/T-Shirt Trade-In Day makes a comeback

T-Shirt Trade-In Day makes a comeback

Students Nathaniel Billings and Ben Jackson proudly display their new t-shirts. Photo by Victoria Wright

T-shirt Trade-In Day made a return to the University of Montevallo on Thursday, Aug. 30, in Farmer Hall just in time for College Colors Day on Aug. 31. It’s been approximately seven years since the first trade-in day, which occurred following UM’s logo-change in 2011.  

Once students learned of the event’s return, they expressed on social media how eager they were to participate, and a select few, myself included, showed up early to trade in shirts.  

You may be asking yourself the question: what exactly does t-shirt trade-in day entail? The event presents students the opportunity to give away those old or unwanted college shirts in exchange for a brand-new Montevallo shirt. Plus, all donated shirts are set to be donated to a local non-profit. 

During the event, a total of 37 shirts were turned in. “We received the largest number of shirts from Alabama and Auburn, the number was tied,” said the Director of University Relations, Kira Thomas. “South Alabama was a close second, Mississippi State and Troy tied for third.” 

There were also a small number of miscellaneous community college shirts traded in for the new branding-inspired “You belong at Montevallo,” merch available at this year’s event.  

The “you belong” slogan was inspired by a new trend among prospective college students. Recently, more and more incoming freshman are placing a higher value on that coveted sense of belonging on campus when deciding where to attend school. 

“The new branding expresses that everyone from all backgrounds belongs at Montevallo,” said Thomas, who emphasized that UM has a very diverse campus.

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