Can a brother get a cheap sweatshirt?!?!

Like it says to the right of this article, I attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. But, you see, I often forget this, what with the plethora of non-UMass paraphernalia floating around campus and all.

Moseying my way to class every morning I pass numerous peers wearing sweatshirts and caps that feature the names and logos of colleges not our own. I encounter attire that sports emblems of colleges ranging from Fitchburg State, UNH, University of West Virginia, Miami University, even UCLA. The last time I checked a college student is supposed to have pride in his/her school. Why, then, am I constantly bombarded with my fellow UMassers donning any colors besides maroon and white?

I am so distraught over this issue that I have actually posed this very question to a few individuals among the masses that wear paraphernalia of other universities. And they say it is mostly because one cannot get a quality UMass product on the cheap.

At the U-Store in the Campus Center, a University of Massachusetts sweatshirt go can go for more than $60. Fed up with getting as screwed over at the U-Store as at the local gas station, most students head down to Steve & Barry’s at the Hampshire Mall for all their UMass clothing needs.

There is one catch, though – there is no UMass attire at Steve & Barry’s. That’s right, there is no Maroon and White apparel in a clothing store mere minutes away from the UM campus. The majority of students must choose to settle for a seven dollar-something with “Rutgers Scarlet Knights” embroidered on it.

Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?

Students should be proudly flashing their school’s colors on sweatshirts, sweaters, hats…anything that can tell a crowd, “I go to UMass and I am darn proud of it.” But, apparently, the folks down at the U-Store – or perhaps the manufacturers – think we students are members of the Rockefeller family and can drop that much dough for a piece of clothing.

News flash: We can’t.

I don’t know about my classmates, but I can’t afford to fork over a lot of cash for anything. The money I have on me most of the time consists of whatever coins I manage to find to the floor of my dorm room on any particular morning.

I love my school. I love everything about it – the people, the classes, the opportunities, the parties. I want to flaunt my status as a UMass student (as I’m sure many other students do). But I’m not made of money. I’d like to be able to purchase some Massachusetts paraphernalia and at least be able to buy licorice after. After all, I am not Paris Hilton – I cannot wipe my rear end with $20 bills. I need clothing I can afford.

The outrageous prices on UMass gear are masking school pride and it is very unfortunate. Go to any other college campus and you will see the students strutting around their turf with all sorts of clothing decked out with their schools’ logo. The reason you don’t see Massachusetts students sporting UMass stuff in larger quantity does not mean that they are lacking in school spirit. They have it coming out of their ears. Just think about it. We needed riot police to control the swarms of (idiotic) students that trashed Southwest after the football team lost a game. But, unfortunately, the high prices of paraphernalia forces many-a-student to settle for some lame ‘Oregon’ sweatshirt.

There are two Steve & Barry’s gift cards in my wallet – which one of my friends was nice enough to give me – and it would be nice if (even combined) I could walk in and buy a decent UMass sweatshirt. Unfortunately, that is just not the case.

I look forward to seeing my fellow students strolling throughout campus with Maroon and White garb on, but it seems as though that may not happen for quite so time. I guess we will have to further suffer the eyesore of seeing our peers walking around with the logos of other schools plastered all over them. At least until the time comes when people wise up and realize that we college students cannot fork over a bunch Mr. Jackson’s for a piece of clothing we would love to own, that is. So, until then, let me be the first to say, “Go Tar Heels!”