Every year, graduating students of the University look forward to getting their hands on the much-awaited yearbook in order to reminisce about their college days. Some students, however, have raised concerns that the yearbook is too expensive, the delivery fee is unnecessary, and it takes too long to be released. In an interview with The LaSallian, Green & White Editor in Chief Almon Opiniano addresses all these concerns.
Clarifying the complaints
Recently, students have complained that the yearbook is too expensive. Every year, graduating students have the option to register for a yearbook and pay the necessary fees. The fees include a fixed fee worth P2,500, chosen photo package fees of P1,150, P1,350, P1,550, and P900 for scholars, and an additional delivery fee of P500 that was added just recently.
“With regards to the price of the yearbook, the 2,500 has been existent for almost ten years. So if you look at it, nalulugi na kami,” Opiniano states.
“Every year, after the end of production, we zero out our account, walang natitira sa amin,” Opiniano continues. He clarifies that the P2,500 that every student pays for the yearbook goes to the production and operating expenses of Green & White, and that the organization does not earn any profit from the payments.
Additional delivery fee
Some students also voiced out that they were asked to pay an additional P500 as delivery charge, a fee that was not present in past batches. Opiniano says that starting this year, students had been required to pay the delivery fee since they can no longer accommodate all the yearbooks in their current storage room in Velasco Hall.
Moreover, ongoing renovations in Velasco Hall have forced Green & White to find other storage rooms, particularly those in Henry Sy Sr. Hall and Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall. According to Opiniano, this was also the concern of the administration. Students usually fail to claim their yearbooks on time, so the yearbooks tend to pile up in the storage rooms.
The oldest yearbooks that Green & White has in storage include batches 1990 to 2010. Due to piling up in storage rooms and taking up unnecessary space, the administration and University Student Government have called on Green and White to clear up the yearbooks with their respective owners.
Since then, Green and White started a project called Project Green & White that has been going on for the past 10 months. In the project, they call on subscribers of the past yearbooks with the help of the Alumni Association. The subscribers are given the choice to get their yearbooks by appointment or have their yearbooks delivered, which would cost P500.
“Actually, if you look at LBC, given the same specifications na binigay naman sa suppliers ng Green and White, 700 plus pesos sa LBC. If you compare that, mas mura na kami,” clarifies Opiniano with regard to the delivery fee.
Other concerns
Another concern that students usually voice out is that the yearbooks take a long time to be released. Opiniano says that production time usually takes more than a year. However, there are several factors that can affect production time. He admits that there was a yearbook that took almost three years before being released, but assures that the organization tries to keep the production time to within 18 months.
Meanwhile, some students opt not to get the yearbook and graduation photos. Some would prefer to avail only one of either. “Of course, the yearbook is a representation of the batch. We always want a physical something to showcase the Lasallians who graduated from De La Salle University,” claims Opiniano. He adds that the yearbook and graduation photos come hand-in-hand; he believes the yearbook is just as important as the graduation photos.
In terms of pre-production expenses, the yearbooks are not prepaid by the University. Green and White starts with a zero budget. Moreover, Green & White works hand-in-hand with their suppliers and arrives at an agreement on when payments have to be made, which is usually after the registration period of the students.
Currently, Green & White is finishing the 2016 yearbook, and has recently begun with the 2017 yearbook. Opiniano says that the 2016 yearbook will hopefully be released early this 2017.
“Right now, tinatapos namin yung mga late na humabol and then we have to worry about the people who submitted late. So we really have to fix everything, kasi siyempre since everyone paid for a photo package, you have to ask everyone if you want a photo package. We [also] have to worry about the delivery details kasi they paid for it,” Opiniano reveals.
