As students shuffle through the cold, through VPH, across the green to the Learning Commons and search for a cozy spot to study, there is a prevailing sight to be held: stickers.
As college students strive to express themselves, a new fad on campus is adorning students’ water bottles and laptops with decorative stickers.
Some may not have noticed the craze, while others find it unavoidable.
“Stickers are everywhere, I can’t go anywhere without seeing them, and frankly, I am a little concerned,” said Hannah Garbison.
It’s inevitable to find sticker activists as the sticky epidemic encroaches on the daily lives of students,
“I love my stickers,” said Abbey Slattery. “I chose my stickers because they were aesthetically pleasing and they sort of defined me as a person.”
Some “victims” of this new trend are blind to what their colorful ornaments are doing to campus.
“I like to pick up trends from New York; I like to read a lot of magazines to make sure I’m keeping up with the latest sticker trends,” said Jordan Samuelson.
Most students on campus who are pro-sticker quickly can give reasons for their lifestyle choices.
“These stickers really speak to my heart and my longing for adventures for the outdoors,” Luke Galloway said. “My stickers say that I am more than a pretty face and that I really like to explore.”
Galloway is a water bottle sticker activist; his water bottle is embellished with multiple stickers.
“All of my stickers come from Grand Teton National Park where I lived this summer,” said Galloway, “Pretty good theme of moose on my stickers, so my sticker style seems to be moose.”
Galloway’s fellow water bottle lobbyist, Samuelson also has sticker conduct.
“I chose those stickers because I like the way they look and also like the message that they send,” Samuelson said.
Some students may be asking when this sticker fever could have infected their fellow classmates. For Samuelson, it set in at an early age.
“I think my sticker inspiration comes from going to the skating rink as a kid, and they always had those sticker machines, and all the cool kids would get stickers,” said Samuelson. “I just want to be like the cool kids.”
Not all students were raised with this pro-sticker behavior. Galloway got sticker fever his freshman year of college.
“My sticker inspiration would be Bradley Smith, who graduated last year,” Galloway said. “He had lots of stickers from all his traveling. I would say that Bradley Smith is my sticker spirit animal.”
Renee Hurley compares her sticker fascination to a spirit animal as well.
“My sticker spirit animal is an eagle because it’s noble and can see all,” said Hurley.
Pro-sticker activist Hurley urges other students to broaden their worldviews about the sticker lifestyle.
“My sticker goal is to share my life with other people and to express my past,” Hurley said. “All of my stickers are all things I want people to ask me about and I’d love to tell them about the stickers.”
Slattery, another sticker supporter, defends her lifestyle choices to her NW community.
“My stickers speak about me. They are the shows I’m interested in and parts of my personality, elements of it,” Slattery said. “Stickers were cheaper than a case and I wanted personality for my laptop. I didn’t just want an apple that glows.”
Stickers aren’t just telling fellow classmates of their owner’s past but also of the beliefs.
“My spirit sticker is my ‘nuggs not drugs’ sticker because it both discourages drug use and encourages eating things,” Slattery said. “I hope others learn from my sticker.”
As the ornaments scatter over campus, let there not be a rift between those infected with sticker fever and those immune to it. But rather let NW live in community in this new fad.