As the end of the year approaches, Schreiber seniors have much to look forward to, such as the end of AP exams, graduation, and the Gambol.  However, there has been a debate over one of the seniors’ rites of passage being taken away, and that is the privilege to put a quote in the yearbook.

This year, the Schreiber yearbook has decided to issue a new policy:  members of the class of 2026 will not be able to include a senior quote in the yearbook.  Instead, if they choose to participate, seniors can upload photos of themselves through the years with their classmates.  

However, many seniors are unhappy with this new development.  They believe that having senior quotes in the yearbook should be a tradition that continues throughout their time at Schreiber, not one that terminates before they are able to participate.

There are many reasons why I believe the senior quotes should not be completely replaced with baby pictures in the yearbook, but the most important one has to be how yearbook quotes can help to illustrate the time period.  For many alumni, looking back at quotes in their high school yearbooks is a time-honored tradition that offers insight into the culture and values of past graduating classes.  Even looking back to quotes from ten or fifteen years ago, you can see how different the lingo students used was.  If you keep flipping through yearbooks from the 2000s, 1990s, and 1980s, the yearbook quotes can make you laugh when you reflect and get the feeling of how different decades were for high school students just like yourself.

“I really enjoy looking through my parents’ yearbooks, and I just think it can tell you so much about the age they grew up in.  It’s so interesting to compare their world to the world I’m growing up in now.  I hope senior quotes stay, because I believe my children should be able to do the same thing in the future and read the quotes from my senior class when they look through my yearbook,” said senior Victoria Kaufman.  

Terminating this tradition removes a piece of the school’s history and a key element of the yearbook’s sentimental value.

Another reason that I believe the senior quotes should continue and prevail over baby photos is how much more quotes are able to express from the student.  Senior quotes have the ability to encapsulate a student’s high school journey, growth, personality, or an inside joke with friends.

“I was really looking forward to making my senior quote align with something from my Disney trip sophomore year.  I attended the trip through the Schreiber music department alongside a few of my best friends, and made so many amazing memories and inside jokes with them all.  That’s something I wanted to document as an important part of what made me who I am in highschool, and I feel that a baby photo can’t express that the same,” said senior Jordan Morley.

These quotes serve as a more personal memory to smile and look back on in the future, rather than a simple photograph of a different life stage.  They give students a unique opportunity to express their individuality and humor, or their gratitude towards their senior class in a way that a simple baby picture cannot.

Finally, there are many other parts of the yearbook that include photos.  One may even argue that most of the yearbook is made up of photos.  So introducing these baby pictures rather than leaving senior quotes doesn’t add a new feature.  Instead, it adds more to a previous aspect of the yearbook while eliminating a beloved part of what graduating seniors can do, which is to mark down their final thoughts about high school in a memorable quote.

“I was looking forward to having a senior quote in the yearbook.  I’m not completely against the introduction of baby pictures in the yearbook, but I am disappointed to learn that yearbook quotes are going to be completely replaced.  I think it’s one of the best traditions to allow seniors to leave their legacy at Schreiber off with a quote,” said senior Daniel Ross.

This  decision to remove senior quotes is unpopular among this year’s senior class.  These quotes provide much more than just a sentence on the page of a yearbook.  Many students are able to express themselves through humor and charm, and will be able to look back later in life to reflect on their high school years.  Removing senior quotes ultimately takes away a meaningful tradition that allows students to preserve their individuality and memories.  Keeping these quotes the voices of Schreiber students and ensures the yearbook remains a true reflection of the class it represents.