T-shirt contest to gauge school spirit

Needles won’t be necessary to find out what color you bleed this Homecoming week.

The Orange County Red Cross, along with FOX 50, is holding its second annual homecoming T-shirt competition between UNC, Duke, N.C. State and N.C. Central to see which university bleeds its colors the most.

Each school has a shirt that is specific to its fans, and whichever school sells the most is named the winner. All proceeds go to the Red Cross.

“Last year, UNC squashed the competition,” said Wilma Palmer, blood services coordinator for the Orange County Red Cross. “But really, every chapter wins, considering the extra funding we are receiving.”

This year’s competition is different from its predecessor. In addition to the drive’s sponsors are volunteers from an English 102 class at UNC that focuses on business writing.

Julie Fann, the teaching assistant for the class, and her students have created a business proposal detailing their plans to improve the T-shirt competition’s marketing techniques. The Red Cross and FOX 50 will be selling these T-shirts on the four universities’ campuses and online.

“Doing something like this requires a lot of planning,” said Brett Barnard, a freshman in Fann’s class. “We’ve had to put everything into writing. It is a very realistic sense of what it’s like to be a part of a business.”

Fann approached Palmer after designing a unit for the class about nonprofit organizations. Palmer suggested that Fann’s class get involved in the competition rather than create a new blood drive.

“It seemed like an ideal opportunity for my students to improve an already existing program,” Fann said. “This allows them to do writing that matters.”

Fann is hoping the project, which pairs the Christian fellowship group Chi Alpha, Fox 50 and the Orange County Red Cross with her class, will encourage her students to get involved in the community as well as show them that the skills learned in class are useful in everyday life.

“They’ve really taken the project and run with it,” Fann said. “They had to actually practice being business people, which I’m sure was intimidating but also probably empowering.”

Organizers have discussed a prize but have not yet decided on one.

“A lot has been on the table, but none are clear winners,” Palmer said.

Palmer said she hopes more T-shirts will be sold this year than the last.

“The more the better,” Palmer said. “We want to get people pumped.”

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.