Yearbooks are more than sentimental personal artifacts. They serve as a historic archival source. A yearbook, also commonly called an annual, is used to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school.
Did you know, fellow alumni, that the University of North Alabama's Diorama does not exist anymore? That's right, the 2020-21 academic year marked the first time in 72 years that UNA did not publish a Diorama.
The Diorama disappeared with very little fanfare. Here is a statement from a university press release dated Feb. 26, 2021, celebrating the newly-renovated Student Publications office: The new space provides a more modern, workable space for student journalists. The dark room has also been renovated, and the Diorama will evolve into an updated publication similar to a magazine that will publish twice each year.
As a former journalist, I find it incredibly disturbing that this is the only mention of the Diorama's demise to be found. We must raise awareness among our fellow alumni and take steps to rectify this ill-conceived decision immediately for the sake of posterity.
I love my university and I want the public to continue having access to this important yearly record of my alma mater. I want future generations to be able to pick up a Diorama 50 years from now and see what campus life was like for Gen Z.
Join me -- sign the petition to reinstate this publication -- let's work together to save the Diorama.
Thank you.
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