There are 26 people in my eight a.m. religious studies class.
And on last Thursday morning, at least 12 of my classmates and I looked as though we had just rolled out of bed. But we all had seemed to choose the same clothing brand — the Fairfield University bookstore.
Fairfield t-shirts and hoodies were a commonality between all the freshman, sophomores and juniors in my class. STAGS was plastered across my t-shirt, PROPERTY OF FAIRFIELD ATHLETIC DEPT. was written across another sophomore boy’s zip up, and Fairfield 2012 was down the left leg of the girl next to me. Was this a class or an Admissions booklet photo shoot?
It’s safe to assume that everyone in my religion class goes to Fairfield, so why do we find it necessary to stamp it on our clothing? Because it is who we are.
It is our pride, and our excitement. Sure you may live in New York, Mass., or Jersey in real life, but Fairfield is our home for nine months of the year, and the easiest way to prove it is, is for us to become walking billboards. It’s what we do. We are Stags. It’s what all college students do.
Now imagine if the money accumulated from purchasing our FU apparel went to fund financial aid or some other monetary need here. The usual $50 polo shirts and hoodies prices would skyrocket to gain a profit. I know we would not be as tempted to wear Fairfield apparel everyday because of these increases in prices. But don’t worry, this is not an idea of anyone here, but it is the mindset of those at Harvard.
The Harvard financial aid staff and alumni, in an effort to raise money for their students aid, have reported that they will be releasing the Harvardyard clothing line, which will be sold in high end department stores. But don’t think you will be able to buy a couple $50 Harvard hoodies like here at the bookstore. The clothing line is expected to average about $250 dollars for their apparel, and maxs out at $695 dollars for an Oxford shirt bearing the school’s name. You will be able to purchase the Harvard billboard of your choice at your local Bloomingdales or Macy’s. Some fund raising, yeah?
The university will make hundreds of dollars off a single purchase … but this is Harvard. The best of the best, and the elitism drips off those who walk through their doors. Only a few years ago the Ivy League was considering letting a significant portion of their students attend for no tuition, because they had such a high endowment rate. Think about it, if you graduate from Harvard, you are certainly not working at McDonalds, you have plenty of money to spare to give back to your alma mater, which in turn places it in perfect financial aid packages for their incoming students. The clothing line may be a brilliant idea for raising money, but it is necessary? And doesn’t it take away from school pride?
We all earned our acceptance to Fairfield. Whether it was the SATs that stressed us out or the essay that was never really edited, we all worked our butts off to get into college. So that we could wear a bright red sweatshirt with FAIRFIELD plastered across our chest, and say “Yeah, I go there. It’s great.” And own what you wear. Wouldn’t you be upset if someone random was walking around rocking an FU sweatshirt, only because they bought it at Macy’s? I know I would.
So we become walking billboards because we want to. It is a symbol of pride for us, of where we come from. It is not a donation to financial aid, or because of a fashion trend. Here at Fairfield, we wear the bookstore brand because we want everyone to know where we really come from, and not where we shop.
Leave a Reply