The argument to do away with Crossroads: The Magazine and replace it with a yearbook is nothing new. In 1995 and 1996 similar propositions were made by student senators. This year, Crossroads is under fire from the Campus Activities Board.

Many of the proponents of this petition are unaware of the fact the Crossroads is a practicum learning experience.

If the University replaces Crossroads with a yearbook, those students will go into the work force with a severe handicap. Businesses don’t hire people with yearbook experience to design magazines.

Who would design the yearbook? Historically, members of the Student Senate have offered their services to help design the suggested yearbook and now members of CAB have joined the ranks, but these people rarely have the experience to produce a quality product like the current Crossroads. In 1984, the University couldn’t publish a yearbook because the insufficient staff dropped the course before the design was complete. Instead, the publishing company delivered 1,500 yearbook covers to Southern with nothing to put inside. Why would anything be different now? Most of the students don’t even care.

When Crossroads was a yearbook, the staff was never able to acquire more than 600 mug shots of the 5,000 students on this campus. Student organizations need to bury the hatchet and accept Crossroads for what it is. We had a yearbook, now we don’t. We’ve moved past that stage and created a professional, award-winning magazine that provides invaluable experience for the students involved.