You know it’s spring at Elon University when the grass gets greener, the temperature rises and students bring out their paintbrushes, sanders and coolers.

From the outside looking in, the sight of students sanding down coolers for hours on a sunny spring day might seem a little odd, but at Elon and other universities, it is commonplace — they are simply preparing for Banquet.

It has become the custom that when a student is asked to Banquet, a fraternity’s weekend at the beach, the guest thanks his or her host for the invite by painting him a cooler.

Painting coolers, a custom more popular in the South, was a new idea to many Elon students from the North.

“People told me first semester about painting coolers, but I had never heard about it before coming to college,” said freshman Emma Haslun. “I’m from Connecticut, and it’s not a thing up there.”

Many cooler-painters spend days decorating their coolers, going beyond painting simple background colors and shapes.

Popular cooler designs include golf and outdoors scenes, the date’s name in place of a favorite logo, bows and bowties and the location of Banquet.

It’s not uncommon for there to be perfect re-creations of the logos of a date’s favorite clothing brand and alcoholic beverage. Some ambitious students even paint interpretations of famous pieces of artwork.

The fight for a standout cooler doesn’t come easily. Hours of carefully planned preparation are necessary to ensure the cooler stays protected.

Many people use heavy grit sandpaper or an automatic sander to sand down the cooler, giving the painter a flat painting surface to work with.

Before touching a paintbrush, many students spend a lot of time and consideration planning what will go on each side. There are Pinterest boards, Tumblr blogs and Facebook pages dedicated to sharing cooler creations.

Some people ask their dates for suggestions, while others work to make it a surprise.

“I asked one of his friends for ideas because I wanted it to be a surprise,” Haslun said.

It is typical to use primer on the cooler before doing any initial painting. Once the primer and background colors are successfully on the cooler, the designing begins.

Brave painters freehand designs, but stencils are frequently used in order to get an accurate representation of images and logos.

“When I started I was not a painter and really nervous,” Haslun said. “When you have a stencil, it’s easier.”

After coolers are drawn out and painted, Mod Podge is used to protect the coats of paint on the coolers.

But the use of Mod Podge doesn’t guarantee total protection.

“Last year I worked so hard on the top of my cooler, but the first night someone sat on it with a wet suit. When he stood up there was a gaping hole on the cooler, and he had a big paint spot on his butt,” said sophomore Kenzie Conley. “That was my worst fear when making it, but when it actually happened I was laughing so hard. It’s still one of my favorite memories of Banquet.”

Many students said they enjoy painting coolers together.

“Living with a bunch of girls, our downstairs living room was a cooler disaster zone,” said sophomore Harrison Bowden. “It makes it fun when a lot of people are there to paint with you, especially when it gets too late at night. Everyone is delirious, so those conversations are always fun.”

Cooler community

Walking into the first floor of West Residence Hall in mid-April, cooler culture was immediately apparent. The smell of paint filled the air as five girls laughed while working diligently.

The girls started the process by sanding their coolers more than a week earlier. Since then, they spent hours working on their coolers together, which brought them closer together.

“You get to stay up really late with everyone,” Haslun said. “It’s a lot of bonding.”

Many of the girls were putting final touches on their coolers while some were working until the last minute to perfect their paintings.

“It’s all very stressful,” said freshman Isabel Koehler. “I didn’t start painting it until this weekend. It takes a lot of time.”

Despite the time commitment, many people immerse themselves into their work and enjoy it.

“[My friends and I] would all hang out and talk while I painted my cooler,” Conley said. “I loved it. It’s cathartic for me.”

While painting coolers is enjoyable for some people, others who are not artistically inclined aren’t fond of it.

“I’ve messed up a lot,” Haslun said. “I honestly don’t want to do this again and think I’m going to pay someone next time to do it for me.”

Artistic people see Banquet season as an opportunity to do something enjoyable and make some extra money at the same time.

Bowden spent time this year painting other people’s coolers for them for a profit. Bowden knew of a friend who painted coolers for money last year and was encouraged by her friends to do the same this year.  She charged $65 for a whole cooler and $10-15 for one side.

Bowden said she painted various sides of some coolers as well as three whole coolers for friends who were too busy or scared to attempt painting one.

Depending on how much detail was required for the coolers, she could finish them in as little as a day’s time, but Bowden said the hard work and time commitment didn’t seem like a job.

“Painting is always a way for me to relax,” Bowden said. “It’s a chance to take a break from work and constantly running around, so I really enjoy it.”

While many students spend days perfecting their coolers, people question if they sometimes take it too far. Is the stress worth it?

“I don’t think they’re that big of a deal,” said freshman Jack Pasi. “It’s just a tradition, so girls shouldn’t get that worked up about it.”

Painting a cooler is an Elon norm that students said, in the end, bonds painters together and adds to the Banquet weekend.

“It’s cool [for a guy] to graduate with multiple coolers,” Conley said. “They’re such good mementos and serve a great purpose.”