What to Wear On Campus

Right now, most of the world is racing off to buy clothes for the Fall. That’s OK and pretty understandable—you are about to begin a new enterprise and you would like to look your best. As you plan your shopping trips, here are a few things to remember:

• Your classes are not all in the same building, so several times a week, you will be power-walking from one place to another. You need decent, comfortable shoes.
• North-central Ohio weather is somewhat unpredictable and can be cold and wet. Those comfortable shoes should be able to survive a bit of snow and water. You would be wise to get a hat and gloves.
• Whatever style you wore in high school will work just fine here. Even your high school letter jacket.
• You won’t have that much space to store things; on the other hand, you probably want more underwear than you had in high school because you might not get around to doing your laundry too often.

A couple more thoughts

Learn how to do laundry. If you never figured it out in high school, you will need to learn washing machines and dryers before you get here. (You would be amazed at how many freshman boys think it’s OK to wash their new red sweatshirt in hot water with their white stuff—earning them the nickname “pinky” for the rest of their freshman year.)

An umbrella? When I was a student, everyone carried an umbrella. They have gone out of style, but I think they should come back. It is completely normal to walk to your first class in dry weather, sit there for an hour, and then face a downpour as you make your way to your next class. Be a trend-setter! Buy the umbrella!

And, of course, the backpack. You probably had one in high school, so take a look at yours and decide if it needs replacement. You want something that will keep your papers and computer dry and safe. I always put my computer into its zippered protective sleeve. (You can get those at a computer store.)