Flipping through the Decades: Mizzou Savitar

 

The Savitar is the yearbook of the University of Missouri and was first published in 1894. This yearly publication contains photographs and memories of members of the university community, class photos, important campus events, and highlights of the previous years. 

The name Savitar traces its origins to Hindu mythology and the Sun-god of Rig-Veda. The root of the word "su," means to dry or stimulate. Savitar and its alternate, Surya, denotes splendor of the luminary and irresistible energy - he is the god who sees all things and notes all the good and evil deeds of men. 

 

Research conducted by the university libraries indicates that the students likely had more aesthetic reasons for choosing the name Savitar, as the editors liked the size and sound of the word. There is also reason to believe that student editors got their idea for the title from Semitic and modern languages professor James Shannon Blackwell, who worked at Mizzou from 1886 to 1897. He was known as a student of Sanskrit.

 

Featured in this exhibition are 17 different Savitar yearbooks, ranging from 1901, to 2003, as well as an image from 1913 of an editor of the yearbook. The Savitar continued as a print publication through 2005.