Marvin Center 422 – Cherry Tree Office
March 11, 2000
3:30 p.m.
Considering it is the weekend before a major deadline, the date when all messages from parents to graduating seniors – among other things – are due, the office of the GW yearbook, The Cherry Tree, is quite subdued.
The music on the office stereo – the relaxing and soothing ballads of Sarah McLachlan – didn’t fit with what I assumed would be a frenetic atmosphere. But although the scene is not chaotic, there is a distinct buzz in the air – the shuffling of papers, the hum of the computers and the banging of keys.
Even if the noise isn’t overwhelming, the rest of the office looks like it’s in a state limbo with a number of deadlines looming in the near future. The Marvin Center fourth-floor office is littered with half-empty bottles of soda interspersed among piles of papers and envelopes. Cabinets and drawers are open, and stacks of books and notebooks clutter the small workspace. Even the comfortable love seat – perfect for an early-morning, post-deadline collapse – is covered with bags.
The nerve center of the whole operation: a white board hung on the wall. It’s a work in progress. Items are constantly added, underlined or crossed out in different shades of marker. It’s a good thing that the commitment of this small staff is eclipsed tenfold by the enthusiasm and devotion of the editor in chief, Amy Lestition, who has dedicated all four years of her college career to this seemingly endless project.
It was Lestition’s mission, after working under others for three years, to make this yearbook uniquely her own. Tacked on the walls around the cramped quarters are two pages espousing her beliefs. The first: No-Nos. Nothing flashy, cheesy and absolutely, definitely no clich?s. The second: things to keep in mind, like making the book attractive, simple, subtle, innovative and memorable.
Lestition says she wants her creation, the turn-of-the-century edition, to be different but classy. To this end, Lestition has set about making changes to the yearbook to, as she says, make it more candid and tell the history of GW while remaining grounded in the now. As evidence of this, she says, she and the editorial board traveled to Tower Records just the other day to survey magazines on the rack.
It is the unity of the editorial group, where everyone does everything that has allowed Lestition to accomplish many of her goals for this edition, she says. One of the issues she wanted to address was the yearbook’s prominence.
It’s important to increase our presence on campus, she says. Her efforts have paid off. Recognition on campus is up, and the staff has 1,100 pictures of the 1,500 seniors. Normally only half of them are obtained.
Annie Nguyen, The Cherry Tree’s design editor, cites the fact that many more of last year’s seniors have called the office to complain that they have not received the yearbook than ever before as evidence of the yearbook becoming an important part of GW history. Efforts are also being made to expand The Cherry Tree to other facets of GW life. Lestition alludes to group discounts being offered to various groups, including members of the Greek community. This is all part of the master plan that Lestition talks about excitedly. Her eyes light up as she talks about the idea of fluidity and painting a picture of the GW community.
When asked why they participate in such a grueling and time-consuming endeavor, the editorial board members echo each other. Copy editor Tim Herring does it because he thinks it will be worthwhile in the end, looking back on everything and seeing his name attached to the final product. Elizabeth Carriger, arts editor, says she puts in the hours because what she has learned in organization and design from The Cherry Tree will prove invaluable in the future. But the common theme is the passion they share for what they do. Lestition sums it all up nicely when she says that always meeting and interviewing people makes it worth the late nights and the aggravation.
Though Sarah McLachlan was playing when I first entered the office, the board says that is an improvement from last semester when all that was heard were Dave Matthews CDs of Abby Lesititon, the editor of organizations. Amy says that though most often mellow music is heard through the room 422 speakers, when it gets to around four o’clock in the morning the staff breaks out the dance music.
