The Student Publications Office will begin its annual Petit Jean Yearbook distribution this Thursday on the front lawn. The distribution will begin after 9 a.m. chapel and will last until the end of the day. Festivities will include free Harding merchandise and President Bruce McLarty signing yearbooks.

Junior Kaleb Turner, editor-in-chief of the Petit Jean yearbook, said he is very proud of how the book turned out and wanted this year’s yearbook to be different from the previous two years by straying away from the elegant, modern and clean aesthetic.

“When I started planning for this book, I knew I wanted something distinctively different from what the past two years have been,” Turner said. “Design-wise, it is a more active and colorful book. It looks more alive and more moving.”

This is Turner’s second year as editor-in-chief, and having previous experience under his belt paid off during the process of making this year’s book.

“It’s definitely been an easier process the second time around,” Turner said. “It has been more of a challenge in some sense because it takes a lot of creativity to pull something like this together. Every year, our office is making sure we are coming up with new concepts, ideas and a new creative direction for the book. In the end, I think we did a real incredible job this year.”

No yearbook is made overnight. It takes months of planning, creating and organizing. The making of this year’s book began last spring, and like every other yearbook, took almost a full year to finish.

Katie Ramirez, adviser of Student Publications, said she knows the time that is put into each yearbook to make each one unique.

“The really cool thing about getting to design a yearbook is that every year is different, because it should be representing that specific year,” Ramirez said. “So, every year at Harding, and in general, is going to be special and unique. It’s the staff’s job to figure out what made the 2017-2018 year at Harding different from previous years. Some of the events may stay the same, but the people and stories around the event change.”

All students are heavily encouraged by the Student Publications Office to get one. Paige Cushman, assistant director of public relations and marketing for student publications, said the yearbooks are very important, even in today’s technological age.

“They are a way to preserve Harding’s history,” Cushman said. “This is one of the very few items that can travel with you and reflect on your time at Harding. I think it’s a time stamp for your year, and I also think it’s the most effective and aesthetically pleasing way to recognize that.”

For currently enrolled Harding students, yearbooks are free with a Harding ID. If you are not able to receive your book on Thursday April 26, you can do so in the Liberty Room in the Heritage on Friday April 27 today. You can also stop by the Student Publications Office in Reynolds C158 to pick up your book during finals week.