Petit Jean Challenged By Itself Through many late and often sleepl ess nights, they worked. But when they were f ini shed, the 1983 Petit Jean sta ff was confident that the yearbook they had produced wou ld follow in the tradition of exce ll ence set by the past 23 editions. Vo lume 59 of the Petit Jean aspired for the 24th consecuti ve All-American rating, awarded by the Assoc iated Collegiate Press. The theme of the book, " Fl YING HIGH on w ings of understand ing," was conce ived and developed by edi tor Jay Simpson. Based on Harding' s exce llence in all areas, espec ially in view of the new Business Center, the theme subt ly expressed the nature of Hard ing and the reason for it: Chr istians have a reason to always do their best. A sty li zed logo of birds in fli ght was used to symbolize the theme and was used on the cover and throughout the book as a unifying graphic element. The unobtrusive sil ve r-onsi l ver cover set the mood for the book . Hairlines, round-cornered boxes, 30 percent sc reened backgrounds and clean layouts used throughout the book were refl ec tive of the cover design and further helped to graphicall y tie the book together. Simpson, a senior journalism major from Pocahontas, Ark ., 104/Petit Jean Staff sa id that financ ial considerations were major factors this year in planning the book. Working wit h a smaller budget along with an increased printer's base price and more cost ly photographic supplies posed a heavy burden on the ed itor to keep costs down. The most obvious result of financial strain was the reduced number of pages in this ed ition . Down 16 from last year, the book, at 384 pages, is the smallest Petit Jean in a decade. " I don ' t fee l we have suffered any loss of coverage, " Simpson said. " I have just trimmed the excess and attempted to make the best poss ible use of every page 2 we have. We even prin ted copy on the endsheets - a rarity in Petit Jean history. " A reduction in the number and type of color pages in the book as we ll as a drastic cut in the number of both black and white and color frames shot were also results of a tighter budget. In addition to dollar concern s, inexperience was a problem f or the sta ff. Only three of eight section editors had extens ive Petit Jean experience and only a few genera l staffers were back from last year. But the dedica ted few took the 3 incredible job in hand and, under the watchful eyes of Dr. Joe Pryor, facu l ty advisor, and Myra Lou Tyer, gracious benefactor, the work was completed and in the plant by the March 7 final deadline. February, howeve r, proved to be The Big Challenge, as nearly three-fourths of the book was completed during that last month. A core of less than 30 staffers stabili zed after the Chri stmas hoi idays to compl ete the task in the remai ning month and a half. - A small photography staff worked w ith head photographer
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