By Emma Weidmann | Staff Writer
Finals season is upon us, which brings a swarm of students to Moody Memorial Library at all hours of the day, armed with cold brew and AirPods. From shoes to backpacks to technology, the Baylor starter pack is an aspect of the culture on campus that’s hard to miss.
Sitting in Moody, I immediately notice a head-to-toe uniform donned by several people. For the girls, it could be full Lululemon complete with a claw clip and HOKA running shoes. Another common sight is an entire group of fraternity boys with their philanthropy shirts, khaki shorts and Birkenstocks, which isn’t complete without a hat that floats on the very top of their head, being held up suspiciously high by whatever hair product they’ve used.
But of course, it isn’t just nursing and finance majors that come to Moody. It’s easy to spot a political science student with their sunflower yellow Kånken backpack that they’ve had since middle school because they promised their parents they would use that $80 staple of the Urban Outfitters accessories section.
Although Nike Air Force 1’s are also ubiquitous across the student body, I wear the same pair from my sophomore year of high school I thought I was cool for having because a few guys asked me when I started “rocking the Forces.” You can “rock the Forces” anywhere, as they’re perfect for walking nearly five miles in total to classes every day, and are versatile enough for any activity that gets thrown at you.
And then, of course, there are the pre-med students that you can always identify by their wearing one of the several free T-shirts that Baylor has shoved into their arms because they haven’t done laundry in a couple of weeks. Equipped with the largest coffee you’ve ever seen and eye bags deep enough to hold the $500 worth of textbooks they cart around constantly, it’s best to move out of the way when you see one of these people heading towards a study pod.
But something that unifies every type of Baylor student is their addict-like dependency on AirPods. They’re like a college student’s security blanket. I’ve never walked to a single place on campus without mine in — even if they’re dead — because it’s more about the look than anything else. You just have to seem like you’re doing something, walking somewhere with purpose, even if you’re not listening to music at all. Not just any headphones will do, it has to be AirPods. Wired headphones are one of the cardinal sins — you just don’t wear them unless a tour group cart full of high schoolers has run over your AirPods, backed up and ran over them one more time for good measure.
At the end of the day college is just you, your laptop and your water bottle against the world, so dress however you want and fit into whichever niche you like. Or don’t.
