Class banners await restoration.
By John Curran//Class banners that once hung in Whitaker are now being stored in Rosenstock until they can be assessed for deterioration.
During the summer, several renovations were being made to Whitaker Campus Commons. One of those renovations included painting all of the railings. In order to access the railings on the second floor, the class banners had to be removed.
When students arrived on campus for the fall semester and did not see the banners, many made the assumption that the banners had been disposed.
“It was never our intention to inform students about taking down the banners,” said Olivia White, dean of students. “After taking a closer look at the banners, we realized that some of the banners were deteriorating, so we decided to store them until we could have a conservationist look at them.”
Mary Atwell, Hood’s archivist, has been in charge of the restoration process. “I have been researching and collaborating with the Washington Conservation Guild,” Atwell said. “There are three or four banners that are going to need restoration work.”
The majority of the work needed on the banners involves patching tears in the canvas and restoring the cracking paint.
Having done research on the preservation of banners Atwell has found that the best way to store the banners is on a flat surface and not folded. “This past week I transported the banners one-by-one to a small room in Rosenstock and laid them on a flat surface.” It is also important that the banners not be exposed to sun.
Atwell does not have a background in banner preservation; therefore, she is in the process of working with an art conservationist. “In conjunction with the art conservationist we are trying to see what work can be done in house and what has to be done externally.”
Naturally, there are costs associated with hiring someone external to do the work. According to White, where the funding for the restoration comes from has yet to be decided. However, the college will pay the necessary cost.
While Atwell is in charge of looking into the preservation of the banners, the Student Government Association is going to have significant input into the matter.
The first known class banner dates back to 1985. However, they have not always been hanging in Whitaker. “The banners had been displayed for a class reunion and were never taken down making the next few years of students assume that they had traditionally always been there,” said Ellie Blaser, student government associations traditions chair.
In order to decide whether the banners should be hung again, SGA conducted an online survey. “Students decided that we should re-hang the most recent banners and best conditioned banners. The other banners will be persevered and stored in cool conditions to keep them in great shape,” Blaser said. The preserved banners will only be brought out for reunions.
According to White, work has just begun on the Class of 2017 banner and a decision has yet to be made on where the banner will hang.