The end of each school year is a time filled with memories, reflection and reminiscence, with students celebrating the experiences in their personal lives as well as those shared with their peers throughout the year.

It can be hard to get a comprehensive view of the year by looking at individual photos, social media posts or keepsakes, since everyone documents their activities and events differently, but the distribution of the yearbook allows for a widespread, expansive view of the year and its people – and it’s available to everyone.

The collection of stories and photos paints a large and inclusive picture of student experiences throughout the year, and it allows students to remember their involvements and all the big moments long after they’ve graduated.

For EHS students, a common favorite part of yearbooks and their distribution is the all-school signing held at the end of the day, where the school day is cut short and students can congregate in the A Gym and cafeteria to get their book signed by their peers.

This year, however, students were unable to participate in the signing due to the ongoing construction of the A Gym floor, leaving many upset at the breaking of a beloved tradition.

“This year it was much more crowded and the B Gym just wouldn’t be able to hold that many people, and it wouldn’t be as easy to overflow into the commons,” junior and Co-Chief Yearbook Photographer Casey Stover said. “It just didn’t work out logistically.”

Students were still able to bring their books with them to classes throughout the day and during the next week to get them signed, but not having everyone in the same place hindered many people from getting all the signatures they wanted.

“I was really sad about the all-school book signing because even though it was really crowded and hard to find our friends last year, it still gave us an opportunity to try to get the people we want’s signatures in our books,” sophomore Kaitlyn Turner said.

The books were distributed in the B Gym, and many of the yearbook staff members agree that while they acknowledge the situation was out of their control, they wish there had been another option.

“I really hope this isn’t a permanent change,” Stover said. “I feel like it’s really important to have a certain time of the day where you can get your yearbook signed, [and] especially when I’m working distribution I can’t really get it signed throughout the day.”

However, there were a few positives to the new schedule and location. Stover concedes that the distribution of the books themselves went easier than she had imagined.

“I felt like distribution went pretty smoothly,” Stover said. “It was nice having a smaller area to distribute from. It felt like we had more control over our books and were able to keep track of them more.”

Despite the negative reaction from students, most found that the change of schedule didn’t ruin the excitement of looking through the book for the first time and finding themselves or their friends – though many wished the signing had been kept and simply modified rather than gotten rid of.

“It’s always fun to look at the yearbook for the first time with a bunch of people and get everyone to sign it,” senior Tyler Powell said. “I thought it was just a missed opportunity for a fun day.”