Whether it’s a game day, holiday or time for a philanthropy event, a University of Mississippi sorority likely has a banner for it, painted by its very own members.
Making the 12-foot banners that hang on the porches of sorority houses has been a standard practice among Panhellenic sororities for decades to commemorate a variety of occasions, such as sporting events, recruitment or organizational programming. Hanging the artwork from their houses offers sororities a unique way to distinguish themselves as active participants on campus through creature expression.
Most banners made for sorority houses are designed and painted by the sorority’s banner chair(s), offering an authentic decoration made with teamwork and sisterhood.
Meredith McClain, a junior dietetics and nutrition major from Jackson, Miss., is one of Chi Omega’s five banner chairs. She grew up painting and has been designing banners since her freshman year at Ole Miss. McClain said her position has given her an opportunity to be both creative and involved in her sorority.
“When I got to college, I knew I wasn’t majoring in art, so when Chi Omega was telling us all the different ways to get involved, banner chair stuck out to me,” McClain said. “It’s calming for me to take a break and go paint whatever banner we’re working on.”
Kappa Kappa Gamma’s co-banner chair, Lucy Allen, a junior entrepreneurship major from Jackson, Miss., expressed a similar perspective on her position.
“I knew since before going through (sorority) recruitment that I wanted to paint banners,” Allen said. “There is nothing I love more than painting, and it seemed like a perfect way to stay active creatively while also helping me get involved in my sorority.”
These banners are especially popular during the football season. These banners often feature cultural symbols at the university, like the Walk of Champions or Double Decker buses.
Mary Emma Honeycutt, a junior elementary education major from Meridian, Miss., serves as co-banner chair for Delta Gamma. She spoke about the popularity of football banners.
“I love that banners have become a kind of attraction during football season with everyone walking by and taking pictures with family and friends,” Honeycutt said.
Countless trips to Home Depot and an endless supply of paint primer are essential to the banner-making process. Since the banners are hand-painted — and can be up to 9 feet by 12 feet — the actual process of designing banners requires a lot of time. Designing and planning usually begins a month in advance, depending on the details required.
Honeycutt spoke about the time it takes for her team to complete a banner.
“It is definitely a labor of love,” Honeycutt said. “It typically takes us 20+ hours to finish each banner.”
One of the biggest events of the year is College Panhellenic Council bid day, with each sorority decorating its house with banners representing its theme.
Many sororities begin working on banners in the summer to prepare for the three weeks of recruitment. McClain, who began working in July, said bid day is her favorite time of year for banners and that she enjoys seeing everyone’s hard work pay off.
“My favorite is definitely bid day,” McClain said. “It’s really fun to drive around that morning and see what each sorority’s bid day theme is.”
Additionally, throughout the year, sororities will design banners to promote fundraising events for their own chapters and for other organizations.
“Not only do banners spark school spirit and provide fun photo opportunities, we also use them to bring awareness to our philanthropic events throughout the year,” Allen said.
Notable charitable events with involvement from multiple Greek chapters with banner competitions include the Court Appointed Special Advocate’s CASA Encore competition, Sigma Chi’s Derby Days and Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Paddy Murphy week.
Honeycutt enjoys how banners offer an opportunity to participate in campus events.
“Last semester, we won the banner competition for (Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s) Paddy Murphy week. This semester, we will be entering the CASA (Encore) banner competition,” Honeycutt said. “(Banners) help raise awareness for our philanthropic events, as well as other Greek events that raise money for amazing causes.”
