It’s spring, which means new fashion trends are taking over campus.?It’s great to see that the Uggs and North Face jackets have been packed away and the sundresses and starched Vineyard Vines shorts have been dusted off for another season.

But there is one trend that is just as prevalent – wearing clothing from other schools.

The trend has grown so ubiquitous that we don’t even notice it anymore on a frantic sophomore running late to class in Villanova sweatpants or an anxious senior waiting in line at Starbucks in a Boston College shirt.

While we may be immune to seeing this, it is nevertheless an aspect of GW that must change.?Wearing gear from other schools, while attending this one, hurts our pride and damages our sense of community.?Not to mention, it just isn’t cool.?

To the freshman girl wearing a Temple sweatshirt, you understand you’re wearing the paraphernalia of one of GW’s biggest basketball rivals, right?

To the guy proudly sporting a Harvard tee, you have had a while to realize what your parents recognized years ago: You probably aren’t that smart.?Come to terms with this and throw the crimson tee away.?

And to any Colonial that owns a Georgetown University shirt, you toured its inferior D.C. campus years ago – it’s time to finally get rid of that souvenir. Basically, you don’t go to Temple, Harvard or Georgetown. We have a lot to be proud of here and it’s time we embrace that. Anything else will distract from what will easily be the best four years of our lives.

It is hard to determine what is worse: the fact that people wear clothing from other schools or the fact that we have come to accept this on campus.?

Even our Dean of Students Peter Konwerski has taken notice.?Last week he tweeted, “Peter’s peeve: Other collegiate gear in our [alma mater] gym. Contact me if [you] need some BUFF & BLUE wear!!” While it’s true we don’t wear our Sunday best to our afternoon workout, this says something about our community.

I hail from the great state of Michigan.?If I were to show up at Ohio State University – the University of Michigan’s rival school – in a UMich Wolverines shirt, I would be harassed by mobs of proud Buckeyes. Rightfully so, as this is how college campuses are meant to be.

GW is a private school that almost entirely serves an out-of-state population, so we have a unique dynamic. With students from over 100 countries and each of the 50 states, many people wear non-GW collegiate gear because it represents their hometowns. But the time has come to realize that, no matter where we come from, or how high or low GW ranked on our college preferences, GW is our home and it will forever be our alma mater.

While trends will always change, pride in our school is everlasting. That said, it’s now our mission to make this trend go out of style like acid-wash jeans did in the ’90s. If you see people on campus sporting anything other than the buff and blue, give them a hard time and point them in the direction of the bookstore.

The bookstore may not have GW jeggings, but somewhere between the GW rain boots and the GW Snuggie, all of us can find something to rep our school pride.

Keith Osentoski, a sophomore majoring in political communication, is a managing director for the Colonial Army.