Yearbook in a Box: The 1971 Jayhawker
June 22nd, 2015“Unique, playful, interactive” are words that describe the 1971 Jayhawker. Packaged in a blue box, the yearbook stands out amongst those that came before and after.
Box housing the parts of the 1971 Jayhawker yearbook
Inside, however, are the usual contents to any Jayhawker yearbook: sections on athletics, the seniors, Greek life, administration, hot topics, and more. But the way in which they were presented was unusual, satirical, and perhaps a commentary on the year that was by the Jayhawker staff. For example, the section on Greek life was titled “Agricultural Almanac of Flowering Plants in Eastern Kansas.”
Another part included an interactive “Love Sun” mobile. To see what this Love Sun mobile actually looked like, I put one together for the University Archives. Below are pictures from this endeavor, with the completed Love Sun hanging in the University Archives in front of the yearbook collection.
Left: Instructions for making the Love Sun mobile. Right: The six cards that form the mobile.
Right and left: Constructing the Love Sun mobile.
Completed Love Sun mobile hanging in the University Archives.
JoJo Palko
KU Sesquicentennial Research Assistant
University Archives