We're the official yearbook at Cal.
The Blue & Gold, continuously published since 1875, is the official yearbook for the University of California, Berkeley. Financially self-sufficient, the organization earns revenue from book and advertising sales and operates without aid of grants or outside funding. The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC student government) formally sponsors the organization and provides it with office space. A full-time professional manger works with the staff and assists with budget compliance and journalistic standards. An administrative staff at the front desks of the Publications Center and Eshleman Library also provides clerical assistance.
We're student run.
Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students produce the book, which covers a 10-month period from August to May, with emphasis on the academic year within that time span. Pages are submitted in small batches throughout the year to the printer, Herff Jones. Delivery is scheduled for the following fall semester of each school year.
Student staff also market and sell the book and develop an information campaign for senior portraits. In addition, the staff produces a 16-page "Welcome to Cal" section in the spring for the New Student Record.
Blue & Gold archives.
The Blue & Gold is archived in the Publications Center, in the Bancroft Library on campus, and in the California State Library in Sacramento. The Alumni Association also maintains a set.
Coverage.
The Blue & Gold yearbook provides readers selective coverage of the events, issues, and trends on the Berkeley campus during a given year. Regional, national, and world events are also covered, but to a lesser degree.
In addition, the yearbook provides an historical record of campus facts, figures, and people, including a section for portraits of intended graduates, and sections for clubs and organizations, athletics, academics and research, and Greek life.
Content.
The book's content is determined without bias or prejudice toward or against any individual or group. Coverage of the year attempts to be as broad and inclusive as possible, given staffing resources. Writing, photography, and design aspire to professional standards.
Advertising content is subject to guidelines that align with the overall mission of quality and fairness.
Believe us, we've done this for 133 years.
The book's credibility is essential to its integrity. Journalistic principles of thorough attribution, fair balance, and clarity are applied throughout the book. Writing conforms to the University Style Manual and the AP Stylebook. The Blue & Gold's writing philosophy is unique and perhaps non-intuitive in that stories must be postured for readers in the near-and distant- future. For example, even the most straightforward acronym, such as ATM, must be spelled out (automatic teller machine), because a senior graduating in 2004 will be disappointed decades down the road when a fading memory renders the acronym meaningless. Likewise, photographs without detailed captions will frustrate readers who will increasingly feel the gentle taunts of nostalgia with each passing year. For them, there really can't be "too many" details.
Readers without any connection to the university also appreciate thoroughness, whether they seek an insight into the Berkeley campus or desire to research a particular topic or personality.
Technology.
The Blue & Gold is produced with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and a variety of other software (the business manager may use FileMaker Pro, for example). The Publication Center has computers available for production work.
Timeline.
The book is planned in early fall while coverage of campus events is underway. Stories that are not time sensitive are written in the fall while event driven pieces are written year-round. As most campus activities occur in the spring, the fall term is spent on design, longer feature work, and sales and marketing. The bulk of the book is produced through both fall and spring terms, while the early summer is spent on finishing stories from April and May. The book is delivered from the printer during the following fall semester.
We've won many campus and national awards.
The 2003 edition of the Blue & Gold won Best Design at the Annual UC Berkeley Student Publications Awards.
The 2002 edition of the Blue & Gold was one of eleven finalists for the Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press.
Both the 2001 & 2002 editions were selected as the Best Overall Undergraduate Student Publication at the Annual UC Berkeley Student Publications Awards. The 2002 book also won Best Design.
The 1996 edition of the Blue & Gold was recognized for general excellence by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association with a Silver Crown (its second highest award next to the Gold Crown; only nine crowns were awarded to universities in 1996).
The 1996 book also won one of eleven national Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press as a leading example of collegiate yearbook publishing.
Copyright 2008 Blue & Gold Yearbook - 10D Eshleman Hall
University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley, CA 94720-4500
