Due to yearbook lack of organization, the Venom Vision, Florida A&M’s school yearbook, will not publish this year.
Mr. FAMU, Brandon McCaskill, a fourth-year broadcast journalism student from Largo, Md., said in his platform that he would bring back the yearbook during his yearlong term.
“I’m not sure what happened with the yearbook. I got the yearbook club involved. Last I heard [about the yearbook was] it was coming out. I set it up so it would run itself and I was only guiding them,” McCaskill said.
“I wish people who were supposed to be our leaders would follow through and next time I hope we have more order and will start early.” Said Jessica Joseph, 21, the clubs and organizations editor and a third-year public relations student from Miramar, Fla.,
Joseph said there was a lack of communication, commitment and organization.
“We never got to [student] individual pictures. Because of the lack of effort, our adviser Keith Pope didn’t want FAMU to be represented [wrong],” Joseph said.
Pope was unavailable for comment.
“They didn’t do much advertisement and the only way you heard about it was through ‘he say she say.'” said Kreston Shirley, 19, a second-year computer information system student from Washington, D.C. “Most of my classes are in Benjamin Banneker and I haven’t seen anything that pertains to the Venom Vision. I feel that it was lack of organization that in return resulted in a lack of interest,” Shirley said.
Shirley added that McCaskill should have been more involved to help see the outcome of the yearbook.
“I feel like since B Mac was the figure head, he could’ve been more informative about it to the student body via his status of Mr. FAMU.”
Some students think that the project did not come to fruition because of the lack of participants.
“The problem with the yearbook was it was too disjointed. It wasn’t enough people [on staff] and the yearbook staff had a lot going on,” said Alysia Jones, 21, a criminal justice student from Atlanta and the co-editor of Venom Vision. “It wasn’t enough motivation, especially being that it was voluntary and it used to be paid. We were understaffed and had only two editors. I can only do so much and I put in lots of effort.”
Jones said she hit a roadblock when trying to reach student organizations.
“We had to solicit to organizations that we needed pictures and information,” she said. She added that the process started too late.
“Under different guidance, I definitely think it will return next year,” Jones said.
Jones said the School of Journalism and Graphic Communications should make the Venom Vision their initiative the same way they do Journey and The Famuan.
“We needed better publicity and time was limited. It was tough working with upperclassmen trying to graduate. We wanted to publish something we would be proud of,” Jones said. “I am disappointed because everyone wasn’t giving their 110 percent like I was.”
“I didn’t know that they were coming out with a yearbook this year because I didn’t hear much about it. I knew they were supposed to be coming out with one two years ago but they didn’t.” said Graduating senior Ashleigh Foxworth, 22, a psychology student from New Orleans.
Foxworth said a yearbook would be a good addition to the graduate experience.