By MALEAH GRIFFIN
Tiger Media Network
Student Engagement hosted the annual Homecoming Banner Competition again this year, which kicked off on Monday. Many clubs, organizations, associations, and members of Greek Life took time to create and enter the banners that hang on the second floor of Fischli Wills. The process of creating these banners included lots of time, effort, and positive experiences for many of the participants.
Banners hang side by side on Fischli Wills’ 2nd Floor. 
Passersby stop to check out all of the different banners. 
Banners hang at the end of the Sky Bridge. 
Association of Radiologic Tech. Students’ Banner. 
Residential Life’s Banner. 
The interactive door on Residential Life’s Banner. 
Banners hang side by side on Fischli Wills’ 2nd Floor. 
Tri Sigma’s Banner. 
FHSU Students For Life’s Banner. 
Biology Club’s Banner 
Voting flyer posted underneath the banners.
The Residential Life Banner was created by Res Life front office workers Rylee Jacobson and Devon Vanni. Their large house-shaped banner features an interactive quality and theme of ‘Welcome Home.’
“Creating the banner was such a rewarding and collaborative experience,” Jacobson said. “We really enjoyed bringing our vision to life with the concept of being welcomed ‘home’ to FHSU. One of our favorite parts was incorporating 3D elements, like the interactive door that opens and the flag, making the whole display unique. We put a lot of effort into making the collage with meaningful images of alumni, Residential Life, and past Homecomings to help everyone feel that strong sense of belonging.”
The collage is revealed only once the door, secured with velcro, is opened, revealing what ‘home’ means for the Tigers. With so many elements going on, the two students took care to still create something pleasing to the eye.
“One challenge was making sure everything stayed cohesive while still being visually engaging,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobson and Vanni took pride in what they were able to create to represent campus and college life here at FHSU.
“We’re proud of how it turned out because of how much time it took,” Jacobsen said. “The banner is not only visually eye-catching but also tells a story. It’s a celebration of the FHSU community and the memories made here. We feel confident about our chances to win because of the heart that went into every detail.”
Vanni said she loves how the banner turned out, and the longer she looks at it the more there is to see.
“I also think our chances of winning are pretty high, I mean, we have a door that opens, how cool,” she said.
The banner was not only an enjoyable time to create for these two Tigers but also brought joy to others who experienced their unique interactive element.
“It was a great opportunity to get creative, connect with our campus community, and showcase what Residential Life is all about,” Jacobson said. “We loved seeing people stop, interact with the banner, and really feel that sense of coming home.”
Criminal Justice also presented a banner with a strong theme while successfully incorporating who they are.
“Our banner stayed on the homecoming theme while incorporating criminal justice elements…” Matthias Pearce said.
The design presents a policeman successfully locking up a Missouri Western Griffon, the opposing team for this Saturday’s Homecoming football game. Pearce and Becka Bottner worked to create the artwork.
“We spent 7.5 hours total on the project, and while it was exhausting, it was some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Pearce said. “In the beginning, we were assisted by two other club members, but they eventually had to leave while we stayed in the Rarick Foundry until nearly 11:30 PM. Getting to create something with people I love was an experience I will never forget.”
The joy of such a project did not come without its challenges and problem-solving. From improvising, to making an extra store trips and some color matching after running out of ink, Pearce and Bottner had to get creative.
“Because the banner was so big, we often contorted ourselves into strange positions to reach the areas we were working on. We also had to improvise a straight edge using a cardboard box,” Pearce said. “Partway through, we called Becka’s roommate, who is also a club member, to bring us a tape measure so that we could keep our lines even.”
The perseverance paid off in the connection brought by the experience and the thrill of creating something that the students were satisfied with.
“We played music while we worked, and 7.5 hours gave us a lot of time to talk about life. My favorite part was the feeling of stepping back and looking at our finished piece, knowing we put our heart and soul into it and, to put it in football terms, ‘left it all on the field,’” Pearce said. “I feel very good about our finished project. It’s clean and well-done with painstaking detail. I feel that we have a chance to at least be in the top five banners that are voted for, but I know that next to the other banners, ours is not the flashiest or the most intricate.”
The banner competition isn’t just about the finished banners; it is an opportunity to partake in something unique, put in time, and find joy for those who create the banners, and a way of sharing school spirit, representing who they are, and bringing delight to those who take the time to view them.
“Being a criminal justice major and working part-time means I don’t get to create a lot of art, which is something I used to love doing in high school, so getting to do this project and collaborate with some of my best friends was incredibly rewarding,” Pearce said.
The hanging artworks will be displayed and voting is open until Friday, when the winning banner will be announced.