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A snowman cardigan here, a candy cane pullover there, and jingle bell-laden shoulder pads spotted across the quad. The holiday season is finally here, and ugly sweaters are taking the campus by storm.
There’s no question about the fashion world’s opinion of these sweaters that belong in Grandma’s closet: oh, they’re ugly, all right. Yet it seems that a strange fascination has developed among our generation with an item that, five years ago, would’ve been put in the same category as mom jeans.
The facts are clear: they’re warm, they’re comfortable, and exactly the kind of feel that I want during finals week. Lucky for us, the tacky sweater season just happens to start as soon as we decide to lock ourselves in the deepest corners of O’Neill and not care what the world thinks of the reindeer flying across the back of our cardigans. During finals week, it seems to be a mutual understanding among students that anything cozy is fair game for studying gear.
The holiday season also constitutes another trend, one that is a bit more on the sentimental side: giving back. As students attending a private, Catholic university, it’s a natural tendency to want to do our part and help out those who are less fortunate. With all this talk about family, vacations and presents, we can’t help but wonder about those who may not have Christmas dinner, presents to open on Christmas morning, or even a family to celebrate with.
On Thursday night, Dec. 6, the Residence Hall Association decided to combine both sides with "Catwalk Christmas," an auction and sale of ugly Christmas sweaters as well as a fundraiser for Boston Rescue Mission, a shelter in downtown Boston that provides food and shelter to homeless people.
The allure of free eggnog, apple cider, Christmas cookies and a glowing fireplace on video packed the seats of McGuinn 121 just in time for the festivities to begin. As students paraded up and down the aisles, emcee Coleman Younger introduced each stunning model and auctioned off the sweaters to the highest bidder. Models ranged from RHA members to hockey players and possible recruits for next year’s season of America’s Next Top Model.
Over 50 sweaters were auctioned off, the highest bidder paying $52 for a stunning gem, adorned with red and green flowers and a sparkly collar worn by the BC hockey team’s own Kevin Hayes. Hayes’s stellar moves wowed the crowd and proved his abilities to make more than just a hockey jersey look good.
With a huge turnout of ambitious, tacky sweater enthusiasts, as well as a team of Tyra Banks devotees, RHA made over $750 for charity and gave the gift of fashion to campus, the sidewalks of which will be swarming with fabulous ugliness within the week. Needless to say, students left the auditorium with an immense warmth, both from their charitable donations and the itchy wool on their backs--enough to turn an ordinary Thursday into an extraordinarily tacky one.
School, major and year: A&S, English 2016
An overactive maker of Spotify playlists, but reads her books with a pencil. Drunken eater of too much cereal. Drinks her coffee black. Prefers Bean Boots over sandals and owns six pairs of the same running shoe. An avid woods wanderer. Does not like reading the news.
