From Woody's Couch

(We’re still in the holiday spirit, so this post about OSU’s yearbook, the Makio, will open to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town:”)

It’s seen students when they’re sleeping

It’s seen them while they’re in class

The Makio has had photos of it all

But its time is about to pass

1880 Makio cover

After a day of classes and studying in 1878, three men discussed starting a collegiate annual for Ohio State. The three men were Sidney Short, John Ward and Willis Jones, and their initial idea became what we now know as the Makio.

Drawing from 1882 Makio

Overseen by the two fraternities on campus, Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Kappa Psi, the Makio was worked on in secret and completed in the six weeks before commencement. The name Makio, meaning “Magic Mirror,” was translated from Japanese by Prof. Edwin Morse. Prof. Morse and Prof. Thomas Mendenhall collaborated in Japan on the study of such mirrors. The first issue, published in 1880, was 68 pages long, containing no photographs.

The Makio has been the subject of disputes among organizations on campus. In 1882, the Makio staff and the Lantern staff quarreled about it, and in 1883 the founding fraternities disagreed on allowing newly founded fraternities to participate in the publication of the Makio, resulting in two yearbooks being published. In 1896 the yearbook was known as The Scarlet and Gray, but in 1897 it returned to its original name. A junior class Makio Board was formed in 1906, taking over publishing responsibilities from the fraternities. The Makio Board progressed over the years allowing students from all classes to participate.

“Magic Mirror Girl”, 1923

The contents of the Makio have also evolved from the first publication. At first, the yearbooks focused on Greek affairs. Essays, satires and political cartoons were included as the popularity of the Makio grew. Photographs were first published in 1887 with the addition of color photos in 1920. Women were highlighted in sections such as “Rosebud,” “Magic Mirror” and Makio Queen when the student body voted for the prettiest and most popular girls on campus.  Audio recordings on vinyl records were included with the 1953 and 1959 Makios.

Since 1880 there have been several years the Makio was not printed. The 1881 issue was the first year the publication was skipped, but it was stopped altogether in 1995. Publishing restarted in 2000. As the article from The Lantern states, the Makio will once again cease to exist.