By Missy Dolaway

A recent fad most popularly seen across college campuses around the holidays is the infamous ugly Christmas sweater party. Over Thanksgiving break and immediately following, college students everywhere flock to their nearest thrift stores to get their hands on a true hidden gem. The lucky student might find a bright red sweater with big, tacky, sewn on snowmen. Others may steal a parent or grandparent’s treasured Santa sweater vest. Whatever the outlet might be, college students will go to great lengths and drive far distances to lock down the ugliest, tackiest sweater they can find in order to ensure they make a statement at the big event.

Loyola students are no exception to this modern holiday tradition. Only the most inexperienced Loyola student would even think of trying to find a true ugly Christmas sweater at Value Village on York Road the night before the big party. Thrift stores from west Baltimore through Towson struggle to keep their Christmas sweaters on the racks for more than a couple hours. Although the ugly Christmas sweater party may not truly be considered a campus event seeing as it would obviously need to take place at an off campus venue, its popularity and the effort put forth in preparation for the event effects a large sum of the campus community.

The ugly Christmas sweater party is unique in that it is the only seasonal event that prides itself on tackiness. Walking around an ugly Christmas sweater party, guests bear grins after being complimented on how heinous their apparel is. Hayley Beard, a junior marketing major, stated that she went to five different thrift stores with her roommates before finding the goods at Wal-Mart. “Just as we thought we had completely struck out and would have to bag the party altogether, I got my hands on this horrible, oversized, red sweater with a huge sewn on Santa. It’s perfect,” said Beard.

One off campus party took place this past weekend. A bouncer stood at the door to ensure everyone that entered was of age and, of course, sporting their worst Christmas sweater. A ten-foot Christmas tree fully decorated with presents underneath lit up the main room, Christmas music played throughout the house, someone dressed in a full Santa suit could be found on the dance floor and some truly terrible sweaters were on display. Reilly Shannahan, a junior finance major, said “The party was a great time. Everyone came dressed in the ugliest sweater they could find. Everyone loves an excuse to dress up and the whole party was so festive and set the tone for the holidays.” 

As the add/drop period for class registration at Loyola comes to a close next month, students are buzzing with talk of dropping or enrolling in service-learning courses over the next few weeks. Several Loyola students are unsure if this class structure is the right fit for them, and are questioning if the committment they must make to one of these courses is worth the experience. Many freshman are even entirely unaware as to what service-learning is. "I found out that one of the classes I registered for is a service-learning course," said freshman Brett Butler. "I don't really know what that means, but I've heard it is a lot of extra work and requires a lot of extra time."

At Loyola University, service-learning is considered a type of experiential learning within academic courses. Service-learning students must complete a certain amount of hours of community service outside of the classroom, as dictated by their instructor, at a site of their choosing. Some professors give students the option of participating in the service aspect of the course, whereas others require it. From tutoring Hispanic youth at a local elementary school to teaching underprivileged children how to swim at Loyola’s very own FAC, there is a wide range of service students can complete.

Read more: Students Ponder Enrollment in Service-Learning Courses