Don’t sweat it! The dark side of sweatpants

I can feel it already: tomorrow is going to be a sweatpants day, a day where I don't even think about jeans! — just the wonderful, stretchy comfort of my sweatpants. Most people reading this will understand that sometimes there is just nothing more important than comfort. However, is there a dark side to sweatpants? After doing some research, I regret to report that indeed there is.

I had to do some snooping on the internet, but I eventually came across the "Anti-Sweatpants for College Students" Facebook group. I joined this group to get an insider's perspective and raised the group's total to 16 members. "Anti-sweatpants" seems to believe that sweatpants are counter-productive to our purpose here in college, that sweatpants "make the university community in general look shabby and apathetic. And if we are apathetic about our appearance, how can we convince anyone that we actually care about bettering ourselves and the world." This is pretty serious.

Do sweatpants make us apathetic about learning?

"They do not affect learning ability in the classroom … (but) I might be introduced to a potential employer in class, so I like to look put-together," said Molly Schlumbohm, a UNI grad student.

Molly does have a point: you never know when you may meet someone who can help you out with your future career.

Diane Eddie, who has never worn sweatpants to class.

"I don't believe they are entirely conducive to putting students in the mindset of learning," said Eddie. "Personally, I feel more awake and ready to learn when wearing jeans, but I am not offended when other students wear sweatpants."

For some students the comfort of sweatpants may be a distraction; for others (and I fall into this category), sometimes it's being uncomfortable that's distracting.

One professor at UNI, Jean Gerrath, isn't sure if wearing sweatpants has an impact on learning. She does feel that sweatpants don't set a good tone for a university community and that students should dress appropriately in consideration for others.

She also makes an important point: "Professors are often asked to write letters of reference for students, and it's pretty hard to use words like ‘professional,' ‘considerate of others,' ‘serious about their work,' and so on if the student has consistently come to class dressed in lounge or beach wear."

Fashion-wise, there are many different opinions floating around, so I don't really want to pick a side. On the one hand, sweatpants are considered strictly loungewear or workout gear and should never be worn outside of the house or gym. On the other hand, some argue that sweatpants can be "cute when worn correctly."

But when it comes to college students, sweatpants really aren't the best choice. I think it would be all right to wear them every once in a while (if you're having a really bad day or if absolutely nothing else is clean), but definitely not every day.

We are here in college for a reason: to get an education and use that education out in the professional world. What we wear does say a lot about us and I think we all know that sweatpants don't say "professional." Alas, maybe tomorrow is not a "sweatpants day" after all.