This edition touches on the importance of meaningful connections in a college student's life.
Phi Psi Cli, Elon University’s yearbook, has released its 104th edition, “Connected,” which serves as a “tribute to how strong and intertwined the Elon community is every year,” according to former editor-in-chief Sarah Stone ’19.
Stone developed the concept and vision for the book and was responsible for its creative direction. “After researching popular yearbook and design trends, I knew I wanted to use geometric patterns and shapes as my main style,” she said.
Although decorated with geometric shapes, vibrant colors and graphic fonts, the book’s theme is much more significant than a visual game of connecting the dots.
Stone said she believes that a college experience wouldn’t be the same without connections, as students foster relationships with teachers, mentorships with employers and friendships with roommates that will last a lifetime.
“Most of the time,” Stone said, “being connected on Elon’s campus us what makes these four short years feel like an entire lifetime of memories.”
But what about the more impersonal digital connections? Stone said she believes digital technologies are leading to a momentous shift in the way humans connect with one another.
“Social media and smart technology rule our interactions, and we are constantly plugged in,” she said. “In a way, we have never been more connected as a society than we are right now.”
Stone and the rest of her Phi Psi Cli staff hope the yearbook delights and entertains the Elon community, and serves as a reminder of the importance of creating and maintaining true relationships.
“May we remember that the relationships we have with friends, roommates, professors and staff will always outweigh the number of Instagram followers or Facebook friends we have,” Stone said. “May we always value our true connections over the surface-level ones. And may we always seek out and cherish these human connections.”
The book serves to highlight events that truly reflect what it was like to be an Elon student in 2019. What fills the 192 pages are clever puns, aesthetic patterns, dynamic photos, touching senior ads, and the many important events that made up the academic year.
Features included new construction on campus, global and national stories that hit the newsstands, Elon sports updates, and a tribute to two Elon faculty members who passed away: Sharon Paylor and L.M. Wood.
Stone encouraged her staff to ignite their creativity and “push beyond the traditional boundaries of yearbook spread design,” she said. “And not only did they do that, but they also consistently created beautiful spreads to compliment the overall theme.”
And, if you look closely at the cover of the book when fully spread, the sporadic dots spell out “Elon” in braille – one of the many unique design elements the book offers.
Books have been mailed to those who purchased them, but they can also be found at different spots around campus.