Album Affairs

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I should like to register my approval of your editorial in the CRIMSON on Monday, April 25, concerning the state of Album affairs.

We of the '49 Album staff have been acutely aware of the shortcomings of the Album organization and of the fact that this organization is in dire need of overhauling. You will be interested to know that on Friday, April 22. I turned over to Robert Fischelis, President of the Student Council, a report on the Album which embodies many of the points you made in your editorial. We have suggested the discontinuance of the Redbook, the conversion of the Album to a yearbook, including the activities of all the classes in the college, and the inclusion of Freshmen and Sophomores on the Album boards. We feel that the lack of experience on the part of incoming boards deprives the Album of a great deal of efficiency and benefit that it could have, and hope to eliminate this condition by having Freshmen compete for the Album boards so that eventually the Seniors on the staff will have had three years' experience. By removing the Redbook and diverting that talent into the Album, it is entirely possible to insure an on-time and well executed Album of interest to the entire college and produced by members of all classes.

I would like to point out that we are more optimistic for the Class of 1950 that you seem to be. On the basis of the competitions run off by the '49 staff, we have tried to give the '50 staff the best men available. If this is not the case, that fault is in part due to the talented men in the class who did not appear for the competitions. The '50 staff contemplates many changes in its Album in an effort to reestablish the efficiency and the prestige of the Album which has suffered through a period of post-war adjustment characterized by limited budgets, increased production costs, and late publications not the fault of the boards concerned.

Thank you for bringing the situation to the attention of the College. There can be no improvement in the situation unless the potential readers and producers of the Album know what is going on. You have helped to dispell some of the gloom of ignorance of Album affairs and problems. Thomas J. Johnston '49