Walk into the MSU Bookstore, and you’ll see a thousand shades of maroon.
For two MSU sophomores, that’s just the problem.
Simon Bailey, an international business major, and Cal Hodges, who majors in banking and finance, are working for a standardized maroon for State. The university already uses one specific maroon for licensing purposes, but sometimes manufacturers deviate from that color, Bailey said.
“I just think that having a more easily identifiable color and discrete shade will bring a touch of professionalism to the university,” Bailey said. “It’s entirely a personal crusade.”
However, making sure that finished products all bear the same shade of maroon is a challenge, he said. One difficulty is that a dye looks different on different products, such as cloth and plastic. To counter this problem, Bailey and Hodges plan on talking to a researcher who has experience in dyeing.
“It’s just an extremely difficult thing to limit it to even a few colors of maroon,” Hodges said.
Another challenge is that maroon fades easily in the sun, Bailey said.
However, he said, they would like to eliminate certain colors that are sometimes passed off as maroon, such as crimson and dark purple.
Bailey named a few possible solutions to the problem, though he said he doesn’t know how feasible the alternatives are. He suggests tougher standards for reviewing finished products and consolidating the review process to one university department. Currently, both the licensing department and the athletic department review products.
Other campus groups have pushed for a standardized shade of maroon in recent months. In November, the SA Senate passed a resolution recommending that the athletic and licensing departments adopt a single color.
Bailey said that right now they are still in the beginning stages of their project. “I’d say right now we’re still in the information-gathering stage,” he said.
In addition to giving MSU a more professional image, Bailey sees advantages for the university in legally identifying with a shade of maroon.
Senior Josh Miller said he agrees with Bailey and Hodges. “I think one color of maroon would be better,” he said.
Miller said that the difference in the shades did not strike him until it was pointed out to him. But now, he said, “It looks kind of funny when you have eight different colors of maroon.”