A yearbook cover leak sparked controversy over its design, leading to adjustments. Committee members grew more open, while Ms. Murphy encouraged future participation and organization.

The Fallout of The Yearbook Cover Leak

In the events leading up to the leak, the yearbook committee went largely unnoticed. They worked diligently with each class and club until the yearbook was leaked by one of the members. 

“We are sworn to secrecy, so we cannot disclose the contents of the yearbook,” said Joceline Estrada, one of the yearbook’s graphic designers. 

The leak left many committee members feeling betrayed, especially because it violated their oath of secrecy. While the controversy was mostly contained, it did cause much discussion among the students who got a sneak peek. One stand-out complaint was that the cover was “too girly.” 

After considering the students’ criticisms, the cover was adjusted while maintaining the yearbook’s theme.

A New Beginning for the Committee

“The cover still represents what you’re getting into, but at the same time, when you flip through the yearbook, that’s where you’re gonna get the feeling from,” Omari Larose, a yearbook photographer, stated.

Omari Larose, a late addition to the yearbook committee, joined after the aforementioned yearbook cover leak. He described the committee as one big community and spoke about a change in their work culture. 

“I feel people are getting comfortable in the committee now; they’re more open to dispersing their opinions than before. From what I’ve heard before I joined, it was more that some people didn’t feel comfortable enough to display their opinions,” Larose said.

Talking about the designing process Larose described photography as the easier part of his job, while the individual pages were a real challenge.

“For the pages, it’s rigged hard because you originally have to design the layout and then figure out how it’s going to be appealing to people,” said Larose. 

He advised any future members to “not procrastinate and focus on quality over quantity,” as those ideas set the foundations for making your yearbook stand out and “pop.” 

Who is Ms. Murphy?

In her third year as the Yearbook Committee Advisor, Ms. Murphy focused heavily on the committee, yet she prefers to let the students freely express their creativity.

However, she added her input and provided the members with criticisms on how to improve the yearbook.

“I’ll look, just like today, if there are misspellings or something that should be capitalized. So, little things like that. If their back is facing the camera, I might say: ‘let’s try to use a better photo so we get more faces,” Murphy said.

Many view the Yearbook Committee as a place for simple photography and relaxation. However, Ms. Murphy stressed that the committee does require effort due to the many deadlines they must work toward.

“We have to be done with the yearbook by the first week of April; We don’t have all year, especially the cover, as the deadline is in October,” Murphy said.

The goal for the yearbook is to make sure seniors leave with great memories of their final year at Edison.

“I want it to be an opportunity where you can use it for people to write messages to you, just so that you leave with a piece of Edison,” Murphy said. 

She wanted and encouraged this year’s seniors to be more involved, and now she’s started plans for future generations of the committee to be more organized. Looking forward to the future, Ms. Murphy plans on reaching out to interested juniors to become committee members in their senior year. 

“I would love to talk to the juniors at the end of this year to get people interested in the yearbook. I’d like to know if they want to do it next year and to get that ball rolling,” Murphy said.

Anyone still interested in helping or contacting the committee can reach out to Ms. Murphy ([email protected]).