With the weather turning colder on college campuses across the country, many professors are beginning to notice a familiar decline in student productivity.
The first day of winter is less than a month away, and students have resorted to turning on their heaters and bundling themselves with anything they can get their hands on. Turtlenecks, scarves and pants for winter have replaced the T-shirts, tank tops and skirts of summer.
I am from North Carolina and, for me, the slightest breeze brings goose bumps and shivers. My winter wardrobe consists of dark sweatpants and several university-logo sweatshirts, not cashmere sweaters and wool coats. My student budget does not allow for those luxuries.
I am not alone in this plight. During the cooler months, I observe more than two-thirds of students attending class in dark sweat clothes. Some students attend class in the pajamas they wore the evening before. This sleepy style cannot merely be a result of academic burnout – these students have been surviving school in the winter for more than 12 years. There must be other factors involved.
Although students need protection from the elements, I believe the types and colors of winter clothing lower our ability to produce the high quality of work demanded by the university.
Hibernation, natural for many animals during the winter months, is, unfortunately, not built into the college student’s academic calendar. Plodding through the dark months with no change in what is expected of our performance, we get sucked into the dreary atmosphere and bland attire. Some must produce at work every day, others must go to school, and others still must find creative ways to entertain their children. It often seems as though we have entered into a depression filled with dark skies, dark colors and dark hearts.
I find clothes not only make the person, but also the mood. When a holiday or special occasion arises, most people dress up and go out to dinner with a positive outlook. This positive outlook partly stems from the clothes they wear and knowing they have presented themselves well. The same relationship works with a negative perspective and sweatpants. Essentially, one must dress better to feel better.
More than the actual clothing, the color of our clothing affects our mood. Color theorists have noted colors can induce specific reactions. For instance, many restaurants use pale salmon or off-white colors for the walls because these colors induce hunger. When wearing dark, drab-colored clothing, we enter into a mild depression. Bright colors and shades of pink, blue and green put you and those around you in a pleasant mood.
When college students talk about their wardrobes, some mention that when they have a real job, they will have no problem dressing appropriately. Many students forget that school, at this point, acts as their job. You must approach it seriously, you must act and dress professionally, and you must impress your department.
As senior sociology major Jasmine Anderson observed, “People who dress in a professional manner seem to embrace the day with purpose in mind.”
Looking from the perspective of productivity, it would make more sense to attend school in the summer and have a longer winter break. However, addressing the issue from a humanistic perspective, three months of free time in the winter could leave students with no purpose and possibly cause more depression. Therefore, we must make some snowballs out of this blizzard of unnatural requests.
On Monday, when the wind blows through the trees and the frosty air tickles your face, reach for a colorful sweater and wear leggings under a nice pair of pants. I guarantee you will feel better about yourself, take more pride in your work and positively influence those around you.
Halle Finan is a senior communication major. She can be reached at halle_finan@hotmail.com.
