debt anymore because years and years before they were printing expensive books ... when they didn't necessarily have as much money as they should have,"" Wilson said.
While this year's book is just beginning production, difficulties still remain, according to Barbian.
""There is still a stigma associated with being with the Badger because we didn't have a book last year,"" she said. ""I'm trying to overcome that; we've got a new staff and it is a new book,""
""The Badger has to win back readers' loyalty and trust after what happened last year and ... prove themselves to the university community as a whole,"" Wilson said.
Through overcoming these challenges, the Badger hopes to not only complete the 2005 edition, but also make it a success.
""We are marketing to the Madison community as a whole and also alumni so it will be a little more diverse than previous editions,"" Wilson said.
""I want people to know this book is under new management and this book's going to be better than it ever has been,"" Barbian said.
