The number of very specific, single-wear t-shirts Baylor gives out is not only wasteful, (of the money from our tuition) it contributes to some much deeper problems. 

In just the first few weeks of this year, I received four free t-shirts I will wear either once or never. And from what upperclassmen have told me, the rate of those free shirts doesn't slow down. At first, I thought this oversupply of useless free stuff was fun, slightly annoying, but harmless. But I recently read a book that detailed how overproduction of clothing directly damages the environment and supports a system of human rights abuses of workers across the world. That book was "Unravelled" by Maxine Bedat, and it was assigned by Baylor to all the honors program freshmen.

We propose that instead of giving out many very specific t-shirts (move-in day, career success, college decision, etc.) Baylor gives every freshman one voucher to the bookstore to buy their own Baylor shirt that they will be more likely to wear and enjoy. 

If there are specific t-shirts that are deemed necessary for everyone to have, we encourage Baylor to buy them from companies who are transparent about their environmental and human impact.

If we are asked to contemplate together the damage we are doing, we should take a stand against it together too. Bedat began the last chapter of her book with the words of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: "Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do."