Stamp of uniqueness

So from something as bizarre as a full newspaper adage on a sweatshirt for a journalism batch at a media school to the mechanics of a car printed at the back of an engineering student’s sweatshirt,the ideas are aplenty. An interesting point is that students more often than not are rebellious when it comes to wearing a school/college uniform,but mention a sweatshirt,and they all come forward with creative ideas.

Abhijeet Barbhai,ex-student of University of Pune,says,“Sweatshirts have been a craze for some time now. During the last two years of college,we made two different sweatshirts for our department. We students thoroughly enjoyed thinking about interesting quotes,creative and funky designs,and so on. And the best part was that the faculty of the department too participated in the process! Basically it’s something that each batch identifies with.” For students,designing and wearing these sweatshirts is all about differentiating themselves from others – it’s about adding a certain uniqueness to their batch. Pooja Shrivastava,a psychologist,says,“Sweatshirts or anything specific to a batch are aimed at making students feel different from others. Moreover,I would say,it’s a way of creating a community based on a common factor,and that is what promotes more unity in a group.”

Apart from representing common interests and giving students unique identities,there’s also the style quotient that’s important. After all,students look forward to standing out in a crowd. Ronit Khanna,a former student of Loyola High School,shares,“The whole idea of getting a sweatshirt for the batch is to make your mark and be a notch higher than other batches and sections! Plus,it’s like a keepsake for life. I still remember all the chaos and excitement we had as kids when we designed our sweatshirt.” For most of them then,it is a treasure trove of student-life memories. However,Devesh Iyer,an advertising student,differs,”I don’t like this idea of college sweatshirts because it sort of gives a sense of finality,as if I am never going to meet these friends again.”

Like or dislike them,the fact remains that their popularity is on the rise. Jayesh Rajput of JS Enterprises,a city-based sweatshirt dealer,says,“The ideal season for sweatshirts is winter but nowadays,there is a demand in monsoon too. There are many more options available for students – they can choose from 3D,multicoloured and two-coloured tees.” While the cost of a sweatshirt can vary,students don’t mind spending their pocket-money on this life-long memento.