Again with the sweatpants?

“You know the message you’re sending out to the world with these sweatpants? You’re telling the world, ‘I give up. I can’t compete in normal society. I’m miserable, so I might as well be comfortable” – Seinfeld

If you have been on campus lately you’ve no doubt noticed the comfort level of the students rising at a rapid pace. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is sweatpants season. Sweatpants season only comes twice a year and offers a delightfully liberating experience for the waist (not to mention a vacation for the hips and thighs). As a frequenter of sweatpants myself, I decided to get to the bottom of the origins of this social phenomenon by talking to some Wilfrid Laurier University students around campus.

Sweatpants are becoming almost instinctual in reaction to stress, as third-year WLU student Lauren Huston put it, “There’s more people slacking on their appearance in November because it’s that stressful time where your finishing up midterms, doing all your papers and studying for your exams. It’s the climax of all the school stuff lumped together.”

Lumped together into one form of exceedingly comfortable self-expression.

Fourth-year political science major Andrew Chudnovsky touched upon the reason students are choosing sweatpants. “You want to be comfortable when you study. Everyone is pulling off these eight-hour study binges… You don’t want to be wearing jeans, it gets stiff,” he said.

Fourth-year student Carly Litrenta agreed saying, “Nobody wants to sit in their jeans and their nice clothing and be uncomfortable.”

Especially not Chudnovsky who added, “I’m all about comfort man, I need to be comfortable when I’m studying.”

Those comments are proof that sweatpants season is perpetuated by the stress from studying and the desire for comfort. However, some students such as myself have voiced differing opinions concerning of the adoption of sweatpants, particularly from females around campus.

Is it possible that women are wearing sweatpants as a reaction to Movember? Nicholas Crimi a fourth-year philosophy, political science and economics student weighed in on the subject. “It could be a rebellion to get us to clean up our faces,” he said.

Whether it’s a secret rebellion or a complete misunderstanding of the opposite gender is still up for debate. One thing is for certain, sweatpants season is among us and students have been voicing how they feel about it.

The general consensus has been overwhelmingly warm when it comes to students, sweatpants and their current love affair on campus.

Chudnovsky was asked if the sweatpants were bothering him. “Personally I don’t care. You dress very much about how your mood is… Sometimes you just wanna run to class, run home — it happens.”

Crimi added, “When I’m in class, sweatpants aren’t the main focus.”

Their comfortable counterpart — pajama pants — haven’t been receiving such a warm welcome. Fourth-year communications student Alyssa Rossi had this to say about the subject: “Just pajamas, it’s like, really?”

AKA don’t go there.

Overall, sweatpants season is among us and nobody seems to really care. I’m proud to say this attitude is a reflection of the Laurier community and how we’re able to look past material differences and focus on the bigger picture. Except for pajama pants — that shit just crosses the line.