When Rosalie Gambrah, Associated Student Government’s executive vice president, worked in ARTica Studios, she said she noticed student groups spent hours decorating promotional banners — only to use them a few times before they were destroyed or outdated.

The Weinberg senior said student groups should instead have access to affordable and sustainable ways to advertise their events with large banners, so she researched different printers and submitted a proposal to Norris University Center.

A large format printer is scheduled for delivery Wednesday, said Joe Lattal (SESP ’16), assistant director of Student Organizations & Activities. Student groups will be able to access the printer by the end of Fall Quarter, Lattal said.

“I’m just so excited that this is a project that was able to be seen through,” Gambrah said. “Being in ASG is a lot of selfless work, and you never know if your initiatives will actually happen. … It started out as me, just a (student activities resource committee) member, thinking of ideas that would help better the campus.”

Lattal said he will work with ASG to determine guidelines to minimize ink waste and decide prices before student groups can access the printer. The new printer will feature Tyvek, a material that can withstand weather conditions for up to a month, Lattal said.

Banner printing will be affordable to all student groups, he said.

“There’s so much going on on this campus that it’s tough to navigate how to even find out what events are coming up,” Lattal said. “I’m hoping by making advertising and promotion a little less of a burden on students’ time that this will get used and folks will just be more aware of what’s going on on campus.”

Alecia Richards, ASG’s vice president for student activities, said the printer will be a good resource for groups looking to create professional signs.

The Medill senior added that performance groups, or other students looking to advertise events over multiple days, may use the printer more.

“That’s what ASG is all about, serving the student body, but making sure that we’re doing it in kind of a sustainable way,” Richards said.

Richards, president of Refresh Dance Crew, said the banner printer would be great to promote large events like ReFusionShaka.

“As a member of a performance group, I feel like I’m always looking for … ways to best advertise our events,” Richards said. “Social media does a good job, but also, we’re students, we’re walking to class all the time, and this banner would give people the opportunity to see what’s going on in person.”

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