The day I got accepted to Vanderbilt early decision was a great one. My mom made me whatever I wanted for dinner that night and my dad was proud I’d keep the family legacy alive. Since then I’ve thrown or given away all of the gear collected throughout the past year’s college visits; they were not necessary.
One of the most aggravating experiences I have at Vanderbilt is walking around campus and seeing people who seem to be confused about which university they attend. While I understand that Friday mornings are tough after a few too many drinks downtown, be a little more cognizant of what you throw on in the morning. An example: A girl was dragging herself to class in Georgetown sweat pants, a Harvard sweater, and a Northwestern hat. I wouldn’t be surprised if her socks were embroidered with a blue devil too. Guess what? I don’t care about the other schools you were looking at, or that your sister/brother goes to Duke: You don’t. So please stop advertising other schools on our campus.
Another aspect about this trend that irks me is when people try to use other school’s clothing to suggest personality traits in themselves. Just because you can buy a Princeton or Harvard sweater doesn’t make you smarter than me. In fact, most of the time these students are attempting to hide their insecurity about their intellect. It’s social armor. When they say something stupid in class that makes the teacher give them a quizzical look, they just puff out their chest, making the school’s name emblazoned there prevalent, and nod, saying, “I know you think what I just said was wrong, but it’s OK, I visited an Ivy league school.”
Girls aren’t the only perpetrators of this crime, either. Frat guys wear caps that rarely boast Vandy. While I understand it’s a stamp of regional pride, more repping the state that you are from than that state’s university, it still isn’t acceptable. Asking where someone is from is one of the first four questions everyone asks, so don’t worry, people will still know that you’re from Bama without the elephant stamped on your backwards cap. Vanderbilt is one of the only top-20 academic and party schools in the nation. Respect that — wear the black and gold Commodore colors with pride.
