By Elias Tezapsidas

I’ve heard a lot of complaints that Macalester students refuse to take care of themselves.”Macalester has no style.”

“People dress badly here.”

“They just don’t care about the way they look.”

But are we really so clueless?

Shocking though this may seem, I believe that Macalester students do care.

So why the secrecy about our shoe fetishes and addictions to American Apparel clothing?

I think it’s a trend to be untrendy.

We act as if we have grand ideals and goals that surpass the empty and superficial act of looking good.

As a campus, we need to stop judging those who aren’t embarrassed to confess that they care about their clothes.

Let’s admit it: we’re all proud to be making a statement with our Birkenstocks, even though they are just as expensive as a nice pair of loafers.

As a student body, we should acknowledge that many of us do care about what we wear.

We just don’t want anyone else to know.

I’m not suggesting that we change our style. I’ve come to terms with it, and to be honest, I even enjoy it.

But why resist a great pair of vintage sunglasses?

Naturally, I acknowledge that the phenomenon of untrendy as trendy is not something that first appeared at Macalester. (Our campus isn’t exactly a focal point for world fashion or even its refusal.)

Look at fashion designer Adam Kimmel’s latest clothing line. His obsession with the New York art scenesters of the fifties proves that the white, middle-class kid wearing rugged, hippie clothing is definitely “in.”

I fear that Macalester students’ worst nightmare has come true: we are en vogue.

Do we enjoy it or have we failed in our mission to differentiate ourselves?

Each of us has to decide how we’ll stand out in a crowd. Just please keep in mind that showering is not an option or a choice-it’s a social obligation.